Trust In Love - Chapter 246

“What’s his name?”

Alex couldn’t find her voice. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out—so she closed it again. She tried for a second time but it resulted in the same way. She cleared her throat, hoping it would help.

It didn’t.

Xiera tilted her head to one side, scrunching her eyebrows. Kate watched silently from the side. The three of them kept walking until they reached the cafeteria. A place Freccia students referred to more as ‘The Dining Hall’ since it kept the aesthetic of the school’s medieval castle exterior.

Chandeliers adorned the ceilings, adding to the ambiance. Rectangular tables with matching chairs filled up the hall. They had been arranged into several rows as if they were long tables chopped into smaller ones. Each table had a small device that alerted the servers and the kitchen staff.

This gave more space for students to eat.

“Alex!”

At the sound of her name, Alex shifted her attention towards the source. Emily sprinted as much as her A-line skirt would let her. The stitching made it hard to create long strides. Her platinum hair had been tied into two pigtails. It swayed on either side of her face.

She slammed into Alex as soon as they reached the dining hall’s entrance. She wrapped her arms around her cousin and squeezed tight, pulling Alex close to her side.

“Nice to see you too, Em.” Alex chuckled.

Emily met her gaze. With her two-inch heels versus Alex’s one-inch pair, they almost had the same eye-level.

“I know you’re not all too happy to be here but I am so glad I get to see you everyday! School life is much brighter now.”

“Gee, thanks.” Elena snorted from behind. She and her sister walked up to the group. “At least, you said ‘brighter’ so we won’t feel bad as your friends.”

Charlotte pouted like a cat. Her upturned baby blue eyes seemed more pointed than normal. She flipped her long raven black hair. “Well, she wouldn’t say that if you stopped obsessing over your digital arts. You can’t hear us when you’re on the drawing app.”

Elena began to protest. She glared down at her sister. “At least, I haven’t been talking about my crush on the school’s resident bad boy and his silver hair wax.”

“At least, I talk.”

“At least, I don’t say the same thing again and again.”

Charlotte blew a raspberry. “You just don’t want Emily to hear about your crush on Neal.”

“I’m just not like you.” Elena rolled her eyes.

“What do you mean? I’m simply not ashamed of my feelings.”

“My dearest cousin, can’t you see how out of place I am with these sisters?” Emily whɨnėd, interrupting their conversation. She snuggled up against Alex. “They talk like I’m not here.”

“Speak for yourself.” Elena crossed her arms over her ċhėst, “Since you gained a boyfriend, you’ve been on your phone more too.”

“He is not my boyfriend.” Emily directed a dirty look in her direction.

“Then, it will be worse when he becomes one.”

“Girls!” Xiera cut in. She waved her hands to catch their attention. “Can’t we get some food first? I don’t really know you all but no offense. I am more interested in Alex’s love life.”

Emily blinked at her. “You mean about Logan?”

“So that’s his name!” Xiera said, snapping her fingers. She marched past the group and led the way to the cafeteria. Kate immediately followed her. “Hallelujah! Time to eat and celebrate!”

“Come on.” Alex pried her cousin’s arms off her. She looped them instead. “I think I can eat a whole cow by now. The three of you increased by appetite.”

Xiera had found an empty table near the windows of the dining hall. A sunburst grill had been welded, following its springline shape. The half-circle on top showed a stained glass window. It was crafted with different patterns but favored flowers. Their table stood under a white lily one.

Males and females filled out the rest. Porcelain plates covered their tables. Stainless steel knives and forks clattered against it, producing minimal sounds. Chatter was toned down in order not to disturb nearby tables.

Alex swept her eyes across the room. She could almost feel like it was a high status restaurant. The way to get their food added to that thought. If not for the modern lightning, she’d feel a more vintage ambiance. Their white color brightened the place to the 21st century.

The sophomores sat on one side. The juniors sat on the other. Both members of Greenwood Family took up the middle seats. Alex preferred the edge but Emily wanted them to be across from each other. Xiera supported this so that her target couldn’t escape easily.

“Right. I wonder what today’s dishes are.” Emily opened the menu book in front of her. Each chair had one correspondingly. “Ah, they have strawberry cheesecake! This day just keeps getting better.”

