22

"I'm so full," I chuckled. "I guess I won't be having dinner," I said.

"Yeah, me too."

"You treated us to a feast."

He laughed.

"Thank you." I sipped from my cup.

"Can I have a reward then?" His eyes beamed. What reward was he talking about?

"Can I sleep over tonight?" He asked coolly. It took me a while to respond, but I did.

"Sure."

Out of indebtedness, I felt it wasn't much of a reward, it was more of a compensation for stretching him to do things for us.

He was pleased, nevertheless. We watched TV for a while, and I didn't know when I dozed off on the sofa.

However, the next morning, I found myself in my bed. Instincts told me Henry had carried me in his arms and laid me on my bed. It felt absurd, but thankfully, I couldn't remember any of it. I switched off the alarm and ambled out of the room, to the nursery. But my dear son was not in his bed at six a.m.

"I will have one too." His mirthful voice was coming from the kitchen.

"Oh, mummy has caught us." Henry was smiling at me.

"Oh, no!" Nathan cried.

"What are you two doing...and in the kitchen?" I sauntered in.

The whole counter was covered in flour.

"We wanted to make your apple pies," Nathan said, pointing at the ones in the oven.

"Sorry, we woke you up..." Henry was kneading the dough.

"No, you didn't. Normally, I do wake up at this time." I was amused.

"Okay." He nodded.

"Come on, you must take your bath." I urged Nathan.

"Can I stay for five more minutes? Uncle Henry is almost done." He pleaded.

"All right. But after five minutes, you have your bath."

He nodded.

"I'll be in my library," I said to Henry.

"Alright."

After I drove Nathan to school, I returned and Henry had not left. He was busy watering the houseplants.

"Do you never get tired of working?" I approached him, a warm smile on my face.

"Not really, it has become a habit." He put down the watering can and turned to me.

"Will you have a taste now?" He asked, his intense gaze on me.

"What taste? Oh, the pie! Yeah, of course." I remembered I wasn't able to eat it earlier because Nathan was almost running late for school, his five minutes had turned to ten minutes while I had been immersed in my work.

But for Henry, he'd have gone to school late on his second day.

"I'll be right back." He slid into the kitchen and returned with a small plate of apple pie. I took a bite.

"Hmm. It's so nice. You should teach me how to bake... I mean, it's delicious." I savored every bite. He was smiling contentedly at me.

"I'm glad you like it." He spoke.

"Thanks a lot. I'll eat it all."

He chuckled.

"I should get going now. I have a client to meet this noon," he said.

"Alright then, thanks for the pie."

He grabbed his things and dropped a kiss on my cheek.

"See you later." For once, my heart fluttered at his touch.

What could change?

Leo

I didn't expect to see her at all and, worse, so early in the morning. Wasn't she meant to be planning her birthday bash?

"We need to talk." She dropped her purse on my desk and sat in front of me.

"There's nothing to talk about, Ariadne. Please leave."

"I know you probably think the worst of me..."

"I probably don't, I am certain that I don't think that." I cut her off.

She scoffed.

"Don't make it look like I'm the only villain here. You erred at me first, Leo. I could only err you harder." She crossed her arms.

"I see. So you believe drugging and forcing yourself on me is erring me harder? You must be a fool to believe that."

"I don't care. We have settled scores, and you might not know what that night meant for me, but I do, it was the night I could express my passion for you."

"To hell with your passion! Just get out, Ariadne. I can't bear the sight of you." I snapped at her... everything about her was annoying, and her presence had started to irritate me.

"I know, I know," she shrugged a shoulder. "I'm leaving. See you on my birthday. I have a surprise for you." She stood up and clutched her purse.

"What surprise?"

"You'll see when you come." She finished and walked out of the room, her heels making irking noises.

Celine came in right away.

"Sir, it's time," she announced.

"Yeah. Let's go."

The conference room was already filled before I arrived. I could see Nana and my father among the guests.

I was to give a speech of gratitude and acknowledgment to the investors who had been pooling their resources together and building an even larger empire out of COOPER CORP in the past years. Likewise, I wanted to thank them and solicit more support and cooperation from them.

"That was a wonderful speech, Mr. Cooper." One of the oldest investors of the company and the President of Hotel Royal, Mr. Lesley, complimented me afterward.

"Thank you for your unwavering trust in us, sir." I extended a handshake and he warmly received it.

"You are doing exceptionally well for a youth. I'm sure your father is proud of you." He lovingly patted my shoulder.

"It's an honor to be praised by you, sir."

"Well, I'd like you to meet my daughter one of these days," he paused and asked. " Or are you perhaps seeing someone?"

"Well...I have someone I love." I answered.

He chuckled.

"Who has the most eligible bachelor in the US lost his heart to?" He joked just as Gabriel Stathom appeared.

"Mr. Lesley," he extended a handshake.

"Mr. Stathom. Long time no see."

"Can I see you for a minute?" Gabriel Stathom asked.

"Oh, can I refuse a great man like you?" Mr. Lesley was flattered. "But wait a minute, Mr. Cooper?" He turned to me.

