The Dawson family was about to have dinner.
The dining table was set with pan-seared salmon in lemon butter sauce, steamed lobster with drawn butter, stuffed chicken breast with truffle and mushrooms, and grilled ribeye steak with roasted asparagus. Accompanying the meal were a bottle of wine, a champagne bottle in an ice bucket, and pitchers of freshly squeezed orange juice and pineapple juice.
"Jems, dinner is ready! Come down," Emily shouted from downstairs.
"Coming," Jems replied, stepping out of her room. She wore a pair of silk pajamas with socks and furry slippers.
Her mum, dad, and nanny were already seated.
"Wow, we're having a feast," Jems said as she pulled out her chair to sit.
"Is it because of the good news?" she asked.
"What good news?" her dad asked.
"Jems, we're having all this because I've just returned home after a long time. What good news are you talking about?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Haha… umm, I'll be in university next year. That was the good news I was talking about," she said, laughing awkwardly.
"Okay, baby, that's also good news," Mr. Dawson said, smiling at her.
After dinner, Mr. Dawson was about to go upstairs when Emily called out,
"My love, I have something to tell you," she said, smiling widely.
"What's that, my queen?" he asked.
Jems, who was in the kitchen with her nanny, ran out when she heard her mother.
"We're having a baby!" she giggled.
"What… you're pregnant? So we're having another baby... a little cute human?" he said, still frozen in the spot where he stood.
Emily nodded, smiling. He ran toward her, grabbed her, and spun her in the air.
"Yesssss!" he shouted. "I'm going to be a dad again!" he said, gently placing Emily back on the ground.
"This is the best news I've heard in a long time," he said, kissing her all over her face.
"Thank you, my queen. You're about to bless our home with another baby. I'm so happy," he added.
"Dad, aren't you excited?" Jems asked, joining the embrace.
"I am, princess," he said, kissing her forehead.
"This Saturday, we're going to go shopping for the baby," Mr. Dawson said.
"Dad, I'll be busy on Saturday. I'll be working on a group project with my classmates. Can't we leave it until next weekend, pleaseee?" she asked.
"Anything for my princess," he said, kissing her forehead.
"Thanks, Daddy," Jems said with a wide smile.
It was a beautiful Saturday morning. Jems was going through her wardrobe looking for something to wear. She was getting ready to go to Ethan's house, where the group had planned to meet and complete their project.
"I have nothing to wear," she sighed in frustration.
"I just want something simple and stylish, not too much, not too plain, just simple," she said, tossing a hoodie onto the bed. "I don't like any of these clothes."
"No, no, no, no, no," Jems muttered, throwing every piece of clothing she had taken out of her wardrobe onto the bed. Then she laid down, letting out a heavy sigh.
"I should keep checking so I'm not late," she said, standing up and continuing to search. After the first few options, she pulled out a sundress with a built-in corset waist. It was white with a blue floral pattern scattered across the fabric.
"Yeah, just what I needed," Jems said, jumping with joy. She put on the dress, curled her long brown hair, and let it fall in waves across her shoulders. She applied light makeup, just mascara, a bit of eyeliner, and a nude colored lipstick with gloss. Then she wore a simple silver necklace, stud earrings, and a silver bracelet.
On her feet, she wore white wedges and carried a small white handbag.
After getting ready, Jems went downstairs to meet Derick, who was sitting on the couch waiting for her. She walked past him and stood outside in front of the car, waiting for him to open it. Derick opened the door, and she got in.
"Stop by any store close by. I need to get something," Jems said, looking at her phone.
"Okay," Derick responded.
After driving for a few minutes, Derick stopped, and Jems got out of the car without waiting for him to park properly.
"Miss Jems!" he called, but she didn't look back.
"Miss Jems! Jems!" he repeated, but she kept walking.
He got out, chased after her, and grabbed her hand.
"Didn't you hear me?" Derick asked, glaring at her.
"Get your hands off me," Jems said, yanking her hand away.
"Of course I heard you, but I chose not to answer," she said, smiling.
"Experts like you, who ignore people all the time, should I feel guilty for ignoring you just once?" she smirked, raised her eyebrows, and walked away.
Before Derick could stop her again, security called him to move his car, but he ignored it and ran after her.
"You think the situation you're in is something to be reckless about?" Derick said, grabbing her arm.
"You almost got killed! I'm not going to let you go in there alone, so stop being childish and wait. You've been acting like this all week, it wasn't a problem before, since you weren't putting yourself in danger. But not this time," he said, dragging her toward the car.
"Let go of me, Derick!" Jems shouted, struggling against him. He continued dragging her until they reached the car. He opened the door and pushed her inside. She immediately pushed the door open again, came out, and slapped him across the face.
"How dare you! Who the hell do you think you are?" she said, her voice shaky as tears welled in her eyes.
"You started this. You were always ignoring me and I don't even know why! You were rude, and I know I've done nothing to you. So why is it a problem when I do the same to you? Huh? Tell me!" she said, pushing him in the chest.
"I don't feel like getting anything anymore. Get me out of here," she said, getting into the car and slamming the door. Derick followed.
"Jems, I'm sorry," Derick said as soon as he got into the car. "It wasn't my.."
"Please, Derick, just get me out of here. I don't want to be late," she said, staring out the window.
