Female lead's POV
    "You really need to fill your kitchen with more and varieties of foodstuffs. At first, I didn't even know what to start with but I eventually found what to cook" I told him as I set his dining table.
 "That's so sweet of you. Now don't tell me you are leaving very soon just because you are done cooking?" Liam said.
   "Oh then what else should I do? Bath you?" I teased and he laughed..
    "And cuddle me to sleep if possible" He added.
    
    "Huh?" 'Cos I was only joking around.
"Get..get something to eat for yourself too; we both returned from this tiring work at the same time" He changed the subject immediately.
 "Before you even say" I sneered then got myself a plate of the meal.. sat in front of him on the dining table.
  We are silently but I noticed he was stealing glances at me, maybe because I was staring at him, that's how I noticed.
   "What is it again Liam?" I just had to ask.
 "Because I am looking at you means I wanna request for something?" He retorted.
   "Yeah that's the same look you gave that made me follow you home" I told him.
    "Anyways, you are wrong this time. I just wanna tell you that the meal is so delicious" He complimented.
    "Hmmn thank you" I responded.
    
 "...uhm..and eating together with you reminds me of Clara.." He added.
  "You mentioned her name again"
 "Don't worry I am over it. We had lunch like this to get her and the feelings was still there.."
 His phone sudden rang, Oh Good! It cut him off at the right time... I don'wanna ever imagine being Clara's surrogate to him.
    
     "It's Helen" He mouthed.
    "Don't tell her that I'm at your place" I told him but he picked the call and clicked on the loud speaker icon.
    ~"Hello Liam, I'm sorry I am just reaching out to you, I have been so occupied you know" Helen said.
~"Apology accepted.."Liam said.
  ~"Do you feel good?" She asked him.
~"Way more than better"
  ~"Oh that's good to know. So Liam, did you see Eve at the office today?"
 ~"Yeah, of course; it's work day"
    
 ~ "Are you still at work Liam?" She asked.
  ~"No, I am at home, why do you ask?"
 ~"Because Eve is not back yet!" She responded.
 ~"Oh She..."
    
    I placed my middle finger on his lips.
 ~"Maybe..she..visited..someone" Liam said.
 ~"Exactly my guess. Eve must have done to see her boyfriend again" She stated.
    "Huh..." I almost exclaimed aloud.
  "Haha" Liam laughed weirdly... "She'ld be back soon... Just don't tell Mr Maya that she visited someone" Liam told her.
    "Yeah she's so lucky, I gat her back. Alright Liam, Bye" She said and hung up the call.
    
  I sighed to catch up with my breathe quickly because I literally paused throughout the phone call.
    "But I am sorry Eve, Mark already found out that you were here before" Liam said.
   "What?"
  "It was so obvious, the bag, the food, the two glasses of wines.. So I had to tell him the truth"
    "Ah!"
   "It's fine, I know Mark won't go around telling anyone not even our father"
  "Mark actually  pretended like he knew nothing. Oh My God" I exclaimed.
    "It's not like we are secretly doing something really bad" He said...; "Just view it as you paid your stepson a visit to see how is doing"
    "Fine... Anyone of this wasn't my decision, you literally forced me"
    "Haha!"
    
    "So who is that boyfriend you are always visiting?"
    "What boyfriend are you talking about?"
    "Didn't you hear what she said, she thinks you must have gone to your boyfriend's place again. Like Again?" He said.. and I looked at him like..
"I think you should better eat quietly, so you won't choke" I retorted but he dropped his fork and folded his hand.
   "We should probably talk first. Are you cheating on my father?" He asked jokingly.
    "No I am not" then I hissed.
 He laughed..
    "You know Eve, there are a lot of things I wanna know about you Eve" He said.
  "Oh Liam" I shook my head.
    
 "Okay I am serious now" He said.
    "Okay" I responded bluntly.
 "Did you and my father really have s*x?" I didn't expect that question so it almost made me choked. I coughed out and drank some water immediately.
  "Sorry, I told you to stop eat and let's talk" He said passing the napkin to me.
    
