Chapter 6 Just My Senior

• "No, you don't have to do anything. I'm just giving you a heads up so that you won't be surprised."
• Tia nodded in response and hummed lightly.
• After that, the two continued walking along the walkway. Meanwhile, Tia grabbed her right arm, unsure of what to say in this unbearably awkward situation. I should just tell him that I'll be heading back up after this.
• Finally, after circling the entire garden, Tia sighed under her breath as they stood at the garden's exit and looked at him. "If there's nothing else, I'll just head back upstairs. Drive safe."
• With that, she turned around to leave, but Lewis stopped her upon seeing so. "Wait."
• Tia stopped reflexively and looked back at him, wondering what else he wanted to tell her. "What is it?"
• "Are you in a rush?" Lewis asked monotonously as he looked at her with a blank face.
• Tia was taken aback for a split second, and she shook her head while quirking her lips. She had nothing to rush for, but the silent, aimless strolling felt unbearably awkward.
• "Are you available next Monday night?"
• "Why? What's up?" Tia asked, looking at him in bewilderment.
• "I've told my parents about us, and they'd like to meet you over a meal," Lewis explained as he continued latching his gaze on her.
• With that, Tia mentally went through her schedule. Shannon had told her she'd be back this weekend. Then, after sleeping for a day to recover from jet lag, that girl would surely come to her and ramble about the pretty boys she had met abroad.
• "It's fine if you don't want to. I'll explain it to them." Lewis assumed she wasn't up for meeting his parents when he saw her hesitation.
• Tia hurriedly shook her head in response, knowing that he had mistaken her. "No, that's not it. I'm available."
• Since they were getting married, it was only right to meet each other's parents. His request was pretty fair and not at all unreasonable.
• Besides, his parents didn't live in this city, so it wasn't like they could meet any day. No matter the nature of this marriage, she was becoming their daughter-in-law, after all. Hence, she should do what she should as a daughter-in-law.
• Lewis nodded at that. "Where do you work at? I'll pick you up."
• To that, Tia nodded in agreement and told him the company's address.
• Being the gentleman he was, Lewis escorted her to her block before leaving. Just as Tia wanted to head upstairs, he asked, "Apart from fish, is there anything else you don't eat?"
• His question took Tia aback for a second. She recalled their dinner earlier that evening and chuckled embarrassingly. Then, she shook her head and said, "No, nothing else."
• Lewis nodded, indicating he got it. "Go on up. Call me if anything."
• At that, Tia headed up the stairs without saying anything else. However, when she reached the landing, she looked over her shoulder and glanced at him. Then, an inexplicable thought popped into her head when she saw him standing straight on the spot. A married life with this man will probably be peaceful, right?
• Tia assumed her bestie would certainly sleep for a solid seventeen hours after returning home and only call her the following day. However, who'd have thought that girl would charge right over as soon as she landed? Shannon's aggressiveness even spooked Elizabeth, who was sewing her pouches in the living room.
• After chucking her luggage, she dragged Tia back to her room and slammed the door shut immediately.
• Since she was worried that the girls would break into a fight, Elizabeth knocked on the door and asked if everything was alright, only to hear several pig-slaughtering shrieks in response. At that, Elizabeth shook her head with a smile and went back to the living room, knowing the two would be fine.
• Inside the room, Tia held her neck which had turned red from being choked. As she gasped, she snapped, "Are you trying to murder me, Shannon?!"
• Meanwhile, Shannon sat aside while glaring daggers at Tia. The fury on her face told Tia she was very pissed!
• Tia took quite a while to finally breathe straight, and at that, she turned to Shannon. "Woman, I swear I haven't done anything to piss you off, have I? What are you doing, coming all the way here right after you landed? If you want to kill me, can't you at least tell me why?!"
• Shannon sneered in response and said maliciously, "I'm not just going to kill you; I'm going to mangle you!"
• With that, she reached her 'claws' out to Tia, who dodged while crying, "No, spare my life, your grace! If you continue like this, I'll really die!"
• Shannon snorted at that, but she eventually let Tia go. "You've found a man to get married to?!" she asked while glaring daggers at the other woman.
• Finally, Tia realized why Shannon had come charging over right after landing, and for that, she began fawning, "You've heard, eh?"
• However, Shannon wasn't going to buy it. She flung Tia's hands away and said, "What the hell are you thinking?! It's not like you don't know that idiot named Lance has loved you for years. Even if you want to marry someone, it should be him! How can you marry yourself off to some random guy just like that?!"
• "Things have never been like that between Lance and me, though," Tia retorted while scratching her head. "We're just friends."
• Shannon and Lance were considered childhood sweethearts; the two had grown up in the same community, and their mothers used to be best friends as well. Hence, Shannon and Lance knew each other since they were kids, and Shannon was even the one who introduced Lance to her.
• "Please! As if you have no idea Lance has feelings for you when that dumba*s makes it so obvious all the time! Who do you think you're lying to?"
• Every time the trio ate out, Lance would thoughtfully order the dishes Tia liked, and he would also follow Tia's preferences whenever they hung out. Not only that, but it was also thanks to him that she got the job after graduating college. Once, Tia got so sick that she had to be hospitalized. Lance dashed straight to the hospital after returning from a business trip without even taking a detour home. As if Shannon would believe Tia had no idea when it was this obvious!
• "Yeah? What about you then? You love him so much, yet you don't have the guts to tell him how you feel. Miss Luke, since when have you become so spineless?!" Tia exposed her wound.
• Though Shannon never told anyone and had even denied it, since Tia had been her best friend for ten years, she naturally knew Shannon's feelings for Lance.
• In actuality, Shannon was a classic beauty. She was tall and fair, and she had big eyes and a ruby-lipped mouth. It was just that she had an androgynous personality, and adding her bob into the mix, she lost a lot of her feminine touch, giving her a tomboyish feel.
• "W-What are you talking about!?" After being exposed, Shannon flew into a rage out of embarrassment. She glared at Tia and said, "We're talking about you now, so don't shift the subject to me. Besides, Lance and I are just buddies. He has never seen me as a woman, and I only see him as a brother!"
• However, Shannon didn't realize that a tinge of suspicious redness had enveloped her fair face while she spoke.
• "You and I have been friends for over a decade. Do you think I can't tell what you're thinking?" Tia grabbed Shannon's hand, wanting to talk some sense into her. She would be more than happy to see her two best friends end up together, after all.
• "I don't know what you're talking about." Somewhat embarrassed and upset, Shannon flung Tia's hands away and dashed out the door. The way she reacted was clearly a typical fight-or-flight response.