Always, Lily

▫️ Thirty eight

LILITH

There are some paths you can't walk away from because the memories would be too heavy to relive. I had just realized this honest truth.

Enzo and I were back together. I knew not many would have taken this path but it was my personal decision.

I liked him too much to let go.

We had resumed our joint ceramic business. It was doing quite well. We never failed to get less than fifty orders each week. Though we were mostly busy in the hospital, Jordan, the guy Elle had recommended, was handling everything in our absence.

My thoughts flew back to a few days ago when I was at the shop going through the account records. Jordan was handling the customers so I wasn't paying attention to that until a lady came in calling my name.

Lily, she had called. Though her voice was a bit unsure she seemed to know me. She was elegantly dressed, her demeanour welcoming and her smile was warm. To me, she didn't seem to be the kind of woman to come by to purchase something. She seemed well off to delegate that to a servant.

I wasn't the type to judge so I interacted with her like any other customer. Surprisingly, she was interested in buying. She settled on quite a number of items and as Jordan was packing her items, she kept glancing at me.

She didn't hide it. Every time our eyes met she'd smile. I assumed she was just being friendly so I smiled back, until she mentioned that Alonzo had referred her to our store.

There wasn't any harm in that, I was actually grateful that he was kind enough to share about our small shop, however, the more I looked at the woman, the more familiar she became.

Then she shockingly revealed that she was his mother. It was hard to believe. She looked so young. She didn't resemble any of her sons in the slightest, however, after chatting with her for a bit, I could feel Enzo's character in her.

She didn't ask much about Enzo and I though she seemed to already know most of the details. She was kind and affectionate, just like Enzo. Before leaving, she asked for my number, promising to invite me for lunch when we were both free.

I didn't tell Enzo any of this. It had only been four days since. His mom hadn't contacted me yet so I thought keeping this to myself was the most suitable option.

I truly thought so yet I was regretting it at the moment. His mom had called just an hour ago. She was inviting me for dinner, and not just the two of us. She had mentioned that everyone would be there, her husband and sons included.

Talking to Enzo was one thing but meeting his parents felt too much for me to handle alone. I didn't even know what to wear. A pair of jeans felt too casual, the dresses I had were either too formal or just not to my liking.

If I was to really attend that dinner, what would be my position there? As Enzo's girlfriend? A potential daughter in law?

I sat down on my messy bed, clothes strewn all over after not finding any suitable attire. Cancelling the arrangement seemed a better option now.

I didn't even get to draft a message before I heard the front door unlocking. Enzo was back. I hastily gathered the clothes on my bed and dumped them into the closet.

"Love?" I heard him call at the door, where he was probably changing his shoes. I glanced at the room one last time before leaving.

"You're back early." I said, hugging him as our usual welcome greeting.

"I missed you," he mumbled into our hug, slowly swaying our bodies side to side.

"Did you meet with Grey and Reece?" I asked as we pulled away. Enzo had told me that there was a report he was supposed to write so he was receiving guidance from them.