    "Are you fine now?" He asked when I stopped coughing and I nodded. 
    
    "I just wanted to clear my doubt because sometimes you talk like you really do not want to have anything to do with my father including s*x. I also assisted you by giving a piece of an advise but at the same, I remember that I caught the two of you in the act..." Liam said.
   "We didn't have sex" I told him..
    "Ohh" He grimaced.
  "We almost had s*x and he forced me all in the name that we are now newly wedded" I replied truthfully.
  "Ohh" He said again, nodding as if he understood all what I was saying.
    "And ever since then, it never happened again because I am playing smart with him" I told him but he continued folding his hand and looking at me like he got more questions to ask me.
  "So that's it" I said.
    
"Eve, I want to be someone you can always open up to" Liam said but I bit my lips. "You and my dad were together last night, why are you lying to me? I overheard everything when dad was talking to you today at the office" He said.
    "So you were eavesdropping" I mumbled.
  "Sorry to say, I was at the door... Do you by chance like my father? Like; like like?"
    "No" I blurted..
  "About that..." I mumbled.
  "Is there something you aren't telling me?" He asked me.
    "Yes" I nodded slowly.
  "What is it?"
    "Your father and I didn't have s*x last night but I made him think we did" I told Liam.
    
    "How?" He asked..
 "He...he..slept off. I... I...put some sleeping pills in his water. Liam I am sorry" I quickly apologised but he sat there look at me like I did with his hands under his jaw.
  "I just had to do it. He didn't remember anything that happened between us last night, so I lied that we were together." I finally confided him.
    
    "Hmmm... " He finally said something.
 "I am very sorry" I apologized again.
    "You don't have to be sorry though. I'ld call that a 'Self Justice " He said as he picked up his fork and continued eating.
    "You are not upset?" I asked; burrowing my eyes into his.
  "Upset?"  He gave a short laugh.
 "Not at all. What's there to be upset about? You know I was also planning to do the exact same thing..."
   "What..."
   "Yeah, I'm still summoning the guts to make him deep sleep and cut off that s*xual organ that's making him unreasonable" He said and I chuckled; he did too.
    
    "Eve" He called my name; just when I picked up my fork to continue eating too.
 "What?"
  "Errm... I really meant it when I said I am interested in knowing you more" He said.., gazing at me then I wanted to speak up, he added:"Wait! Is that how I said it earlier? No, I said there are a lot of things for me to know about you" He added.
    "But I am also trying to open up to you Liam; as far as it's within my capacity to endure" I told him, he smiled then nodded.
   "No, that's not what I mean or let's say it's part of it" He replied.
    
  I furrowed my eyebrow and asked him; "What is it Liam?"
  "Okay.." He took a deep breathe then let them all out.
 "Aside my brother Mark, you are the literally the only one that is ready to listen to me...plus I now know a secret about you too which means that you confided in me because you trust me" He paused..
    "Yeah...i do" I stuttered.
 "And I am forever ready to assist you in anyway you need help. Eve I would like us to be pretty close" He proposed.
    "We already are"
  "No we are not" He said..holding my hand which was initially lying on the table.
    I felt a cold shiver running down my vein as soon as he touched me. I don't know what it means but I know that this gentle solemn conversation we are currently having all alone makes me feel sort of nervous.
    I stopped looking at him slowly.
   "Best friends" He spelled out. "It's funny how I wanna be best friends with a lady my father married" He added.
    
    I bit my lips; then withdrew my hand slowly from him.
    "Oh sorry about that" He said.
    "It's nothing" I cleared my throat~making that awkward sound.. I managed to look at him again only for our eyes to meet and he was smiling widely.. Little did I know that I was drooling again for his glowing face.
  "Intimate friends?" He drove me back to reality..
    I marked his lips and nodded..
    "Yeah" I finally answered him.
    
