364 Disrupting invitation

The realization was harsh to digest, yet Lillian sat on the couch, lively and thoroughly hyper, flipping through the channels as nothing seemed to pique her interest in the television.

No matter what channel she switched, its content appealed less and less. Frustrated, Lillian threw the remote away and stood up hastily.

She began to circle the couch, walking swiftly. Even the loud noise on the television fell faint to her ears. Instead, it was the images of Giselle that filled her head.

Lillian kept circling the couch nonstop. At times, she would pause to glance at the television. Her randomly throwing the remote switched the channel to home shopping, and even their boisterous sales pitch did not strike an interest. Her mind completely got conquered by the thoughts of Giselle.

She wondered how Giselle would be feeling right now.

Whether Giselle is feeling happy from the unexpected kiss?

"Well, it is given that she feels happy kissing me!" Lillian gloated to herself, feeling proud. However, the hidden fear within complained of a contradiction, which killed Lillian's glory.

'What if Giselle feels anxious about the kiss?'

Such a taunting thought threw Lillian to a dread. She began to blabber nonstop, coming up with credible reasons to convince herself.

"It was she who hugged me first!"

"If she was going to hug me, she should have just done that."

Lillian kept going rounds around the couch with her continuous blabbering.

"Why did her lips brush my cheek?"

"It was her fault for sending me signals!"

Lillian agreed strongly. But, the anxiety reappeared once again to provoke Lillian further.

"I- I- didn't force myself onto her, right?"

Such a disturbing notion prompted Lillian to replay the kissing scene again in her mind. She became instantly flustered. The same cheek had gone red from remembering.

"I- I waited until she allowed me to k- kiss her,"

"It was consensual,"

Lillian kept adding while gently touching her lips, feeling the sensation still tingling on the flesh.

She took a deep breath to calm down, avoiding unnecessary shouldering.

She then got reminded of her second gift and wondered if Giselle had already opened the present.

Lilian paused. She fell on the couch to worry if her precious little hoya hearts impressed Giselle.

Whether Giselle has taken a liking to it or not?

If Giselle grasped the signal that Lillian had sent or not?

It became pointless now to assume that Lillian is in a normal state. Both from overflowing passion along with high on sugar, she appeared fully possessed.

Lillian wondered whether she should send a text or make a call.

Usually, departing after a kiss would require a follow-up. Lillian questioned if she should pursue the idea. She looked at the time, and it wasn't that late, a little after ten. It should not be a trouble to disturb Giselle right now. However, the sudden overcome of shyness shielded Lillian to hold back since she won't have any words to speak with Giselle.

What would Lillian address?

If Giselle had gone home safe?

Lillian herself dropped Giselle at her place. There is no way to use that as a follow-up conversation.

'What else could I say to Giselle?' Lillian thought.

"I could ask what she had for dinner?"

"Or, I could ask if Lia and Ethan had returned safely?"

"Wait- I'm not going to worry about that guy. Lia, I know she is safe with her father."

"What else could I talk-"

As she kept pondering, an incoming call came to disrupt.

Lillian jumped and dived, looking around for her phone to pick up and check the screen.

An immediate disappointment shadowed across her face.

It wasn't Giselle who's calling.

Lillian presumed it to be Giselle, which ended up deceiving her.

Instead, it was Diego's name flashing across the screen.

Nevertheless, Lillian did not wish to wait on him and quickly answered his call.

"What's up, Diego?" she flatly greeted.

Diego's voice dragged a simple 'Hey.'

The way his voice sounded made Lillian sense deja vu.

As if Diego's inner channeling Anna, he sounded just like her with his weak 'Hey.'

Lillian had two considerations.

First, why all of a sudden, her best friends are calling on the same night?

And, second, is something troubling Diego like it did with Anna?

Regardless, what could be the reason for her friends to raid her life all of a sudden?

Lillian worried if Shane is also going to call her late at midnight.

"What's up, Diego?" Lillian repeated, just in case if Diego didn't catch her properly.

Still, silence prevailed for several seconds that made Lillian doubt if the call was alive or not. She called out Diego's name and asked if he is present.

"It was dead calm that I thought the call got cut," she exclaimed.

Diego collected himself with a weak acknowledgment.

"I- just wanted to talk to you," he added casually.

Another chill of deja vu and Lillian Grey knew she had enough of this pattern. Unlike the way she ignored Anna and kept sharing her story, Lillian did not overlook this time. Instead, she chose to confront him directly.

"Alright. What's going on, Diego? Is something bothering you?" Lillian erupted.

Seeing her react this way startled Diego as well, but he did not lose his composure. He remained steady in his conviction. Unlike Anna, who kept dragging her words, Diego did not approach to haul his way with Lillian.

He fired his shots straight away.

"It's nothing! I-"

Even with a strong drive, Diego still hesitated to address. He found his way through stammering and mentally stumbling before words eventually left his mouth.

