Housewarming 1

Manang Juliet suspiciously eyed the plate. She saw the note Stellar left earlier after she came home from her morning market trip, and she deliberately left it for Holden to see.

He made that sandwich anyway, and that note was meant for him to read.

In her heart, she just wanted to give him a head start and help him figure out what Stellar liked and what she hated, so he could avoid disappointing the young madam in the future.

As they said, a way to a man's heart was through his stomach. The same held true to a woman and add to it the fact that women should never go hungry unless you wanted to meet an early demise.

Now that Holden was home, she studied his expression as he read the note with furrowed brows.

Cooper loved pickles, that's why Holden added slices in his sandwich. Or maybe his taste changed after Holden left the seminary? Unless...

"Is Irina living with Cooper? How come I never saw her?" Holden assumed.

The strokes and pressure of the handwriting didn't seem to belong to Cooper's. A lady clearly wrote it, what with its neat and legible letters.

He didn't want to admit it, but his brother Cooper didn't know how to write. He scribbles and was excellent at that.

Manang Juliet shrugged and followed it with a nervous laugh. In her mind, she answered the question with the truth that she really didn't know.

…

Late in the afternoon, Cooper and Irina crashed in the penthouse, bringing with them wine and cake for the housewarming dinner.

While the couple welcomed themselves inside, sitting languidly in the living and enjoying the view, a freshly bathed Holden, dressed in a crisp white button shirt, navy chino pants, and white sneakers, stepped out of his room.

Immediately, surprise painted his face upon seeing the couple unannounced in his private space.

Cooper explained without pause as if he was guilty of something, that Stellar invited Irina and him for the housewarming party, that's why he had to clock out early.

It was almost six in the evening, and Stellar just sent Holden a message that she was on her way to Gotham Tower and that she'd meet him at the lobby.

"She'll be here any minute now. I think we should wait for her in the lobby," Holden said, tapping his wristwatch twice.

Lo and behold, the intercom buzzed as if it heard them talking about someone arriving. However, it was the receptionist informing them that a parade of catered food was on its way up courtesy of Lotus Knight.

Holden didn't know how to react to his mother's goodwill. It was Stellar's housewarming party and not his.

Plus, why was the food being sent to his place? Did Stellar know of this arrangement?

Before Holden could react and give Lotus a call, Irina bolted from her seat. "Let me go get them in the lobby."

She then bolted to the private elevator that would service her down to the lobby, leaving in her path a puff of smoke.

Meanwhile, down in the lobby, Irina excitedly ran towards Stellar and Yanyan who were carrying grocery items.

Since the three ladies all came from the same university, the introduction was brief, and the three got along at a speed of light as if they were besties for a generation.

Irina told Stellar that Cooper ambushed Manang Juliet and forced her to let them in the penthouse suite.

Of course, Stellar could just sigh in understanding at how Cooper could get persuasive sometimes. He's a businessman, after all. And it's not that Stellar mind the couple welcoming themselves in her home.

She invited them over, anyway, and they arrived earlier than she did, so there was no harm with them crashing her place.

The trip up to the penthouse was under a minute. The ride was fast, yet the high-powered engineering of the lift didn't even tickle the ladies' belly.

Upon landing in the penthouse suite, air knocked out of Yanyan's lungs as she breathed in the palatial space. She almost dropped the paper bag she was hugging.

"Can I stay here? There sure is an extra room in here somewhere, right?" she whispered in Stellar's ears and the latter giggled her response.

After leaving the bags on the kitchen island, Stellar dragged Yanyan's hand, with Irina trailing behind them.

The three ladies were climbing the flight of stairs to show Yanyan around when Cooper and Holden emerged from the terrace.

"We'll just check the master bedroom," Stellar announced, waving the twin Knight brothers.

Holden took a pause and bewilderment painted his face at how at home Stellar was, leading the other girls up to the second floor.

Weren't they supposed to be celebrating in her new apartment?

Ignoring the warning signs, Holden walked over to the kitchen where he saw the tall brown bags containing grocery items.

"Young Madam brought this over. She said she'll be cooking lasagna for dinner," Manang Juliet informed Holden.

Eyeing the trays of catered food sent over by Lotus, Holden told Manang Juliet to help him place the food in one of the bedrooms. He saw a tray of lasagna earlier, and if Stellar saw that, she would be discouraged to prepare a meal for them.

Whilst carrying two trays stacked on top of each other, Manang Juliet couldn't help but smile. This Young Master ah! It was obvious he would trade the world just to taste his young madam's cooking.

Manang Juliet couldn't help but smile at the prospect of seeing Holden and Stellar interact for the first time later. Now how could she stealthily take a video for Madam Lotus?

An hour later, Stellar was crouching—her bum almost kissed the floor—while Holden hunched down by the oven as they waited for the timer to be over. "Can you smell it?" she asked without glancing at him.

"Yes. It smells burnt," Holden murmured, a corner of his lips tipped up in a smile upon seeing Stellar's face burned red with anger.

Glaring at him, Stellar seethed, "Don't you dare take a bite of my lasagna."

A devious smirk crossed Holden's face, and Stellar's heart skipped a beat. Seeing that side of Holden took her by surprise.

Just what in the world did that smirk meant?