    *****
    ***_
    
  
    Female lead's POV
    "You really need to fill your kitchen with more and varieties of foodstuffs. At first, I didn't even know what to start with but I eventually found what to cook" I told him as I set his dining table.
 "That's so sweet of you. Now don't tell me you are leaving very soon just because you are done cooking?" Liam said.
   "Oh then what else should I do? Bath you?" I teased and he laughed..
    "And cuddle me to sleep if possible" He added.
    
    "Huh?" 'Cos I was only joking around.
"Get..get something to eat for yourself too; we both returned from this tiring work at the same time" He changed the subject immediately.
 "Before you even say" I sneered then got myself a plate of the meal.. sat in front of him on the dining table.
  We are silently but I noticed he was stealing glances at me, maybe because I was staring at him, that's how I noticed.
   "What is it again Liam?" I just had to ask.
 "Because I am looking at you means I wanna request for something?" He retorted.
   "Yeah that's the same look you gave that made me follow you home" I told him.
    "Anyways, you are wrong this time. I just wanna tell you that the meal is so delicious" He complimented.
    "Hmmn thank you" I responded.
    
 "...uhm..and eating together with you reminds me of Clara.." He added.
  "You mentioned her name again"
 "Don't worry I am over it. We had lunch like this to get her and the feelings was still there.."
 His phone sudden rang, Oh Good! It cut him off at the right time... I don'wanna ever imagine being Clara's surrogate to him.
    
     "It's Helen" He mouthed.
    "Don't tell her that I'm at your place" I told him but he picked the call and clicked on the loud speaker icon.
    ~"Hello Liam, I'm sorry I am just reaching out to you, I have been so occupied you know" Helen said.
~"Apology accepted.."Liam said.
  ~"Do you feel good?" She asked him.
~"Way more than better"
  ~"Oh that's good to know. So Liam, did you see Eve at the office today?"
 ~"Yeah, of course; it's work day"
    
 ~ "Are you still at work Liam?" She asked.
  ~"No, I am at home, why do you ask?"
 ~"Because Eve is not back yet!" She responded.
 ~"Oh She..."
    
    I placed my middle finger on his lips.
 ~"Maybe..she..visited..someone" Liam said.
 ~"Exactly my guess. Eve must have done to see her boyfriend again" She stated.
    "Huh..." I almost exclaimed aloud.
  "Haha" Liam laughed weirdly... "She'ld be back soon... Just don't tell Mr Maya that she visited someone" Liam told her.
    "Yeah she's so lucky, I gat her back. Alright Liam, Bye" She said and hung up the call.
    
  I sighed to catch up with my breathe quickly because I literally paused throughout the phone call.
    "But I am sorry Eve, Mark already found out that you were here before" Liam said.
   "What?"
  "It was so obvious, the bag, the food, the two glasses of wines.. So I had to tell him the truth"
    "Ah!"
   "It's fine, I know Mark won't go around telling anyone not even our father"
  "Mark actually  pretended like he knew nothing. Oh My God" I exclaimed.
    "It's not like we are secretly doing something really bad" He said...; "Just view it as you paid your stepson a visit to see how is doing"
    "Fine... Anyone of this wasn't my decision, you literally forced me"
    "Haha!"
    
    "So who is that boyfriend you are always visiting?"
    "What boyfriend are you talking about?"
    "Didn't you hear what she said, she thinks you must have gone to your boyfriend's place again. Like Again?" He said.. and I looked at him like..
"I think you should better eat quietly, so you won't choke" I retorted but he dropped his fork and folded his hand.
   "We should probably talk first. Are you cheating on my father?" He asked jokingly.
    "No I am not" then I hissed.
 He laughed..
    "You know Eve, there are a lot of things I wanna know about you Eve" He said.
  "Oh Liam" I shook my head.
    
 "Okay I am serious now" He said.
    "Okay" I responded bluntly.
 "Did you and my father really have s*x?" I didn't expect that question so it almost made me choked. I coughed out and drank some water immediately.
  "Sorry, I told you to stop eat and let's talk" He said passing the napkin to me.
    
