The next morning, a seaplane landed in the lagoon nearby Chaalu Maldives. It merely carried one VIP passenger, Isabella Ricci, two bodyguards, and one assistant.
It was late in the evening when they arrived last night at Male International Airport and since the seaplanes could not travel in the dark; it was only at six in the morning that they departed from the airport island to the resort.
Isabella was a hotel heiress. Her family owned a hotel chain in Italy and they later expanded their business to neighboring countries. For years she has been eyeing Andres Islands and wanted to be part of it, but she was told the owner was rarely on-site.
She had seen Andrea once while on a vacation at The Reethi Maldives and had wanted to meet with her since. She returned to the Maldives every year hoping to get a chance, but it was never easy. Often times, the meeting was moved and just last year; she was told that the owner had personal issues.
When she finally found the opportunity to buy shares of the island resorts, she took the chance without blinking an eye.
She met Lu Fang a few months back and only then that she learned he was the husband of the resort owner. The discovery made her rethink her plans, but nonetheless, she was already there and she was determined to meet Andrea once and for all.
They landed on the water next to the floating dock and the moment Isabella stepped down from the plane; she smiled with a heavy heart knowing she was about to meet the person she had longed wanted to see. She wondered how it will all turn out.
The Lu Family opted to have breakfast at the villa. It was rather inconvenient for them to take the twins to the restaurant only to return should they ever need a diaper change. After their meals the adults went for a snorkeling trip in the morning and a sunset cruise in the afternoon.
The twins and their caregivers stayed at the kid's club in the morning at rested at the villa in the afternoon.
It was only in the evening when they decided to dine at the main restaurant. The Food and Beverage Manager reserved a spot for them closer to the beach. He also made sure to move the nearby tables elsewhere they will have the least disturbance.
Unfortunately, most Maldives resorts do not offer private functions or rooms in restaurants. It was not necessary to begin with, considering how private each resort was and how few the guests are in each property. Furthermore, most of the guests were also wealthy and valued privacy.
The Lus were enjoying their meals when Isabella arrived. The entire day, she had been roaming around the island hoping to meet Andrea but to no avail. Upon seeing the Lu Family having their dinner, she knew it was a must for her to get close to them.
"Good Evening, Mr. Lu, this must be your lovely wife. How beautiful she is," Isabella said, completely ignoring the hotel staff that tried to stop her from approaching.
Turning to her direction, Lu Fang stood up and greeted her, "Isabella, good evening." He extended his hand and looked at his wife saying, "This is Andrea, my wife. Babe, this Isabella."
Andrea was stunned at the sight of this alluring woman nearing her. Isabella had long brown hair which was curled at the tips, tall and had a sexy body. Despite the obvious beauty, she chose to dress simply.
Andrea could not help but think, she looked a little similar to her if not for the fact that Isabella had green eyes instead of brown. If Andrea's hair was of the same length, they could be very well be mistaken as sisters.
"Hello, Andrea. It's nice to finally meet you," said Isabella while extending her hand, her eyes twinkling with happiness.
Andrea shook her hand, utterly reluctant. She gave a fake smile before saying, "It's nice to meet you as well. I hope to have a proper discussion with you regarding the management of the resort the following day, during our meeting."
"I look forward to the meeting, but seeing you and Lu Fang, I just wanted to drop by and give my greetings. You have no idea how overjoyed I am to meet you," Isabella said while she held Andrea's hands with both of hers.
Out of respect, Lu Fang introduced his family; Lu Wei, Christina, and the twins. She smiled pleasantly to both his parents but after being directed to the babies; her smile disappeared, shocked to see both Chevre and Brie.
The change in her expression was evident to Andrea's line of sight that she knew she needed to be careful of this woman.
Recovering from seeing the twins, Isabella turned to Lu Fang and Andrea bidding goodbye," Well I better not disturb you then. You have such a wonderful family. It's nice to bring them along to this paradise. I will see you both at the meeting then... Excuse me."
Andrea's eyes were glued at Isabella, still bewildered of how similar they looked. She even looked more Asian than Italian.
"Babe? Why are you staring at her?" Asked Lu Fang.
Instantly, Andrea had this gut feeling this may be one of her husband's admirers that she came at him quickly saying, "Is she one of your groupies again?!"
"What? No! Babe? What are you talking about? We barely even spoke. If anything, she was more interested in meeting you than me! You can ask Hanxi," said Lu Fang while pointing out to Xio Hanxi.
Hanxi nodding while slicing his meat. He said, "Andy, sis. Relax! I was with Lu Fang when we met her to discuss the exchange. She barely looked at Lu Fang, but it's true. She asked a lot about you."
That evening, the couple was brought to their private water villa, and Andrea found the time to look up Isabella Ricci. She was shocked to find an old photo of her. She was definitely blond with straight hair and dressed differently than she did today.
She zoomed in her photos and realized this Isabella was rather familiar. It was like she had seen her before but unsure of when and how. She tried to recall the days when she toured Europe but it had been too long and having met too many people, she could not narrow it down to anyone specifically.
"Babe, what are you doing? Why are you on the laptop when we are on vacation," complained Lu Fang. He came up from behind her and hugged her waist.
He started to kiss her face down to her shoulders when Andrea warned him, "I am still looking into this Isabella Ricci."
The man laughed, making Andrea frown altogether. She asked, "What is so funny?"
"I've already looked into Isabella, even before agreeing to her terms. She is not a threat - "
Lu Fang's narration was interrupted by Andrea's angry tone, "What? You seem to have missed the fact that she previously looked like Paris Hilton and now she looks like me!"
Still, the man remained laughing, and it made Andrea furious that she yelled at him," Tell me, Mr. Lu. Did you cheat on me while I was in a coma?"
"Babe, I can't believe you'd still consider that as an option. You know I love you to death," replied Lu Fang, still holding a chuckle.
"Then… tell me," said Andrea. Her eyes were narrowed at him, already agitated about being kept in the dark.
Lu Fang was still trying to hold it in but he finally managed to answer, "Babe, Isabella idolizes you. Between the two of us, she has a crush on you"
Andrea, "???"