Chapter 24: Don't Push Your Family

Once Luna was no longer useful to her, Lisa moved on as if the girl had never existed. From then on, everything that Lisa did bothered Zane. From her showing up to the office unannounced to her facial expressions. She had tried too hard to catch Ian's attention and now her nose was too small to be natural and her breasts were a little too large for her frame. Zane knew that he only noticed these things because he had known Lisa from childhood, but he did not know if Ian could tell. Zane steered clear of their relationship as much as possible and although Ian was his best friend, he would never interfere unless Lisa posed a serious threat. Right now, she was just annoying to him.

"Where is Ian?" Lisa asked. Her expression was plain but her narrowed eyes showed signs of anger.

"Wasn't he with you? I haven't spoken to him since the day you two made dinner plans." Zane walked closer to Lisa and whispered.

"I thought you two finally crossed the line." He smiled cheekily, and Lisa's face flushed bright red. "Oh? Maybe you did cross the line?" Zane teased. Lisa lifted her hand to smack Zane, but he dodged her attack and walked back over to his desk. Zane leaned against his desk and looked at Lisa's face. She looked a little different than usual and he decided to probe a little.

"Seriously, I thought he was with you. Are you really looking for him?" Lisa shot an angry look at Zane and walked out leaving the door open behind her.

Zane picked up his phone and called Ian, but he did not answer. He waited a few minutes and then he called him again. He finally sent him a text warning him about Lisa, but Ian did not reply. Zane sat in his chair and wondered what could have kept Ian away from the office for two days. He picked up his phone and sent a text to an unnamed contact in his phone.

[Ian is hiding something. Call me.] - Zane waited for a while and received a reply.

[On a job. It will take a week.] - He put his phone down and stared out his open door. He could wait a week.

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Lisa left immediately after speaking to Zane. She called a car and thought about heading to Ian's mansion, but she did not know if he was home. Worst case scenario she would barge in on him handling important and private matters with his family and she would ruin his parents' impression of her. Ian had never lied to her before, so if he was lying now, she was sure it was for a good reason.

When Lisa returned to the Anders Estate she ran straight into her room and slammed the door behind her. She flopped on the bed and bawled her eyes out like a spoiled child. Her brother was home, and he had brought his obedient little wife with him. She did not bother to even greet them when they arrived. She hated women who got married and dropped everything in their lives like it was nothing. That is why she fell in love with Ian. She had always had a crush on him, but she really fell for him when he expressed his distaste for needy women. He had also helped his sister dodge marriage proposals left and right, so she could focus on her dreams instead of someone else's dream for her. She really could not wait to make him hers.

The night they were supposed to have dinner, Lisa had it all planned out. They would eat, they would laugh, and they would drink. She was going to drink a 'little too much' and follow him into his hotel room as she had done on numerous occasions, but this time she was not going to wait for him to make the first move. Lisa planned to take advantage of every curve on her body. She had even worn sexy underwear in advance, but Ian did not show up. He did not even call to cancel.

Lisa was not put off yet. After leaving the restaurant, she showed up at the room Ian was in, and wanted to proceed with her plans, sober, but she was not even allowed to get close to the door. She was sent away twice before she checked out of the hotel and headed home.

Now, it seemed as if all her hard work had paid off. Ian had taken the initiative to apologize and he invited her out for Lunch. Lisa was elated. She ended the call with Ian and fumbled through her closet for something to wear. She knew that Ian liked simple styles, so she started from there. In the end she chose a dark purple dress that clung to her body in all the right places. The dress followed the contours of her body and fell just below her knee. She paired the dress with a pair of short black boots and a yellow silk scarf. She opened her door to leave, just as her brother was prepared to knock.

Lisa's brother was startled by the sudden appearance of his sister's face, but he laughed it off.

"Li, your home. How come you did not come greet us? We have been waiting for you. We have good news." he said. Lisa smiled at her brother.

"Kace, I'm actually on my way out. By the way congratulations." Kace was disappointed in his sister, but he was also a little taken aback. Lisa noticed the confusion on her brother's face, so she spoke again.

"You guys are pregnant right? Your wife is expecting? How far along is she?" Kace really did not like his sister's attitude at all. Before she met Ian, she looked up to him. Now, she looked down on him, and any other man for that matter, as if Ian were the most perfect man in the world and no one could ever compare. Kace stifled his urge to yell at his sister and patiently said.

"Why don't you go ask your sister-in-law? We have been married for over a year and she has only met you in an intimate setting twice. She is starting to think you do not like her." Lisa scoffed.

"Please remind your wife who it is she married. Our limited interaction hasn't stopped her from getting pregnant, has it?" Lisa's words smacked her brother, it was not that they were cruel words, but they were careless. Lisa attempted to walk around her brother, but he caught her arm.

"Li, please remember that Ian also has a sister. If she treated you the way you are treating my wife how would you feel?" Lisa thought about it and decided that she would not care. If she had Ian, she did not need anyone else. She pulled her arm free of her brother's grip.

"If you would excuse me, I have a date; with Ian." she added. Kace shook his head before speaking again.

"Lisa, you haven't married into the Lee family and it's been what, eight years? Please do not push your real family away. You might need us in the end." Kace walked away without waiting for his sister to reply. She would eventually learn that love cannot be forced.

Lisa pretended not to hear her brother's words, but they had shaken her. She had not made any plans for her future other than marrying Ian and making the transition to work within the Lee group, but her fears subsided as she entered the luxury car that was already waiting outside of her family's home. Ian had sent for her, just like he said he would. Lisa sat in the back of a brand-new foreign car and felt like a princess headed to see her prince. What did her brother know?