บท 20: THREE RED ROSES

"Uhm… Hi?" I awkwardly said at Lianno, who is lying down in a black king size bed.

His room screams power and authority. The golden linings in every side of its bed make it more elegant to look at. I stared at Lianno who's staring at me intently.

"Are you okay now?" I asked him.

I'm moving closer to the bed while hiding the bottle that Jea gave me in my back. He smirked at my question and nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that, " I said to him while smiling.

"Um… Jea gave this to me" I showed him the bottle that contains the blue liquid. Lianno teasingly smirks at me. I fasten my walk because he tried to sit up when I finally got closer.

"Thank you" He sincerely said as he slightly smiled at me.

"What happened to you," I asked him. I sat in his bed when he welcomed me inside.

His face became stoic as I asked that question.

"Nothing, " He coldly answered at my question.

I nodded at him even though I want to ask him more. I feel like he wouldn't answer it anyway, so it's better to shut up than to feel embarrassed when he'll not answer it.

He nodded as well after I nodded. An awkward silence occurs after that moment. I almost feel cold because of it. I placed the bottle on the bedside table beside his bed.

I cleared my throat and look ahead while partially shaking my leg.

"Did you have breakfast already, Monice?" He is clearly the first one to break the silence between us.

"Nope" I shook my head and look at him.

He nodded at my answer. He called out Jacob, who is waiting outside. I got shocked when he asked for our breakfast.

I bit my lower lip and look away to hide my flushing cheeks. The heck! Why am I reacting this way? I don't even have special feelings for Lianno… Or do I have one? My eyes widened at that thought. I can't possibly have feelings for Lianno in just a short period of time.

I nodded at my thoughts. I'm probably just being weird right now. Maybe because I'm still new at this. I nodded again as I say those words in my head.

"Are you okay, Monice?" I suddenly heard a stoic voice in front of me.

My eyes widened., I forgot that I was in Lianno's room. That must be embarrassing to look at!

"I– "I was about to say something when the door in Lianno"s room suddenly opened, Showing Jacob together with 4 maids at his back.

They brought large trays, four of them were filled with foods while the other one is filled with drinks. They place and arranged it in Lianno's four seated dining table which is placed on the right side of Lianno's room.

I noticed that the maids are being anxious about what they were doing. Their hands are almost shaking while moving the foods to the table. They quickly got out of the room as if they were being chased by monsters.

We eat peacefully after that. Lianno would initiate a conversation sometimes, but it will be turning in an awkward silence again.

"Celestina how about this one?" I glared at Isabela when she showed me a dying red tulip. I asked her to bring me flowers that I can put in Lianno's vase inside his room.

I noticed that the plants in Lianno's room are dying. The Lily of the Incas in there is a mixture of purple and white. The flowers create a gradient effect, the colors meeting in the middle of each flower, creating a very pleasant scene to look at. But it is slowly dying because the leaves on each plant are starting to wilt now.

"Joke" She showed me a peace sign and then she loudly laughs.

She opened the old wooden brown box beside her. My eyes glittered in excitement I saw high-quality flowers inside of it. A gradient white and pink Lily of the Inca, Black tulips, White Golden-rayed lily, black roses, and some red roses.

I smiled in satisfaction when I saw it. I quickly hugged Isabela and said thank you to her. She just smiled at me and quickly help me in lifting the box, then we go to Lianno's room.

I saw Lianno boredly sitting in his 4-man seater couch. His legs are on top of each other. Arms are on top of the couch as his palms are placed on his chin.

He stood up when he saw me entering the door. He helped us in bringing the heavy box in his room. We placed the box on top of his black glass table. Like his bed, the table has golden linings in the side, but the table has an additional diamond lining in each corner.

"Thank you, " I sincerely said to him.

He nodded at me. Isabela left after saying goodbye to us. Lianno opened the box. He held the flowers and put them out. I arranged it for its kind, so that it will be easier for us to match each of it.

I gather all the vase and throw out all the withering flower that is in there. I left the flowers who are still okay.

"What should we do now?" I ask him.

He picks up flowers at a lightning speed that I couldn't keep up with the pace. I can finally see it when he placed it in the vase. The outcome became good. It's aesthetically pleasing. It even looks better than my own arrangement in my room.

"This looks so pretty, Lianno!" I yell out in joy. I quickly run to his direction so that I can look closely at it.

I was smiling ear to ear when I saw it. Lianno looked at me then handed me a beautiful three red vibrant rose.

"What is this for?" I ask as I placed the rose near in my nose for me to smell its lovely scent.

I look at him, our eyes met halfway. He smiled at my question then answer it.

"You look very beautiful today, Celestina…"