Chapter 154: A Friend missed

"Darling, is there anything between you and my family?"

She could hear Dante’s breathing from the other side of the phone, and Amie almost held her breath as she waited for his response.

"Why do you ask?" he said, finally breaking the silence.

"Nothing," Amie responded. She didn’t want him to feel as though she were hiding something from him.

"I just wondered if my family knew yours, considering the kind of influence you hold."

Dante chuckled on the other side. "Well, the Vassaris are no strangers to us, and whatever exists between our families has absolutely nothing to do with us."

Amie smiled.

This was exactly what she wanted to hear.

Just from her conversation with Dante, she could tell that Chris was lying. It was probably June who had put him up to it. Maybe he knew about their relationship and wanted to destroy it.

She needed to keep it safe until she finally secured that divorce.

"Dante, can you do me a favour?" she asked.

"Anything," he responded.

"I want you to keep our relationship a secret."

Silence.

Her heart beat faster as she worried that he might not approve.

What if he insisted that they had to make their relationship public?

Judging by what she knew about Dante, he didn’t seem like someone who would want to keep a relationship secret.

"Why?" he asked.

Amie thought for a while. She couldn’t tell him that it was because she needed to get a divorce from her ex-husband, or whatever Rauf was to her.

"I don’t want people to say that I got into a relationship immediately after my mother found me. I want to spend some time with Mother before my relationship is announced to the world."

"My grandfather won’t like that," Dante responded.

Surprised, Amie’s eyes widened. "Your grandfather knows about us?"

"Of course. I don’t keep anything from him."

Amie could feel heat creeping up her cheeks.

If he could tell his grandfather about them, then he must be serious about their relationship.

"Okay, if you don’t want to keep it from your grandfather, no problem. But can we keep it from my family for a while, until I’m comfortable telling them about our relationship?"

"Fine," he responded. "But I want you to know that you don’t have to be scared of anything. Remember what I told you the first time we met? If you have any problem solving anything, call me. I’ll solve it for you."

Amie smiled. "Of course, darling. I love you," she said.

"Bye," Dante responded before ending the call.

Amie stared at her phone. She had expected him to return the "I love you", but it didn’t matter. His actions were enough. She didn’t need to hear him say it.

His assurance was enough to help her deal with the divorce issue.

Ever since Rauf had given her permission to invite Eliana to the mansion, June had been restless.

Immediately after getting his permission, she had sent Eliana a text asking her to visit. Eliana had promised to come today, and because of that, June hadn’t gone to her office at all.

She waited for Eliana in anticipation.

When Fleur finally announced Eliana’s arrival, June had already arranged refreshments on an extra table in the living room.

She engulfed Eliana in a hug, but because of her stomach, she couldn’t hug her the way she wanted.

"Look at you!" Eliana whistled. "We haven’t seen each other for just a few days, and you already look so different."

June twirled around.

"This is what happiness does to you," Eliana continued.

June only chuckled. "I’m not fat, just chubby."

Eliana nodded. "You look good. Pregnancy suits you."

"Come on, have a seat and stop teasing me."

June wasn’t going to lie. She had missed having Eliana around. She remembered the days when she had nowhere to go and how Eliana had been a great source of support.

"How have you been? How are your studies, and how is Grandma?" she asked, looking at Eliana.

Eliana bounced in her seat. "June, I swear, I missed you so much. I have so much to tell you."

At that moment, the door opened.

Rauf walked past, making the ladies go silent. They watched him as he headed towards the kitchen.

Eliana wiggled her brows, but June didn’t say a word.

The gesture alone was enough to make June blush.

Soon, Rauf passed by again without saying anything, heading towards the kitchen with a bottle of water in his hand.

When he was gone, Eliana exclaimed, "Wow! You’re living with this hot piece of shit!"

For a moment, all June did was roll her eyes.

"It’s not as if you haven’t seen him before, so why the reaction?"

Eliana smirked. "Back then, I was blinded by my rage. I was angry about what he did to you and didn’t get a good look at him. But now I can see clearly."

June’s response was just a smile.

Eliana moved closer to her and whispered, "Are you sharing the same bed? How does it feel?"

June swatted her away with a smile. "How does what feel? You, my dear friend, have a very dirty mind."

Eliana laughed. "Come on. Tell me, tell me, tell me. I want to know what it feels like to have sex during pregnancy."

June’s cheeks turned red, not because of Eliana’s question, but because she had also wondered what it would feel like to have sex during pregnancy. Whenever her mind wandered to that possibility, it always stopped at just one person.

Rauf.

When she didn’t say a word, Eliana’s smile flattened.

"Don’t tell me you haven’t. That’s impossible. You can’t be living with someone this hot and not be tempted."

"Tempted? Oh, yes. I am tempted. I’m more than tempted, but I can’t."

"Why not? I don’t see anything stopping you from exploring this fine wine."

The more Eliana spoke, the wider June’s smile became.

"Oh, you must have forgotten that that fine wine is legally married to my stepsister."

"Come on, June. We all know that was a scam. You were the one who stood by him for those five years. You were the one who was beside him at the altar. If anyone is legally married to him, you’re the one, unless you keep telling yourself otherwise."

June sighed.

"Let’s go to my office. I have a story to tell you."