Dianna sits nervously at the dinner table as dinner is being served. She sits next to Jana across Jaycee. Jana informed her family about Dianna's vegetarian trait, cooking a special dinner for the blonde.
"So Dianna, what do you do for a living?" Jillian asks mid bite.
"Right now, I'm a free lance writer. But since I'm married to Jana, I guess you can say I'm a housewife" Dianna explains politely. "What about you Jillian?"
"I'm the managing director of K Music Industry. It's our family's music label and a scout for fresh, new talents" Jillian smiles.
"I've heard about it. I didn't know it was your family's" Dianna admits.
"Not much is known about our family. Except of course Jana's erratic behavior" Jillian smiles innocently at Jana.
"Jillian" Jared warns his oldest. Jillian quietly apologizes while Dianna mentally questions the whereabouts of Jana's mother.
"Ahm...where's Mrs Kuran?" the silence and atmosphere thickens suddenly.
"She..." Jana starts, pausing "she passed away 4 years ago" Dianna takes note of the crack in Jana's voice as she finishes her sentence.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to.." Dianna quickly apologizes.
"No need to apologize Dianna. Like Jillian said, not much is revealed about our family" Jared assures her. Dianna smiles small at Jared before looking at a solemn Jana.
After dinner, Dianna is given the house tour by Jillian. They are currently walking around the west area.
"This was back when Jana and I played for the school's softball team" Jill points at a picture of a young Jana and Jillian in softball uniforms. "We both went to Oxford" Jill adds. They continue walking down the path till they reach a room.
"Is Jana always been this hard?" Dianna questions taking a seat on the couch.
"No. Back then, Jana was this carefree, easy to handle kid. That all changed after mom's death" Jillian says sadly. "I know Jana blames herself for the incident but I don't, never had blamed her. She tortures herself with self loathing, I can't stand it." Jillian turns to Dianna. "I know this whole deal is going to end once Jana gets her name cleared up and you'll leave her life but I will be truly grateful if even after all of this is over, you'll stay by her side" Jillian says sincerely it left Dianna speechless. With no second thoughts, the younger woman nods her promise. "Come on" they walk back to the living room only to find Jana and Jaycee playing kinect.
"Told you, you can't win against me squirt" Jana tickles her nephew who laughs uncontrollably. It amazes Dianna how Jana's so carefree around the little boy.
"Okay you two. Jaycee, I'm going to talk to your aunt Jana okay?" Jillian says kissing her son. "You stay with aunt Dianna" she adds and the two sisters walk out to the porch.
Jana sits cross-legged on the porch couch waiting for Jillian to start. Jillian looks at her like really looks at her before speaking.
"She cares for you, you know" as to which confuses Jana. "Please don't do something stupid that'll hurt her"
"I'll try" Jana says getting an eye roll from Jillian.
"I'm serious J. She cares about you genuinely and if this deal leads you to loving Dianna for rea-"
"Whoa stop right there Jill" Jana cuts her off. "Nobody said anything about falling in love"
"Who knows J. Anything is possible after all" Jillian smirks, she knows her sister well enough to know what buttons to hit. Jillian stands up "look, if that happens, promise me you're not going to throw it all away" she squeezes Jana's shoulder. Jana stays in her position before walking up to her favorite place of the house. After sitting for half an hour, the door slides open but Jana didn't turn around.
"This is a nice place" she turns around hearing the voice. She fights the urge to smile seeing the blonde. "Jill told me you'd be here" she turns back to the scenery. Dianna sits down on the available chair. "If you don't mind me asking, how did your mom died?"
"She was killed. It was back when I was just starting as an actress. Our family received tons of death threats but mom and dad reassured me. I wanted to leave the industry but my parents didn't let me." She takes a deep breath. "One day, while I was in the middle of a commercial shoot, Emily just hugged me so tight, I had a feeling something bad happened. Then I remember being driven to the hospital, I see my mom fighting for her life. Before she died she uh....she called me over and smiled at me and said 'Always chase after your dream. Never stop.'" Jana chuckles mirthlessly. "Even when she's dying she still looked and smiled at me as if it wasn't my fault" Dianna reaches to touch Jana's shoulder gently.
"Why the death threats?" Dianna asks. Jana sighs, she wanted to omit that part but she can't lie to Dianna.
"My mom was best friends with Emily. They went to the same high school and university. When I wanted to try on acting, mom told me she could let Emily assess my acting skills and see if I had any potential. At that time, one of Emily's talents was going downhill. They wanted to replace the actress but couldn't find anyone with the same caliber as her. So they held auditions for the role the actress was suppose to lead. I went to the audition and Emily probably saw potential in me." Jana pauses taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts. Dianna gently squeezes the other woman's shoulder in comfort. "Some people said Emily favored me because she and my mom were friends. Some said the actress was becoming a liability to Emily's company with her declining ratings and replacing her with a fresh talent was the right choice. I'm starting to believe that Emily chose me per mom's request." Dianna watches the struggle Jana have trying to hold in the tears. "Eventually the actress was fired after the ratings went up with me as the lead. She went ballistic. Some time after that, we started receiving death threats. The P.I. said it led back to the actress, her family and some of her fans." Jana sniffs before going on. "My mom died because I wanted to take center stage. I wanted to be on TV shows and movies. Because of my selfishness, my mom died. My dad lost a loving wife, my sister lost a selfless mother, my nephew never got the chance to feel the warmth his grandmother provided. It's all because of my greediness." This time she clenches her hands into fists so tight her knuckles are starting to turn white. Dianna reaches for those hands, slowly unclenching them with soft caresses.
"It wasn't." she says, Jana looks at her and for the first time Dianna sees the vulnerable Jana. She moves closer letting Jana rest her head on her shoulder. "Stop blaming yourself. You didn't kill your mom. Please stop blaming yourself" Dianna's hand strokes almost lovingly at Jana's soft locks. Jana pulls away and the warmth was gone. "Thanks" Dianna says bumping shoulders.
"For what?"
"Telling me. I like this side of you" Dianna explains getting a genuine smile from Jana. They smile at each other, feeling comfort and safety in the presence of the other for the first time.
A/N: I took note of the comment in this chapter and thought I need to elaborate more. So I hope the added scene clears some confusions :)
