"We are going back," she turned around and ran away to where the car was parked. The car was parked at some distance. Going there would take a few tens of minutes. Cedric ran to her and caught up with her. He noticed that her face was red and she lowered her eyes and only looked at the ground. He even doubted what was so interesting about the ground. He tried to see what's so interesting but he lost interest in a second.
"Wifey, Look at me. The ground is boring," Cedric opened his mouth and said.
"I- I -…" she tried to say something but she stuttered badly. Before she could think of anything, she slipped her leg and was about to fall. She closed her eyes as she welcomed herself to kiss the ground. But before she could kiss the ground a pair of strong hands held her tight. Her heart thudded inside her heart when she felt his hands around her.
"Careful," his husky yet melodic voice sounded in her ears. Feeling safe she opened her eyes only to meet his chocolaty brown eyes.
"Thanks," she whispered. She meant to say it aloud but somehow… they barely came out like a whisper.
A nest of butterflies fluttered in the pit of her stomach making her feel wonders. She didn't notice that she was still holding him even though he didn't hold her anymore.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, catching her emerald green eyes under a spell of his gaze.
"I am fine, but a bit shocked," she said softly, making him chuckle.
"Okay, how about we walk to the car?" he asked.
She nodded. But she didn't move.
"We need to walk," he said. She still didn't realize that she was standing still.
Cedric shook his head and lifted her in bridal style in his arms. Eleanor was taken by surprise at the stunt pulled by him.
"Why?" she said softly. Onlookers were looking at her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck as she tried to evade the embarrassment.
"Even after reminding you to walk, it seems that you don't want to walk. So… I carried you," he said to her in his husky voice.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"no need, wifey. In the future, you should stop walking. I will carry you everywhere," he said to her.
"Stop it already," she whined.
Cedric chuckled at her actions.
He directly carried her into the car and made her sit in the passenger seat. And then he buckled the seat belt.
They started driving. The whole drive was silent. No one spoke a single word.
---/
Half an hour later…
"I don't want you to return," Cedric said with a sigh as he saw the Zora Mansion.
"We will meet tomorrow," she softly said.
"But I want to spend every second with you," he said with a pout.
"Be good," she said and pecked his forehead naturally. She didn't feel embarrassed like before. Instead, she felt good kissing him.
Cedric was struck dumb but said nothing. Before he could say something, Eleanor got out and left the car.
Cedric decided to wait till the lights in her room were turned on.
---/
Inside the Zora Mansion…
"Why didn't you return in your car? Where is your car? Why did you come with that stinky fellow?" Aiden Zora bombarded her daughter with a series of questions.
"Dad… Dad… first chill. Let me explain," Eleanor said, giving her purse to the maid before changing her shoes.
When Aiden saw the car doesn't belong to his daughter, he used binoculars and saw that the car belonged to that stinky brat. He couldn't control his anger! He wanted to go out and lash that brat! But his daughter came out quickly, not giving a chance to show his fierce protective father side!
Well, there were many chances that he could use to show his son-in-law how protective he could be towards his daughter.
He paced around anxiously back and forth repeatedly. He was feeling disappointed, exhilarated, and unhappy.
When Eleanor came inside, he bombarded her with questions shocking her to her death! Sigh…
"Dad! Sit first!" Eleanor shouted from the hallway.
Aiden sat on the couch as he waited for his daughter anxiously. To his relief, Eleanor came in quickly.
Slumping on the couch, Eleanor settled opposite the side of her dad. She drank the water on the coffee table and kept the empty glass to the side.
"Dad, I and Myna met in the café and spoke for hours. I asked her to accompany me to buy a gift for Cedric's sister's upcoming birthday in three days. But Myna advised me to buy something that she likes instead of buying for namesake. So… I decided to text Cedric and ask him what his sister likes.
"But I postponed the texting thing to tomorrow. When we are about to leave. Myna said she wanted to see my brother. So… I had to call Cedric as my brother was admitted to Emerson's hospital. So we spoke with our brother and then left the building. When we were about to start, Myna got an urgent call saying the condition of one of her patients is serious. In that area, getting a taxi is quite hard. Even if she was lucky enough then it might be late for her. So, I asked her to ride using my car. And Cedric offered to give me a ride.
"But he asked me for dinner. After dinner, he dropped me off," Eleanor reported everything to him without missing a single incident.
And yeah… the generous Eleanor skipped the walking incident, in order not to give a heart attack to her father. How thoughtful of her as a daughter?!
"Next time, call me. I will send a driver and car for you," Aiden said.
"Okay," she nodded obediently.
"How is that lass doing?" Aiden asked with a sigh.
"She is good… at least in front of me," Eleanor said.
"She is a strong kid. I wonder why that brat doesn't like her. I would have been happy if he married her," Aiden said, clicking his tongue.
"But dad… you are misunderstanding him. He likes her but not the way a man likes a woman. He sees her like me. There is no spark between them. So… even I didn't dare to put a finger in it. Let's leave it to them to solve," Eleanor said.
"fine… fine… fine… My daughter knows how to shut me up," Aiden said with a sigh.
"Dad…" Eleanor pulled her words.
"Fine.. fine… go rest," he said to her.
"Okay! Have dinner before going to sleep. Don't stay up late, dad!" she said before she made her way upstairs.
"Okay," he said and waved his hand at her.
"Eric! Did you see it? My daughter said everything to me. That brat didn't take advantage of her," Aiden laughed.
Eric doesn't know whether he should laugh or not at his boss's naivety.
Sigh…
Forget it.
"Master, why are you wary of him? Didn't you approve of him in the morning?" Eric asked.
"It's not that Eric. That man never had a girlfriend or any rumors. It's just that… he is a sleeping wolf. If my daughter had to marry him, he would make it hard for her. He doesn't know how to be gentle. And my daughter is so precious. If I let her suffer any grievances Martin would kill me without even showing mercy that I am his father. And he loves her so much.
"You know about their mother… When Eleanor was small she left them for money. That made Eleanor get into a depression. And I was busy with the office. Only he was there for her all the time. He took care of her like a father, mother and even acted like a brother in the school.
"That kid… can't see her crying or having grievances. And I am a bad father. I never took care of them. This is the only time I can protect her," Aiden said as he relived the memory of his wife and her cruel deeds.
He hung his head low as he thought about those things. He knew he was never qualified to be a good father. Aiden was never there for them when they needed it the most. He tried to make up for them in many ways but he always ended up doing nothing. Even though his children never blamed him… he blamed himself for his incompetence. He was such a bad father.
"I am such a useless father," Aiden mumbled.
"Sir, I have been working with you for many years. And I got in touch with many butlers around here. I heard… no family eats together or says hi to each other. And I also heard they bully their butlers and look down on them.
"But every time I see you people. I feel happy. You never made me feel out. And what's more… your children are your top priority. I am blessed to work with your family, Master," Eric replied.
"Eric… I know you are loyal to me. But don't comfort me this way. I just can't wipe this guilt away. If I had remarried Aria as my wife at that time… these kids wouldn't need to go through these troubles. She loved me so much but I acted like a coward," Aiden said.
Unknown to them… Eleanor who came to fill the empty water jug in her hands heard his words.