After dinner, Alexander received another call and stepped outside to answer it.
Bella imdiately clung to my hand.
"Aunt Alicia has to bathe and braid my hair tonight!"
Aunt Angela’s expression darkened at once.
"Bella, let your nanny bathe you and get you ready for bed."
"But I want Aunt Alicia tonight," Bella protested, refusing to let go of my hand.
I glanced at Angela cautiously.
"It’s alright, Auntie. Just for tonight."
She looked at coldly for a mont before waving a dismissive hand.
"Do whatever you want."
"Yayyy! Let’s go, Aunt Alicia!"
Bella pulled upstairs to her room.
Her bedroom was decorated entirely in pink, filled with dolls, ribbons, and soft lights like sothing from a fairy tale.
She led straight into the bathroom.
I helped her out of her dress and filled the tub with warm water and bubbles.
The whole ti, Bella chatted nonstop about school, her friends, and how a girl in class cried because soone stole her crayons.
When I helped her into her pink Barbie pajamas afterward, she suddenly stared at very seriously.
"Why are you so pretty?"
I laughed softly.
"You’re very pretty too, Bella."
She shook her head with complete confidence.
"I am. But you’re prettier. I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you."
"Is that so?" I smiled. "Then thank you very much. And I’ve never t anyone as adorable as you."
She smiled shyly.
Later, while I braided her hair, we were already halfway done when she suddenly turned around and leaned closer.
Then she whispered in a conspiratorial voice—
"I think my grandma doesn’t want you to be my aunt."
I paused for a mont, surprised by how observant a six-year-old could be.
"Why would you say that?"
Bella pursed her lips.
"Whenever Uncle Alexander ca before, I always heard him talking with Grandma. It sounded like he used to be eting another aunt."
She glanced around dramatically, as though sharing top-secret information.
"I wanted to go with him, but he never let ."
Then she leaned even closer.
"My grandma really likes that aunt."
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her troubled little face.
"Thank you for telling , Bella. You’re very smart. But this is an adult matter, and we’ll handle it ourselves, alright? You don’t need to worry about that."
She nodded obediently and sat back properly.
I smiled and gently patted her head before continuing the braid.
The "other aunt" she ntioned was most likely Lilian.
I rembered Lilian once ntioning it herself—during Alexander’s business trips, he would go to her every year.
But hearing it now from Bella stirred very little emotion in .
Or at least... that was what I told myself...
After finishing Bella’s braids, I tucked her into bed.
She asked to stay with her, so I decided to wait until she fell asleep.
I sat quietly beside her, watching her soft breathing and peaceful little face.
I had only t Bella today, yet she had already grown so attached to .
My hand drifted unconsciously to my abdon.
What would my own baby look like?
Would it be a girl... or a boy?
And if one day our child looked up at Alexander with the sa bright eyes Bella did...
Would he hold them just as naturally?
I smiled faintly.
My future with Alexander had not even been decided yet, and here I was thinking about such things.
If anything, I never wanted to beco the woman he chose out of responsibility... or guilt.
And right now, that was exactly what I feared was happening.
The soft creak of the door pulled back.
Alexander stood there.
"Is she asleep already?" he asked quietly.
"Mm."
I rose, kissed Bella’s forehead, adjusted her blanket, and walked toward the door.
Alexander stepped aside for , then closed it gently behind us.
"She doesn’t get to et many people often," he said as we walked. "So she gets excited."
"I understand." I said simply
My mind drifted back to her asking who I was , and a bitter smile touched my lips
Alexander had visited here often.
Yet I had never existed in the stories he brought with him."You were very natural with her earlier."his voice broke my trance
"Was I?"
"Mm."
"Well..." I lifted a brow. "Maybe I’m just very good with children."
A faint smile touched his lips.
We stopped outside a room I assud we would be using for the night.
He opened the door and led inside.
Like the rest of the house, it was elegant in a quiet, understated way.
"Want to freshen up first?" he asked.
"Mm."
"Our things are in the closet",he added. "I didn’t bother arranging them since we’ll be leaving soon."
"Right."
I took a few things from the closet and headed into the bathroom.
After showering and changing into my pajamas, I stepped back out.
Alexander was seated on the bed, looking down at his phone, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Is everything alright?" I asked as I climbed onto the other side of the bed.
"The employees at the New York branch made a mistake," he said, glancing at . "I need to go back and handle it."
"I see."
"Want to co with ?"
"No. I’ll return to Velaridge City first."
He looked at carefully before shifting closer and taking my hand in his.
"Will you be alright?"
"Of course."
I smiled faintly.
I slipped my hand from his grasp, then lay down facing the other side.
The room fell quiet.
After a while, the lamp clicked off, and the mattress dipped as he lay beside .
So ti later, I heard his voice in the darkness.
"Alicia... are you asleep?"
I kept my eyes closed.
A mont later, I felt him checking my face.
He knew I was awake.
"If you don’t want to talk, then fine. Goodnight."he said softly.
His lips brushed my forehead.
Then his arms wrapped around from behind.
Warm.
Protective.
Confusing.
Held there in his quiet embrace, I eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, we went downstairs for breakfast with Aunt Angela and Bella.
Bella was thrilled to see that Alexander and I were still there.
She chattered happily through the al, swinging her legs beneath the chair and asking endless questions.
But after breakfast, when she saw the staff carrying our luggage downstairs, her cheerful expression imdiately fell.
"Aunt Alicia, why are they bringing out your things?"
We were standing near the entrance.
I crouched down to her level and smiled gently.
"We have to return to Velaridge City, dear. We still have work to do."
Bella glanced between the three of us.
"Where is Velaridge City?" she asked curiously.
This ti, Alexander stepped closer and crouched beside .
"It’s our holand, baby," he said patiently. "Maybe you should ask your grandma to take you there soday."
Bella nodded seriously.
"I will definitely remind Grandma to bring ."
Then her eyes returned to .
"When will I see you again?"
"Very soon, Bella. Don’t worry."
She nodded reluctantly.
"Bella, you’ll be late for school," Aunt Angela said sharply.
Bella barely reacted.
Instead, she stepped forward and hugged first.
Then she hugged Alexander.
After saying our goodbyes, she climbed into the car, and the driver took her away.
The mont she left, the warmth at the entrance seed to disappear with her.
Our luggage had already been loaded.
Alexander had insisted on returning to New York by business class while I flew back to Velaridge City on the private jet.
I had tried to persuade him otherwise, saying it would make more sense for to take the comrcial flight instead, but he refused.
So I let it go.
"Alexander, you must co back another ti, alright?" Aunt Angela said warmly.
"I’ll try, Auntie," he replied calmly.
Then he reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers.
The gesture made Aunt Angela glance at with that sa familiar disdain.
"We’ll be going now, Auntie," I said politely.
She did not answer.
Seeing this, Alexander’s expression cooled slightly.
Without another word, he led toward the car.
They exchanged a final goodbye before he joined inside.
Throughout the ride to the airport, Alexander kept hold of my hand.
He never released it once.
It was as though the mont he let go, I might disappear.
When we arrived, he squeezed my hand one last ti.
"Jim will be waiting to pick you up at the airport, alright? Take care."
I nodded faintly.
Only then did he slowly let go and step out of the car.
And for so reason, the warmth of his hand lingered long after the door closed.
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