"Okay," he said with a sigh.
They finally arrived at Ethan's mansion, where the group had planned to meet. Jems was the first to arrive. She stood at the door, ringing the bell. A guy who looked like Ethan answered. He had black curly hair and ocean blue eyes, and looked about Derick's age. He wore a black T-shirt and a pink apron with flour all over it.
"Hi, you must be one of Ethan's classmates," he said with a wide smile.
"Yes, I am," Jems said.
"Come in," he said, opening the door wider. "You can call me Josh. I'm Ethan's cousin," he added.
"I'm Jems, and this is my bodyguard, Derick," she said, pointing to him.
"For some reason, he always has to be with me. Hope you don't mind."
"Of course not. Make yourselves at home."
"Thanks," Jems said.
"Ethan went out to get snacks. He'll be back in a bit. You can have a seat. Would you like anything? Juice, water, or cookies? I'm actually baking some."
"I'll just have water," she replied.
"Sure," he said, heading into the kitchen and returning with a glass of water.
A few minutes later, Ethan arrived with Freda.
"Hey, Jems, hope I didn't make you wait too long," Ethan said.
"Not really, I arrived not too long ago," she answered.
"Hey, Jems," Freda said, waving.
"Hi," Jems said as she waved back.
"I met Ethan at the store when I was getting us some snacks," Freda said, raising the box of chocolates she was holding.
"Let's all go to the study and begin while we wait for Gabriel," Ethan said, and they followed him.
"You can wait here," Jems said to Derick as she followed.
"Okay," he replied.
The study was spacious, with walls lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves filled with various books, reference materials, and novels. A large wooden desk stood at the center of the room, surrounded by chairs neatly arranged around it. A few neatly stacked papers, some textbooks, and a pen holder rested on the desk. In the corner of the room sat a small, cozy couch.
An hour later, Josh brought in a plate of cookies in one hand and a tray of cupcakes in the other, and Gabriel followed carrying four glasses of milk on a tray.
"Hey guys, I brought cookies," Josh said.
"Thank you so much for taking the time to make this for us, Josh," Freda said, collecting the plate filled with cookies as Gabriel set the tray on the table.
"Thanks a lot, Josh, we're very grateful," Jems said. "I was actually starting to get hungry." She gave a little bow. "You're my savior."
"Ooh, please stop," Josh laughed. "The pleasure is all mine," he said with a bow, and they both laughed before Josh left.
"Come on guys, don't act like you didn't see me," Gabriel said, grabbing a seat to sit down. "Something came up, that's why I'm late, trust me," he added.
"You should have at least called to let us know something came up and that you'd be late," Jems said.
"We agreed on meeting up by 1 pm and starting by 1:30 pm. We were all here before 1:30 and wanted to start but decided to wait till 1:30, but you didn't show up, and now it's almost three o'clock. You expect us to be smiling or something?" Ethan said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm really sorry, guys, trust me, I mean it," Gabriel said, looking down.
"It's fine. We've been working on it together the whole week at school, and today we just need to finish. So it's cool, I understand," Jems said, munching on her cookie.
"She's right, it's okay," Freda said.
"I'll let it pass," Ethan said with a frown.
"Thanks a lot, guys," Gabriel said.
"But no cookie, cake, or milk for you since we've been the ones doing the hard work," Jems said, dragging the plates of cookies away from him.
"Fair enough," he said, raising his hands.
A few minutes later, Jems's phone in her purse on the couch started ringing. She stood up to grab it, and Ethan, who was sitting beside her, noticed that her gown was stained with blood. He quickly grabbed her by the waist and made her sit on his lap.
"Please don't get up," he said, holding her tightly. "I think I saw a bug, and I'm so scared of them." Jems, flustered and with her face turning red, tried pushing him away.
"Hey… what are you doing? Let go of me," she said.
"Ethan, you can hold me if you're scared of bugs," Freda said, grabbing his arm.
"How can a grown man be scared of bugs?" Gabriel laughed.
"Please don't let go, Jems," Ethan said, staring at her with a serious expression.
"You… you can't be… serious," Jems said.
"I'm darn serious," he said sternly. He grabbed his phone and typed: "Jems, don't get embarrassed, okay? I know it's totally normal and natural. I think you're on your period and you're stained already. Don't get nervous, okay? I'll handle it, I promise. Just play along so the others don't notice." Then he handed her the phone.
"I've even gone to therapy for my fear of bugs, just look," he said, handing his phone to Jems.
The moment Jems finished reading, her face turned pale.
"Jems, the truth is I'm not scared of bugs," Ethan said.
"I knew it," Gabriel said. "I knew it was just an excuse to touch her, you pervert," he laughed.
"I think I have a crush on you," Ethan said, staring at her. Immediately, Jems's cheeks turned red. "I can't hide it anymore." Then he took off his jacket. "I brought this jacket while I was thinking about you, and now I want you to have it," he said, gently making her stand and ensuring her back was against the wall as he tied the jacket around her waist. "Can you guys excuse us?" he said, holding her hands as they walked out of the room.
"I'm confused. What just happened?" Freda said, looking puzzled.
"Well, I'm not confused, I've known all along. I knew he had feelings for Jems," Gabriel said.
"That's not the point, we're here to complete our project. How could they be messing around?" Freda said, banging her hand on the table.