"I- I- wanted- to invite- you-"

His voice fainted with every word that Lillian couldn't catch properly. She interrupted him to repeat.

Diego paused, taking a good long minute to support himself. Lillian waited patiently.

"I want to invite you to my school's Christmas celebration, Lillian," Diego lastly spoke.

Lillian did not quite catch onto his bait. Still, she declined right away.

"No."

It seemed a little harsh with her tone. Having realized this, Lillian hurriedly jumped to state her reasons.

"You know me, Diego. You know I don't commit to things like this," she declared.

Lillian was trying not to sound harsh, but it still jeopardized Diego's confidence. He did not expect Lillian to be literal about her denial.

"Why?" he demanded.

It wasn't necessarily Lillian's wish to refuse his invitation, but as her close friend, Diego is aware of her disinterest in attending these types of events. Not because she dislikes them, but Lillian considers herself not fit to serve as a guest.

As someone who knew this already, Lillian got surprised as to why did Diego suddenly invite her. From what it appears, he doesn't seem to be accepting her rejection.

The more desperate he sounded, the more Lillian grew suspicious of Diego.

There must be a reason for him to behave this way all of a sudden. And, to her shock, Lillian sensed the hidden rationale behind Diego's desperation.

'What if Diego learned that she went to Lia's school today?'

It was an irrational feeling that grew stronger with Diego's struggle.

Perhaps, he came to know about Lillian's visit to another school, which made him assume that he could now invite her.

"Diego, you know me too well. Please try to understand!" Lillian risked escaping, but Diego didn't seem to budge. Instead, he began to sound brash, as if he knew Lillian went to another school and is purposefully refusing him.

Ever since figuring out, Lillian couldn't contain herself with Diego. Every word he uttered seems to mock her.

'He certainly knows!' she conceived.

After all, Diego is from the same circle. He might have heard from his friends over at Edward Harris School. Lillian replayed the film in her memory to find if she encountered anyone acquainted with Diego.

Except for a few occasions where the school staff recognized her, there seems to be no one particular to whom Lillian exposed herself.

None of it matters now as Lillian's suspicion appear to prove accurate.

"Are you still there?" Diego called out.

"It was dead silent that I thought the call got cut!" he repeated.

Lillian flinched and got annoyed by his teasing.

"Why bother hiding it now?" she muttered after a long silence.

"Did someone tell you that I was at Edward Harris today?" Lillian asked to confirm.

Diego's silence answered her.

"It seems that my guess was precise."

Diego's silence thickened for a moment.

"Why did you go?" he bluntly asked.

Lillian sighed. Now that her assumption proved right, she has no reasons to fear.

"I don't see a necessity for you to go to some school, poorly disguised," Diego confronted.

"Lia invited me, so I had to go," Lillian said.

As soon as Diego heard from a friend at Edward Harris about how a few people mentioned meeting the lately famed writer, Gill, Diego grasped the reason.

Giselle's child attends the school.

It was clear that Lillian didn't refuse Giselle.

However, it was unfair to him. Diego refused to stay still and let Giselle have her way with Lillian Grey. He knew Lillian shows disinterest in joining such events, yet she went for Lia's sake.

How could she deny him, her closest friend?

Diego wanted Lillian to attend his school's Christmas festival, even if it meant he had to force his way to make her accept.

Diego didn't need to do anything no more.

As soon as Lillian admitted obeying Lia's request, a sense of guilt struck her.

Diego did not do anything. He remained quiet in the call and let Lillian have her mental breakdown. The silence tormented Lillian to realize how she agreed to go along with Lia effortlessly, whereas, with Diego, her long-term friend, she refused without hesitation.

Lillian began to stammer her words. She mentions not giving special attention to Lia, but just as she placed her reasons, a self-correction scored a point.

Lillian is contradicting herself.

With Lia, she showed no hesitation.

With Diego, she refuses with no hesitation.

As much as Lillian is drowning in her own guilt, it came to her light about Diego's jealousy. Lillian had two theories.

Either Diego feels jealous that Lillian attended another school's event when he had invited her already in the past.

Or, Diego is feeling jealous that Lillian went with Lia. There is nothing with school but mattered with the people involved.

However, Lillian had a hard time believing in the second reasoning and naturally predicted the first to be the case.

Diego is singly feeling insecure that his good friend went to some other school's celebration event.

All this thinking drained her mind, and Lillian no longer waited.

"Fine. I'll go," Lillian finally admitted her defeat.

She can't let go of this sense of fairness and agreed to Diego's request.

However, she made a list of rules to follow strictly.

Lillian agreed to join Diego's school's Christmas celebration. She doesn't want to make a public appearance but attend the event as a common woman. She vowed to visit under strict disguise, not letting the same mistake repeat, where she got caught by a few staff at Edward Harris.

Being careless again and again could bring trouble to Lillian along with Shane, who is seemingly unaware of Lillian's private adventures.