Chapter 4- An Encounter Of Chance

"Lily! Take the keys before leaving!!!" Sierra shouted from the living room.

"I've got them in my bag, don't worry." Liliana was already rushing downstairs.

Sierra flipped around and hunched over the sofa, "where're you going, though?"

"My high school friends planned a get-together."

"What? Those good-for-nothings who didn't miss a chance to use you?" Sierra pouted bitterly.

"It's fine, they've apologized already, Seri." Liliana reassured her.

"Those kinds of shitheads never change, Lily."

"You're thinking too much again..."

"I'm serious."

"I'm serious too. I'll be fine. Plus you're on my emergency dials. If they mess around, you can come beat them up to your heart's content." Liliana winked a smile before blowing her sister a kiss. Putting on her shoes and coat, she waved her goodbyes and left soon enough.

"It's just you and me now, Baby." Sierra smirked as she wiggled her way to the poor little kitten trying to make an escape from the approaching danger.

"Wait, did she eat before she left?" Sierra wondered aloud.

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"They should've been here by now..." Liliana took a peek at her wristwatch and sighed. She held her pinky with her other hand and paced back and forth. Standing right outside the restaurant emitting mouthwatering aromas wasn't helping her either. All with a grumbling stomach. The restaurant was one that served varying cuisines. That fact alone was making her feel hungrier.

'I should've eaten before leaving,' she mumbled to herself. However, she couldn't help herself. She was even more excited to catch up with her high school friends after a long time. Knowing they had already reflected on themselves, she had no reason to dislike them any longer. Besides, it's always been "make peace" for Liliana.

She decided to check her phone and text them again. However, they only replied that they were stuck in traffic and will be arriving soon.

Noticing her agitated movements, an employee from within the restaurant came outside and asked, "Ma'am is there a problem? Why don't you come inside and wait?"

"Oh, it's fine, my friends say that they are almost here. I'd like to meet them outside."

With that, the employee bowed his head and excused himself.

As half an hour passed, Liliana decided to sit down at the corner of the pavement. Her legs were feeling much too weak now. She looked down at her phone in hopes of a new notification, but was disappointed instead. So she decided to admire the sky while waiting.

However, as she glanced up, her head suddenly felt heavy. For a split second everything turned black in front of her eyes. Panicked, she quickly blinked her eyes and lower her head. She decided to finally go inside the restaurant and wait. The moment she got up, her legs trembled a bit. She clutched onto her bag and mustered up her strength to ask for a glass of water as soon as she sat herself at the booked table.

A few minutes from then, a noisy group of people entered the restaurant. Liliana noticing the crowd, recognized them in an instant. Her arm raised up as she waved at the group of 10 to 12 people.

Two among them caught the waving hand from the entrance and recognized the owner of it. As the group approached the table Liliana was seated at, one among them chimed in, "Lily~, you were here all along? We thought you'd atleast wait for us outside, even if just for a minute."

"I was waiting. I just came in, actually," Liliana sheepishly smiled.

"Still, we did say we were coming soon. You didn't arrive much earlier than us, did you?"

"Uh, well, I might have been waiting here for nearly an hour..."

"Hahaha, relax, Miranda, someone must've been just too excited for the meetup!" A man howled from among them and scoot himself near Liliana.

Gradually, everyone settled down.

"You know Lily's always been like this, Isaac," a raspy voice of a woman chuckled in response.

Isaac smirked and leered at Liliana, "of course, she's always been a sweet girl, Emily."

"OMG, you guys, get a room!" another squeaking voice giggled.

Liliana shifted in her seat, trying to dodge the arm of the man which was already making its way to her shoulder.

"Haha, I'm just like that." Liliana's lips shakily moved up.

A significantly muscular man raised his hand among them and signaled for a waiter to attend them, "I'm too hungry. Let's talk over the meal, please."

"LOL, is it your cheat day? Then you'll have to pay for it!" The squeaking girl swat her hand on the muscular man's back.

"Don't worry, Janette, your awesome friend here will pay for you. After all, I was the one who planned the get together," Isaac raised his shoulders as he reassured her, "this Fatty can eat as much as he wants."

"Then I won't hold back either," the raspy voiced woman licked her lips as she grabbed the menu, "I'm craving seafood so bad!"

