Zach tripped over his own foot all of a sudden but managed to quickly catch himself. ''Is someone insulting me?'' he mused. He shook off the thought with a shake of his head. He pulled on his suit jacket by the hem to straighten it before proceeding to walk into a luxurious restaurant. His bodyguards were surprised seeing the ever careful and stable master trip when there was clearly nothing on the ground.


    "We''ll do a double time on tomorrow''s morning workout", he suddenly announced. The men almost broke into cold sweat. Their boss was too ruthless when they trained with him so doing double time meant more torture. What on Earth did they do wrong? They soon got the answer with Zach''s next statement.


    "Thanks Raphy."


    Raphael, who was the youngest amongst Zach''s bodyguards, received nine res all at once. Although they found their boss''s tripping funny, they willed their faces to remain emotionless. Unfortunately for them, Zach had quickly caught the quirk of Raphy''s lips as he tried to suppress hisugh. The young man was still trying to master how to conceal his emotions but with a master of reading emotions called Zach, he was really unfortunate. He knew he was going to get it from his friends besides the torture that Zach was going to bring on them.


    Zach smirked knowing what was going on in his men''s minds. How dare theyugh at him? A fair hand waving caught his attention. He walked over to a woman d in an elegant dress and jewelry, with a ssy hairdo. She was seated in a VIP lounge and looking through a menu. The bodyguards stationed themselves around the lounge as their boss walked over to thedy. He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek before settling opposite her.


    "Mother." He acknowledged as he picked up his menu.


    "How are you doing, Zach?" She strained her neck looking over his shoulder. "Didn''t youe with your brother?"


    "I''m good. And no."


    "Aish. This boy wants to send me to an early grave." She let out an exhausted sigh.


    A waiter came over and took their order. She could not help butpare her sons. One was a yboy while another was uptight. If only they could live like each other a little then she would have some peace of mind. She would deal with the trouble makerter and thought to work on this one first. Zach could feel her eyes on him as he browsed through his phone. ''She''s up to something'', he mused.


    Soon, they were served their meal and the mother and son pair started to eat infortable silence as per their habit. Only the sound of the cutlery echoed around the table. As much as she wanted to enjoy her meal, she could not help her curiosity. Although Zach was her son, his cold demeanor always put her on edge. ''This is why you can''t get girls'', she mused with a shake of a head.


    "What is it?" Zach spoke without looking up. She bit her tongue before mustering courage to speak up.


    "I won''t beat around the bush. What if I set you up on a blind date?"


    Zach''s movements halted the moment he heard blind date. His brows furrowed before he slowly looked up. "Who said I can''t get a woman?"


    "But you''re still single and are turning 33 in six months might I remind you. Why don''t you let me help you out? Or is there someone you''re interested in that I should help you convince?"


    Zach could only chuckle as he picked up a napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth. His eyes shone with amusement. His mother watched on curiously, depicting a spitting image of Xavier. Both men looked like their mother but Zach looked more like his father while Xavier was basically the male version of his mother. Speaking of the devil.


    "Mom!" Xavier rushed over with all excitement. The bodyguards made way for him as heunched a fiery of kisses on his mother''s face. Sheunched her own attack with ps on wherever she could hit.


    "Disgusting! Disgusting! How dare you use that mouth to kiss me? Do I even want to know where it''s been?"


    "Ow! Ow! Ow!" If anything, his mother always had a strong hand even when she looked so fragile. So he felt the sting wherever he was hit. Zach silently got up and left for his office leaving the duo to sort out their differences. He chuckled to himself, ''I can''t get a woman?''


    ...


    Ste walked into the library a little after 8 in the morning. She had spent a good time of her morning making breakfast and lunch for Richard and Amy. After dropping it off and making sure Amy was alright, she finally left for work. But something was weighing heavily on her mind.


    The ever cheery woman seemed troubled as worry was etched on her beautiful features. She didn''t even notice her friend Katherine, the librarian, standing while smiling to greet her. Katherine was a woman in herte thirties and had been working with Ste for over a decade now. The two had be good friends over time despite the age gap.


    "Ste?" She smiled when Ste stopped and turned to her with a startle. "Are you alright?"


    Ste facepalmed, "I am so sorry. My mind was miles away." She walked over behind Katherine''s workstation before nting a kiss on Katherine''s stomach. "And how are we today?" She cooed.


    Katherine chuckled while rubbing her very big stomach. She was currently in herst trimester of pregnancy. "Good but naughty. He''s been ying ser from the moment I woke up."


    "Really naughty. Why don''t youe out and give your mommy a break? Sit down, Kat. Don''t strain yourself." She helped her back into the seat.


    "Don''t worry about me. I should be asking you if you''re alright. You seemed out of it just now."


    "I''m fine. I''m just..... Nevermind." She believed she was being silly. It''s none of her business but it still bothered her.


    "What is it Ste? Or you won''t be able to focus today. What''s going on?" Kat watched the woman curiously. She knew her all too well. Ste fell silent before confiding in her friend.


    "Would you..... Would you marry someone who was ugly? Like very ugly. Like can''t take any pictures ugly?"


    "Yes", she responded without batting an eyelid. Ste''s mouth fell open.


    "You''re not serious. Don''t you youngsters consider appearances when choosing someone?"


    "Yes, but appearances are not everything. His personality is a deciding factor too. It personally matters to me."


    Ste nodded in agreement. She felt Kat was more sensible than Amy. How could that girl marry someone because of money and it''s not even his personality she considered? Does the man even know what his wife thinks of him?


    "And feet", Kat added.


    "What?"


    "I have a thing for nice feet. It''s one of the major reasons I married An."


    "..."


    "He has such beautiful feet, have you seen them? I hope this little one will inherit that. Well, we both have nice feet so he''s safe."


    "..."