A few days later, Lisa received a call from Carl Black and she agreed to have dinner with his family. She decided to buy some gifts for them.
"Mom Mr. Black has invited me for dinner tomorrow. I am going to buy some gifts for them."
"OK, come back soon."
She was waiting for a taxi outside her apartment. No taxi was stopping for a long time. She started walking towards the bus stop to not waste any more time. Just then, a car started honking behind her. She turned back to look and saw Daniel Brooke's sports car.
He parked the car and came out. He walked towards her and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Why are you here?"
"This is not the answer I want. What?... You don't feel happy to see me."
Lisa sighed and said "It's not like that. I was not expecting to see you here."
"So you are trying to say that you are surprised to see me. Now tell me, where are you going?"
"To the gift shop."
"Come on, I'll drop you."
Lisa’s eyes went wide in, dumbstruck. How could she go to buy gifts for Carl Black's family with him? She was feeling very uneasy, so she said "No need, I'll go by bus. You busy yourself."
Daniel Brooke chuckled and said "You are my girlfriend. You are not allowed to go by bus."
He almost dragged Lisa without waiting for her to react, shoved her inside the car, and drove away from there. Nearly an hour later, his car halted in front of an expensive gift shop. Lisa's jaw dropped when she saw the shop and asked helplessly "Why did you bring me here? It will be very expensive. I can't afford it."
"This is the best gift shop in our city, so I brought you here."
"Daniel, I am serious."
"Me too."
Daniel Brooke dragged her inside the shop. Lisa was very unhappy and feeling very helpless. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. But Daniel Brooke was also not ready to give up. He was dragging her from one side to another showing her varieties of gift items. All the gift items were very costly. Lisa was feeling so uncomfortable that her head started spinning. She was looking around disdainfully. Suddenly a set of 'coffee mugs for brothers' attracted her sight. She went there to see clearly at the coffee mugs. It was very cute, so she decided to buy that. When she turned around her gaze landed on a handcrafted flower vase which was very beautiful and ethnic. The flower vase was very costly but still, she decided to buy it. She called an attendant and asked to make a bill for the coffee mugs and the flower vase.
Daniel Brooke came to her side and said "Are you done selecting gifts?"
"Yes."
"You go outside and wait for me. I'll come after the payment."
Lisa was stunned to hear this and said "No, you don’t need to pay. These are the gifts that I'll give to someone. How can you pay for these?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
She went to pay the bills at the counter. When she saw the bill she almost fainted. It was more than her monthly salary. She shook her head and murmured "Daniel, you bastard. I'll kill you." She shook her head, pouted helplessly, and muttered "Next month I'll not buy anything."
When she turned around to leave after finishing the payment, she saw Carl Black staring at her. Lisa froze and her gaze fixed at him in shock. Her breathing also stopped. She was standing on the same spot with mouth agape as if she was rooted there.
She was snatched back to reality by Carl Black's sexy cold voice "You..... come here to buy gifts."
Lisa only nodded in response as if she lost her voice, without retracting her gaze from him. Suddenly Daniel Brooke came there, placed his hand around her shoulder, and looked in the direction where her gaze was fixed only to meet Carl Black's cold deep black eyes.
A sly smile appeared in the corner of his lips, looked at her, and said "What are you staring at?"
Carl Black's gaze landed on Daniel Brooke's hand which was placed on Lisa's shoulder and he frowned slightly. His fists were tightened gradually inside his pocket. He was feeling very uneasy. At that moment, he wanted to cut off that hand, but he concealed his emotions with his cold and calm demeanor.
A shiver ran down through Lisa's spine when she saw both men together. She brushed off Daniel Brooke's hand and stepped back to keep a safe distance. She was looking at them without saying anything.
Daniel Brooke glanced at Carl Black, then turned his head to look at Lisa, and asked with a smile "Do you know him? Are you not going to introduce me?"
Daniel Brooke was acting as if he didn't know Carl Black.
Lisa was dumbfounded and only staring at Daniel Brooke like an idiot. Her mind was totally blank. Seeing Lisa's expression, Daniel Brooke chuckled. He shifted his gaze to Carl Black, extended his hand towards him, and introduced himself "Hi, I am Daniel Brooke. I am Lisa's...."
Lisa quickly regained her sense and said hurriedly "Friend. He is my friend."
Daniel Brooke retracted his hand and looked at her. Then he turned his gaze at Carl Black and said "A very good friend. In fact, you can say one and only boyfriend, isn't it Lisa?" He was smiling at her mockingly.
After a moment of pause, Carl Black stretched his hand and said indifferently "Nice to meet you, Mr. Brooke. I am Carl Black, Lisa's fiance."
Daniel Brooke shook hands with Carl Black and said with a grin "Fiance, huh?... Nice to meet you, Mr. Black."
He looked down at Lisa and said "Let's go, I'll drop you."
Carl Black said in his cold voice nonchalantly "Mr. Brooke, don't worry. I'll drop her."
Daniel Brooke chuckled and smirked "What do you say, Lisa? Will you go with me or....?"
He didn't complete the sentence knowingly. He rubbed his neck and looked at her as if he was testing her.
Lisa pursed her lips into a thin line and said slowly "You go first, Daniel. I'll go with Mr. Black."
Daniel Brooke laughed loudly and said, "Enjoy the company of your fiance."
He winked mischievously at Lisa and left. When he came out of the shop his expression turned ugly. He clenched his fists tightly and turned back to look at them before he left.
Lisa trembled to hear the loud laughter of Daniel Brooke and an unknown fear caused her hairs to stand from head to toe. She was so scared that she almost forgot to breathe. She was staring at the direction from where Daniel Brooke had left.
She heard Carl Black saying after sometimes "Shall we go now?"
"Y-Yes."
The drive was very quiet. Carl Black was not even glancing at Lisa and his concentration was fully on driving. From his expression, no one could say what he was thinking. Lisa was feeling very uncomfortable. She was glancing at him from time to time.
After a long silence, she started saying slowly "Mr. Black are you angry?"
Carl Black frowned and glanced at her. He asked coldly "Why should I be angry?"
"Mr. Black, Daniel is... I mean we are...."
Carl Black interrupted "Lisa, you don’t have to explain. I trust you."
"You trust me?"
"If I don't trust you, I am not eligible to start my life with you."
Lisa skipped a beat and she placed her hand on her chest instinctively in shock. 'I trust you, I trust you, I trust you.....' these words of Carl Black were ringing continuously in her mind. She leaned back on the seat and closed her eyes. She had no mood to talk anymore.
Carl Black's every word, his actions, all these were causing emotional storms in her mind. Nowadays, she was thinking more and more about him. Slowly she started enjoying his company, but she was not aware of it.
After a long silence, Carl Black said "Tomorrow I'll come to pick you up."
"OK."
After one hour of driving, they reached her apartment. He drove away from there after confirming she was inside her room. This had become a very common habit for Carl Black. For him, this was another way to show his love towards his beloved woman.