Elizabeth's ring

At Ninfa's on Navigation, Lila's teammates were expecting her but Lila on the other hand was frantically looking for her mother's bracelet.

“Oh goodness, where did I drop it?” Lila screamed, clearly frustrated as she emptied everything in her bag and scattered it around but all to no avail.

“Where do you think Lila will be now, Danielle?” Cora asked in anticipation for Lila's arrival. She checked the time once again and it was almost 8:45 pm. “Lila promised 8 pm and she is almost 45 mins late already.” This was obviously a breach of time and agreement.

“Maybe she's stuck in traffic, I mean it's Friday night, and the night is still very cool so what do you expect?” Jennifer shrugged, making up a reason she believed must have delayed her.

“I called her already and she apologized and assured me that she would be here soon so please let's exercise a little more patience,” Danielle said, tapping her phone on her palm as she peered consistently at the front door hoping Lila would walk through it soon.

But 15 minutes later, Lila had yet to show up. “Time is no longer on our side, Danielle, please call the team leader again,” Cassandra requested, but just then there was a commotion and a stunningly dressed Lila came running through the door, under the awe of people who were cheering her on.

“And here comes the queen of tonight,” Kelvin announced first, sighting Lila not far away.

She looked stunning in her sophisticated blue dinner dress and that was all thanks to Daniel who had got for her a few days before the cooking competition started.

He smiled when he saw the way the blue dress looked on her.

“Oh please, don't flatter a young lady as she may start to feel bigger than she really is Mr Kelvin,” Lila teased as she came to sit down on the last chair left which was close to Daniel.

“I'm really and truly sorry for coming late guys,” she said calmly, glancing at the table that was almost empty, safe for water. “I had a situation but I'm her now, please let's make our orders. It's all on me tonight.”

“You look so beautiful tonight, I might just steal you away,” Daniel said, smiling at her warmly and she blushed in return.

“You look like a diva,” one of the ladies said as if on cue.

Then another agreed with her, “Yes she does. You look really good right now. I wanna set you up on a blind date with my uncle.”

“Who did your make up?” Jenifer asked, looking curiously at Lila. “You should use red lipstick often. It makes you look hot.”

More were still coming but Lila had to clear her throat and stop the bickering among her teammates and in the same process brought back composure.

“Thank you guys, but I'm sure we're here to eat and not to discuss how beautiful I am, so may we please do just that," She said, shaking her head slightly with a small smile hanging on her lips.

“Please let's order,” Danielle said, smiling in the awkward silence like she knew something I didn't. It was then I realized that Daniel was holding my arms under the chair and I blushed even harder.

The others didn't know what was going on and I preferred it that way. Kelvin waved for the waiter who immediately came to our table to take the order.

Everybody ordered what they wanted to eat and while they ate, Daniel still held my hands gazing into my eyes lovingly that I was almost scared that the rest would find out. But it seemed they were more occupied with their discussion about the happenings at the competition, throwing all caution to the wind.

As they enjoyed their meal, the conversation soon turned to their personal lives. Lila's teammates asked her about her love life, and she blushed, revealing nothing. Then, they turned to Daniel who was beside her.

"Hey, Daniel, what about you, are you seeing anyone currently?" Kelvin asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity as he shoved the food into his mouth.

Daniel hesitated, his gaze drifting to Lila. "Well, there's someone I've been thinking about asking out, but I don't know how to approach her."

Kelvin grinned mischievously. "Just say whatever comes out of your mouth, man! We'll give you our expert advice."

The table erupted in laughter and suggestions, with each person offering their own quirky advice. Lila's heart skipped a beat as she realized Daniel was talking about her, but she tried to play it cool.

"Follow your heart, Daniel," she said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

But Daniel's eyes locked onto hers, and he took a deep breath. "Lila, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Everyone at the table fell silent, as if sensing something huge was about to happen. Lila held her breath, dropping her spoon as she turned to face him.

"Lila, I was thinking... I've been in love with you ever since I first met you. And I have spent my time since then admiring you, watching you grow. And look at you now, you're all grown up, set to face life on your own but I don't want you to do it alone. I was thinking maybe we could try dating each other?" Daniel asked, holding his breath at the point. Literally everyone did, Lila on the other hand was trying to blink back the tears from her eyes but it didn't work and soon she broke down in tears and hugged Daniel tightly.

