Because he come back

"So you brought them here?"

Receiving an empty nod, Sofia realized that she wasn't going to understand that person no matter how many times she kept poking herself with the pen.

Her cheeks were already red and she still had no idea what was going on in that head of black hair.

'Haha. She's looking at you like you're crazy,' the voice in Alice's mind started to bother her again.

'You're the crazy one who came up with that idea, remember?'

'It was better than watching you give fashion tips.'

Sofia looked around thoughtfully.

There were three strangers and two competitors.

"Okay. It wouldn't be bad to go shopping," she finally stood up. "And who are your friends?" The bright and curious looks were starting to get annoying.

The trio of otters stopped in their tracks.

"Oh!... These two are Ema and Carla, they're going to be our attendants. And you are...", a little disconcerted, Diana pointed to the two, but the third one was little known even to her.

In fact, she barely knew what she was doing there.

Back to her conversation with Nero...

"You're going to need new clothes," Nero pointed out when she got too excited about the idea of the banquet.

"I have clothes! Even to meet the Pope, if I want."

For some reason, his way of speaking and expression bothered her.

Nero shook his head.

"Their fashion is different. If you show up wearing human clothes, you'll be treated like cattle wearing rags."

"What?!" Diana was speechless. She could already imagine herself in her best black vintage dress. "So what do these aliens wear?"

Nero just smiled. She opened her phone and showed her the most beautiful, casual and yet luxurious clothes she had ever seen.

One thing led to another. Her problem went back to her fiancé, since the clothes were bought in underground places, hidden cities, strange websites or on other planets.

Not understanding women's fashion, Nero ended up outsourcing the problem to Alice and she, with a shrug, dragged the group to a fourth person.

Which took them back to Sofia's office, along with a new problem.

"It's my escort..."

"I'm Nero's mother," Erin cut Alice off in the middle of saying her best excuse.

The silence that followed was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Alice could only sigh and escape with light steps to the window.

""What!?""

"Nero's mother. You know, the handsome man you three are in love with."

Not even in her own little corner did Alice have peace. Seeing her reflection in the window, her cheeks seemed a little more flushed.

'There are four of them actually. You have to tell her. Hey, don't ignore me. I have rights too.'

Opening the window, Alice leaned over and took a deep breath.

Erin smiled seeing the children's sweet behavior. Tormenting her future daughters-in-law was her job, after all.

"Nero doesn't have a mother," looking back and seeing Alice more anxious with the second statement than the first, Sofia didn't know what else to say. "Isn't that right?"

"In the past, who do you think kept those scoundrel beetles away from my child?"

Hearing the woman's soft statement, Sofia's eyes widened.

"Wait, he didn't tell me anything. And, you're too young..." Diana didn't know anything else.

'She doesn't look like him... and she's what? Forty, at most. Nero is twenty... twenty... twenty thousand years old?'

Diana's thoughts froze.

"Thank you, my dear, but... you noticed, didn't you?"

"Vampires don't age," Sofia had a strange glint in her eyes.

"Oh, and that's just makeup," she pointed to her face. "I'll create another one before the ball."

'Makeup?... Ball?... Nero's mother. Mother-in-law?'

Diana's head was spinning, her mouth slightly open as the gears clicked into place.

Suddenly something snapped her out of her trance.

Sofia bowed. A monumentally difficult gesture, smooth and elegant.

Diana thought she looked like a cross between a lady, a ballerina and a knight, as she inclined her chest and head, introducing herself:

"It's an honor to meet the 'Queen of Eden'."

While Diana still felt like a pigeon trying to look both ways, Erin reciprocated the circumstances with an authentic and natural gesture, even more wonderful and mature.

"It's a pleasure for me too, miss."

'What the hell am I doing here?', Ema and Carla were in an even stranger and more intense moment.

...

..

"I see...", sitting, a little more comfortable than usual, Elizabeth tasted her tea with renewed passion. The smell reminded her of autumn, the taste as floral as spring. As she enjoyed the taste with her eyes closed, her gentle nod put a smile on the maid's face.

"So you were left alone behind."

"Don't send assassins so early...", a long yawn was heard through the cell phone. "I just got up. I haven't finished breakfast yet."

The corner of her lips trembled for a brief moment as she imagined a black cat stretching between her covers, or crawling to her milk container.

"Do you want me to pass up such a good opportunity?", her tone was soft, almost hiding a hint of desire. "What do I gain from this?"

"A lighter conscience?"

The beautiful woman decided not to answer, as she risked tasting one of the snacks on the table. She was in no hurry to answer, just as he seemed in no hurry to think.

"How is your sister?" His tone was soft, perhaps there was even a touch of compassion, but all she heard was the 'tick tock' of the clock in the back of the room.

The image of the girl who sent photos of her trip every few hours came back to her mind.

"Traveling, shopping and looking forward to the banquet. I think for the first time." A sound of satisfaction.

Elizabeth returned to tea. Not even her most faithful butler knew what was going on behind her face. Who would have thought, deep in her heart.

Silence for those two had a different tone than normal. In a business call, that silence would mean danger.

There, it was just a break for two similar souls, to breathe with their minds and not with their bodies; their hearts seemed to beat at a different rhythm than the others.

Elizabeth got lost. She imagined him in a kitchen. His cell phone on the table, no more important than a spoon or a frying pan, but still always occupying his mind.

In the end, she smiled.

"I have an idea."

"Yes?", she heard the sound of frying, she could almost smell it.

"How about you go shopping too?"