Excessive PDA...
That’s exactly what was being displayed before Lillian as she sat in a restaurant with Aria and Gabriel.
Her eyes twitched in annoyance as she watched Aria practically feed Gabriel a spoonful of dessert like they were in so cheesy romance comrcial.
"Babe, you have to try this," Aria said, her voice dripping with affection. "It’s so good."
Gabriel chuckled softly, leaning in obediently as she guided the spoon toward his mouth. "You know, I could just order my own, right?"
"But then it wouldn’t taste as sweet," Aria replied with a wink.
Lillian’s soul nearly left her body.
She dropped her fork on the table with a bit too much force as she stared at the pair, "You two do realize we’re I’m still here, right?" she finally said, trying to keep her tone calm—and failing miserably.
Aria, she expected this from, since that’s basically how she was, but Gabriel?
He now seed like a puppy compared to when they first t. Lillian knew she should’ve stayed back in the hotel room, reviewing the docs instead of being subjected to this.
Hell, Aria didn’t even look guilty. "Public affection is healthy for relationships, Lil. You should try it soti."
"Besides," she added, "you’re just jealous that you don’t get to be this lovey dovey with your dear Ethan."
"W-what do you an?" Lillian stuttered out, "Ethan and I are not dating....a-and even if we are, we’re both too busy to waste ti spoon-feeding each other dessert in public!"
"Is that so?" Aria gave her a knowing look, "then I guess you also don’t mind him living happily ever after with a certain competition of yours, right."
"I—" she was at a loss for words to say, she knew anything she said right now would just be used against, so she chose to be silent....which was also used against her.
"Lil, your ears are turning pink," Aria pointed out, chuckling softly.
Lillian groaned and buried her face in her hands. "You’re insufferable."
"Admit it," Aria said, nudging her. "You’re jealous."
"I’m not."
"You so are."
Gabriel tried to hide his laughter behind a polite cough, though the corners of his mouth betrayed him. "You two remind of my younger sisters," he said lightly, "always bickering, but inseparable."
Aria bead. "See? He gets it."
"No he doesn’t," Lillian said. "Besides, I just don’t want to be subjected to this much PDA."
Aria chuckled, resting her chin in her hand. "Co on, you have to admit, you wish you and Ethan were in the sa position."
Lillian wanted to deny but she couldn’t, so she used her right to remain silent.... But Aria still wasn’t done yet as she added,
"Besides, You can’t see a face as adorable as this and not want to munch on it." She pointed at Gabriel’s face.
"Adorable?" Lillian repeated, her eyes twitching. "He’s a six-foot-two doctor, Aria, not a golden retriever."
"Exactly," Aria grinned, nudging Gabriel with her elbow. "A tall golden retriever."
"I’m really sorry about her, Ms Hayes," Gabriel said, finally suppressing the urge to laugh.
"Don’t worry about it," Lillian replied, "I’ve been dealing with her for years now, so I know her antics."
"Antics?" Aria gasped, feigning offense. "Excuse you, these ’antics’ are what keep your boring life interesting."
"Unfortunately," Lillian muttered, letting out a sigh.
"I see," Gabriel nodded in understanding.
His new girlfriend....was pretty energetic to say the least but he had sohow co to like it in just a week and even he didn’t fully understand how.
When they first t, he regarded her flirting as just a joke but he soon found out exactly how serious she was when she returned a month later.
From then on he felt like he had been strapped onto a speeding train as their relationship moved faster than anything he had ever experienced.
Did he hate it?
Not in the least bit, Aria was chaotic, yes, but she was also impossible to ignore and that was what pulled him to her.
She had this uncanny ability to pull him out of his shell and into her rhythm, his previous structured life had flipped upside down the mont she entered it and he couldn’t let out a single voice of complain.
"You’re getting lost in thoughts again," Aria’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, "what were you thinking about?"
"You," Gabriel simply said and for just a fraction of a second, Lillian saw a blush appeared on Aria’s cheek, though it disappeared as quickly as it appeared and a grin had graced her face again.