“Hell yeah, it is! I want me some cheesecake!” Elena cheered. Her mouth almost drooled. She could remember the taste of that cheesecake from before. It imprinted in her mind.

Charlotte eyed the same dish. “I vote for cheesecake too. I should ask for extra strawberries.”

Alex looked over the list. It had been divided into four: appetizer, main dish, dessert and beverage. If she went by her cousin’s words, the list changes everyday. She wondered how the menus were created because it seemed professionally printed. The colored cardboard, the glossy surface and the tempting photos of food.

“Am I supposed to choose one for each category?” She asked, addressing no one in particular.

“Not really.” Kate answered for her. She picked out a piece of paper from the cylinder in the center. She used the pen next to it and checked out the items she wished to eat. “There’s no need to pressure yourself to eat. Just eat what you want.”

She handed the pen over to Alex.

Alex mimicked her movements and read the paper. It looked simple enough. She filled out everything but the dessert category. She thought that chocolate milkshake would be enough. She also picked out water as part of her order.

It didn’t take long for a waiter to pick up the order papers.

“While we’re waiting, can I know more about this Logan guy?” Xiera brought up again. She rested her elbow on the table and leaned her head against the back of her hand. “You seem to like being alone. I didn’t expect you to have such an intriguing love life. I even thought it might be Neal.”

“Neal?” Emily gaped. She snapped her head towards Alex. Her face contoured into a horrified expression. Disdain mixed into her wide eyes. “Did he approach you? That bastard? After what they did which landed you here?”

Alex gave her a warning look. “Emily!”

“Woah…!” Elena held up her hands. She fluttered her baby blue eyes, processing the information. “What do you mean by ‘after what they did’? Care to enlighten us, my lovely gorgeous friend?”

Bowing her head, Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. She had wanted to be disassociated from the guy. She smelled the disaster if others knew about her affiliation with him. She already heard his name three times for the past few hours.

She had enough of people with that level of popularity back in Woodlands.

“Ohmygods…” Emily gasped. She reached over to the other side of the table, grabbing her cousin’s arms. “Alex, I’m sorry! I slipped! I forgot that we weren’t supposed to talk about it.”

“This wouldn’t happen to be related to the trial, would it?” Xiera raised an eyebrow. If only she had a cup of tea, she’d be sipping from it right now.

“Somewhat.” Alex sighed. She patted Emily’s hand. She shrugged at the apologetic look. “It’s okay. It was bound to happen. Trust me. I had it coming.”

Her cousin narrowed her eyes. “Did you have that little faith in me?”

“When it comes to Neal? Yes.”

“Hello? People in the dark. Can you shed a light?” Charlotte reminded them. She leaned back on the chair and huffed. “If you’re not going to talk about it, can we move on?”

“But-but-but…” Elena stammered. The curiosity gnawed her brain. Since it involved Neal, it amplified more than usual.

“Alex already told us that she’d rather not talk about it.” Kate spoke up, glancing at all the faces around the table. She kept her tone and her expression neutral. “I think we should respect her privacy. We’ll find out if we’re meant to find out.”

“Thank you, Kate.” Alex smiled. She truly felt grateful that her companion shot it down quickly. She hadn’t figured how much to tell yet. She still found it best not to say anything at all.

Kate returned the gesture. “Not a problem.”

“I have this feeling that I know you.” Xiera remarked out of the blue. Her mocha eyes bore into Emily’s face. She even leaned forward for a better view, pointing a finger. “Aren’t you the girl who almost punched Neal in the face?”

Emily swung her head. The tips of her pigtails went to her back. She raised her chin, smiling proudly. “Yes. Yes, I am. I would have finished it too if I knew that trial would end this way.”

“Uh-huh…” Xiera smacked her lips. “And you called Alex as your cousin, right?”

“I did. Why?”

“Oh, I just remembered that you only had one cousin if I excluded the extended family.”

Xiera shifted her suspicious gaze to her left. She eyed her target with skepticism. “Tell me, Alex. When you said that your family owns a few businesses, do you mean the Greenwood Family’s hundreds of malls across several countries?”