Chapter 2 The Arrival

Evelyn.

The morning sunlight infiltrated the room through the window, its warm rays rousing me from my slumber. I reluctantly pried my eyes open, only to have them promptly shut again in protest against the intrusive light.

Letting out a disgruntled sigh, I buried my face in the pillow, hoping to shield myself from the unwelcome morning.

Mornings. Ugh! I despised them with a passion.

Even more than my periods.

Groaning, I finally dragged myself out of bed, deliberately averting my gaze from the blinding sun, I stumbled my way to the bathroom. As usual, I brushed my teeth at a tortoise's pace, trying to delay the inevitable start of the day.

During shower, I made sure to scrub away any remnants of sleep, unwilling to risk looking like a ghost amidst the uncertainty of potential guests.

While the gathering had mostly been arranged amongst family members, I vaguely recalled my dad mentioning a few of his friends being invited, too.

I included a few of my friends who would come a day before the wedding day.

I dried my hair and threw on a casual spaghetti-strap tank top and shorts before venturing out of the room. The mansion seemed eerily quiet, signalling that no guests had arrived yet. However, as I made my way towards the kitchen, I couldn't help but overhear fragments of conversation between Dad and Clara, their voices carrying through the stillness of the house.

"Good morning, lovebirds," I greeted with a smile as my eyes fell on Dad and Clara .They were preparing breakfast, with Clara seated at the counter and Dad taking charge as today's chef.

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart," They responded in unison.

"So, what's on the menu, Mr. Chef?" I playfully inquired, walking closer to them and stealing a glance at the pan.

"Pasta, apparently it's the only thing I know how to cook well," Dad replied with a hint of self-deprecating humour in his voice. This remark elicited a small chuckle from both Clara and me.

"Well, that's not a problem at all. You're still the best," I giggled, hugging him from the side.

"Finally, you're admitting it, huh?" Dad chuckled, returning the embrace and planting a tender kiss on my forehead.

"I've never denied it, though," I giggled, "By the way, I'm sorry for joking about packing you in a suitcase the other day. I didn't mean it, really." I kissed his cheek, and he let out a gentle laugh before reciprocating with a smooch on my left cheek.

"I know," He ruffled my hair, "You are still too childish to commit a crime like that."

This made another laugh tear from my throat.

"All love for Dad, huh?" Clara's dramatically sad voice interrupted and my eyes shifted to her direction, "Nobody loves me."She melodramatically declared, averting her eyes from me, as if to express a hint of resentment. I could notice the small frown that'd appeared on her lips.

Unable to resist the opportunity to tease her, I walked over to Clara with a grin on my face. "Oh, come here, my drama queen," Laughing I wrapped my arms around her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

I watched as she tried to maintain an unruffled expression, but a smile inevitably made its way to her lips, and she hugged me back.

"You shower all your affection on Dad and call me a drama queen, huh? That's not fair, Evie," Clara playfully protested, shaking her head in mock disbelief.

"He's a little childlike you know, he needs affection," I mused and she burst out laughing.

Dad, always knowing how to play his cards, responded with a teasing threat, "Remember, little lady, that's definitely going to affect your allowance."

I chuckled, realising the slight difference this time. With a month full of functions and travels to various locations, I did not need an extra allowance.

"That's why I called you childlike, Dad. You seem to have forgotten that I don't need any money for this entire period," I pointed out, reminding him of his own wedding experience with Clara.

"Then I'll adjust it next month." He deadpanned.

"We both know you'll forget about it till then," I couldn't hold onto my laughter anymore and the same went for Clara, she too deluged in laughter.

"We'll see about that," He rolled his eyes and focused his attention on cooking again but this time with a small frown that took its place between his brows.

My dad was indeed adorable.

"You're just too cute, Samuel," she giggled as she pinched Dad's cheek playfully

Dad looked at her in disbelief, rubbing the spot where she left a slight pink tint. "What the heck!"

"Aw, shut up, you cute little bear," She tapped Dad's nose and this only seemed to increase Dad's irritation, evident by the small frown that deepened between his brows.

"Don't get on my nerves, Clara," Dad groaned, trying to maintain his faux sternness, though a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"What will you do, huh?" her voice brimmed with mischief. It was a familiar dynamic between the two of them, one that I had grown accustomed to over the years. However, at this moment, with the hungry rats in my stomach causing a commotion, I needed them to focus on preparing breakfast.

I was well aware that if they continued their playful banter for too long, I would be left hungry and food-deprived, something I couldn't handle properly.

"Okay, guys, enough of the family circus for today," I decided to speak up, "I'm starving, and if I don't get food now, I'll go crazy!"

Clara crossed her arms over her chest, asserting herself. "You heard that, Chef? Cook for Evelyn."

Dad's glare lingered on Clara for a moment, but he soon shifted his attention back to the task at hand, resuming his cooking duties.

When I was confirmed that the situation was under control, I made my way to the refrigerator to grab some orange juice. As I raised the bottle to my mouth, I took a satisfyingly big gulp, allowing the tangy flavour to awaken my taste buds.

"So, none of the guests have arrived yet?

