Chapter 7

Time flew by quickly and before long it was dinner time, Avanya spent the day noting down everything she remembered about her father’s last case. When she noticed that it was evening already, she put aside everything and started on dinner. It was at that moment that she thanked her stars for her love of cooking, when Avanya was young, she spent a lot of time learning new things. She discovered her love for cooking after while she spent her school holidays with her paternal grandparents since they were both chefs. She quickly got all the ingredients she needed to prepare a Japanese cuisine, Avanya had checked with Alessio to make sure that his friends were not allergic to anything.

Once she was done, she set up the dinner table then went for a shower. She was just finishing up tying her hair when she heard the door open downstairs. Avanya could hear some muffled chatter and laughter from Alessio’s friends. A few minutes later, Alessio entered the room, he froze in his tracks when he saw Avanya. She was clad in black ripped jeans, matched with one of his white hoodies. Her hair was tied in a French plait, she had no makeup and wore beautiful locket around her neck. Alessio inhaled deeply to calm himself down then moved forward and hugged her from behind placing a soft kiss on her shoulder.

“You look stunning, I love that you are wearing my hoodie.” He murmured against her ear.

Avanya looked at him through the mirror and smiled softly.” I’m glad you like seeing me in your clothes because I’ll be wearing plenty of them. They are comfy and I don’t have clothes of my own here except the ones I had on when you kidnapped me.” She teased.

Alessio had the decency to look guilty, he felt ashamed hence, he pulled away from her. Avanya turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck pecking his lips. “Hey, I’m not angry, I was just teasing. Besides, I can go to my apartment tomorrow and get my clothes. Now go shower then come down for dinner while I serve our guests some snacks.” She gave him a soft kiss before leaving the room.

When Avanya descended the stairs, everyone in the living room turned to her and they all seem to have a look of surprise on their faces as they watched her. Avanya did not care though, she found out from a young age that she was breathtaking and enchanting. Her parents used to tell her stories of how she always seemed to grab the attention of everyone wherever she went. As much as they were proud of her beauty, Avanya’s parents and brothers grew annoyed with how people always stared at their little Angel. Her father dreaded the day Avanya would be old enough to have a boyfriend because he knew he and his sons will be chasing plenty of boys away from her. Avanya almost giggled at the memory but luckily for her, she was brought back to reality by an over excited Corey who whistled at the sight of her. “Damn!” The man gawked, he quickly forwarded his hand to Avanya when she reached them.” Hi, I’m Corey, I was dying to meet you. Wow, you are gorgeous.” He rambled.

Avanya shook the man’s hand,” Thank you for the compliment, Corey. I’m sure Alessio has already told you about me, I go by Vanya Parèz.” She also greeted the others with a brief handshake.

“Go by? I assume that is not your real name, correct?” Amaryllis questioned suspiciously.

Avanya did not seem bothered by the tone of her voice. She kept her face blank and tone calm as she replied. “No.”

Mingjue immediately became alert, he was always overprotective of Alessio and he tended to be extra careful with everything or everyone that was around the latter. “Care to elaborate?” He questioned when Avanya made a move to leave the room.

Avanya halted in her place, turned slowly and looked at the man in the eyes with a cold gaze. “Right now? No. After we’ve had dinner and are familiar with each other then we’ll have this conversation.”

Corey let out a low whistle,” Damn! You have guts. No one has ever been able to talk to Ming like that. No wonder our brother fell for you.”

All in all, Alessio’s friends were not that bad. The love and care they had for the Alessio was clear in their eyes. Avanya knew that they were all protective of Alessio hence, they were not just going to trust her until they are sure enough that she was no harm to Alessio. The one that piqued her interest though was Deimos, the man stood at the back of the group silently watching them. His face was devoid of any emotions and his dark eyes gave nothing away. Amaryllis on the other hand was glaring at her with suspicion written all over her face, Liana seemed calm but Avanya could see the caution in her eyes. Mingjue looked like a protective father who was worried about his son’s well-being. As for Corey, well, the guy looked like a ball of sunshine yet he had this dangerous glint in his eyes that screamed, ‘hurt my family and I’ll kill you in the worst possible way.’ Avanya almost smirked, almost.

