The Heiress Is Back!

“Mr. Evans— Oh, shoot! I’m sorry, Mr. Evans, Ms. Thompson!” The waiter came and was just about to call them and would lead them to the spot where they would eat dinner, but ended up witnessing such an intimate scene between the engaged couple.

“Shit!” Adrian hissed then he distanced himself away from Phoebe.

Phoebe, on the other hand, was still stunned, completely lost because of what happened.

Seeing that, Adrian just smirked. He was trying so bad not to laugh. That time, Adrian was still holding her hand.

Phoebe pulled away from the hold right away, then pretended as if nothing had happened. She could not look at him nor the waiter as she felt blood rush in her cheeks. That was her freaking first kiss! And she just lost it like that, most especially, to a man she did not even like!

She had already experienced too much embarrassment for this day, she could not afford to experience another again.

“Shall we go?” Adrian asked after a few seconds.

Phoebe did not bother answering him. Instead, she glanced at the waiter, gesturing to him to lead the way, which he willingly obliged.

When they reached the table, Phoebe temporarily forgot about her embarrassing moments today because of the breathtaking view. She was awed by the night view of the ocean.

It was not her first time to witness the beauty of the ocean at night. But it was her first time to see it in this view.

She could see from where she was standing the night lights of the city.

Who would have thought that she would get the chance to experience this in this lifetime?

"Do you like it?" Adrian asked when he reached her side. He held onto the railings and stared at the city, too.

Phoebe nodded in response, completely forgetting what happened between them a while ago. "Yes. It's so beautiful. I never experienced this before. Nor have I thought I would get to experience this," she replied.

A moment of silence passed between them.

Until Phoebe realized something. Upon that realization, she faced her fiance. " Uhm… Adrian?"

Adrian turned to her, then he raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?"

"Thank you," Phoebe sincerely said.

Adrian was dumbfounded by her sudden words of gratitude. "A-Ahm–"

"I know I've been rude to you even before we got engaged. But I want you to know that I'm glad that you're the person I got engaged to," Phoebe cut him off, then smiled at him genuinely.

Adrian gulped hard after seeing that smile. It was as if the heavens brightened because of it.

Phoebe thought that she was creating such a dramatic atmosphere. So, in order to lighten it up, she poke Adrian's arms and said, "Don't take it in so much. I still hate your arrogance," she joked.

Adrian finally recollected himself. He chuckled when he processed the last statement that his fiancee told him. Because of it, he held his chin up. "If I know, you just find me handsome, that's why," he kidded back.

Phoebe laughed at what he said while she shook her head. 'Well, it's not really that bad to have someone airy beside you sometimes," she thought.

***

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" Adrian asked after she swallowed the food that he took.

They were already having dinner after some minutes of sight seeing the ocean and the city.

"What about me?" Phoebe asked, then took a bite of the steak.

"Anything."

"Hmm… " Phoebe's mind was blank as of the moment. It was so hard to think of what to say about yourself if a person suddenly asked you to. It was as if all the adjectives, verbs, even words would fly in the air. "Why don't you just ask me? I really don't know where to start. Just ask me what you want to know. I'll answer as long as I can," she told him instead.

"Okay." Adrian took another bite. And as he munched his food, he also thought of an interesting question that he could throw at her.

What did he want to know about her?

Well, if he was to be asked, he wanted to know everything about her. But since he knew that the time was not enough, then he needed to think of the more important ones.

"Right!" he exclaimed.

Phoebe flinched in shock. She looked at him like he was a weird person. "What?"

Adrian dropped his knife and fork, then he stared at her. "Where were you in the past years that you've been missing?"

Phoebe was silent for seconds.

"Mom and dad always told me since I was young that I'm going to marry the heiress of the Thompsons. However, they could not guarantee me when that would happen since you've been lost before you were born. And your parents are still finding you. I really thought that it would take a long time for me to get married because of it. But then, you suddenly appeared." Adrian paused for a moment to see her reaction. "I hope you won't mind me asking," he politely continued.

Phoebe shook her head. "I don't really mind since there's nothing for me to hide about that." She carefully placed her fork and knife down before she started to speak. "Well, to be honest, I am a product of surrogacy. Gestational surrogacy to be exact. My biological mother was having a hard time getting pregnant that time because she had PCOS. And that's when they offered one of their loyal maids, my mom, Leah, to be the gestational carrier. Right at that time, Mom Leah had a daughter who had cancer. And she needed to undergo operations. So in exchange for being a carrier, my biological parents told her that they would pay everything for her daughter which made her agree."

Phoebe did not go detail by detail about the reason why Leah took her away from her biological parents. She just told him that something unfortunate happened that made her run away while she was pregnant with her.

"I grew up living a simple life. I didn't have any fancy accessories and clothes back then. But I am content with it. Because my Mom Leah never failed to show me the love and care that I needed," she proudly said with a wide smile on her face.

Adrian automatically imitated the lady's smile. "That's great to know," he remarked.

Phoebe happily nodded. "Uh-hmm… "

"But may I ask where is your Mom Leah now that you're already back in the Thompsons' care?"

"She's still with me. She's in the mansion. She just could not attend the engagement party because her body's already weak."

Adrian's forehead creased. "And why is that?"

Phoebe's bright aura disappeared instantly. Her shoulders also dropped. "She has lung cancer. Same with the cancer that killed her daughter eighteen years ago," she answered in a low voice.

Adrian suddenly regretted asking for that. Now, he just completely ruined the atmosphere.

And just as when he was about to speak again and ask for an apology, his phone suddenly rang. "Excuse me."

"Take your time." Phoebe nodded her head.

Adrian stood up and went from a distance before he answered the call.

It was Amelia.

He mentally laughed in his mind, thinking that maybe his future mother-in-law was going to ask for him to take Phoebe home already.

But instead of hearing a soft voice from the other line, he heard a siren.

[Adrian, is Phoebe still with you?]

Worry was evident in her voice.

Adrian glanced at Phoebe, who was silently eating her food. "Yes, Aunt Amelia. We're still having dinner. Why?"

He heard sobs from her. "Is there a problem there, Aunt Amelia?" He worriedly asked.

[P-Please tell her that Leah will be taken to the hospital. She's–she's bleeding! Please tell her right now!]

Adrian was dumbfounded for her words. But he managed to come back to his senses because of Amelia's cry. "Y-Yes, Aunt Amelia."

"What did mommy say?" Phoebe asked innocently.

Adrian did not know how to say what he learned to her. "P-Phoebe… "

"Why?" Phoebe did not know why her heart thumped fast after hearing his voice. There was something wrong with it. She was sure. "What happened?" she asked once more.

"Your mom, Aunt Leah… "

Phoebe's eyes widened. "What about my mom?"

"She's being rushed to the hospital right now."