<h4>Chapter 227 - Love Is Blind</h4>


    Desmond''s lips twitched at how eager Ang was to cause trouble. She had probably been promised tons of benefits if she was even making up such a thing as a child.


    She was unbelievable, not that he had ever expected anything good toe out of her after what she did six years ago.


    ___


    Six Years Ago.


    Natalie stared at her friend who was pacing the room restlessly and she felt restless. "Okay. Spill it already. You are making everyone anxious." She prompted him.


    "He definitely knows that." Liam slumped into the couch as he waited for Desmond to gather his wits. Out of the blue, he had called his close friends—Liam, Natalie, Leo and Evan—for a meeting. They couldn''t guess what he was going to discuss with them no matter how they tried to.


    "Are youing out of the closet?" Liam guessed, earning a re from everyone else.


    "What? I was just making a guess here." He defended himself.


    "It''s about Ang." Desmond finally spoke, his voice revealing just how nervous he was.


    "Don''t tell me you want to break up with her?" Evan was the second to make a wild guess that earned him a re.


    To prevent his friends from going crazy with the strangest guesses, he sat before them to exin what was happening. "I''m going to propose to her."


    The room went silent for a while before the men took turns pping his shoulder to congratte him.


    "That''s a huge step! Tell me if you need any help nning a proposal." Evan offered.


    "Olphire''s infamous casanova definitely knows how to please women with shy things." Leo remarked, aiming a jab at Evan. "But if you want a proposal that she will never forget because it was so meaningful and hit the right spot in her heart, don''t hesitate to find me."


    "Is there a difference?" Liam asked curiously, making the others give him an odd look.


    "Of course there is a huge difference. You can please a woman without leaving a deep impression. On the other hand, if your proposal proves how much you love her, she will never stop loving you." Leo, who had just turned into a love guru, gave his opinion.


    Liam didn''t doubt it. "The man who has the ability to tame Shera ck must have several tricks up his sleeve. Desmond, should we start nning for the proposal right away?"


    "Of course."


    He nodded before ncing at the silent Natalie. Everyone followed his line of sight to the silent woman and Liam couldn''t help expressing his curiosity. "Are you so touched by their love that you have no words?"


    "Hell no." Natalieughed. "You are kidding, right?"


    "What do you mean by that?" Desmond was a little annoyed by her tone as she asked the question.


    "You are not really nning to propose to Ang, are you?"


    "Natalie!" Evan jabbed her to shut her mouth. She didn''t.


    "Desmond, I know you love her but… love is not all that matters where marriage is involved." She warned.


    "Says the woman who has dated the same man for four years and has vowed to be his wife in future." Evan ridiculed sarcastically, earning a jab in his side from Liam.


    "This is not about me, okay?" Natalie red at him. "This is about our friend, who is falling into a trap."


    "I am not falling into any trap and I don''t appreciate you calling Ang that." Desmond expressed his displeasure at her choice of words.


    "Yes you are. And that''s exactly what she is so no, I''m not sorry about my choice of words. Ang Agur is a heartless woman who cares about nothing but wealth."


    Liam couldn''t get her point. "That doesn''t make her a bad person or a trap as you say. Leo''s girlfriend is also…"


    "Please don''t drag my girlfriend into this, thanks." Leo retorted.


    Natalie looked at the two men and waved her hands. "This is not about Shera. While the whole world knows her for caring about nothing but wealth, she works hard to get it on her own. Ang, on the other hand, is a parasite who will want to suck you out of everything you have. She is only with you for money." She frowned in disgust. "She was my friend for the same reason. I know this is not something great to hear about your girlfriend but that''s how she really is."


    "I don''t care if she wants my wealth. I can work hard enough to make sure shecks nothing." Retorted Desmond, and Natalie wanted to p some sense into him.


    "Are you being serious right now?"


    "Forget it Nat. It''s not a bad thing for a woman to love luxury. Besides, love is blind." Evan hinted at Desmond''s reaction.


