Chapter 23 BIRTHDAY PARTY

     1:00 am, El walked out of her room in her pajamas. It had been four days since Ethan left the house and she had never felt more free and alive in her life since she knew about her engagement with him. The past few days had been so fun, especially with Chloe around but she couldn't help but think about him all the time. She couldn't even sleep right now because he was all she thought about.

       Annoyed by her thoughts, she got into the elevator and got out when she got to the ground floor. She walked to the kitchen to pour herself some milk, and on arrival, she saw him. He was there, standing close to the countertop where a cup and a D'Amalfi Limoncello Supreme drink were placed, in front of him.

     She blinked countless times as she used her hands to wipe her face, just to be clear she wasn't hallucinating due to her crowded thoughts about him. When she looked in the same direction again, she saw him, and this time, he was staring directly at her with that cold, expressionless face she had missed.

      He was as gorgeous as the first time they met, and she couldn't stop staring at those beautiful deep blue eyes which were mesmerizing. As her eyes traveled down his body, she noticed he unbuttoned his tucked black shirt down to his lower abdomen, revealing his broad chest and visible 8-packs. She gulped unconsciously.

      "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

     His question made her break her concentration on his body, and her eyes went back to his face as she blinked and shook her head to clear it from the daze she was in.

     "Well, I, I, I came to get some milk," she stammered half embarrassed as she cleared her throat. "I can't sleep, so I'm hoping the milk helps."

     "I wonder the reason for your sudden insomnia." He picked up the cup from the countertop which had a drink inside and drank all its content in one go.

       She watched him raise his head to drink the liquid in the cup he held. Her eyes went to his lips, down his perfect jawline, and then to his adam's apple as it moved up and down when he swallowed the drink, then down to his muscular chest. She swallowed as she started feeling hot. 

     What is he doing to her? Why was she feeling this way? She wasn't supposed to feel this way towards this man. He had made it pretty clear to her that their marriage was just some contract, so why was she so drawn to him. He was seducing her unintentionally without doing anything. Why is her body not listening to what her mind tells it? Her mind has always been in control over it, so why is it suddenly not listening to it. Why is it failing her?

      His gaze shifted to her, and on seeing the expression on her face, his lips curved to a smirk. He knew the effect he had on her, and he didn't bother to hide it. He dropped the cup he held on the table, and walked toward her slowly, his eyes not leaving hers. She froze on the spot she stood, she couldn't move, couldn't speak, as she returned his intense gaze. It was as if he hypnotized her.

    He got to where she stood and placed one of his arms around her small, tiny waist, raising her slightly above the ground, leaving only the tip of her toes on the floor as their body became so close that there was no gap in between. "Did you miss me?" He asked as he used his other free hand to massage her lips. Her mind became blank from what he did to her, and her heart raced upon hearing those words.

       Yes, more than you can imagine! Her body responded, and she could tell from how every nerve in it suddenly became sensitive to his touch. She couldn't think, and she could hear her heart pounding fast in her chest. What are you doing El, push him away! Her mind screamed but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

     His lips curved into that smirk, that evil smirk he wore when he saw how his charms worked perfectly on her. On seeing the smirk, her brain unfroze and she started thinking straight again. He was trying to seduce her because he knew he had some effects on her. No, She isn't going to let him seduce her again. Not again today, not ever again.

       "Why would I miss you, Ethan? If I remember correctly, this relationship is a contract, so there's no need to attach feelings, you made it clear in the contract."

      He paused for a second, still staring into her eyes. "You say something, and yet your body tells me another," he said still wearing that smirk on his face. He was teasing her, and he enjoyed watching the expressions she made on her face whenever he did it.

       "I'm pretty sure it's telling you to stop whatever it is you're doing to my face."

       He laughed and it echoed around the room. "Why am I getting another interpretation from it?" His face suddenly became serious, and his eyes left her eyes to her lips. She swallowed subconsciously as he brought his lips closer to hers until they almost touched.

       Just then, his phone beeped, and his gaze suddenly shifted from her to his pockets. He removed his hand from her face and brought out his phone from his pocket. On seeing the message, his face suddenly turned cold and he let go of her waist, walking back to the countertop as he poured the drink into the cup which he drank in one go.

         El watched him walk away from her to the place where he stood when she walked into the kitchen. His facial expression did not change from the calm, serious one he had on earlier, but she wasn't dumb to know he was angry. Whatever information that the message he received conveyed was bad news, and she didn't need a soothsayer to tell her that.

       She broke her intense gaze on him, walked to the in-built fridge which she opened, and started looking for where the milk was placed among the numerous items inside. She felt awkward from the silence between them and decided to break it, but she had to choose her words carefully. What she had learned from the weeks she had spent with him, was that he was a ticking bomb, especially when he was angry, so she can't say anything that'll make him explode.

        "When did you get back?" She asked, breaking the five minutes silence between them.

      "When did you start involving yourself in my personal life?"

        "Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to involve myself in your life. I'm just trying to start a conversation," she said staring at him, but unintentionally shifted her gaze back to the fridge when she saw the cold stare he gave her. She finally saw the milk, and she took it out of the fridge to the countertop.

      "Not too long ago." She paused when she heard him speak, and looked in his direction. "I got back not too long ago." He walked to the in-built drawer where different cups were placed and brought out a cup for her, which he dropped on the countertop in front of her before walking out of the room.

       She stared at his back as he walked out of the room, surprised. What just happened? Was she hallucinating? Did Ethan just act sweet to her when he's angry? She couldn't believe it. He was acting like a gentleman again, even when he was angry. This thought made her heart flutter. She poured the milk into the cup he placed in front of her, and drank it. After which, she went back to bed.