"You know what," Lillian said, "I feel like a light bulb right now, so I’ll go back to my room to review so files, you two can go ahead with....your PDA."
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop," Aria finally said, "I just wanted to get you out of the hotel room to spend so ti with us."
Just when Lillian thought she was done and was about to sit back down, Aria added, "plus, you’re cute when you’re flustered, you know that?"
"Remind why I’m friends with you again?" Lillian asked with a sigh.
"Because deep down, you know your life will be boring without ." Aria answered with a chuckle.
"That’s debatable," Lillian said in reply.
"No it’s not."
"But I really am getting tired so I have to rest and prepare for the eting," Lillian finally said with a resigned sigh.
Aria laughed. "Fine, fine. Go be your professional self. We’ll see you back at the hotel, okay?"
"Please don’t do anything that’ll end up on the evening news," Lillian muttered as she stood.
"No promises!" Aria called out after her.
"Good luck on the eting tomorrow, Ms Hayes," Gabriel said, "my board might be a little stubborn but they all an well and only want to see the growth of the hospital."
Lillian smiled faintly, adjusting the strap of her bag. "I’ll keep that in mind. And don’t worry, I’ve dealt with worse than stubborn boards."
Gabriel chuckled softly. "I see, then I’ll take your word for it."
"I’ll see you two tomorrow," Lillian said finally, turning to leave.
"Night, boss lady!" Aria sang out.
Lillian didn’t look back, least she risked showing Aria the smile on her face, which would only work to increase the teasing sessions.
She stepped outside, imdiately hit by the cold night air before walking a bit forward, where a black car with its driver were waiting on her.
Entering, she leaned back, relaxed and ready to get so rest and prepare for the next day.
Her phone let out a ding and lit up, revealing a ssage from Ethan which read:
[Good luck on the eting.]
Ethan wasn’t exactly the sentintal type so the simple ssage really worked to fill her heart with glee, luckily Aria wasn’t around to see her reaction.
With a smile, she typed a thank you reply and send it before saying goodbye and resting her head back on the chair.
***
Sowhere in China.
"So, Madam Xu," a male sitting opposite her, with a cup of green tea in hand, said, "what’s the reason for us eting in person?"
Madam Xu gave him a polite smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "You’re a cautious one, Mr. Long. I respect that. But I think you’ll find my reason for calling you here... profitable."
Long arched an eyebrow. "Profitable?"
Her nails tapped multiple tis against her own porcelain cup before she spoke again. "Let’s just say I have unfinished business with a certain company that humiliated — and I intend to return the favor, multiple folds."
Long’s expression didn’t change, but his silence invited her to continue.
She leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other. "OmniTech Corporation."
That na alone drew a visible reaction — a subtle change in Long’s calm deanor. "Ah," he said after a pause, "so this is about that incident."
"Call it what you want," Madam Xu said coldly. "But after what they did, I can’t sit still."
Her voice hardened. "You rember Elderwood, don’t you? My team."
"Of course," Long replied slowly. "One of the most talented hacking units operating under your directive. Until they were... arrested, wasn’t it?"
"Arrested," she repeated, bitterness evident in her tobe. "Exposed and humiliated all because of Sentinel."
Long nodded, understanding dawning. "OmniTech’s AI defense system."
"Yes," Madam Xu said through gritted teeth. "That wretched thing found every backdoor, every planted worm, every line of code they used during Operation Aurora. My team didn’t even realize they’d been caught until the feds were already kicking down their doors."
Her grip tightened around the teacup handle. "Do you know how much reputation I lost that day, Long? Do you know what it’s like to have the world see you — — as a fool? A woman outsmarted by a company that didn’t even exist a year ago?"
"So yes," she said, her voice quiet but sharp. "I want payback. Not just on OmniTech... but on whoever built that damned system."
Long studied her for a long mont, his expression unreadable. Then he asked, "And what exactly do you expect to do?"
"If OmniTech Corp has decided to court death," she paused, "why not introduce them to the reaper itself?"
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