complete deception

the lunch

[the restaurant ]

We finally pulled up to our favorite restaurant, Maccheroni It was a chic, high-end Italian-American ristorante where the ambiance was effortlessly elegant and the service was always top-notch.

It was the one place our family could always agree on, mostly because it paid homage to Mom's roots.

Kai, Lyric, and Becca parked right next to us, and we all walked in together.

The hostess immediately recognized our family and directed us to our usual private, velvet-lined booth in the back.

Not long after we settled in, two attentive waiters arrived at our table to take our orders.

Since I was starving, I skipped the pasta and went straight for a heavy, luxurious meat dish. I ordered a thick, juicy Filet Mignon steak, seared to a perfect medium-rare with a rich garlic-herb butter melting over the top, paired with a side of creamy truffle mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.

For the table, Mom ordered a sophisticated bottle of bold, smooth red wine that paired perfectly with the rich flavors of the steak. And for dessert, I already had my eye on a decadent, warm chocolate lava cake.

Kai, did you talk to Marshal today?

" Mom asked, breaking our short-lived silence.

"Yeah, Mom, we talked earlier this morning," Kai replied, shifting in his seat.

"She has a few severe surgeries today, so we aren't meeting up until tomorrow."

Marshal is a brilliant surgeon at *Grace Heals Hospital*, one of the most renowned medical centers here in LA.

She met my brother Kai a little over two years ago under the most unexpected circumstances.

Her sister's husband had hired Kai to design and build their dream home, and during the project, he invited Kai over for a dinner meeting at their house to finalize the blueprints.

Coincidentally, Marshal had dropped by to see her sister that exact same evening.

According to her sister, Marshal became completely captivated by my brother before he even noticed she was in the room. With her sister and brother-in-law happily playing matchmaker after the house was completed, Kai and Marshal started going out on dates.

Two years of dating later, and now they were getting married on Sunday.

She really was a lovely person, and almost our entire family absolutely adored her well, everyone except Nana, my grandma.

Nana always gave Marshal a notoriously tough time. Whenever Mom tried to step in and intervene, Nana would scold Mom, claiming she was just trying to "train" her. Nana's biggest complaint was that Marshal was far too lazy to learn basic house chores. In Nana's eyes, if a woman couldn't cook, how on earth was she going to properly take care of her Kai?

And truth be told... Nana actually had a point.

Kai was an absolute, unapologetic foodie. He lived for delicious, hearty, homemade meals especially Mom's cooking and Nana's legendary dishes whenever she came to visit.

The last time Nana tried to teach her a lesson, she had asked Marshal to make a simple pasta dish.

Despite Nana standing right there giving step-by-step instructions, Marshal somehow managed to mess it up entirely.

It was a complete disaster. Because of that traumatic culinary failure, whenever Nana came to visit, Marshal suddenly found a million work excuses to avoid appearing before her.

Thankfully, before Mom could dive any deeper into the wedding gossip, our orders finally arrived. The sight of the steaming, delicious food was a lifesaver. We all immediately dug in.

For a little while, we ate in comfortable silence, the initial ravenous hunger keeping us quiet. But as the edge wore off, Becca leaned over slightly and began asking mom a few questions about Italy.

"It’s honestly been my dream country to visit," Becca admitted, her eyes lighting up. "Ever since I watched that romance movie, You, Me, and Tuscany, I’ve been dreaming of going there. Especially to try the authentic cuisines!"

Oh wow, Becca, that would be so nice!" I smiled, leaning forward.

"Don't worry, the next time I'm going to Italy, I'll invite you along and be your personal tour guide."

Becca laughed, her eyes bright. "I will definitely keep that in mind!"

We eventually finished our delicious lunch, and Kai took care of the bill. Satisfied and no longer starving, we all walked out of Maccheroni together and headed toward the cars.

Once we reached the parking lot, Kai checked his phone and turned to Mom. "A client is asking to meet up right now, so I have to run," he said. He didn't leave without giving a warm goodbye hug to his two biggest fans, Lyric and Becca, who smiled happily.

But when I stepped up and asked for a hug, Kai dramatically rolled his eyes and spun around like a sassy teenage girl.

"Oh, no, girl! You ditched me earlier

and completely ignored me when I asked you something inside the restaurant, remember?" he huffed, throwing his hand out with his fingers pointed right at me.

He twisted his face and pinched his mouth, perfectly mimicking a diva. "And now you suddenly need my hug? Not a chance!"

The way he was acting made all of us completely burst out laughing. His facial expressions were so hilarious, I couldn't even handle it.

Closing the distance between us, I ran up to his side and wrapped my arms around him.

"Sorry, Kai! I was just dangerously hungry," I pleaded.

He instantly dropped the act, letting out a laugh as he tightly hugged me back. As we separated, I quickly seized the opportunity. "Kai, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure... though I hope I'm safe," he replied playfully.I dragged him a slight distance away from the rest of the group so we could speak privately. "Hmm, Kai... so, there’s this bag I saw at the mall..."

"I knew it!" Kai cut in, shaking his head with a grin. "Yes, continue. And?"

"And... I want you to get it for me when you're coming home. Actually, I want you to get it for me and Lyric."

"And what about your own savings?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I have a strict budget for that," I reasoned smoothly.

"Then ask Mom or Dad."

"No, Kai! Mom will definitely not allow me to buy it. And if I ask Dad, he'll just tell Mom to give me the money, which means Mom will question me all over again and end up saying no."

Kai chuckled, realizing he had been totally outmaneuvered. "Okay, fine. But you have to do something for me in return."

"Yes! I love you, bro!"

"As for what I want... I'll think about it later. Now go, I'm getting late for my meeting."

"Okay, love you!" I called out, waving back at him.

By now, Mom, Lyric, and Becca were already waiting in the car. I gave Kai one last wave before hopping into the passenger seat, and we finally drove off to drop everyone home.

We decided to drop Becca off home first. When we pulled up to her house, I couldn't help but stare. Her home was so simple, yet absolutely beautiful. Because of my love for aesthetics, I was immediately impressed by the stunning flower arrangements and lush plants decorating the outside of the grounds. It was incredible and so tastefully done.

Mom turned off the engine and came down from the car to hug Becca goodbye.

Before Becca could step away, Mom reached into the back and handed her a shopping bag.

I blinked in surprise. I had absolutely no idea when Mom had even bought that!

Then, Lyric was next. We dropped her off at her family's estate, and Mom handed her a small shopping bag as well, kissing her cheek warmly.

"Bye, bestie!" I shouted from the passenger seat before she could head inside.

Lyric turned, waved at us, and yelled back,

"See you tomorrow, besties!"

With the girls safely dropped off, we finally reached home. I walked straight into the house with my mom.

The rest of my siblings and my father weren't back from work yet. Looking at the clock, it was just 5:20 PM. They usually all get home around 7:00 PM, so I figured I had at least an hour and forty minutes to rest and unwind before dinner.

I headed straight up to my room, hopped in the shower, and took a long, relaxing bath to wash off the day.

Afterward, I changed into my favorite house dress—a short, purple gown with a revealing back and a low, elegant bow at the waist. I absolutely love all variations of this dress style, and purple is my absolute favorite color.

After drying and styling my hair into a high ponytail, I crawled onto my bed, slipped on my headphones, and hit play on my favorite playlist.

Listening to the music, I completely lost track of time. I don't know how long I lay there before I eventually drifted off to sleep... but a sudden, sharp knock on my bedroom door woke me up.