"I almost forgot to extend an invitation to you. My daughter, Kimberly, is opening a new gallery in New York City. I'd like you to be present and grace the occasion." He said.

"It's an honor, sir. Please forward the venue and date to my email address, sir."

"I will surely do that. I have to go now. Keep up the good work, you are doing well perfectly." He patted my shoulder again.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"Come on, Mr. Stathom, I'm eager to hear from you."

Layla

Before the end of the day, I was able to complete the designs I wanted to include in my portfolio, so I decided to spend my leisure time at Mrs. Carter's. Sofia was happy to see me and Nathan, even though she had come down with an illness and couldn't be in school.

"Charlene visited earlier today." She said on her sick bed.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" I felt she was more than feverish and should see a doctor right away.

"I'm not that ill, it's the damn weather." She cursed.

"But still..."

"You have a visitor." Hannah's voice came from the door. I turned to see a young boy standing next to her. He looked quite older than Sofia, and he was carrying a food basket.

"Eugene?" She immediately sat up. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello." He slightly bobbed and passed by me, moving closer to Sofia.

"Hi."

He took his seat on the chair next to Sofia's bed, gently placing the basket on the bedside table.

"Can your son take cauliflower?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, he can, he's only allergic to garlic," I responded. She nodded and left.

"I didn't see you at school and I heard you were not feeling that good..." He said coolly. His somber eyes were fixed on Sofia's pale face.

What was happening here?

Was that what I was thinking?

"Yeah...you didn't have to come..." Sofia made a face.

"Do you mean to say thank you, Sofia?" I frowned, displeased at her expression of ingratitude.

The boy chuckled.

"Thanks." She casually said. "But you didn't have to bring me a good basket..."

"I couldn't come empty-handed." He replied sincerely.

"I should leave you two to chat," I said, feeling my presence might be hindering them from having a normal conversation.

"No, stay Aunt Layla." Sofia's voice came out panicky.

"Why? You have your friend here..."

"He's not my friend." She blurted. The boy bowed his head.

I guess he was disappointed.

"What?"

"I mean, we are not that close enough to be called friends." She rephrased with a stutter.

"You know what, I think Nathan needs me," I said, preparing to leave. "Nice to meet you, Eugene."

He smiled and then I left.

Sofia

An awkward silence that seemed to last forever fell between us.

Why was he here?

My condition just seemed to have worsened. I didn't know why, but he made me so uncomfortable in my house.

"Are you feeling better now?" His cool voice broke the silence in the air.

"Quite."

"Charlene gave me the address of your house." He thought it proper I knew, but I already guessed it.

"Yeah."

"Yeah," he repeated. "I don't know what you like, but I have got a variety." He continued, referring to the food basket.

"Thanks."

"Will you be at school tomorrow?"

"Why?"

"I mean, do you think you'll feel healthy by tomorrow?"

I blinked.

"I'm not sure."

"Okay. Your aunt seems warm." He complimented her.

"Yeah, she is..."

"And your mum..."

"She's not my mum." I countered before he could utter any more words.

Could Mrs. Carter ever be my mum?

She was too firm, and I still dreaded her wicked glares.

"Oh, my bad."

"What about her, anyway?" I questioned, wanting to know what he thought of her.

"She's pretty nice too," he said with a soft smile.

"Not very often."

He nodded.

"Who's she to you, by the way?" He seemed curious.

"My mum's friend. She's been my guardian for a while now."

"That's great. And the little boy I saw..."

"Aunt Layla's son."

"Ah, yes." He reclined his hands on his thighs. I stared at him for a moment.

Was he really this sweet, or was he pretending to be, so he could hang out with me?

I didn't know the least of the logic behind the way a boy's mind worked. So, how was I supposed to know of his intentions? But again, I thought it didn't matter, I wasn't interested in the gender anyway. This should bother Charlene, not me.

"Is it not getting late?"

"I know, but I have just arrived. I should have come earlier, but I was caught up with some things." He grimaced.

"Have they been sorted out?"

"Not entirely, but I've got it all under control," he assured.

"Okay."

"I hope you get well very soon. I want you to watch our game next weekend."

"Who will you guys go against?"

"Indigoes." He responded.

"Didn't you guys tie last time?"

"Yeah...but it's going to be different this time."

"How so?"

"Cause the team's got a pretty cheerleader." He smiled, gazing directly into my eyes.

"I'm not pretty." I flung the sheets away, slightly annoyed for no reason, and slipped down the bed.

"What's wrong? Did I say something bad?" He leaped to his feet. I didn't know, perhaps I was just feeling weird being called pretty by a guy when I was certain I was a lesbian.

"You shouldn't call me pretty." I marched to the bathroom.

"Why?" His voice trailed behind me.

"Cause I don't like it," I called from the bathroom, splashing water over my face. I suddenly felt rejuvenated and less sick.

"I don't have a problem with it," he startled me. I turned to see him standing at the entrance.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are too confident in yourself?"

"I haven't spoken to many people." Was his curt response.

"Well, I'm telling you now." I crossed my arms.

"I thought girls loved being called pretty. I thought it was a normal thing to say to a girl, I mean..."

"I'm lesbian." I ground out.

"Right." He breathed.