24 Made a wrong turn

After almost an hour, Mr. Grayson appeared at our table, and he was ready to go home. I did not even notice the time since Claire and Geraldine's company had been truly enjoyable. Both mother and daughter appeared to be very close, something I wished my mom and I would develop in time.

Although Mom and I were trying, we still needed to work on our communication. Certainly, I needed to open up to her more for that to happen.

Geraldine stood up to leave with her parents when her father stopped her. It seemed that Nathan volunteered to take her home instead. His father pointed out that it was more practical since Geraldine's home was near Nathan's place. While her parents' house was just a few blocks from here. For them to drive back to the city would be a waste of time.

"You have to forgive me Scarlet if we'll go ahead. I think I had enough for the day." Claire excused herself as she stood up beside his husband. "It's nice that I met you. I hope I'll see you again soon."

"It's my pleasure, Claire. I wanted that too." I meant it as I bade her farewell. Claire pulled me for a short hug before leaving with her husband. Leaving Geraldine and me to wait for our ride home.

Nathan and Daniel were still in the library finishing their meeting, so Geraldine and I opted to stay in the garden as we wait for them.

"Tell me, how did you meet Daniel?" Geraldine asked excitedly as she pulled me back on the table as soon as his parents were out of sight.

To be honest, that was not something I would expect from her. "We were introduced by a common friend in a bar. He asked me out, became friends which eventually lead us here." Giving her my short version of my relationship with Daniel.

"How long have you been together?" Well, Geraldine, i realized had no filter as she started questioning me about Daniel, but since we just started just a few hours ago, there was nothing much to tell yet.

"What about you and Nathan?" I tried to turn the table on her, not because I was curious about their relationship, but because I wanted to shift the attention from me to her. That was my intention, but then again my mind kept nagging that I was interested because of another reason.

"Oh no. We don't have that kind of relationship. Nathan and Daniel were more like big brothers to me. I grew up around the two of them." She started telling me stories of how she had spent her young life growing up with those two hovering around her.

"I am closer to Daniel because he was my brother's best friend. Nathan was always busy with his obligation that he rarely got to spend time with us." She continued.

"Oh, I thought you were an only child." It would seem that my understanding was not correct from the way they talked about their family.

"No, I had a big brother, the same age as Daniel. He died when he was only ten years old. When that happened, Daniel and Nathan decided to take his place and acted like my big brothers." Geraldine's face turned solemn, probably remembering his brother, which in turn made me think of my late brother.

"I'm sorry about that. I too had a very protective brother, but he died too in an accident just a couple of years ago." I sympathized with her loss, but what a coincidence that she lost his brother too. It would seem that we shared something in common after all. "At least you gained two brothers in his absence."

"No. You don't know the horror of having them around. Nobody was good enough to court me. I grew up to this age not having a proper relationship because they kept on interfering with them." Her eyes suddenly grew wild as she narrated how the two men kept sabotaging her love life.

"They could not be that bad. Besides you're old enough to choose who you wanted to go out with." I placed my hand on her shoulder for support.

"Well, at least Daniel is more sensible between the two of them. He gave great advice about relationships and doesn't meddle too much with my affairs." She finally agreed.

"What about Nathan?" Suddenly, I regretted asking the question. I should not be curious about what he was like during his youth.

"He was the worse. He even did background checked on the guys who tried to go out with me. As if, he was a saint, with his track record of changing girlfriends every chance he got." That made me smile. I had a clear picture of his track records.

"Maybe, he was afraid of his own shadow, so he was just protecting you from ending up with a man like him." That was a perfectly logical explanation of his actions.

"Yeah, maybe, but I am as old as you, I think. It was time that I get into a serious relationship. Look at you and Daniel. Both of you look good together." She looked at me with those adorable eyes, wishing for a fairytale romance that I knew did not exist in my book.

"We are still new in this relationship, so we are still not sure if this would even work." Putting my hand on my lap as I contemplated my current situation.

Geraldine and I chatted some more while we waited for the two to finish. It took almost thirty minutes before Daniel emerged from the library. However, those were not wasted time. I learned a lot from Geraldine, and I would gladly spend more time with her if given a chance.

It was not every day that I was lucky enough to meet new people that I quite like. Truthfully, I was baffled at how easy it was to converse with her considering we just met. She was genuinely kind, intelligent, and quite humble. My earlier reservation for this young talented woman turned into admiration for what she already achieved. I could only wish I could have the courage like her to pursue my dream.

We decided to exchange numbers and our social media account. Although I told her that I was not an active user, she insisted that we remained in touch since she enjoyed my company. I more than welcomed a chance to gain another friend.

I went to look for the comfort room while Daniel accompanied Geraldine in the garden since Nathan was still in the library. This house was huge, so I could easily get lost if I made a wrong turn. As soon as I found it, I made it quick, not wanting to keep them waiting.

On my way back, as I passed the side door, which was slightly ajar, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. The door suddenly slammed shut, and I found myself rammed against the wall. It happened so fast, I panicked. I closed my eyes and almost screamed when a hand covered my mouth to silence me. I was left pinned between a solid body and a hard wall behind me.