My Ex Next Door

Novie adjusted the tie on Ken's suit while the man was busy scrolling on his phone. She keeps on reminding him to have more patience with Daniella but, the man was not listening to her.

When she finished binding the tie, she found him smiling on the phone like crazy, her nose crinkled in annoyance and pulled his tie in full force. Ken grunted and stared at her in surprise.

"What?" Ken spoke in shock with one hand adjusting his tie.

Novie narrowed her eyes and, rested both hands on her hips.

"Did you heard what I just said?" she asked in uncertainty.

The man in front gulped repeatedly and hesitated whether to answer or not.

Seeing him crawling in the dark, she exhaled and took the phone from his hand and tossed it to the bed.

"Ken. I know you are going on a dinner with Daniella. Can you please be more gentle to her?" she pleaded in a sweet voice. Since they got back together, whenever she sees Ken with Daniella, they always talked with sarcasm which she finds unusual.

Ken nodded like an obedient child and reach to her hand. He held her hand and dragged her out of the room.

Even with the chaos that is happening in the school, Daniella agreed to have dinner with Ken. At first, Alexa and Evan urged to come but, after getting a glare from Daniella, the two shut up.

As they walked along the hallway, they met Daniella and Evan. Novie gulped when she saw Daniella in her purple A-line dress and heels.

She knows she should not be jealous because they are sister and brothers but, she could not help but imagine the people they will meet will probably think of them as a couple.

She shook her head to remove the absurd thought rising in her head and plastered a smile.

Danny left with Mark to help him fix the issue with the school while Saina went to her work to ask for more vacation.

She will fly to their province tomorrow to see her parents and this is the last night she will be with Ken. She will come back after four days and they will fly to Siberia. She's excited but, she heard it's a cold country and she doesn't do well in cold places.

When they reached the married couple, Ken let her hand go and stood next to Daniella.

"Are you not going to bring a jacket or anything to cover your skin?" Ken asked his sister.

"Nope" Daniella replied and turned to her direction with a faint smile on her lips.

"Novie, we will be quick. If you need anything call your boyfriend, not me" Daniella jokingly said.

"Ok" she replied with a smile and bid Ken a goodbye. As the two walked out of the house, they kept on arguing who will drive.

When the door closed, Novie cleared her throat and looked at Evan secretly. To all the people in this house, Evan is the last person she wants to be with. The man was excessively cold, the soft expression he had earlier disappeared as soon as Daniella's figure left the house.

"Let's go," Evan suddenly spoke which made her eyebrow to creased in confusion, wondering if he's talking to someone.

She looked at her side and found no one. "Me?" she asked with one finger pointing at herself.

Evan looked at her emotionless and nodded, "I am going to follow them. Do you want to come?" he asked again in a robot tone.

Novie gulped and hesitated, she doesn't want to be around his coldness but, she also doesn't want to be rude.

"Ok," before she could think of an excuse, her lips parted to agree.

(Damn it Novie!) she cursed at herself.

When Evan started walking away, Novie tried to catch up with him but, the man's legs were too long that she finds it hard to walk with him.

She was astounded when Evan opened the passenger door for her, she gave him a faint smile as an appreciation and got in.

As they drive, Evan kept on staring at his phone. When she looked at it. She found it to be the GPS for Daniella's location.

The creased in her brows went deeper when she saw the tracking stopped at the restaurant near Ken's office. When they reached the location, Evan opened the car door for her and they went inside the restaurant.

Even though they just had their dinner, the smell of the grilled meat made her mouth moist. She gulped repeatedly and looked at Evan.

They occupied the table behind the big vase with a small tree inside, they could see Ken and Daniella but, she doubts the two can see them.

"What are we doing here?" she asked in curiosity. She has been wondering that and God knows how many times she tried to ask him that question in the car but, the moment she parted her lips, her mind went blank.

Evan's aura was making her skin to shiver and she doesn't know why but, she's afraid of him.