“Alessio is getting ready, can I get you guys some snacks and drinks while we wait?” She asked the group.

“That will be fine, thank you.” Liana replied with a kind smile,” Do you need any help?”

“No. Thank you for offering though. Make yourselves comfortable while I go prepare everything.” With that she turned and left the room.

“I don’t trust her.” Amaryllis grumbled as soon as Avanya was out of earshot. The others turned to her. “I mean, what’s so bad about revealing your name? She’s clearly hiding something.”

“True. But let’s not be too quick to judge her, she did say she will talk after dinner. Besides, we are strangers to her so she may not trust us to share some things with us.” Liana explained calmly.

Corey leaned back on his seat and smirked,” I think Ales got himself a Dominatrix.”

Mingjue’s eyes widen in shock at that, he quickly turned to Deimos as if to confirm Corey’s words and the man gave him a curt nod. After all, Deimos King was a Dominant himself who owned a couple of BDSM Clubs in a few States. The man knew all that there is to know about the community and could easily recognize anyone who is part of it. Amaryllis scowled at this new information, she was not into BDSM but she knew what it entails. She was even more worried for Alessio now since the man was clearly a submissive and she did not want Vanya to use him. Amaryllis Rockwell was not an easy woman to please, she was a stubborn and strict woman especially when it came to the people she cared about.

“You did not talk to her, should we be worried?” Mingjue asked Deimos tensely.

Though, Deimos was not the talkative type, he always tried to be sociable with his friends. The man always stayed silent when he did not wish to talk to whoever was around him or when he was observing his surroundings. If Deimos does not want to talk then he can go days without uttering a single word. It freaked his friends out at first but they began to understand him as time went by. Mingjue was a reserved man himself but he was always chatting and laughing with his group of friends and family. Deimos was a different case altogether, if he doesn’t know you, he won’t even spare you a glance. If the man did not like you then he won’t say a single word to you at all and he never speaks to people he does not trust either. Back in school people always mistaken him for being mute because the man never spoke to anyone or at least he never spoke in front of people who were not closest to him. Even in his own family, heck, the man had an identical twin but he rarely ever speaks to him. The only person he seem to talk to in his family is cousin brother, the boy was born blind and he was diagnosed with anxiety. Though Mingjue knew that Deimos was protective of his cousin because he was ‘a little’ and since no one in his family was into BDSM apart from him, they did not know how to take care of the boy. The first time the boy regressed, his parents were horrified to see their 16 years old son acting like a 3 year old child. They thought he was suffering from some mental disorder and were about to send him to a psychiatric center for treatment but Deimos stopped them having walked in on their conversation. He explained to his family what was going on and offered to take care of his cousin whenever he slipped into his little space until his parents learn how to look after him. It was hard for the family to digest but luckily, they were not against the idea so that’s how Deimos bonded with his cousin brother.

However, the way Deimos went silent the moment Avanya entered the room was not normal and it worried Mingjue. “Deimos, why are you silent? Is something wrong with Vanya?” Mingjue pushed.

Deimos looked at his friends before turning his gaze towards the kitchen. “I don’t know, Ming. I can’t read her.”

Liana gasped and Corey sat up straight. “What do you mean you can’t read her? Dei, you are the best at deductions and you have never been wrong. Heck, you are almost psychic and have always been able to read people like an open book. What do you mean you can’t read Vanya?” Liana whispered.

“Her body language does not give anything away, she stood in front of us like some fucking goddess, everything about her was in sync with what came out of her mouth and her eyes were cold. So cold it felt like an endless field of ice, when she looked at me, it was as if she knew I was reading her.” Deimos replied calmly.

“The fuck? Who the hell is this woman?” Amaryllis breathed shakily. Before any of them could say anything else, Avanya entered the room with the snacks.