Liar Liar Billionaires

19. An intense look

Chloe had no idea why she had thought that they would be going to a cemetery. It would have been a bit creepy if they did, but Amir had mentioned his mother in a way that would make one think that she was dead.

However, she wasn't.

The woman was across the street in a restaurant with two young boys and a man who couldn't take his eyes off her or take down his really large smile as he watched her blow out the candlelights on her cake.

"Uh... Amir..." Chloe shook the man next to her out of his dazed state. "Aren't you going in to wish her? Standing here is a little bit weird."

"Wish her?" He bluntly pushed her suggestion away. "She made it clear that she never wants to see my face. She thinks I am bad luck."

"But you are not, right?" Chloe imagined that the younger Amir was hurt a lot when his mother called him bad luck.

"I don't know. Maybe to her, I am. But to me," he sighed. "I am just fine."

Chloe tore her eyes off him to take one more look at his mother, whom he resembled greatly. While she wondered why the woman coldly rejected her son, Chloe knew it would be best to tame her curiosity. That moment wasn’t the right time to be nosy.

Amir sighed again, his shoe kicking the road quite hard. Then, he said, "Everyone is entitled to have an opinion about me. And those opinions can be good or bad. My mother clearly has a terrible opinion, and that’s fine. Even if she doesn't want to see my face, at least I get to wish her a happy birthday like this."

"You don't hate her for casting you away?" He shook his head negatively, and Chloe frowned. If she were him, people who didn’t want her around would be the ones she would never waste time on. But, she didn’t question his way of thinking. Instead, she asked, "Do you think you will ever be able to walk up to her?"

"No," came his quiet answer that made him sound so delicate, like a little boy who was still scared of that little monster under his bed. "I don't want to hear her scream at me like she did before."

Chloe did not push further. She just wrapped her arms around him and drew him closer for a hug.

"Happy birthday, mum," Chloe heard him whisper as his arms accepted her hug. He did seem like a little boy at that moment. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?" She watched the family in the restaurant get up to dance to the music being played by a live band.

"Thank you for being here with me. You are a good friend."

Chloe found her chest feeling warm because of his words.

As he pulled away, she properly reasoned the dangers of getting attached to these men.

First, her pretending to be interested in Nathaniel for the sake of gaining head in her mission was starting to feel less like pretence and more like a reality her body and heart might not be able to survive. Now, with her liking her newfound friendship with Amir, or even any other new bond that might be formed, it was slowly becoming clearer that she was treading a path that could eventually affect her if the brothers end up in jail.

"We should leave now," Amir shook her out of her thoughts with his words.

"Yes," she smiled. "We should get going."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two worried men were outside the mansion, waiting for them.

As Chloe and Amir got out of the car, Nathaniel's expression instantly turned angry.

"And where the hell have you both been?" he demanded.

"We were getting evidence that would prove me not guilty of your absurd accusations," Amir replied, his words building with his steps, which he stopped when he was just a few inches away from Nathaniel.

"And, did you have to drag Chloe into your mess?"

"I decided to help him," Chloe answered instead.

"You heard her. She decided to help me since…" Amir's eyes darted to Gabriel and then back to Nathaniel. "... both of you refused to believe me or help me."

Nathaniel looked at Chloe, whose hair was being turned into a plaything in the night breeze. "How could you be so dumb?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why on earth would you decide such a thing and go out for so long with someone you barely know? Someone who has just been accused of something... crazy."

"The nerve of this guy," Amir said with great disbelief.

Chloe also couldn't believe her ears.

With a scoff, she rebuked his insults and sarcastically said, “Well, I am so sorry I decided to help Amir. And I’m so freaking sorry for believing that he might have been wrongly accused. And, God so helping me, I am very, very sorry that I’ve been more of a friend to Amir than both of you this night. So please, your royal twatness,” she joined her palms and pressed them close to her forehead, her head slightly bowed, “forgive me for being helpful.”

"Wow," Amir said after nothing but night sounds surrounded them.

"Damn, Nathaniel. I am very disappointed in you,” Gabriel said, and Nathaniel, who had been silently observing a furious Chloe, looked at him. But Gabriel walked past Nathaniel and towards Chloe. “You need to do better. Chloe here, shouldn’t be spoken to that way.”

Gabriel’s eyes locked with hers even as he walked “Chloe is a woman you should always appreciate. She is one of a kind. A very beautiful soul.”

Chloe shifted her eyes to the side as the tone in the man’s voice changed to that of a poet who seemed to be confessing his love.

“What use is your tongue if you don’t know when to appreciate the right person? You should be thanking Chloe for being there for Amir. Questioning her just makes you look stupid.”

Gabriel’s gaze still didn’t look away. And when he reached her front, he held her chin and, with a gentle shift, he directed her eyes to meet his. “So, thank you so much Chloe.”

Before she could get a word in, he dropped his hand and stood beside her. “Nathaniel, say thank you,” he softly ordered.

The expression in Nathaniel’s eyes was a mix of emotions. Anger was still part of it, but it wasn’t as obvious as before. He then looked at Chloe, who was still trying to make sense of Gabriel’s words. His lips parted, but no words came out. Instead, he turned and walked into the mansion.

"Yeah... “ Amir’s voice croaked. “I need to go do some work stuff.”

"And, Chloe here needs to rest. Right?" Gabriel looked down at her with a gentle smile that looked a bit suggestive to Chloe.

She immediately shook her head to chase off the weird thoughts she was having. "Yes, I uh... need to rest."

"Good," that smile was still suggestive, "I will be tucking you in tonight.