Love Is...

31. Beautiful

CHAPTER – 31

LOVE IS... BEAUTIFUL

'You don't love a woman because she is beautiful. She is beautiful because you love her.'

"You need to cut down on your coffee, Richard. It's not good for you," Mom scolded Dad.

"Said who?" he retorted.

Mom shook her head at him and looked at me. "You tell him, Liana."

I wanted to tell her that she was asking the wrong person to do so, but Dad beat me at it. "She is a bigger addict than me."

I stuffed my mouth with the last piece of fish on my plate, so as to avoid saying anything about this particular topic. Coffee was a sensitive subject for me.

Mom shook her head at us and commented, "This man..." she looked pointedly towards Dad and continued, "... can spend an entire night to study all about the negative effects of drugs but never even looked up at the many negative effects of coffee."

"Because coffee tastes good." This was Dad's justification.

"It tastes like crap," Mom retorted and so they went on.

I listened to my parents' bickering with a little smile on my face while my heart was not at its place, and my mind had forgotten all about the word 'peace'.

'Is he having a nice time?'

'He should be,' the rational part of my mind answered, thinking solely about the project and my career.

'I dare him to.' The little girl in me countered in a challenging tone.

'And I want him to,' the rational part scolded the little girl, and I mentally groaned at the contradictory emotions spreading inside me.

"Liana," Mom interrupted my mental groaning and I looked at her. "How is work these days?"

I lied through my teeth, "Great."

"Of course, it would be great. She is my daughter after all." Dad boasted and I passed a smile at him.

It wasn't time for me to drown in pity of my own decisions. It was time to celebrate the new offer and to have a gala time with my family. Thinking about the guy having a dinner date right opposite the restaurant in which I was dining in, wasn't a task listed on my 'To-do list'.

Brooke looked like a lovely girl. She didn't come across as someone who was spoilt due to her rich parents. There was no doubt about the fact that she had liked Ashton the moment her eyes fell on him. The admiration seemed mutual, which was a good thing. Ashton had to like someone to help me get over my stupid feelings for him.

"Is it dessert time now?" A familiar voice asked from beside me, making me snap my head in the speaker's direction. I went into a mode of speechlessness as I couldn't believe my eyes. Then, he passed a dazzling smile in my direction, thereby sending me in a deeper mode of speechlessness, and asked, "Mind if I join?"

Dad took advantage of my speechlessness and answered for me in a stern voice, "Yes." He was nothing but displeased with Ashton's sudden presence.

But Ashton being Ashton, ignored Dad and said, "That's lovely." With that he sat down on the vacant seat between Mom and me.

Mom, delighted at seeing Ashton here amongst us, was the first to express her happiness. "Ashton! That's a lovely surprise."

"Thank you, Mrs. Moore." Ashton smiled at her.