    "If a man wealthier than you offered better benefits, what would stop her from going for it?" Natalie huffed in frustration and stood, grabbing her bag. "Love is blind, deaf, and stupid sometimes. But I''m not going to sit here and watch my best friend fall into a ditch because of this ridiculous blindness. Watch me open your eyes in one week, Desmond. I will gouge your eyes out for them to see if I have to." She stormed out, and a hush befell the room.


    "She sounds terrifying." Evan squeaked.


    "Leave it to Natalie to protect her friends at all costs." Liam added, while Leo tried to make his presence unnoticeable.


    "That sounds like jealousy to me. Say, do you think Natalie''s rtionship with her actor boyfriend is fake? Because I don''t think a real one canst that long. Besides, she refuses to reveal his identity no matter how much we pry."


    "A real rtionshipsts forever, blockhead." Leo knocked Evan''s head with restrained force. He ignored theining man and turned to Leo, "Natalie cares about you as much as she would care for her brother. Her prejudice against Ang couldn''t be baseless. Maybe you should dy the proposal and look into Ang a little more?"


    Desmond ran a hand down his face in frustration. He didn''t want to look into his girlfriend without her knowledge and besides, he didn''t think there was any need to do so. On the other hand, Natalie had never been unreasonable and even if she hated Ang for how their friendship had ended, she would not want to disrupt their rtionship for no reason.


    ____


    The present.


    "Ha!" A chuckle filled the hall. Liam joined Ang on stage,ughing his ribs out. "You almost got us. I can''t believe this is the birthday prank you mentioned before."


    Ang rolled her eyes at him but before she could speak, Liam grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let''s see what you got for his present. It better be good enough to make up for the heart attack he almost suffered."


    Zeus chose that moment to cut off the mic, in case Ang retaliated. She was not so crazy as to cause more drama since no one would believe her words, so she left the hall with Liam.


    Letting out a sigh of relief, Desmond walked back to the perplexed Zaria. She was still standing in the same position, not having moved an inch.


    "Sweetheart, she has been driven out." He said in relief.


    She evaded his touch. "Why didn''t you tell me that you have a daughter?"


    "Because I don''t. She made it up." He exined, relief washing over his face when she believed him.


    She led him away from the banquet hall, to the swimming pool. The kids were swimming and sshing around as the lifeguards watched them, so they would not interrupt them.


    He sat on a bench beside her. "I didn''t tell you everything about my rtionship with her in the past because I didn''t think it was important, but now, I think you should know." He started, then exined everything up to the day he told his friends about his n to propose.


    "Natalie didn''t think it was a good idea to propose. She threw a fit and left the room in anger. At that point, I was torn in between her and Ang. Only one of them was telling the truth and I didn''t know who to believe. Sometimes I thought Natalie was overthinking things. Until she returned a weekter, with pictures to show me."


    "Pictures?" She probed.


    "Ang was cheating on me with different men."


    Zaria ced her hand on his shoulder. "I''m sorry."


    "I''m over her." He smiled and took her hand. "Natalie forced me out the door to show me more evidence since she thought I didn''t believe the pictures she had shown me. She took me to the house I had bought Ang, the one that would have been our marital home if we were to get married. We went at the right moment, when she was discussing her next moves with her parents. It turned out she was not even in love with me. She was using me for my money and without my knowledge, she had been stealing from my bank ounts."


    "That sucks." Zaria hated the woman even more.


    "Not as much as you suck, Zaria Williams." A female voice cut them off. Zaria rolled her eyes when she realized that Ang was back. She had already caused enough chaos and the guests were specting the truthfulness of her words versus Liam''s. What else did she want? She didn''t bother turning, but Desmond did.


    He was intending to tell her off but he stopped, bbergasted when he saw the little girl at Ang''s feet. It was the little girl he had found familiar earlier, the one who had been clinging to Zaria.


    He finally realized why he had thought that way. The girl looked a lot like Ang. Was she…


    Ang''s words confirmed his horror.


    "Rosaly, say happy birthday to daddy.." Ang smiled sweetly.