27 Gloomy Dinner Table.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Casey_Robbins_4584 and Iuzlehl. Thank you guys, for the powerstones!

—

"A year would be extracted from the years you have left to live."

It looked like that was the instruction passed to the inhabitants of The DeLoach family mansion, that night at dinner.

An awkward silence hung over the table and everyone stared at the other person, each of them waiting for someone to start eating so the rest of them would follow. But it seemed like no one was hungry as no one made the move to start eating.

Even Esther was not exempted as she seemed to have read the mood at the table, and chose to quietly sit beside her father, her little hands placed in his.

"I'll start eating my bland meal then." Shikera announced, a futile attempt to liven up the mood at the table.

She picked up her fork, staring at the plate of veggies placed before her, which was a different meal entirely from that of the others at the table. Even with the tense atmosphere between them, Ethan had been the one to prepare her meal. And she knew it was because of the contract.

After her, Ruthlyn and Raine picked up their cutleries too and the rest followed suit. They ate in silence not because they didn't know what to say, but because three people at the table looked like they were in no mood for jokes.

One was Ethan, then Shikera and finally, Raymond whose gloominess was unusual. Enoch DeLoach didn't want to do anything to offend his brother so he kept quiet; Raine DeLoach could see that the cheerful Shikera was unusually quiet so she kept quiet too; while Chris DeLoach and Ruthlyn were habitually quiet so it was not much of a big deal to them.

They finished eating in that same manner and when she was done, Shikera stood up from her seat, the chair screeching against the floor as she did.

She mumbled thanks to Raine as she was the one who prepared the table, since the workers had been dismissed because Ethan came home.

"Who's going to show me to my room?" She asked, facing no one in particular. She had been quick in eating her food so she would be able to excuse herself earlier, as she couldn't bear to stay in the same space with Ethan and his family, who probably had the same view about her as he did.

Raine turned to face her, a bright smile on her face, "Your room? Won't you be staying with Ethan?" The woman had not been informed that their marriage was a contract marriage so she expected them to sleep in the same room.

Shikera's eyes went to Ethan and she noticed that everyone at the table was looking at her with an earnest gaze, as if trying to pass a message. Even Chris shook his head slightly, signifying that she shouldn't tell his wife.

"That's true!" She suddenly switched to her cheerful personality, in a bid to convince the older woman who was now looking at her suspiciously. "It's just that I would like to have my space for now, as a reporter..." It did not escape her eyes how Chris and Enoch stiffened as soon as she mentioned 'reporter', but she ignored it.

Raine nodded, and it seemed like she could understand Shikera.

"But I didn't prepare any room... except you're going to use Mignon's room," she offered.

"No!" Ethan finally spoke up for the first time that evening."She's can't use the room!"

His words brought silence to the room until Chris broke it,

"That's enough, Ethan. She's different from—" His words were not completed before Ethan stood up from his chair and walked away from there, in the direction of his room. But instead of walking into his room, he walked into the one directly opposite it.

Back at the dining room, Shikera tried not to bother herself with Ethan as she turned to Ruthlyn instead.

"Can I stay with you for this night, Ruth? My room should have been prepared by tomorrow."

★★★

"I won't cry for him again, I repeat, I won't cry for him again," Cyprian chanted the words like a mantra as tears slid down her cheeks. Minute by minute, she sniffed into tissue and discarded them on the floor of her room.

"Rian?" A voice called out to her which she recognized as that of one of her brothers, came from her living room.

She hurriedly cleaned the tears off her face and walked out of her room, placing a fake smile on her face. But her brother wouldn't be her brother if he didn't know the difference between his sister's fake smile and her real one.

"What's wrong, Rian?" He asked, walking closer to her.

"Nothing," she started, but looking up to her brother's frowning face made her break down in tears before telling him everything that happened.

"He kept denying it, like he knew nothing about it and I was just about to believe him. Not until Kera came and called him, he didn't even try to pretend not to know her." She concluded, leaning against her brother's shoulder.

"It's alright, Rian," he consoled, "But if that is what happened, why have you maintained your relationship with Shikera over the years? Shouldn't you call her out for snatching your boyfriend or something?"

Cyprian shook her head, "Kera is too innocent for that. She probably doesn't know that he dated me, and I'll like to keep it like that."

She knew the kind of friend she had, and she trusted her. If there was any bad person in this matter on ground, then it had to be Raymond Stone. That jerk!

She gritted her teeth as she remembered what the jerk did to her again. She would not let him go easily!

It was with this same mindset that Cyprian lived through the next three days. Today being Friday, she was delighted as she walked into the conference room with a bouncy gait in her footsteps.

"It's weekend tomorrow, guyssss! Where do we go to have fun?" Her question was directed at Shikera but Erica was the one who answered her.

"There's a new bar in town, LK Bar. We should totally rock it there!" She gushed enthusiastically. Her smile was so bright that Cyprian didn't have the heart to tell her that she wasn't invited.

Instead Cyprian turned to Shikera, seeking for her opinion.

"What do you think,Kera?" She asked.

Shikera shook her head, raising her head up from the article she was writing, "You guys can go ahead. I think I'll be very busy."

"Is it your husband again?" Cyprian enquired, staring disbelievingly at Shikera. Her friend wouldn't pass on any opportunity to have fun, though this is the first time they would be going to a bar.

Both of them failed to notice Erica ears perking up when Cyprian mentioned Shikera's husband.

"It's not my husband, it's just that I need to do more research for my article," Shikera informed her. Noticing the pitiful gaze Cyprian was looking at her with, she finally gave in.

"Alright! I'll sleep late tonight and get my research done so I'll be able to come tomorrow."

With that settled, Cyprian went back to her work while Shikera continued the article.

The only thing she was missing was Superstar MD's real name, which had been hidden from the public for as long as she could remember.

And there was only one person she knew that might have an idea of the name, her Team Leader. Crazy as the woman was, she was a very skilled reporter and Shikera thought that was the reason why the woman was hard on her and always expecting too much from her.

She stood up from her seat to find her, wondering where she would be.