        At 7:00 am, El woke up to her usual routine. The maids were already in her room, waiting for her alarm to ring so she would wake up.

       "Good morning, Miss Eleanor," they greeted in unison when she sat up straight on her bed.

       "Yeah, Good morning," she said rubbing her hands on her sleepy face. She has gotten used to being served and treated like a queen, so it felt normal waking up to people standing in her room and waiting to be ordered around.

        "Your bath had been prepared, and the young master got back home last night, so you'll be having breakfast with him," one of them said bowing.

       So it wasn't a dream. Everything she thought that happened last night in her dream between her and Ethan, had happened in reality. It was still so hard to believe Ethan's behavior toward her in the early hours of the morning. But why the sudden change? He wasn't supposed to change his inhumane attitudes toward her. She was already attracted to him, that was a fact, but she couldn't blame herself. Who wouldn't be attracted to someone with a perfect face, and a very attractive body that is dripping sexiness? But then his inhumane attitude we're one of the reasons why she couldn't see herself being with someone like him. Now he was acting like a perfect gentleman all of a sudden, how was she supposed to cope? How is she supposed to stop herself from developing feelings for him?

     No! She screamed in her head. She's  Eleanor Welsh. She doesn't develop feelings just because a jerk suddenly starts acting like a human, or shows her his extremely sexy body. 

      She got up from her bed and walked into the bathroom to take her bath. After taking her bath, she was dolled up before going downstairs to have breakfast. When she got to the dining room, no one was there. She sat on the chair she likes sitting on, the one opposite Ethan's, and waited for them to come downstairs as she stared at the mouth-watering dishes. 

      A few minutes later, Chloe came downstairs wearing a yellow crop top and a pair of white shorts, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. "Good morning," she greeted, smiling sweetly as she stared at El.

       "Good morning Chloe," El greeted as Chloe sat on the chair close to hers.

      "How was your night?"

      "Slept like a baby," El said smiling, but when her gaze shifted to Ethan who walked into the room, her smile disappeared slowly on seeing his cold, emotionless face.

      Chloe turned to look at what El stared at behind her which made her react this way, but when she saw Ethan, her puzzled expression was replaced with a normal one. Of course, he was the only one that can make people react in this way. She wondered why she even gave a second thought to El's reaction. She should have known that Ethan had walked into the room.

        "Good morning," El greeted him as he sat on his chair, but he only stared at her.

       Embarrassed, she removed her gaze from him to the food in front of her. "Morning." She heard him say, and her gaze suddenly went back to his face, and he was staring at her. She was surprised, but she didn't show it in her expression.

         Chloe was also surprised and as she stared at him, she didn't bother to hide it. It was written all over her face. She had lived with Ethan for twenty-three years of her life, but never had she heard him say this kind of words to anybody. That is how proud and arrogant he is. Her grandfather was right. He needed someone like El to arouse some buried emotions in him.

      He started eating, caring less about Chloe's expression, and so did everyone at the table after a while. The table was dead silent as the only thing one could hear were the sounds from the collision of their cutleries on the plates.

      "Today's grandpa's birthday, and we'll be having a party tonight," Chloe said to El, breaking the fifteen minutes silence on the table.

      "Really, I didn't know that." She smiled as her eyes shifted to everyone in the room.

      "It's a family tradition so everyone's supposed to be there," she said as her eyes shifted to Ethan who continued eating his food without paying them any attention. "I mean every member of the Graysons," she repeated slowly, emphasizing each word carefully.

       El was confused at her sudden repetition but when she traced Chloe's eyes with hers and saw that she was staring at Ethan, she finally realized why. Chloe was trying to pass a message to him.

      Ethan shifted his gaze to Chloe, and she looked away. He wasn't dumb to know that she was talking to him indirectly. He stood up from the table and walked away.

      "What was that all about?" El asked her as she watched Chloe continue eating her meal.

      "Wasn't it obvious, that I was trying to pass a message?" She asked nonchalantly.

      "I know that but why we're you directing the message to him?"

       "Ethan hasn't attended this party for five years straight. Anytime that it comes up, he's nowhere to be found. Like he vanishes from the surface of the earth with no trace of his whereabouts."

       El was confused. "Why would he do that?" 

       "How am I supposed to know that? No one knows what goes on in that head of his." She sighed.

.

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         Back at the Welsh mansion,

        Antonio sat in the beautiful garden of his estate, watering the plants. This was the only memory he had left of his late wife, her garden, so he cherished it. He watered the plants every morning before doing anything else. He had been doing this for the past eight years since she passed away, and it had become a daily routine for him.

        As he watered the plants, he remembered how she would always smile when doing it, and when he asked why she would always say having a feeling of oneness with the mother of nature brought inner peace, which cannot be bought with money, or anything else. At first, he didn't understand it but now that he had been doing it for a long time, he fully understood what she meant. There was this peace, and joy he always felt watching the plants grow every day, step by step until they finally become trees. It is like raising a child, but the only difference is that this child won't rebel against you.

       "I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but you have an important guest." A voice came from behind him, and he sighed in annoyance. He didn't like to be disturbed when he was here, and he made it pretty clear to all his employees, but whatever the situation was for him to be disturbed, he knew it was important.

       He walked into the living room with the man behind him, and on arrival, the man who was sitting On the couch, waiting for him, stood to his feet.

       "Mr. Welsh," he greeted, and Antonio nodded to it. "I was sent by Mr. Grayson to invite you personally for his birthday party, tonight."