    "Are you fine now?" He asked when I stopped coughing and I nodded. 
    
    "I just wanted to clear my doubt because sometimes you talk like you really do not want to have anything to do with my father including s*x. I also assisted you by giving a piece of an advise but at the same, I remember that I caught the two of you in the act..." Liam said.
   "We didn't have sex" I told him..
    "Ohh" He grimaced.
  "We almost had s*x and he forced me all in the name that we are now newly wedded" I replied truthfully.
  "Ohh" He said again, nodding as if he understood all what I was saying.
    "And ever since then, it never happened again because I am playing smart with him" I told him but he continued folding his hand and looking at me like he got more questions to ask me.
  "So that's it" I said.
    
"Eve, I want to be someone you can always open up to" Liam said but I bit my lips. "You and my dad were together last night, why are you lying to me? I overheard everything when dad was talking to you today at the office" He said.
    "So you were eavesdropping" I mumbled.
  "Sorry to say, I was at the door... Do you by chance like my father? Like; like like?"
    "No" I blurted..
  "About that..." I mumbled.
  "Is there something you aren't telling me?" He asked me.
    "Yes" I nodded slowly.
  "What is it?"
    "Your father and I didn't have s*x last night but I made him think we did" I told Liam.
    
    "How?" He asked..
 "He...he..slept off. I... I...put some sleeping pills in his water. Liam I am sorry" I quickly apologised but he sat there look at me like I did with his hands under his jaw.
  "I just had to do it. He didn't remember anything that happened between us last night, so I lied that we were together." I finally confided him.
    
    "Hmmm... " He finally said something.
 "I am very sorry" I apologized again.
    "You don't have to be sorry though. I'ld call that a 'Self Justice " He said as he picked up his fork and continued eating.
    "You are not upset?" I asked; burrowing my eyes into his.
  "Upset?"  He gave a short laugh.
 "Not at all. What's there to be upset about? You know I was also planning to do the exact same thing..."
   "What..."
   "Yeah, I'm still summoning the guts to make him deep sleep and cut off that s*xual organ that's making him unreasonable" He said and I chuckled; he did too.
    
    "Eve" He called my name; just when I picked up my fork to continue eating too.
 "What?"
  "Errm... I really meant it when I said I am interested in knowing you more" He said.., gazing at me then I wanted to speak up, he added:"Wait! Is that how I said it earlier? No, I said there are a lot of things for me to know about you" He added.
    "But I am also trying to open up to you Liam; as far as it's within my capacity to endure" I told him, he smiled then nodded.
   "No, that's not what I mean or let's say it's part of it" He replied.
    
  I furrowed my eyebrow and asked him; "What is it Liam?"
  "Okay.." He took a deep breathe then let them all out.
 "Aside my brother Mark, you are the literally the only one that is ready to listen to me...plus I now know a secret about you too which means that you confided in me because you trust me" He paused..
    "Yeah...i do" I stuttered.
 "And I am forever ready to assist you in anyway you need help. Eve I would like us to be pretty close" He proposed.
    "We already are"
  "No we are not" He said..holding my hand which was initially lying on the table.
    I felt a cold shiver running down my vein as soon as he touched me. I don't know what it means but I know that this gentle solemn conversation we are currently having all alone makes me feel sort of nervous.
    I stopped looking at him slowly.
   "Best friends" He spelled out. "It's funny how I wanna be best friends with a lady my father married" He added.
    
    I bit my lips; then withdrew my hand slowly from him.
    "Oh sorry about that" He said.
    "It's nothing" I cleared my throat~making that awkward sound.. I managed to look at him again only for our eyes to meet and he was smiling widely.. Little did I know that I was drooling again for his glowing face.
  "Intimate friends?" He drove me back to reality..
    I marked his lips and nodded..
    "Yeah" I finally answered him.
    
    *****
    ***_