[Present day]

Eliz waited by the porch with her mother as she hugged herself to calm her anxiety. She looked down at her clothes and tried to fix her flower-printed blouse and below-the-knee skirt, though there was nothing to fix.

"Darling, I'm so excited! It's been so long since your brother came home. This time, I think he's staying for good!"

The delight and excitement painted Marcelina's bright face. She was more hyper than usual.

Eliz adored her mother's childlike personality.

She smiled. "Me too, Mom. Me too."

Her words were half-baked truth. She didn't want to show excitement, but deep inside she wanted to jump around in happiness.

Eliz hadn't seen her brother for six years. She felt an ache creeping in her jaw when she thought of the moment she would be captivated by his alluring eyes again.

Yet, she was also nervous.

Everyone in the mansion, including Marcelina and Eliz, cleaned the house and polished every corner. Marcelina cooked numerous dishes like they were preparing for a banquet. It was as joyous as welcoming a king into a mansion.

Marcelina took Eliz's hands and squeezed them lovingly.

"I know it might be hard for you, but I hope this time, the two of you will learn to become fond of each other. If he says something inappropriate, tell me right away. I will whack his head for you."

Eliz chuckled. When Marcelina looked away, Eliz's warm smile slugged into a forced one.

Eliz knew if her brother bullied her again, she would never be able to tell Marcelina. She felt like she didn't have the right to complain.

Somehow, Eliz knew that her brother's presence inside the mansion would only hurt her.

However…

She ached to see him.

"I miss him," Marcelina sighed as if she was fondly looking back at some memories with her son. Then she turned to Eliz. "Did you miss him too?"

"I–"

Eliz felt a huge lump in her throat. She couldn't say yes, because she wanted to keep her pride. Yet, she couldn't say no, because that would be lying.

Marcelina jumped up and shrieked, startling Eliz when she saw the huge gate of the mansion open.

"He's here! He's here!" Marcelina chanted.

Eliz let out a low laugh when her mother hop-skipped like a child to meet the incoming car. She drew a long breath and released it out loud.

'He's here… he's here…' she repeated in her head like a chant to calm herself down.

When her nerves calmed, she followed Marcelina.

Eliz bit her lower lip in anticipation. She couldn't wait for the car to stop so she would finally see him. When the car's engine finally died, Eliz fisted her long skirt and prepared her heart.

The car door opened, and the first thing Eliz saw was a man's shoe. She immediately recognized her brother's usual love for neatness by how his black shoe shone.

When he was finally out of the car, Marcelina jumped up and hugged him right away.

"Maximus!" Marcelina shrieked in euphoria. "Honey, I missed you so much! I'm so happy you finally decided to come home!"

Maximus chortled. He hugged his mother back.

While Eliz was watching the heartwarming reunion of the two, a small smile formed on her mouth. Her mother often cried because she missed Maximus, so she understood why she was so happy.

She did feel a bit jealous.

'I wonder if Maximus would ever laugh because of me.' Eliz wondered, as never once did she see Maximus smile at her or even in her direction.

While embracing his mother, Maximus brought his gaze upon Eliz, who stood stiffly a few meters away. Her milky-white skin looked better underneath the sun. The soft curls of her dark brown hair were hanging in the right place.

Eliz hadn't changed at all from Maximus's perspective. She was still that girl who liked flower-printed blouses and below-the-knee skirts.

Eliz mentally gasped when her round eyes met Maximus' protruding coal-black ones. She had always thought his buzz cut was the most attractive trait about him. Her thin lips twitched as she pressed them together uncomfortably.

Maximus didn't smile, glare, or scowl at her like he used to. Which was more hurtful to her.

She would rather see him angry than devoid of any emotion as if her presence did not affect him a bit.

She held her breath as she felt the suffocating feeling envelope her.

The longing.

She felt complicated about the half-euphoric, half-depressing fact that Maximus finally came home. He held her soul hostage for a few seconds, but his eyes shunned from Eliz's when Marcelina spoke.

"Why are you wearing a suit? You're coming home to your family, not meeting a client." Marcelina pouted.

A small frown appeared on Maximus' face. "You don’t look cute pouting, just so you know."

Marcelina immediately disassembled her pout, which almost made Eliz chuckle from afar.

Maximus took off his suit jacket, and handed it to a maid nearby. He looked equally debonair under the suit with his crisp white shirt and grey chinos.

"I drove here immediately after my farewell party," he said.

Suddenly, Marcelina sniveled. By how Maximus's eyes rolled, Eliz could already tell her mother was crying.

Maximus hugged Marcelina again and rubbed her back gently.

"Why are you crying?" thoughtfully, he asked.

"I'm just happy. So happy." Marcelina sniveled again. "Finally, our family is together."

Marcelina looked back at Eliz, and the latter immediately showed a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Sweetheart," Marcelina called to Eliz. "Come here."

Before Eliz could take a step forward, Maximus spoke.

"Mom, I brought someone," he announced.

Seeing how her mother turned to look at Eliz implied that she had no idea Maximus would bring a guest.

Maximus glided to the other side of the car and opened the door. The flashy silver-strapped high heels that came out of the car made Eliz aware that whoever Maximus had brought was definitely a woman.

True to her assumption, a woman stepped out of the car, wearing a fit puffed sleeve top and a mini skirt. Her long bleached straight hair was let loose, and it fell right up till her hips. She wore classy black eyeliner.

The attractive woman mesmerized Eliz for a hot second. Subconsciously, Eliz looked down at what she was wearing. They were opposites when it came to how they dressed.

The sight of Maximus' hand on the woman's waist pinched Eliz's heart. She scolded herself internally for feeling even a bit of bitterness regarding that.

Maximus gracefully led the woman to his mother, possessively wrapping his arm on the woman's thin waist.

"This is Jenice. My girlfriend." He introduced her to Marcelina.

'Girlfriend…' Eliz repeated in her head.

"Hi, nice to meet you!" Marcelina cheerfully greeted and hugged the lady.

"Mrs. Wright, I heard so much about you," Jenice told Marcelina. "Maxy talks about you all the time."

'Maxy?' Eliz exclaimed the unfamiliar nickname inside her head.

"Really? Oh my!" Marcelina shrieked as her heart swelled at the news.

Eliz realized that Maximus' taste in women stayed the same through the years. He liked provocative, open-minded, and charming girls like Jenice.

In short, someone so opposite to Eliz.

Eliz began counting in her head how many women Maximus had already brought to his mother. Her fingers didn't suffice.

 Jenice came to stare at Eliz. She smiled, but Eliz couldn’t return the nicety.

Jenice walked up to her. "Hi, and you are…?" she asked.

Eliz was taken aback. She absentmindedly searched for Maximus' eyes. She didn't want to believe that Maximus never talked about her to people.

"I'm Eliz," she replied softly. 

"Hi, nice to meet you. Maxy never mentioned anyone else in the family." 

Eliz reached out her hand for a handshake.

"Are you a maid here?" Jenice raised an eyebrow while maintaining the smile. 

When Jenice was just about to take her hand, Eliz automatically closed her palm at what she heard and brought it down.

'A maid?!' she exclaimed in her thoughts.