What!
Without hesitation, she let go of the large photo frame of Xander in mid-air and moved a few steps back.
CRASH! CRASH!
The glass shattered and bounced as soon as it touched the floor.
"Oops... what a nice slip," Giavanna beamed.
"What...," Stacy, who rang into the sitting room at the sound of the shattering, was stunned to see the mess Giavanna created.
"I missed gazing at the picture and wanted to have a closer look at it but it slipped," Giavanna muttered. She didn't forget to wear a sad look as she said this.
"Are you alright?" Stacy asked and hurried to her side after she listened to her side of the story.
"Did you get hurt...,"
"No," Giavanna spun and walked to the centre of the room where a glass table of moderate height was surrounded by four couches at each side.
"I am glad to hear that," Stacy replied and retracted her outstretched hands Giavanna avoided.
'Why does the Young Miss look like a different person... she is so cold, unlike her usual friendly self. Am I feeling this way because it has been a long time since we last met?'.
Stacy was in deep thought as she kept her eyeballs fixed on Giavanna's face.
She was so distracted and didn't see Giavanna turned and stared at her.
"Why?" Giavanna quizzed. "Do you need something else?" She continued.
Just when she was about to sit on the milky-coloured couch, she heard voices coming from the corridor upstairs.
"Finally those who should have come are here," Giavanna murmured. She swivelled and gazed at the staircase instead.
"As I was saying...," Xander halted the instant he raised his gaze and saw the face of the woman whose eyes were focused on the two of them.
The horrified look on his face resembled that of a person who bumped into a ghost.
He quickly shoved aside the hands of the lady he held onto.
Despite his attempt to compose himself, he wasn't successful.
"And here I thought that her return was a horrible dream I had woken up from," Eve whispered.
Her sentence was supposed to be for her hearing and his alone but unfortunately for her, Giavanna who had a heightened sense of hearing heard everything.
"Sorry darling but you will never wake up from this nightmare. I will make sure of it," Giavanna retorted, an evil smirk plastered on her face.
"Were you talking to me, Miss Giavanna?" Stacy who heard her mumbled something asked.
"Why?" Giavanna started, her cold stares directed at the innocent lady. "Did you hear something?" She demanded.
Even though she heard something Stacy wouldn't have dared utter a word with the deadly stare Giavanna shot at her.
"No," She shook her head in negation.
"You are here!" Xander managed to say when he had regained his composure. He made his way down the stairs in haste.
"I was so worried when I returned and you were nowhere to be found," Xander started. He paused just behind the couch Giavanna stood in front of.
"I almost thought our reunion was a dream...,"
"Why do you guys all want my return to be a dream? Aren't you afraid of being killed in your dreams...,"
"What!" Xander who heard her words screamed, his eyeballs almost falling from his sockets.
"I said I almost didn't recognize my home anymore. If not for Stacy's guidance, I am afraid I would have lost my way around here... why did you look shocked as if I said I would murder you?" Giavanna joked only to burst out laughing due to Xander's bewildered look.
"Hey, darling, relax. I was only joking," Giavanna muttered amid her laughter.
She wanted to laugh harder than that but she knew she had to control herself if she didn't want to come out as someone with loose knots in the head.
"I learned a few jokes from a friend and I was testing how good I was at it... besides why on Earth would I kill you when we have only reunited not long ago?" Giavanna continued.
Eve who just got there didn't understand why Xander had such a terrified look on when he was fine a moment ago.
"I had Madam's and your stuff moved to the storage room. I can have them returned to their original position if the new arrangement is not to your taste," Eve spoke up when she saw the manner Giavanna stared at her surroundings.
"I am sure you did that with my darling best interest at heart... you didn't want him to get more depressed when he saw things that reminded him of me. This is quite understandable so how could I bring myself to blame you for this," Giavanna replied, her right hand secretly balled into a fist.
'I can understand you wanted to remove every trace of me in this house so you can own everything that belonged to me but how dare you lay your filthy hands on my mother's things... do you think you deserve it'.
Giavanna dug her nails into her delicate palms as she battled to keep her emotions in check.
Silence erupted in the room after Giavanna spoke.
"Since Big Sis has returned, I bet I am no longer needed here so I will ask the maids to pack my things," She mumbled and diverted her attention to where Stacy stood.
"Stacy...,"
"You are Xand's good cousin…," Giavanna let her words linger, her gaze settled on the lady who had just paused talking.
She slowly turned and peered in Xander's direction.
"How could I ever ask you to leave hmm?" She smiled.