9 Gianna's Hidden Gem

{Author's pov}

Brinley went ahead to open the front door, when Amelia saw her she smiled.

"Hi! I am Brinley Moretti, nice to meet you." Brinley said and hugged Amelia. Amelia chuckled and hugged her back.

"I'm Amelia Allen, you must be the one, Gianna invited today right?" Amelia asked her, she frowned slightly as "Moretti" was a familiar name for her, but she shrugged it off and smiled.

"Oh no, not only me but my brothers and a friend. By the way, you don't seem that 'little' as your sister says." Brinley said and giggled. Amelia frowned and shook her head.

"Of course I'm not little! I'm 18 for god's sake, Gianna! She calls me like I'm a small child." Amelia raised her voice and Gianna's giggling voice came from the living room, Amelia and Brinley walked towards the living room, three men's head turned towards them which made Amelia froze on her steps.

"You..." Amelia trailed off as she stared at Derek with wide eyes.

"Amelia...? What're you doing here?" Derek asked her, totally confused, and a slight frown formed on his face. Amelia's smile twitched, and she turned to glare at Gianna.

"You know Amelia?" Gianna asked Derek. Derek responded with a yes.

"You dare to ask me 'What're you doing here'..." Amelia glared daggers at Derek and there was a sudden grave silence. Brinley looked at Xavier and Adam but both of them shrugged like they don't know what's happening.

"Gianna!! What. The. F.ck. Is. This!!?" Amelia screamed making Gianna flinch.

"What do you mean…? I don't know anything, what're you talking about??" Gianna cocked her head in confusion.

"This man, I don't want to see him anywhere near me or my sister, he doesn't even know how to respect girls, and you invited him for a dinner!? Tell him to get lost or else I'll kick this man-who--" Amelia was cut off by Gianna.

"Amelia! Behave yourself! Mind your language! Is this how we treat our guests!? Go take a quick shower and be here in ten minutes!" Gianna said with a stern voice.

"But--" Amelia was again cut off by Gianna.

"I don't care who he is, how he treats anyone, how he treats you, but I know one thing, that is, he's our guest, and you've to learn how to respect! Go!" Gianna pointed in the direction of the room. Amelia sighed and took heavy steps towards the kitchen, she opened the fridge and placed the ice cream bags inside, and rushed to take a quick shower.

"I'm sorry about my sister, she can be childish sometimes..." Gianna gave a wry smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. An odd silence followed afterward.

"No, it's my fault, I sometimes tease her, so she's angry with me." Derek honestly accepted his fault to which Gianna just smiled. He was surprised, he expected her to scold him, but she just smiled letting it off.

"Oh, it is almost time, let's proceed to dinner shall we?" Brinley piped up in enthusiasm to shoo off the strange vibes. Gianna nodded and went towards the kitchen, Brinley offered to help her to which she gladly agreed.

After the dinner was set on the dining table, everyone took their seat including Amelia who was ignoring everyone and busy chatting on her phone with her friends, telling them how a jerk has barged in her house and having their food, like we owe something to him. Amelia noticed a stare on her, and she slightly looked up to see Derek staring at her, she scoffed and looked down as she continued to chat.

There were so many dishes like Tater tots, chicken fried steak, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Caprese salad with Pesto sauce, Macaroni and Cheese, and Lasagna.

"Wow, Gianna! You make Italian dishes too??" Brinley asked as she stared at the table full of food.

"Yes, I know many dishes, my mother used to cook a lot, so I learned everything, and thanks to this generation of media, I'm able to make anything you wish," Gianna explained with a smile, Brinley stared at her with sparkles in her eyes. Just then a phone's notification sound echoed. Everyone looked up to see, it was Amelia's phone.

"Amelia...keep that thing away from the dining table and eat," Gianna told her which made Amelia sulk in anger.

"I'm not hungry, you guys continue," Amelia said and again went on chatting.

"Ami, I swear, if you don't keep your phone away, I'll boil that thing in your soup next time." Gianna gave her a warning to which she gulped in fear and kept the mobile away from her reach. Brinley was stifling her laugh, Derek had a smirk on his face, Adam was busy looking at someone and Xavier had his signature emotionless face.

Suddenly Brinley choked on her food and started coughing, Adam stood up instantly and poured her a glass of water.

*Cough* "T-Thank you…" Brinley said as she gulped down the whole content of the glass.

Adam by mistake poured some water on his pant while rushing to give her water.

"Uh... Can I use your bathroom for two minutes?" Adam asked Gianna.

"Sure, let me take you there." she stood up but accidentally bumped hard into Adam, Adam's revolver which was tucked in his pant fell due to the collision.

