Chapter 7 Humdrum Tastes

Caroline did not know where Ricardo was taking her. Ricardo

already had all his equipment set up in the room. “So, what’s the occasion?”

Caroline answered, “just a casual yet fancy dinner.”

            “Okay, I can

work with that.”

            An hour

later, Caroline had taken a shower and now, Ricardo was styling her hair. He

styled her beautiful brown long hair into curls. He put some light make up on

her, to highlight her natural beauty.

            When he was

finished, he left the room to let Caroline change into her dress. Ricardo had

chosen a tight strapless, long-sleeved red and black dress for her. The top

part of the dress was red, and the bottom part was black. Caroline put on the dress

which went four inches above her knee. She put on a red choker matching the red

of the dress. She also put on some black heel sandals.

            When she

was ready it was already seven forty. Liam was about to knock on the door when

she opened the door. “Hey, you ready?” He asked, showing no emotion. “Yes, we

can leave now,” answered Caroline with her signature smile.

            Liam wore a

black shirt with buttons, he left two buttons undone at the top. He wore a red knitted

sweater, some black dress pants, a black belt, and some black penny loafers.

All of which were chosen by Ricardo to match Caroline’s outfit. “I think you

are missing something… some earrings,” Liam spoke as he handed Caroline a

jewelry box. His voice was different this time. He showed

            When she

opened it, she saw the matching set of the ring she was wearing. She took the

earrings and put them on. Liam smiled in satisfaction, “you look beautiful

tonight.”

            “Thank you.”

Caroline replied. Liam extended out his arm for Caroline. Caroline grabbed Liam’s

arm and they walked out of the room.

            In the foyer

right outside of the bedroom, Ricardo stood speechless by the scene of this beautiful

couple. They looked perfect for each other; they even wore matching outfits.

            “¡Oh Dios

mío! You two look like the perfect couple,” said Ricardo surprised. Caroline

was about to say they were not really together, but it was best to just smile

at his compliment. “Well, I’m leaving. I have some stuff to do.” Ricardo shook

Liam’s hand and said goodbye to Caroline with a kiss on the cheek. “I will see

you some other time, reina.” Ricardo got on the elevator and left. Liam looked

at Caroline and asked, “ready to go?” Caroline nodded and started walking

towards the elevator. They got on the elevator and went to Liam’s garage in the

building.

            When they arrived,

Caroline stooped and looked around. She was impressed with the sight of the luxurious

cars. She continued walking as she asked, “which ones are yours?”

            “All of

them,” Liam replied with a smirk. Caroline rolled her eyes. “Of course, they

are,” she murmured. Liam turned around to face her. “Did you say something?” He

asked, pretending he didn’t hear her sarcastic comment. He stopped walking when

he got to the G-class black Mercedes Benz.  He opened the door for Caroline. She hurried towards him and got in the

SUV. He closed the door for her and went to the driver’s seat. The car ride was

silent.

            To break

the awkward silence, Caroline asked, “Liam? What are you planning to do once

the year is over and we have to file for divorce?”

            “Nothing. We

will divorce and go on our different ways, just like you want.” Caroline

hesitated as she spoke, “right, just like I want.” Liam turned his gaze from

the road to look at her for a quick second. “Why do you ask?” Caroline

responded, “I was just curious.”

            After that,

they remained quiet. Caroline tried to make some small talk again. “Liam?” He

turned his head to look at her again. “Why do you live in such a big penthouse?”

            “Because I

have the money.” Caroline rolled her eyes. “I know that… but if you live alone you

don’t need such a large penthouse.”

            “Says the

woman that lives in a five-story penthouse.”

            “Touché.”

Caroline laughed. She glanced at Liam and got a glimpse of his rare expression.

She was surprise to see Liam smiling. When she looked at him again, his smile was

gone.

            When they

arrived at their destination, they walked to the living room, where Dante and Gabriella

along with Victor and mason were gathered. Gabriella stood up from the with

sofa as she saw then step inside the living room. She greeted them with a warm

hug. Dante also stood up and greeted them with a hug. Victor just stood up and greeted

Liam, completely ignoring Caroline. Mason shook hands with Liam hugged

Caroline.

            Caroline

whispered on Mason’s ear, “you can stop hugging me now. Victor is not even

looking.” Mason instantly stopped hugging Caroline. Her words lingered in his

mind. “Why is she calling father, Victor? Is she mad at him?”

            Ever

since she found out she had a half-brother, she never liked him. She envied him

for not having such a harsh childhood like she did. She envied him for growing

up with the care of his father and the love of his mother. But over the years, her

envy turned into pity. While working with him in the company for six years, she

viewed him as an incompetent for the business word.

             During their time working together at the

company, they didn’t tolerate each other. They still don’t tolerate each other;

they just pretended whenever Victor is around. They used to fight all the time

at the company, and it was heart-breaking for Victor seeing how his children

hated each other so much, so they decided to pretend to like each other

whenever Victor was around.

Gabriella and Dante sat on the

armchairs, in front of Victor and Mason, letting Caroline and Liam sit on the

sofa together. Caroline sat first and Liam sat after her. Caroline moved a bit

when she felt Liam too close to her. The butler offered Caroline some Italian

red wine and she accepted. Everyone else had a glass of wine, as well.

The butler handed the glass to Caroline,

and Liam gabbed the glass from her hand. Liam leaned close to her ear and

whispered, “you should stop drinking. You might be pregnant with my child, and

I don’t want you to hurt him.” Liam took a sip of wine then Caroline leaned close

to his ear and whispered, “I got my period the day after, so that can’t be

possible.” Caroline grabbed the wine glass back and took a sip of the wine

while staring at Liam dead in the eye.

