Thinking he must be worn out from a long day at work, she politely declined. "Thanks, but you should just head home and relax. What do you want for dinner? I'll bring it back."

“Whatever you pick is fine," Gerard replied, not too fussy about it.

"Got it."

She hung up the call, and Effie approached her with a grin. “Lilah, was my brother offering you a ride?"

"Yeah, he did," Lilah answered.

Effie sighed with a touch of envy. "Gerard never offers to drive me anywhere. You're lucky, Lilah."

Gerard was the type to do only what was expected at home. Picking up his sister wasn't something he did, not even in her dreams.

Lilah chuckled, giving it some thought. "Gerard is a good brother too, you know."

Effie just rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, sure, if you say so."

Lilah laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

A week later, Lilah received a message from Cloudy informing her that an international perfume association was extending an invitation for her to join. Lilah declined outright.

That afternoon, Laura called her. “Lilah, are you free tonight?"

"Yes." Having just wrapped up her work, Lilah was available.

“Great, I'll swing by your place tonight," Laura announced.

“Sounds good," Lilah responded.

As the evening set in at seven, the sky grew dark, devoid of any stars.

Driving together, Laura and Lilah headed to Laura's classmate reunion at a designated venue.

Arriving at the hotel half an hour later, Laura expressed her relief.

"I'm glad you could make it, Lilah. I wouldn't have wanted to come alone."

Lilah said with a smile, "I have some free time tonight. It might be a nice break."

“Ha-ha!" Laura chuckled softly. "We won't be out too late."

Lilah nodded, and then suddenly remembered to send a message to Gerard. "You don't need to pick me up tonight. I'm going to a party with Laura."

“After the party, give me a call. I'll still be at work." At that moment, Gerard was reviewing documents.

"Okay."