Chapter 158
Jojo:
Hilarious.
That was the only word I could use to describe the alpha’s actions at that point in time. I had not expected him to show up in my room like that. The man had given me a thorough scare seeing him there. But, the way and manner which he cared for Lucian had me smiling. Apart from the time when he looked like he just wanted to speak because he did not want to stare at us in silence, every word that came out of his mouth did so with care and concern. Baby Lucian was a lucky baby after all.
After dressing Lucian up, I noticed his eyes were closing slowly, a signal that the boy was drifting off to sleep. I smiled softly and placed a kiss on his forehead. He needed the rest. I gently carried him from the dressing table and placed him in his comfortable cot. The bed was warm and so were his sheets. He snuggled up inside the cot and I could see him suck his lips in satisfaction. It was something he did after eating, bathing warm water, and waking up from sleep. It was how I knew my baby was relaxed and happy.
I needed to bath now, so I needed the alpha to help me watch him. I stepped out of the room, making sure that my footsteps did not make unnecessary noise. I walked down the steps until I could see alpha Lake clearly. He was seated on Mrs Smith’s favorite sofa, leaning out of the chair with his elbows on his knees and fingers intertwined in front of his face. I stood there to examine him.
His hard features were still present; taut shoulders, hard and chiseled jaw, dark eyes and narrow creases on his forehead. But there was a softness to him and in him. Even though I could not trace the origin, it was nice to see him climb down his high horse for once.
As if on cue, his eyes rose up to meet mine and he caught me off guard. Alarmed, I turned away immediately. He was not supposed to know that I had been staring at him in silence. I needed to find a way to remedy the situation.
I cleared my throat and turned back to him. He had risen from his seat and was slowly approaching me. It was time for me to keep my guard up.
“You seemed lost, I thought you needed something.” I stated, giving him a solid explanation for why I had been staring at him.
He did not reply. He simply stood at the foot of the stairs and slipped both his hands into his side pocket. I swallowed hard and turned my back towards him.
“Lucian is asleep now. I need you to help me watch him while I take my bath.” I spoke with my back turned to him. I took three steps up, but I did not hear his footsteps behind me. I stopped on my tracks and tilted my head to look at him. He still seemed lost even though he was looking at my face.
My right brow corked on its own accord, while I stared at him.
“Alpha Lake?”
His name was enough to draw him back to reality. He blinked twice and shook his head slowly, before fixing his gaze on me again.
“My apologies. Let’s go.”
I did not say another word. I turned on my heels and walked up the stairs, while he followed me behind.
When we got to the room, he took slow steps towards Lucian’s cot. He stood close to our baby and looked up at me.
“So, what have you been up to?”
I stood in front of the mirror and rolled my hair into a loose bun at the top of my head. I looked at his tall frame from the mirror, before I tore my gaze away from him and focused it on my face.
“I worked at Emerald’s kitchen for some time. Before I got admission into school and decided to work my way through that. I was given six months to take care of the baby, after which I will have to return to classes. I have been taking online classes so far, so I can write my tests and exams once I resume. The lecturers are really understanding, I’m happy about that.” Even as I spoke, I was proud of myself. It was a verbal reminder of how far I had come, how I had not let anything make me lose focus.
“That’s a good one. You’re doing really well, it makes me happy. It’s good to know that having baby Lucian did not stop you from forging ahead. I would have felt really bad if you had to put your life on hold.” He replied. This time, he was not looking at me, but at baby Lucian.
A small frown formed on my face.
Guilt and pity.
Those were the two meanings I derived from his statement. I did not want anyone to pity me or feel guilty about anything they did to me.
I said nothing else and retired into the shower with my clothes on. My towel was in the bathroom, and I was not interested in undressing in front of him.
I stood under the warm running water for twenty minutes more than I was supposed to. Hoping that when I came out, he’ll be gone. I did not want to be around him, I did not know if I would be able to keep my resolve if he was this close. I wanted nothing to do with him, yet I could not stop thinking of him.
It was messed up and very unhealthy. He was the last man I needed to be worried about or thinking about right now.
I turned the shower off, dried my body with my large towel, before wrapping it around my chest. I stepped out of the shower and out of the bathroom with my hair wrapped up and stray drops of after sliding down my skin.
Our gazes locked immediately I stepped into the room. He stared at me as though he had been waiting for me to come out, as though he had been dying to see my face again.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
His dark eyes seemed to darken the more, and something in his jaw clenched. Voices in my head began to scream at me. That was the point I had to ask him to excuse me, the point he had to leave. But the words wouldn’t form in my mouth.
Finally, I silenced the voices in my head and opened my mouth to speak.
“Please excuse me, alpha Lake. I need to get dressed.” I swallowed the lump in my throat immediately after that.
He did not turn around to walk back, instead, he started to walk closer to me.
I was supposed to frown and stop him, but I could not. I wanted him to come close to me, I wanted him to look at me like he wanted nothing more than to rip my towel off my chest.
In one swift move, he took my right arm and pulled me into his hold. His left hand wrapped itself around my waist while he stared into my eyes. I looked up at him with equal intensity, the butterflies in my stomach danced around while my heart thundered in my chest.
“Jojo.” My name slipped out of his lips like a breathless moan.
My gaze dropped to his lush lips. I could tell he was staring at mine as well.
Slowly, he leaned into me, aiming for my lips while I focused on his.
I was really going to do this, I was really going to kiss him.
Call it the voice of the goddess, the intervention of the forces of nature that knew we should not be together. But whatever it was, it caused my phone to ring in an unusually loud manner, breaking whatever connection I felt and snapping me back to my senses.
I stepped away from the alpha quickly and headed towards my ringing phone.