The Best Friend's Contract

"Oh, matching bracelets. How cute," He says before taking another sip. "It'd be nice if I was ever given one," He rolls his eyes, precisely jealous about always being left out.

"We got it when we were seventeen. You weren't even in our lives back then," Kenna replies as she takes a water bottle in the fridge before taking a sip while I take a seat on the stool near the kitchen counter.

"You really like to break my heart, don't you?" He places his right hand on his chest, pretending to be severely hurt but Kenna doesn't seem to mind as she sticks her tongue out at his direction before placing the water bottle on the kitchen counter-in between Dimitri and

1.

All of a sudden, the doorbell starts to ring which causes me to stand up and head towards the front door while both Kenna and Dimitri start to bicker. Their voices are getting louder and louder but I pay no attention; sometimes, I swear I can even predict what they're going to say.

I pull the door open to see my mother standing with a smile on her face which causes me to clench my jaw, immediately. "Mother... what are you doing here?" I ask, feeling unsure.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Please, don't tell me that she's trying to alter my life again because I would probably just run away to Germany or even Russia because I'm getting sick and tired of everything. She can't just come here to my penthouse apartment without telling but she always does that and she gets away with it, all the time.

Mother starts to frown as she hears noises and grunts at the back while I place my hand against the wall, not letting her inside. "You shouldn't be here," I add.

"Is that Dimitri?" She asks, pointing at someone behind me which causes me to turn and see Dimitri being strangled by Kenna as she climbs onto his back, their voices filling the room. Deep down inside, I feel like face-palming myself or hit my head against the wall because now, mother won't leave the apartment.

Both Kenna and Dimitri appear to be shocked at the presence as they stand still, fixing their hair and crumpled clothes.

"Diana! What a pleasant surprise to see you here," Dimitri exclaims with a huge grin plastered on his face as he pulls my mother in before landing a peck on her cheek, "It has been awhile since we've seen each other, don't you think? How have you been?" He adds, placing a hand behind her waist, leading her inside.

"We saw each other at the wedding, Dimitri." She replies, leaving Dimitri chuckling as he tries to make the situation less awkward. "I've been well, how about you? How is your business going with the hotels? I heard that you're making a new expansion to Beijing," She smiles.

"Where did you hear that? News do travel fast, don't they?" He laughs.

Kenna and I glance at each other as Dimitri and my mother take a seat in the living room, leaving me to join them. He is always acting like this around my mother and distracting her by talking about his businesses and his achievements because apparently, mother likes it when she hears about success.

"How's Brody? Now, it has been awhile since I've seen him. You didn't bring him to the wedding," She continues to speak.

"Brody is staying with his mother for a couple of weeks which explains why I'm here and trying my best to find some company but since you're here, Diana... we have a lot we can talk about." He smiles at her, flashing off his perfectly straight teeth-no doubt, mother has always enjoyed his company and sometimes more than she enjoys mine.

"Well, I actually came here to talk with my daughter-in-law." She looks up at Kenna who is slightly surprised at the sudden call.

I scoot towards Kenna and place my arm around her shoulder, trying to appear like the loving couple mother has always imagined while Kenna snuggles closer towards me. This is going to be a tough act to follow because well, whenever our families are around, there's always going to be acting and trying to act all sweet and shit.

"They're so adorable that I feel like I'm going to throw up," Dimitri fakes a loud laugh, running his fingers through his hair, carelessly.

My eyes narrow at him as he pays no attention, at all. My mother clears her throat as she looks at Kenna, "Have you two decided about your honeymoon destination? It has been a couple of days since the wedding and think that you deserve more time together, far away from the city. Probably, Bali? Maldives?" She asks, a smile plastered on her face.

Kenna shakes her head, "We're actually very busy and we haven't found the right time to plan our honeymoon. Actually, it hasn't even crossed our minds." She replies.

"How is that possible? You two are married," Mother frowns.

I clear my throat, "Mother, I would really appreciate if you stay out of our personal lives and let us discuss it some other time. Besides, we have all the time in the world to go on our honeymoon, right? Why should we rush it?" I fake a large grin.

"Why should you wait?" She raises an eyebrow, "For all I remember, your brother and your sister-in-law was ecstatic to go on their honeymoon because they couldn't stay away from each other but you two... seems to not be bothered by it, at all?" She adds.

If we want this marriage to work for a year and fool them, we have got to keep up with our lies and actings. Sooner or later, they might get suspicious especially mother. She knows when things are wrong or when she's being fooled unless Kenna and I do a really good job at it. "We thought maybe in a year," I blurt out.

Kenna chuckles, "Yeah... we talked about it but we never really confirmed it. Both of us are very busy with our careers and we seem to understand that. We both know how important it is to spend some quality time together and rushing it would be quite, the opposite." She breathes.

My eyes wander down to see Kenna playing with her fingers, she would only do that whenever she's nervous or uneasy and right now, she's feeling both. Spontaneously, I grab onto her hand and smile down at her; mother instantly catching the sudden action which causes her lips to curve up into a smile.

Dimitri, on the other hand, stays silent as he eyes us with a smirk.

"What about you two come along to Texas?" Mother asks, causing both Kenna and I to drop our smiles and it seems like we're currently picking up our jaws on the floor.

"Didn't we just say that we're busy?" I furrow my brows.

"Why... your father and I are

celebrating our anniversary next week. Your brother, your sister-in-law, Ava and Mia are also tagging along. Why won't you two come too? It'll be great. Besides, it has been awhile since both of you went back to my hometown. We'll be having so much fun, don't you think?" She continues to speak while I turn to look at Kenna.

"We can't," Kenna and I reply in unison.

True, it has been years since Kenna and I went back to Dallas. In fact, we went there together when we were both ten it was sixteen years ago We were having a great time

and it was a great expecte

that was the last time we ever go back, things started to change and my family got busier, we forgot where we came from.

Specifically saying, where both mother and father came from.

Mother starts to stand up as she lets out a deep sigh, "I'm going to say this one more time. You two have forgotten about the importance of family. So, let me repeat... Aidan, your father and I will be celebrating our anniversary in Dallas. We'll all be there except for you and your wife but I expect otherwise."

She continues to speak, "No matter how busy you are or how important that work of yours, your family will always comes first because they've always been there for you. Not your career, not your employees and not your clients. I hope you'll realise that," She adds. Then, she turns to Kenna with a small smile on her face before heading towards the door, leaving the three of us, utterly speechless at our spots.