"Not really, except for..." Clara's voice trailed off as a familiar yet foreign voice resonated from right behind me, sending chills down my spine.

"Good morning, everyone," the voice said, unmistakably the voice of the Italian man who had invaded my every dream.

My entire body froze, my heart racing in my chest, and the room suddenly felt devoid of oxygen, despite the gentle breeze coming in through the open window.

I could hear his footsteps as he approached, his presence looming behind me. I was too petrified to turn and face him, my grip tightening around the juice bottle in my hand.

"Good morning, Jacob," Clara greeted him with a smile.

"Did you have a good sleep, mate?" Dad asked casually, not bothering to look up from his cooking, unaware of the turmoil brewing inside me.

"Yeah," He responded, I could feel his gaze on me as well as Clara's, who seemed surprised by my sudden stillness.

"Who's this young lady?" Jacob's voice broke through the tense silence, and my worst imagination became a reality-he didn't recognize me.

I couldn't entirely blame him; the last time he saw me, I was just fifteen years old. These past five years had transformed me in ways I never could have imagined.

"You can't recognize her?" Dad chuckled, finally glancing at Jacob. I, too, mustered the courage to look at Jacob Adriano, and... well, damn it!

He hadn't aged a day since I last saw him. The same devilishly handsome jawline, the full, tempting lips, and those bewitching green eyes that had ensnared me for as long as I could remember.

A few strands of his luscious chestnut brown hair, which I had imagined running my fingers through countless times, fell casually on his face. And that same maddeningly attractive face that had haunted my dreams, and I had visualized between thighs, now stood before me.

Wearing a simple t-shirt that accentuated his sculpted muscles and paired with trousers, he could easily outshine any supermodel with just a single glance.

I had to hold my breath so that the gasp didn't slip past my lips.

"It's my daughter, Evelyn." Dad's voice made his lips part in what I could identify as astonishment.

"Wait really?" He asked, looking heavily dumbfounded," She was so little then."

Yeah, little but still capable enough to imagine your gorgeous face while masturbating......

"Yeah, time flies. Doesn't it?" Dad began," Evelyn, did you fail to recognize Jacob too?" He looked at me and asked.

I forced a smile and shook my head. "No, I recognized him. Unlike me, he hasn't changed even a little bit. He looks the same as before." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. I tried not to let my gaze linger on Jacob for too long, but my eyes seemed to have a mind of their own.

There was a flicker of something in Jacob's green eyes upon my words, and perhaps because of my gaze, but he quickly masked it with a smile.

"You have grown up a lot, Evelyn," he added with a small chuckle. "I can still remember you running inside your room every time you saw me. For years, I wondered what it was about me that made you so scared, but in the end, I gave up." He walked towards the counter and poured himself a glass of water.

Decent of you to think that I did that because I was scared of you. The only reason I used to do that was to stop my poor heart from jumping out of my chest.

"Even I often thought about it and every time I'd ask her she'd just ignore me." Dad seemed to find it funny and apparently Clara and Jacob too.

I was the only one who had that red shade of embarrassment covering her face.

"Okay, I think we should stop discussing Evelyn's childhood," Clara seemed to be the first one to notice my furious blush," She is turning red."

This sentence of hers seemed to manage to bring the focus of those green eyes back on me, there was a barely noticeable twitch at the corner of his lips and I didn't know if it was intentionally flashed at me or not but the wetness between thighs began rising anyways.

Shit, Evelyn! Get hold of yourself!

"Evelyn is still as cute as she was," He took an apple from the basket and raised it to his mouth, taking a bite as he leaned against the counter staring at me, "Still somewhere the same....little girl."

Holy!

At this point, it was hard to tell if it was my mind that was acting weird or if it was his words that were strange.

"Yeah, you won't believe she still acts like the kid she was before," Dad seemed to find very nice entertainment in embarrassing me, "Her childish habits are still there."

"Old habits are hard to let go just, of course," Jacob made a thoughtful noise while still looking at me. His gaze was not receding at all.

I could feel my restraints breaking one by one.

This was not going to go well if I stayed here much longer.

"I'll...I'll just go to my room," I quickly spluttered and turning around, I began walking out of the kitchen.

"But your breakfast..." Clara began.

"I'll take it later, Clara," I interrupted, tucking a piece of my hair strand behind my hair And stealing a quick glance at her before I walked out of the kitchen.

"Wait, Evelyn..." My dad's voice trailed after me, attempting to reason, "You said you're hungry."

"Just bring it to my room," I hollered back, my footsteps quickening as I ascended the stairs and sought refuge in my own locked room.

Finally, alone, I released the weighty breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. A solitary bead of sweat traced its way down the side of my forehead, evidence of the tension that had been building up inside me.

"Calm down, Evelyn," I said to myself," Calm down."

Jacob Adriano made me feel the same things again. All these years I had thought my attraction for him had faded but one gaze at him and all my decisions had flown away out of the window.

Surely it wasn't good news.

Today.....There was something in his gaze that I hadn't seen five years before or maybe it was my own hallucination that made me want to think such things. But I doubted it was just a hallucination.