As the butler saw this, he prepared

a glass of wine for Liam. “We should start preparing for the wedding,” said

Dante. Mason asked, “wedding?” Victor replied, “yes, your sister and Liam have

recently gotten engaged.”

“The sooner they get married the

better,” Gabriella added with a grinned. Liam cleared his throat. “Actually, we

are already married,” Liam spoke as he grabbed Carline’s left hand and showed

the ring to Gabriella and Dante. “When did you get married?” Gabriella asked in

shock. “Today,” Liam answered. Victor was still trying to process what was

going on. Caroline just smiled. She did not what else to do in a situation like

this. She thought it was best to Liam do the talking.

“We went to the Marriage License

Bureau today and got married, then we went to choose a ring,” Liam added. “Why

did you do that like that? You were supposed to have an actual wedding,” said

Gabriella. “We decided to do it this way, we’d like to keep our relationship

private,” Caroline explained.

“Well, if that is what you wanted, then

so be it,” Gabriella spoke, “that ring is so beautiful, it highlights your elegance,

dear.” Caroline smiled and said, “Thank you, Gabriella.” The butler stepped

inside the living room and cleared his throat. “Dinner is severed.”

 They stood up and walked over to the dinner

table. Caroline was held back by Victor. “Thank you, Caroline. I knew you would

come around. And I noticed that you are not wearing your necklace, you must be

careful. That key is very valuable.” Caroline was still mad at Victor. She

sneered and said, “I did it for me. I didn’t do it for you. And as for the

necklace, I don’t want to wear something that you gave me.” Caroline pulled her

arm from Victor’s grip. “And don’t touch me.” Caroline walked away leaving

Victor behind.

Caroline stepped closer to the

dining room and found only two empty seats. One next to Liam and one next to

Mason. She let out a sigh and sat next to Liam. “What’s wrong, dear?” Gabriella

asked. “Nothing,” Caroline instantly responded.

When they finished having dinner,

it was time for dessert. The butler placed an ice cream glass in front for

everyone. “For dessert, glace à la vanille.” The butler bowed and walked away.

After Caroline tasted the ice cream, Gabriella asked, “How is it, dear? Do you

like it?” Caroline nodded. “Yes, it’s delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it. I made it

myself.”

“Really? You must share with me

your recipe.” Mason interrupted, “Caroline has a bit of a sweet tooth.” Gabriella

giggled. “Really?” Caroline nodded. “Then I’ll be sure to share my recipe with

you.” Gabriella tasted the ice cream before saying, “I actually learned this

recipe when I was studying in France. That’s actually how I met your mother,

Caroline. We studied together in France.”

Caroline placed her small spoon

down and said, “wow, really? Mom never told me about this.” Gabriella spoke,

“yes, that is how your mom and I met,” she added, “this ice cream is also Liam’s

favorite ice cream flavor.” Caroline turned to look at Liam and said as they

made eye contact, “vanilla? Rather humdrum tastes you have, Mister Liam.” Liam

smirked. “I assure you; my tastes are far from humdrum.” Caroline shily looked

away to the dessert in front of her. Victor looked at them. “Though their

marriage was arranged, there seems to be some chemistry between them,” he

thought.

After having the delicious dessert,

they went back to the living and continued talking. Sitting next to Liam,

Caroline asked, “Gabriella, I’m kind of curious, how did you meet Dante?” Gabriella

smiled. “I didn’t want to go to college. I just wanted to get married and start

a family. It was a different time back then. So, the summer after senior year,

I planned to travel the world before getting married. My parents had arranged

me to get married once I came back home. So, as I travelled through Italy, I

met Dante. It was love at first sight. We got to know each other through the

summer. Once, it was time for me to come back, I told my parents my parents

about Dante and with some convincing, we got married.”

At midnight Liam said, “it’s

getting late, we better get going. Caroline is kind of tired.”

“No, I could actually listen to

another story.” Liam raised his eyebrow. “Gabriella, tell me… how did you

become friends with my mom?” Gabriella chuckled. “That is actually a funny

story. During our freshman year, your mom and I were studying in the same boarding

school in Nice. We used to be rivals. We would always compete to be the best.

Whether it was grades, sports, boys; it was always a competition with her.

Through all of that rivalry, we got close and became friends. After your mom

moved back here for her junior year, I lost interest in school, my only plan

was to explore the world and get married and start a family. After your mom

left France, I completed high school there and never saw her again. Well, at

least not until I had Liam with Dante and moved back here to the U.S. Victor and

Dante became friends and through them, Elizabeth and I were reunited because of

them.”

“But then you lost touch… why?”

“You know, nothing is forever in

this world,” Gabriella spoke. “That was an amazing story, dear but I must stop

you there, if not we will be here until dawn. I’m sure they have to go to work

early tomorrow,” Dante interrupted.

Caroline and Liam stood up and said

their goodbyes. Caroline and Liam went back to Liam’s place. “I thought you

were taking me home,” said Caroline. “This is your home,” Liam replied as he got

out of the SUV. He opened Caroline’s door and extended his arm to help her out

of the SUV. Caroline just crossed her arms and said, “I will not get off, you

need to get me to my penthouse.”

 “I already told you, I had no problem with

your conditions. This is one of my conditions so why don’t you just do the same

as me,” Liam showed a hint of anger in his tone. “I already have my home. Why

would I want to come live with you?” Liam grew impatient. “Fine then, don’t get

out of the car. You can spend the night here.” Liam closed Caroline’s door and

left. Caroline tried to open the door but failed, the door was locked.

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