Always, Lily

?? Twenty eight

"Dr Davis, I didn't think I'd see you here." Enzo slowly lifted his head, his eyes a bit fierce on the guy.

"Likewise," he mumbled with mild interest that I had to shake his arm.

Everyone from work knew that Wayne and I had been nominated for this.

"I'm sorry?" Wayne looked between Enzo and I, not having heard him clearly.

"How do you think we compare to the rest of the participants?" I asked Wayne, to divert his attention from Enzo.

"I don't think we're badly off but..." He looked around and added, "The competition is stiff this year."

"What do you think Dr Davis?" Wayne asked for his opinion, sitting on the empty chair in front of us.

"I don't know about the rest but I'm sure my girl will win the award." Enzo replied, his tone a bit bragging.

I didn't miss the way he emphasized the words my girl. Wayne looked at our joined hands, getting the message.

"Excuse me, I have to pick a call." Wayne politely nodded at the two of us and walked away.

I leaned onto Enzo's bicep and poked his side. "Was chasing him away necessary?" I lifted my face to him.

"I didn't do anything," he passed me a not so innocent look, kissing my forehead.

We needed to work on that jealousy of his. I made a mental note to revisit that topic later.

"Do you believe in me that much?" I asked after a few seconds, having remembered what he'd said to Wayne.

"You think I'll be among the top three?" He nodded to both of my questions.

"I know your ability." He said while circling his hand around my waist.

I stared at my reflection in his eyes, a foreign emotion suddenly coming over me as his words replayed in mind.

I was doubtful of myself. I didn't think I was that great but he believed I was truly capable? Wasn't this the confidence you received from family?

Family. I thought again, getting lost in the green pool of his eyes. Would Lorenzo and I make a good family?

"Lilith?" I felt a small tap on my cheek, making me slightly jump.

"You zoned out," Enzo's face appeared before my eyes and I blinked away my previous  imagination.

"Your face is getting redder," he stroked my cheek with his thumb, highlighting my blush.

"I-I got nervous," I quickly lied when people began to settle back to their seats for the announcement of the results.

"I'm with you." He stood up to take me back to my seat. I saw him glare into Wayne's side but it wasn't that intense as before.

"Cheer up, love." He whispered, my whole face flushing as the word family crossed my mind again.

I looked behind me when he went back his seat, our eyes meeting in the distance. I couldn't help but picture him as a dad.

I had seen how he handled Lucas. There was no doubt he was going to be a great a parent.

Before my fantasies ran further, the awarding ceremony began and I held my breath, adjusting the length of my dress.

Third place went to the doctor who presented about a machine learning model that had a very high accuracy in detecting ailments.

I was very impressed with his work so it was no surprise that he was among the winners.

Second place went to ID number eleven. It took me a second to realize that was me when the spotlight fell on me.

My eyes widened as I sat up, clearly not having expected that. I slowly walked up the stage, careful not to miss a step.

The smile on my face was big as I received my award. I looked for Enzo in the crowd and when I saw him, I wanted to wrap myself round his back.

All the work we'd done had paid off. I truly wouldn't have made it without him.

Pictures of the winners were taken. We were interrogated a bit about our projects and what we were going to work on next.

I didn't have a plan yet. I hadn't imagined winning so I roughly came up with something to say.

Each time, I glanced at Enzo in the crowd, waiting for these formalities to be over so that I'd hug him and thank him for his support.

I was able to meet him half an hour later after everything was done and the first thing he did was embrace me in a big hug.

"Congratulations baby girl." He whispered into my hair, swinging me side to side.

"Thank you darling. I didn't expect that." I said, placing my hands on his chest.

"I knew you'd win." He kissed my lips, leading me to his car where he gifted me a bouquet of red roses.

"You bought them before the event?" I looked at him in disbelief when he nodded in a small smile.

"You're unbelievable," I looked at him and then stared at the flowers.

"I'm hoping I came on time," the familiar voice of my brother rang behind me.

"Congratulations little sister," I turned around to meet Orion, surprised that he was here.

"You didn't tell me you were coming," I smiled, thanking him for his present.

He had brought me a gift box. I couldn't open it because of the flowers I was holding.

Orion looked at the flowers and then exclaimed, "Somebody loves you more than I?" He chuckled, meeting eyes with Enzo.

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