Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

[Elisberg City]

[Next Day, Watson Mansion]

Andrew woke up a little earlier than usual as he had an online international conference scheduled.

When he came down to the kitchen to grab some water after his meeting, he bumped into Joshua who was busy making a smoothie for himself.

"Morning," Joshua enthusiastically greeted him.

In response, Andrew nodded his head.

"Do you want some smoothie?"

Andrew peeked into his smoothie bowl and frowned. "Is that even edible?" It was a thick dark green drink which did not look appetizing at all.

"Of course it is," Joshua exclaimed. He proudly took a sip only to immediately spit it out and rinsed his mouth in the wash basin.

"What did you even put in this?" Andrew curiously lifted the bowl and took a whiff. He immediately frowned when the strong smell of parsley invaded his nostrils.

"I saw this recipe online—" Joshua said before gulping down some water. But no matter how much he tried, the aftertaste of his 'EDIBLE' self-made smoothie refused to fade away. The strong taste of God knows what he had added in the smoothie, kept making him feel nauseous.

"Did the recipe tell you to add all the parsley that you could find in the refrigerator?" Andrew tossed the green liquid on the basin.

When Joshua kept retching, he sighed and passed him some sugar. "Eat this, you will feel better."

Without saying anything, he immediately grabbed the spoon and shoved it inside his mouth.

When he started feeling a little better, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I swear, this must be what the devil tastes like."

"What did you even add in this? Only parsley?" Andrew curiously inquired.

When Joshua nodded, he sighed and helplessly shook his head.

"I added some sugar and salt too."

Andrew: " "

"It's just the beginning of the day and—" Joshua sighed in dejection. All he wanted was to start his day with a healthy smoothie and a walk in the park.

"Go sit over there—" Andrew instructed him as he walked towards the refrigerator and grabbed whatever fruits he could find.

He washed the fruits before chopping them. He then whipped everything inside the smoothie grinder with some honey.

Joshua sat in the kitchen slab as he admired his brother-in-law. He was highly impressed with Andrew's fast pace and slick knife moves.

For someone who couldn't even boil some water without spilling it on the counter, Andrew was no less than a God-like figure.

Within a few minutes, a light pink color delicious smoothie was placed in front of him.

"Y-You made this for me?" Joshua widened his eyes in shock.

Ignoring his question and the shocked expression on his face, Andrew said, "Drink it, it's not the best but it's definitely much better than your devil drink."

He then started pouring himself a cup of coffee, leaving Joshua alone with his smoothie.

Without wasting any time, Joshu grabbed the glass and took a sip of the drink.

When the sweet savouring taste invaded his taste buds, he moaned in satisfaction. "Oh my God, how on earth did you make this?"

Ignoring his comment, Andrew walked out of the kitchen.

"Hey, wait—" Joshua got down and quickly followed him.

...

[Living Room]

Andrew sat on the couch with his morning coffee and newspaper while Joshua kept savouring his delicious smoothie.

"This is so great." He couldn't stop praising it. "You have to tell me how you made it."

"Even if I tell you the recipe, you won't be able to make it," Andrew remarked without taking his eyes off the newspaper.

"You can teach me.." When he did not say anything, Joshua tried to convince him. "Come on, don't be so stingy with the recipe."

Andrew frowned and glared at him. Didn't he make the smoothie right in front of him?

"Fine, don't tell me but at least don't glare at me like that," Joshua shrugged his shoulders. "It's not nice being so grumpy early in the morning."

When he resumed enjoying his morning drink, Andrew kept the newspaper down and looked at him. "You seem to be in a very good mood today."

Before Joshua could say anything, he added, "Let me tell you something that will make your mood even better."

"What is it?" Joshua frowned when Andrew smiled. For some reason, his smile was making him feel very nervous.

"Your mother and Rachael asked me to run a background check on you."

"W-What?" Joshua's expression turned pale. He could see his worst nightmare turning into reality.

"Aunt Roma called Rachael to her room to talk about you yesterday." Keeping quiet for a while, Andrew said, "Rachael might talk to you about it so be careful. Don't get nervous and start acting weird. She will figure out something is wrong."

"B-But how…? I—" Joshua pursed his lips. He had always been very careful and made sure not to do anything that may raise any suspicion.

"Apparently your mother saw some scars in your body while treating your wound."

Pinching the space between his brows, he sighed. "I knew she would never let that incident pass."

"What incident?" Andrew inquired.

"Do you remember the sudden ambush by the Genovesse last year?" When Andrew nodded, Joshua continued, "It happened that time."

The ambush had happened a couple of days before he was supposed to come home. Though they had managed to kill all the men who had attacked them, many were left injured and Joshua was one of them.

Irrespective of his injuries, Joshua did not cancel his vacation as it had been over a year since he had last seen his parents. He was sure that if he didn't fly back home, his parents would fly to Russia to see him and he didn't want that.

"Didn't they attack you people as well?"

Andrew nodded. "They did."

Though the Volkov's and Petrov's were long-time rivals and couldn't stand each other on any grounds, they shared a similar rival which kept forcing them to cross the same path—The Genovesse….

…..