Consoling her

Annabella narrowed her eyes while putting her hands on her hips to show him that she got annoyed by him. "Excuse me, sir. What the hell did you say just now?"

Damien shrugged his shoulders. "Sister Strawberry, I don't think I need to repeat the same thing over again and again. You heard me just right." He even gave her a wink.

Annabella shook her head in disbelief. "There's no way I'm gonna cook for you. Moreover, there are no ingredients."

"Then let's go shopping I mean to the grocery store?"

Annabella clicked her tongue. "No need. Mom has already gone there I guess."

"Oh." Damien nodded his head understandingly before standing up from the sofa.

Rubbing his hands together, he said sincerely, "Then it's time for me to leave. Thanks for taking care of me, Annabella."

Annabella froze when she heard him call her by her name. She strangely felt happy instead of getting angry like she did any other time. She reached out her hand to stop him from leaving nevertheless, she knew that it was the end of their encounter.

Maybe... they wouldn't meet each other from now on... for the rest of their lives.

Why was it making her feel somehow... bad?

(Damien: Aren't you thinking too much?)

Suddenly, Damien paused when he got a notification from his phone. His expression changed in an instant. He tightened his grip on his phone, diving into a deep thought.

Annabella was surprised and went up to him to see what was going on. Out of curiosity, she enquired, "What is it?"

Her voice made Damien fall to earth. He glanced back at her saying, "I need help from you like hell! Can you help me, please? Please, Annie."

Annabella's eyes flung open when she heard him calling her 'Annie'. The memories of her past came crashing down to her mind. Soon, her eyes turned red as she sobbed. "Don't call me that, please."

She dropped to the floor and hugged her knees, putting her head between them while crying hysterically.

Damien: "..."

He was simply dumbfounded and looked at the crybaby like a fool. He opened and closed his mouth hoping to speak, however, no words came out of his mouth when he witnessed how pitiful she was.

Suddenly, Damien had a great idea. Without saying anything, he went outside her home and made his way to her neighbour's house.

He gently knocked on the door and waited outside patiently.

Misha was fifteen and a high school student. That day she didn't go to her nerdy friend's house for studying as she normally did. It was because her favourite movie was showing on TV during the afternoon. Thus, after begging her mother like countless times, she finally managed to stay at home as she wished.

The movie was about to start when she heard a knock on the door. Misha gritted her teeth and cursed that nasty person in her mind before standing up from the couch and rushing towards the main door since she was the only one staying at home at that moment.

Before even opening it entirely, she started scolding. "Who the heck is bothering m..." Her words stuck in her throat when she saw the boy standing in front of her house, appearing like a prince charming from one of her dreams.

'So handsome.' That was all she could think of. She completely forgot about her movie as she kept staring at him without blinking her eyes as if she was afraid that he would disappear in the next millisecond.

"Hi." Damien smiled awkwardly at the suddenly-tongue-tied girl in front of him. "Sorry for bothering you, miss. I want a tiny help from you. Can you do that?"

Misha nodded her head vigorously, still looking at him like she wanted to swallow him entirely.

Damien didn't beat around the bush and directly claimed his request. "I saw your cat outside your house when I entered the house next to yours. I wanted to ask... Can I bring it for a while? I'll certainly give it back to you later."

Misha was surprised. "You're from Mr Parker's house?"

Damien nodded a little. "I'm a guest there." 

Misha let out a 'Hmm'. "I thought you were one of their cousins. Apart from cousins, only young men around their twenties and thirties go there. You're absolutely too young for being a suitor for sister Annabella after all," She giggled as she said.

Damien's face turned dark when he heard her. With a poker face, he uttered, "Can you hand over your cat already?"

Misha was taken aback by his sudden mood swing. She nodded and went towards the house.

After finding the cat in a corner of the living room, Misha picked it up and brought it towards the main door.

"Here's Milky White. I hope you'll treat him well." She said, giving the white little kitten to Damien.

His smile returned to his face as he took the cat. "Thanks and of course."

Misha felt her heart skipping a beat when she saw his dazzling smile. He looked even more handsome and cheerful when he smiled like a ray of sunshine. She lowered her head to hide her blushing face.

"Meow, meow..." The soft voice made Annabella open her eyes. The soon she opened them, she was greeted by a boy and a kitten. No, no, correctly saying two kittens.

"Meow," Damien mimicked like a cat as he hugged Milky White and showed its cute, little face to her by lifting its jaw. "Don't cry anymore or else Milky White will feel sad."

Annabella stopped crying instantly. A genuine smile spread across her face and soon, she started laughing softly with tears still hanging in her eyes. She wiped her wet cheeks using the back of her hand and looked at the childish boy and the small kitten before her with sparkling eyes.

She wasn't a cat lover however, she loved the scene in front of her to the core. Annabella suddenly had the urge to hug Damien tightly and put her head on his shoulder to seek his love and concern even more just like the cat who received his warm embrace. To her shock, she realized that she actually started getting jealous of the little cat!

(Milky White: I'm a poor, little cat. I just wanted to take a nap peacefully but he's the one who dragged me into this without my will. So envying me is unfair! Sob, sob.)

Annabella reached out her hands and hugged Milky White instead. Rubbing its back she said sincerely, "Thanks, Dummy."

Damien blinked his eyes and pursed his lips like a kid. He was unmistakably unhappy with her way of addressing him. Dummy? He was the class first every year for god's sake!

"I'm not a dummy." He pretended like he was offended by her.

Annabella chuckled. "It's a nickname, Dummy! Damien~ Dummy~ Isn't it beautiful?"

Damien huffed loudly. "Not. At. All!"

Suddenly his phone showed an incoming call and Damien stood up, excusing himself to answer it. When he came again, he bid farewell to her and left the house in a hurry.

Misha was eagerly waiting for the mysterious young man to return with her cat. She looked at the TV with a blank face. Her favourite movie couldn't gain her interest anymore as her mind roamed somewhere else. She was thinking about the handsome young man as she blushed from time to time.

Every time his face came into her mind, her face flushed red like a red apple. She wouldn't exaggerate if she were to tell that he was the most handsome boy she had ever seen. He was even better than most of the celebrities. Most importantly, he was the first one to affect her and capture her heart that much. It was simply a novel feeling for her.

The moment she heard a knock, Misha ran towards the door and opened it widely with a happy smile on her face only to be disappointed the next second.

Annabella was about to give the kitten to the teenage girl when she heard her ask, "What's your relationship with him?"

Misha took the kitten with a dark face. But she didn't close the door as she waited for her neighbour sister to answer her question.

Annabella crossed her arms, annoyed. She instantly knew whom Misha was referring to.

"I guess it's none of your business," She blurted out coldly.

Misha scoffed. "Big sister Annabella, I hope you must be careful with a handsome guy like him. He is sinfully handsome and I know you also find him attractive unless you are lesbian. But do care about your age gap. You guys are from different generations."

She huffed and continued, "Such marriages won't last long. Sooner than later, he'll find you old and ugly. Guess what will happen next? He'll indeed lose interest in you and leave you one day. Better to find a man at the same age or older than you."

She didn't wait for Annabella to speak and directly slammed the door in her face.

All this time, Annabella stood rooted to the ground, her heart sinking.