My Pretty Sweetheart (Arianna)

After lunch, since we were heading into the new year, Valerie and Nerissa spontaneously decided to have a barbecue together in the yard in the afternoon. We had plenty of food to go around, thanks to Hendrix and my grocery haul from the supermarket.

When we were setting up the barbecue stand, Nerissa pulled me aside. "Leave this to the men and come with me. Let's talk!"

I got up and followed her to the backyard, a little stunned by her sudden invitation to talk. She definitely had something to say to me.

Fiona had planted some fruits in the backyard, but the soil had just been loosened, so there was nothing to see.

Nerissa sat on the swing in the pavilion and looked at me, "Are you planning to hold another wedding ceremony with Hendrix?"

I shook my head in astonishment. "No!"

She pursed her lips. "Then he..." She trailed off, glancing at me.

She paused for a moment before decidedly asking, "Have you guys been taking pregnancy precautions lately?"

This topic...

flushed with embarrassment,

nodded gleefully. "That's good. You two should start planning for a second child. Anne's almost five. If you want one more, I can

moment, not knowing what to

looked at me as if she wanted to say something. "You should talk to Hendrix about the Granger Family. I've been married to Yohannes for a decade, so it's no surprise that I feel for the family. Hendrix's taking things too far, and I really hope that you can talk

things that I can talk about, and things that I can't. If I start mentioning the Granger Group, things might take a turn for the worse for all we know." She shot me a shocked look, then sighed.

things down a notch, but I knew that I couldn't do that. If I asked him about this, the nature of my request would sound different to him. The two of them had been going head-to-head for years on the same

returned to the front yard, the barbeque had commenced. Hendrix handed me some barbecued chicken and vegetables and said, "Try them, but you can't

and smiled,

He nodded. "Try them!"

this morning, I could not help saying, "I don't know if Aaron is there with Yana now. Aunt Nerissa cooked a lot of delicious food.

very nicely, and with Nerissa's help, the two

"I'll get Evan

tonight!"

smile. "Are you the only one celebrating the New Year? Since the company is on holiday today, shouldn't you