28 She lives here

Lisa had been in the middle of devouring the second chocolate when she heard a knock on her room's door. 

'Can't he just stay out of this place for now?' She complained bitterly before hiding every evidence  inside the bed drawer. 

She used the back of her hand to clean her mouth and hurriedly moved to open the door. 

When she heard him ask about his chocolates,  she knew she very close to being caught. How would she ever keep her chin up after being caught? And not being caught honorably by the police or military but by Hwang Thomas because of CHOCOLATES!!

She stood firm on her denial. She was never going to agree to it.

She almost took a few steps back when he moved closer to her but she remained standing there. She did not want to do anything that would make him suspicious of her. 

When he used his thumb to graze the side of her lip, she was a bit startled by his brazenness. To her surprise, she saw his hand was stained and before she could make out what was happening, his thumb was in his mouth.

They both stood there looking at each other. 

He tried to make sense of what had just happened while she simply looked at him without knowing what to say or do. 

Normally, she would have gotten angry and hit him or probably do worse for being such a perverted flirt, but on the other hand, she had stolen his chocolate and he had caught her red handed. 

Thankfully, they were saved by the bell. They both heard the 'Ding Dong' sound from the front door and Tom realised Amanda had arrived. 

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before turning around to go get the door. 

"That was strange" He muttered to himself as he walked away from her.

Lisa remained there like a statue. As she watched his back, she bit her lower lip in annoyance and embarrassment while her hands fisted beside her. 

"Hwang Thomas!" She said his name with fiery eyes as she tried her best to contain her temper. 

*********************

When Tom confirmed that it was Amanda outside, he opened the door for her.

Amanda held a nylon bag in hand and a small handbag in the other. She looked a bit casual in a simple gown and flat shoes. As usual,she wore make-up that highlighted every contour of her face.

"Hi!" She said with a smile when he opened the door. But when she looked at his injured arm, she frowned and shook her head.

"Hi" He greeted back awkwardly as he could not seem to forget about what happened a while back between Lisa and himself.

I wasn't sure you had a lot of groceries in your home so I cooked at home. 

She raised the nylon bag higher and with a smile, she proudly said "Chinese fried rice and a whole lot of side dishes I am certain you would like."

The mention of 'Chinese fried rice' reminded him of last night's dinner with Lisa and how he had pretended he could not eat with his left hand so she would feed him.

"What? You don't like it anymore? I remember you used to like it back then." She said to him as she moved over to the dining to unpack the meal. 

"I just didn't think you'd take the pain to cook for me." He said with a small, appreciative smile. 

Amanda giggled  and continued to unpack the meal. "I haven't eaten either. Let's eat together. That's your kitchen right" She pointed at the door closest to her and he nodded. 

Immediately, she went inside, he heard a voice behind him and jumped in shock. 

"You're not just going to eat that are you?" Lisa asked him as she eyed the food on the table. 

As much as she hated to admit, it looked better than the disaster she had created last night. Of all the food to prepare, why did she have to choose this particular one?

But then, she remembered that it was Tom's favourite.

Tom sighed with his left hand on his chest. "You should always try to not just pop up behind me like a snake. It's scary" 

Lisa only stared at him and said nothing. She was still very much embarrassed for being caught with his chocolate.

He stared right back at her before his eyes dropped to her lips. When he remembered the indirect kiss they had both shared a few minutes ago, he gulped dryly.

"I do eat chocolates once in a while but those earlier.... weren't yours. I bought them" She lied with a straight face.

It didn't seem like Tom heard a single word she said because his entire focus had been on her lips as he watched them move.

"What is she doing here?" Amanda's voice interrupted their stare session as she appeared with plates in her hand.

Tom turned around to see Amanda glaring at Lisa and wondered why she hated Lisa so much.

He did not think that Amanda liked him to the point where she would be overprotective so why was she having a problem with Germany?

"She lives here" He answered casually. 

"What? You never mentioned to me that she lived here" Amanda said with a angry voice. 

"I mentioned she was my bodyguard. And my bodyguard is supposed to always be around me" He lectured her like she was some dumb high school kid.

Amanda scoffed dryly before moving closer to drop the plates on the table. 

Maybe she should have listened to her mother. They had to do something about this Berlin girl before she got in her way with Tom. But for now, she had to try her best to get along. She had to! It was always best to keep your enemies closer— Especially the ones you cannot read.

Amanda forced out a smile and moved to stand in front of Lisa. 

"I am sorry we met each other on bad terms but I would like if we got to know ourselves over again. What do you say?" Amanda thought Lisa would not decline since she was being nice and it was impossible for anyone to turn such offer down. But to her utmost shock, she heard her say,

"I am not interested in knowing about you." 

Having said that, Lisa turned to look at Tom who was looking at the both of them with an unreadable expression on his face. 

"Mr Hwang. I have to taste the food to make sure it is safe for you to eat"

"What? 'Safe for me'? What do you mean?" He asked with a confused look.

'Is he an idiot or something?' She asked herself before explaining to him.

"It could have been poisoned. At a time like this, we are not supposed to trust anyone" When she said the 'anyone, she looked at Amanda who looked like she was ready to stab her to death at any second. "Not even your girlfriend" Lisa added to make her point clear.

Tom frowned. As Lisa moved towards the table, Tom hurried to stand in front of her. 

"First of all....." He raised a finger in front of her face.

"Amanda is not my girlfriend. Secondly, why would I let you do something that risky for me? Are you insane?"