"Oh I'm sorry, I think something dropped, let me pick it up for you," Gianna said, she was confused because of the odd sound the thing made when it fell on the floor. Adam, Xavier, and Brinley's eyes widened for a second in fear, but in lightning speed, Adam crouched down and picked up his revolver, safely tucking it back behind his back.

"It's alright, no need to worry, I got it." Adam stuttered. Xavier glared at him for being careless and Adam showed his pleading eyes to forgive him. Xavier nodded slightly, Gianna took Adam towards the bathroom.

Amelia was busy eating her food and ignoring everyone and everything, so she didn't notice what just happened.

Brinley took this chance to have a conversation with Amelia.

"Where do you study Amelia?" Brinley asked her.

"Ask him," Amelia said staring at Derek.

"So... I think you both go to the same school," Brinley said to which, Amelia nodded. "C'mon Amelia, what did I do? Do not mind him, talk with me." Brinley pleaded, Amelia stared at her for a second then nodded. Their conversation started with food, fashion, studies, hobbies, and ended at Gianna. Xavier and Derek looked at each other, and thought the same thing, they're the champions in gossiping. It has been just five minutes, and they already talked a lot.

"So... you're saying Gianna sings very well?" Brinley asked in confirmation to which Amelia nodded in excitement. Amelia took her phone from the kitchen counter, Gianna and Adam returned to the dining table.

Amelia played one video of Gianna singing the famous rhyme/song "Lavender's Blue". Gianna gasped in shock and blushed.

"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly,

Lavender's green

When I am King, dilly, dilly,

You shall be queen

Who told you so, dilly, dilly,

Who told you so?

T'was mine own heart, dilly, dilly,

That told me so.

Call up your men--" Gianna snatched the mobile from her hand and gave it to Charlie. Brinley and Amelia gasped in surprise as Charlie ran away with the mobile in his mouth.

"My Phone!--" Amelia was cut off by Gianna.

"I don't break my promises," Gianna said to which Amelia sighed in defeat.

"Honestly, Gianna your voice is so angelic! You should try participating in some competitions! You'll win in the first position!" Brinley said in excitement, Gianna showed a sad smile.

"Yes, I've heard that one of my investors is investing in a music competition in the town. You should consider taking part." Xavier piped up, Derek dropped his fork in shock. Adam and Brinley were staring at Xavier with wide eyes.

Xavier mouthed "What" to which they snapped back to normal and continued eating. Gianna chuckled dryly.

"That's not possible," Gianna said. Amelia frowned, "Why?" Amelia asked her sister.

"Considering the fact that I'm blind," Gianna said and stood up with her empty plates in her hands. She kept the plates near the sink and started making something.

"Gianna's singing talent is like a hidden gem which is forbidden to be touched or showed off," Brinley commented. Xavier was staring at Gianna's back, as she worked in the kitchen. He noticed how she wiped her cheek. Must be tears. Xavier sighed.

Even having mountains of wealth, power, and connections, he felt useless and helpless. He had this huge urge to help her in any way he can, but he couldn't.

Amelia sighed and opened her mouth, "You think this is the first time?" Brinley raised one of her eyebrows in confusion. "I've requested her about participating many times in competitions, but she declines without any hesitation." Amelia sighed again and started collecting empty bowls and plates with Brinley and Derek helping her. Adam was busy on an urgent call. Xavier was busy staring at Gianna.

Gianna came back with pancakes, waffles, ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

"Your choice to take whatever you wish to have," Gianna said and smiled brightly. There wasn't even a slight trace of her crying. Xavier raised his brow and connected the dots. Seems like she was good at bottling up her feelings and hiding them with her "fake bright" smile. This wasn't her "real" smile. Xavier frowned when he came to this conclusion.

Amelia continued ignoring Derek, his frequent glances, and his stare by talking with Brinley. Adam had something urgent task, so he had to leave early. Xavier and Gianna sat in silence. Xavier had his eyes on Gianna the whole time. Gianna was aware of his stare, so she shifted on her position many times to give him a signal that she was uncomfortable but Xavier didn't look away from her at all, even after noticing her signals.

Xavier opened his mouth to talk to her, "Gianna, have you ever considered checking your eyes?" That's it, he threw a bomb on her which resulted in utter silence from everyone.

~~~~

A/N: Considering few suggestions about increasing the number of limit of chapters, I'm hereby requesting readers to poll [Yes/No] if I should increase the limit to 100-150 or end this novel at around 40-50 or 60 chapters.

Please, please vote in comments [Yes/No], I will select by majority, at least 20 Yes or 20 No. If I get 20 Yes, I'll increase the limit of Chapters.

I hope everyone is enjoying the novel. Thank you.