Liliana was about to add in something when Miranda turned her attention towards her, "Lily, what have you been up to these days. You barely contact us anymore." The plump woman was pouting as she fluttered her fake eyelashes with disappointment.

Before Lily could order something of her liking, she was distracted into replying to Miranda. By then, the waiter had already started taking their order.

"Nothing much, honestly. I just help my mother around at our shop and-"

Isaac's loud voice interrupted her as he exclaimed, "order some more, you guys, the food should last us the whole evening! Especially for our rare guest: Lily," his gaze fell upon Liliana, who was cut off by him.

Liliana simply smiled as she averted to continue her conversation with Miranda. However, Miranda had already started talking to Janette and the rest.

Liliana attempted to make small talks until the food arrived. It reminded her of her last blind date with the Vivern brothers. Her wandering thoughts landed on a specific man from that time. The exceptionally beautiful brunette, his emerald eyes glowing as if reflecting a whole forest. She kind of wanted to see him again, 'it's a little lonely here...' she thought, rubbing her arms.

Since the restaurant was quite famous for its quick service, the food was served in around 20 minutes. Soon, the table was filled with various aquatic delicacies from one end to the other. As well as the pungent smell of the seafood. The fishy smell was intolerable for Liliana, enough to make her feel dizzy.

Unfortunately for her, Isaac continuously filled her plate with bits of the unappetizing dishes, "Lily, you should eat more," he furrowed his brows in worry and held her wrist, "look at how skinny you are." Liliana simply smiled as she slowly removed her hand from his tough grip.

Janette then got up from her seat and began filling everyone's glasses with wine as soon as it emptied. The alcohol had already started to take over her, as she loudly demanded everyone to drink with her.

Liliana was not able to eat anything because of the nauseating scent right in front of her. So, she decided to drink to distract herself from the sharp aroma. However, two glasses on her empty stomach were enough to drunken her. She started feeling stuffy stuck between the touchy and loud Isaac and Emily.

"Umm, can you please excuse me for a second," Liliana held her head as she requested Isaac.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Lily?" Isaac was ready to get up on his feet.

"It's nothing, just wanted to get some fresh air."

"I'll go with, yeah?"

"It's fine, I'll be back in a bit."

Liliana then made her way to the entrance.

"Hmph, she really thinks she's all that just because Isaac gives her a little attention."

"Gosh, what an attention seeker!"

"LOL, she's still cute though," Isaac snickered.

Liliana's head was pounding hard. She couldn't understand if it was the drinks, the loud gathering, or the hunger. 'I want to go home...'

As the thought passed her, Liliana's eyes blacked out for a moment again. She quickly rubbed her eyes, holding her head. She decided to return to the shop, but her legs suddenly lost all its strength. In fact, not just her legs, but her whole body felt like stone. Her head was flashing and her vision blurred.

Before she could use her reflex to hold herself back from falling, her body already gave in. She was done for.

Until, a pair of arms grabbed her.

"HEY! You okay?!" A man's shouting voice rang in her ears. It only made her throbbing head pulsate even more. She held onto her head and groaned, "I'm fine."

"You look like you're about to faint, and you say you're fine. Ms. Liliana, is something wrong with your head?"

Hearing that, Liliana did not understand why, but her nose prickled. Tears began welling up in her eyes, "I-I think. I d-don't know. My head h-urts... I can't understand, why."

Her voice was croaking as she grabbed the arms that held her.

"Can you please, help me, get my bag," sniffling between her words, she managed to speak.

"Alright, lead me to it," the man held onto Liliana as she stumbled her way back into the restaurant.

As she reached the table, the group all turned their heads towards Liliana, and the overly charming brunette holding her. Liliana overlooked their stares and simply pointed at her bag on the seat.

The brunette man bent down and reached over to get the bag. However, Isaac seized his wrist instead. The brunette glared at the hand grasping his wrist and then at the man. He used his other hand and took hold of Liliana's bag and easily pulled away his seized wrist.

Provoked, Isaac stood up and hauled Liliana's bag as he glared back. The brunette did not loosen his grip on the bag for even a bit. Sparks were already flying between the two scowling men's field of view. Liliana gently tugged at the brunette's shirt making him turn to her right away.

Looking into her eyes, he loosened his grip on the bag, leaving it in Isaac's hand.

Liliana left the brunette's arms and went closer to where Isaac stood.