“I love you too, and I want to date you so badly.”

Lila and Daniel shared a kiss and everyone erupted in cheers as Lila hid her face in Daniel's shoulder while he chuckled.

At about 11 pm they finished their meal and Lila settled the payment even though Daniel insisted.

As they walked out of the restaurant, hand in hand, Lila's teammates surrounded them, congratulating and teasing them good-naturedly. Daniel grinned, looking elated, while Lila blushed, her eyes shining with happiness.

"I can't believe you finally confessed your feelings, Daniel!" Kelvin exclaimed, patting him on the back.

"I know, right? I was so nervous!" Daniel replied, laughing as he squeezed Lila's hand.

Lila smiled, her heart still racing from the surprise proposal. "I'm just glad I said yes!"

As they walked out into the night air, Daniel pulled Lila close, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. "So, what do you want to do first as my girlfriend?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Lila thought for a moment, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "How about we get ice cream? I heard there's a new flavor at that shop down the street."

Daniel chuckled, pulling her closer. "Sounds like a plan to me."

“Guys I'm feeling left out,” Danielle cried out, pulling Lila's other hand. “Besides the time is past 11, you can do all of that tomorrow,” Danielle continued, yawning tiredly.

That was how they called it a night promising to meet the next day.

****

On Axel's end, he had just arrived at home and was taking off his suit when he heard a faint sound of metal clinking against the tiled floor.

He looked down and saw a bracelet, he bent down and picked it up, examining it closely as he wondered where it came from.

The name "Elizabeth" was engraved on it, but it didn't ring a bell to him. He shrugged, placing it on his bedside table and continued undressing.

He showered and wore his night robe then turned on his laptop, looking over some files. Few minutes later, he turned it off and placed the laptop on the bedside table, close to the laptop. Turning off the lamp, he pulled the duvet over to his chest and closed his eyes.

Minutes later, he was still unable to sleep as he tossed and turned repeatedly. Finally he opened his eyes and the first thing in his peripheral was a faintly glowing light. He soon realized that it was the bracelet.

Axel's curiosity was piqued and he picked it up again. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it appeared to be damaged, as if it had been torn from someone's wrist.

“Now where did you come from?” The words drew out slowly from his lips.

He tried to remember who he had come in contact with and suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind - the cooking competition. He recalled catching her when she stumbled into him on his way out of the building.

“What was her name again?” Axel thought hard but he couldn't remember, suddenly a splitting pain coursed through his head, making him groan in pain as he dropped the bracelet, holding his head in pain, memories flashing through his memories.

Finally it stopped, leaving him heaving for breath, drenched with sweat despite the AC being on. He just picked the bracelet and threw it on the table and turned to go to bed.

******

The next morning, the news was abuzz with the Governor's death, his body had been discovered in a public area.

In the Roberts ancestral mansion, John Roberts, Axel's father, was watching the news when the door opened. Axel walked in with a majestic air, showing no concern as he left his own house to visit his father early in the morning, intending to discuss a work-related issue that had been bothering him.

"Good morning, Dad," he said, his tone lukewarm.

"Axel! I handed all my affairs over to you because I knew you were capable, not because I wanted you to start killing innocent people," his father said immediately, going straight to the point, not bothering to return the greeting.

"And who said I killed him? Let the police do their job and find who murdered the Governor," Axel replied, strolling upstairs to the study.

"Listen to me, young man. I know you killed that man because you found out about the public funds he embezzled, but that's none of your business. Like you said, let the cops do their job," John called out after him.

"Dad, getting rid of bad eggs like him will make the world a better place. I even tried to be considerate—I didn't separate his head from his body, and I made his remains visible to the media. I could have just made him disappear into thin air," he said, turning to stare at his father from the staircase, his face devoid of any emotion.

"I wish your mother was here to see what her son is turning into," the old man said angrily and Axel's face immediately turned gloomy. "I've made a decision young man, I'm giving you an ultimatum: you have two months to get married to the young lady, Lila who you presented with the award for best chef, she would make a good wife. I don't care how you do it but get her to agree to marry you and bring her to see me! Have I made myself clear?" The old man was seething with rage.