Fated Love

Chapter 27

"Cheers!!" I squealed.

We clinked our glass and proceeded to drink our wine. In between, I noticed that Rosa had paused her action and her smile had slipped off her face.

I blinked, confused. What's going on?

I arced my head at her, frowning slightly. "What?"

"Speak of the devil." Was her response.

"Mhmn," I arced my brow and turned in her line of sight.

Lo and behold, I found Reece standing at the door of the restaurant with a group of people I would describe as an entourage. His eyes roamed around the room as if searching for something until his eyes landed on us. He broke into a smile and whispered something to the guy next to him before making his way over to us.

I turned around and looked at Rosa who had a scowl on her face.

Oh, no.

"Hey, cousin." He greeted with a smug smile.

"Hey yourself." Rosa huffed.

"Oops," he smiled. "Seems like someone's mad at me." Rosa eyed him from the corner of her eyes but said nothing.

"What could be my offence?" He mused.

She snorted without saying a word while I chuckled, finding their actions funny.

He turned to me with a blinding smile. "Hey Kiara. "

"Hi," I responded.

"Sorry, I had to attend to this sulky cousin of mine." I nodded, smiling.

"Oh, now we're back to using the term cousin." Rosa retorted.

"What?" He blinked, wide eyed at her. "I thought you wanted us to be formal. You didn't want me calling you babe any longer and I respected your decision." He smirked.

"Hah, hah, hah." Rosa laughed and looked at him, with a fake smile on her lips. "That was so funny."

If there was anything I learnt while growing up, that would be not to involve yourself in siblings' or couples' fight. You don't want to be caught in a crossfire because you'd pay clearly for it. Experience taught me that. So, here I was with a bowl of dessert and a glass of wine, watching the drama unfold.

"What's so funny?" Reece asked with a slight frown. "That I was trying to respect your decision?"

He smiled and turned to me. "Can I join you?"

I glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah, sure," I answered, adjusting a bit to accommodate him.

"Thank you." He mumbled and turned his attention to Rosa. "What do you want, Rosa?" He sat back in a straight posture with hands clasped together.

"You're annoying." She stated and we were both taken aback by her response. "And also a cheat." She continued.

Huh?

"What?!" Reece exclaimed, confused by her accusations.

"I do understand that this is a challenge and it is between us." Rosa's voice mellowed as she glanced at her fingers. "But, you didn't have to take it that far."

I looked at her and smiled. She's finally airing her grievances.

"Take what far?" He frowned. "What are you saying?"

"Did you have to gift Mom that limited edition bag?" She whined. "Did you have to buy her all those overly expensive gifts?"

Reece blinked in realization, his face undergoing different expressions. From a frown to a slight smile and then he broke into laughter.