Chapter Nine

Ryan and I got out of the car and walked towards the restaurant. There are a lot of cars parked outside meaning the venue must be packed. As we draw closer, the more I see people lingering around the hill. They are taking pictures of themselves and the location. Well, the place is indeed on another level of aesthetic scenery.

"Diane!" My brother calls.

I look at where he is looking at. I see a girl by the middle stairs turning around. It is Diane. She sees us and waves at us while smiling brightly. Ryan bolts towards Diane leaving me behind. He pulls her into a hug and kisses her on her forehead.

Though the gesture is very affectionate, I still feel the cringe-ness. I guess it's a side effect of being a bitter, fresh-from-break-up lonely guy. When I finally reach them, they pull away from each other. Diane sees me and gives me a warm greeting.

"Hi, Kuya Justin! Good to see you."

"Yes, good to see you too, Kim!"

Diane giggles at my tease while my brother shoots me a murderous glare.

"What? Her first name is Kimberly Diane, right? There's nothing wrong if I call her "Kim", right, Kim?"

Diane once again laughs and then says.

"Sure, Kuya! Whatever floats your boat."

"Don't listen to him, Diane." Ryan coaxes Diane.

"Yeah, whatever floats your boat too. You're such a jealous type. You're lucky I love you." And then just like that, another sweet bubble envelopes the two lovebirds.

I cough to get their attention.

"Should we go inside?" I ask.

"Oh, right! Ate Claire is already upstairs. Come on! Let's go in." Diane says as she tugs Ryan along while I follow them.

We climb the stairs. As we walk up, I can smell the fragrance of the flowers nearby. No wonder this place got a five-star rating. I already want to give them a five-star even though I haven't entered the restaurant yet.

"This place is so beautiful," Ryan says voicing the thought in my mind.

"Yes, this branch is actually my favorite among all the branches of Aristo Pinoy."Diane chimes.

"You mean there are more!" Ryan says with wide eyes.

"Yes, at least one branch per major city in the Philippines. And I think there are also branches outside the Philippines. To tell you the truth, I don't know how many branches are there." Diane giggles to herself.

Soon enough, we reach the canopy of the restaurant. At the double-door entrance is a doorman. He is wearing the Philippine National Costume for men, the Barong Tagalog. The guy greets us in Filipino while bowing then opens one of the doors.

The moment we got in, my jaw dropped. This is the fanciest restaurant I have ever seen. Everywhere I look is so luxurious. The tables, the chairs, the walls, the counter, the servers, every inch of this place spells FANCY. Though the decoration gives off that native Filipino vibe, the designs took it to a whole new level. They look so exquisite that makes the place look so extravagant.

The air is filled with the delicious scents of the food. I can smell Sinigang, Tinola, Ginataan, and other Filipino dishes that I can't put a name to.

Diane leads us across the dining area towards the elevator. When we got in the elevator, Diane pressed the Up button. After a few seconds, the elevator door opens. We were greeted by another atmosphere.

Damn! If you think the first floor is already fancy, wait until you see the second floor. The second-floor dining area has a more modern twist. There are table booths at the sides for privacy. Though it looks modern, the ambiance still has a Filipino vibe.

Diane ushers us to go to one of the booths. Ryan and I choose the nearest one from the elevator. As we go to the booth, Diane goes inside a double door with an "Authorized Personnel Only" sign posted outside. The table is a rectangular one attached to the wall with two sofa benches that each can seat three people. I take the spot near the wall and Ryan sits beside me.

The moment we are settled in, a waiter comes forward to us with two glasses of water. He greets us and leaves the glasses on the table. I take my glass and sip the water. The coldness of the water is just right and very refreshing.

"I can't believe we're really here," I admit to Ryan.

"Well, we are really here and you are going to meet Ate Claire." He says.

I didn't know how to respond to that so I remained silent But Ryan broke that silence.

"You know? I was expecting you'll bail at the last minute." He admits.

"I was planning to." I also admit.

"Why did you change your mind then?" He asks.

"I understand that this is important for you and Diane. I feel like Diane is the one for you. Mom and Dad love her and we all treat her like she's a part of this family. But we can't ignore the fact that her side of the family is not head over heels with the idea of you two being together." I explain.

Ryan looks at me in a momentary shock. He didn't know that we knew about Diane's parents' disapproval of him. It's quite obvious actually. We don't know to what extent is their disapproval line on him. But we noticed some signs. Diane had been to our house a lot of times that we lost count. Ryan had only been to Diane's house once when she introduced him to her parents.

Another sign we saw is that they don't reach out to us. My mom loves giving Diane take-home meals whenever she stays for lunch or dinner. Mom noticed that Diane never says what her parents think of the food unless Mom asks. And every time, Diane's answer is always positive and suspiciously short. Which brings us to another sign. Diane rarely talks about her parents. She would either give a short comment or change the topic whenever we asked about her parents.

"I guess you, Mom, and Dad had noticed, right?" He says.

"Yes. We do. That is why I didn't pass on the opportunity to meet a family member of Diane. I think getting Claire on your side will at least be an advantage. After all, Diane's parents trust Claire. If we give her a good impression, she will most likely relay it to Diane's parents. Hopefully, in a gradual manner, her parents will learn to accept you."

"I hope so too," Ryan replies.

There was a short pause before Ryan spoke again.

"You know what? I'm happy you see it that way. I know I forced you on this double date. I didn't think at first if you were ready for this. After all, you just got out of a bad relationship."

"It's okay, I'm fine now." I lie.

"I don't think so. But anyway Kuya, I'm not asking you to date, Ate Claire. If you're not ready, then don't. I just hope you two will get along and be friends."

"Of course. That's our goal for tonight." I smile

Ryan smiles too. Then suddenly, we hear the double doors open. We see Diane coming out of it. She happily walks to our booth. My eyes are on Diane when I see the double doors open again. When our eyes locked, my jaw dropped.

NO WAY! NO FREAKING WAY!!!

The moment feels like a dream. No... it feels like a nightmare. This can't be Claire Solistre. This can't be the woman who Ryan says is kind and funny. This can't be the person Patrick is trying to date. This can't be the hottest girl on the campus. This can't be a more trustworthy person than Diane in her own parents' eyes.

But, I know very well that my eyes are not deceiving me.

Claire Solistre is the woman who stole my girlfriend.