"Mark is with Danny so no one is going to look after Daniella today. I hope you don't mind that I brought you here. I don't want to sit and eat alone." Novie gave him a faint smile but, inside she was counting the words he uttered.

When the waiter came, the man switched his eyes between Evan and Novie and later to Daniella.

"Whatever you see here, don't tell my wife" Evan suddenly spoke and handed a bill to the waiter. The man shook his head and smiled.

"I will not tell her" he politely said and asked for their order.

Novie felt embarrassed, she was not sure how well the waiter knew Evan and she doesn't want him to think of her as his mistress.

Both Evan and Novie were quiet all along, even after their food came. They gradually looked at Daniella and Ken who kept on laughing, the sound of their laugh even reach their spot while they are like a stranger sharing a table and, Novie was not used to it. She's the person who loves to complement the food. She decided to gather all her courage and started a conversation.

"So Mr. Su" she began, the man looked at her while chewing on his food.

Evan swallowed his food and drank his water.

"Call me Evan" she nodded as a response, he already told her before but, somehow she felt uncomfortable since he was her previous boss.

"Sorry. Anyway, I have been wondering how you and Daniella met," she asked while slicing her steak.

Novie bite on her lower lips when she didn't hear his response, she blinked and lifted her sight to look at him, only to find him looking at Daniella's direction with a wide smile.

Then Evan looked at her and then, this was the first time she saw him smiling at her.

"In the basement," he started and lowered his fork and knife.

Novie rose an eyebrow in confusion, wondering what he meant.

"We met in the basement when she was only ten. She and Danny were being held by a doctor who used to work under Ken's father."

Her lips parted in shock, she was not expecting it. "Why?"

At that moment, she saw a vein popped out in his neck, the soft expression he had earlier faded and, rage flashed in his face.

"To experiment them. It started with revenge, the selfishness of Ken's father. In result, Ken's mother was held by his father's rival for 25 years and, my wife and her brother were separated and, of course, Ken, he grew up without his mom and a father who barely looked at him" Evan explained.

A pain throbbed in her heart when she imagined the pain Ken's went through. She sighed and looked at her boyfriend direction only to find him having a serious talk with Daniella. The laugh they had earlier had passed and, the two were having serious expression as they drank their wine.

"I think he will be a good father" Evan spoke out of the blue. And those words gave her heart a whacked.

"Ah -" she was speechless. Her ears were not set to hear those words.

"Ken's father is the worst person I had ever met. So I know that Ken will do his best not to be like him." Evan's voice was full of sincerity and it surprisingly removed all the trouble she had about starting a family with Ken.

She was not looking for an advise but, she finds herself asking for it.

"I am just scared that he doesn't want to have a kid because of his past. I don't really care about it but, I also don't want to force him" she emitted a sighed and felt as if a huge rock has been lifted in her heart.

Evan chuckled.

"Funny, because he said the same thing. I guess you two have been separated for too long that both of you are uncomfortable to open this topic" Novie nodded as she heard those words.

Evan has a point, and she's glad to know what Ken has in his mind.

"What should I do?" she asked in a disturbing tone.

Evan let out a loud chuckled that made the people next to them to looked at him.

"What's funny?" she asked in amusement.

Evan shook his head while the smile remained on his lips.

"Well, being married to Daniella for years gives me this crazy idea" and once again, Evan chuckled.

"What is it?" she asked, his laugh made her giggle as well.

"It's," Evan paused to laugh while his fist covered his lips.

She stared at him with her eyes shining in amusement.

"Tell me, what would be Daniella's advise if I ask her?" she asked in curiosity and, waited for his response.

Evan took a deep breath and composed himself. All the awkwardness they had earlier had disappeared because of their light conversation.

"I bet, she will say make him drunk and pin a needle to his condom. You will get pregnant and, he will marry you right away" as she heard those words, she could feel her cheeks burning. She covered a hand to her mouth to prevent herself from bursting while in Evan's eyes, tears started to form as he laughed.

"Is that… how the triplets were made?" she asked in between her laugh.

When Evan nodded, both of them exploded and, laughed at the same time.