Chapter 197: Chapter 197
Ian’s heart was in his throat. With no hesitation whatsoever, he dashed into the smoke.
’What’s going on? Why is there so much smoke? Is Elfin okay?’ The questions whipped through his mind as he rushed and entered the room with no care for his safety. It never crossed Ian’s mind that Shelby could not be in that room at all.
For Ian, he did not want to take that chance at all. He literally zapped into that room when visibility was almost near zero, but he knew exactly where to go, especially from the smell that met him. He dashed towards his kitchen and entered quickly.
A coughing fit met him, and he shouted for his Elfin.
"Elfin, can you hear me-"
Ian stopped shot at the scene that him.
Dishevelled hair, oil and flour smudged on her cheeks and forehead, face scrunched up from all the smoke and chaos around her. The top of the island was filled with utensils, discarded vegetables and other cooking aids scattered all around so much that there was no space for anything. The floor was not in any better condition. Despite the thick smoke, Ian could see quite clearly.
Ian’s number one priority was Shelby and not the state of the place.
Shelby was fanning the air around her, trying to clear the smoke but was unsuccessful. She coughed long and hard but was not making any attempt to leave. Instead, she looked to have been about to take something off the stove.
Just then, the large glass skylight opened at the top to let out some of the smoke. What was most surprising was that Murray stood just on the side with a helpless look on his face. He flinched when Ian’s gaze landed on him.
Murray was the one who had opened the skylight and before Ian had arrived, he had already opened a couple of windows. The thing was that, despite all that was going on, Shelby had refused his help. He could only watch on helplessly but braced himself for his boss’s wrath.
Ian rushed to Shelby and pulled her off from the stove, taking the mittens from her hands.
"Are you okay?" He turned her around quickly and then, holding her tight, then, he disappeared from the room with her, and appeared in their back garden.
Her eye had some tears in them, not because she was crying but from all the smoke. She coughed long and hard, trying to clear her airways. Shelby gulped in as much of the fresh air as she could, crouching down in the process. Ian lightly tapped her back. His distress was apparent.
"What is going on? How did that happen?"
Shelby straightened and smiled and said in a small voice that was almost like a squeak, "I wanted to show my thanks."
"By killing yourself?" Ian deadpanned, trying to curb the anger that was bubbling up, but he was also terrified at the same time. The scene that had greeted him had scared the shit out of him, but he still could not wrap his mind around what had happened.
Shelby smiled guiltily and then a worried frown marred her face.
’OMG what have I done? I destroyed the room!’ Shelby bit her lip guiltily just as Ian drew her close, hugging her tight. The hug was so tight that Shelby found it hard to breathe.
She could feel his heartbeat so fast and hard that Shelby thought that his heart would jump out.
"Really! I just wanted to cook you a meal and-" Her muffled voice streamed to him.
Ian stopped for a fraction of a second and then bellowed out in laughter. It was so unexpected. He stepped back from Shelby and laughed until his sides hurt. The change was abrupt; from being scared to realizing that she was okay and then, the reason she gave blew everything out of his mind. She looked so cute just like catching a child doing something they were not supposed to do.
However, just as suddenly, he quieted down as a particular memory surfaced in his mind. This was back when Aliya was around. It was especially on the day that he tried to make a cake and had almost messed it up. He still remembered Aliya’s face visibly when her eyes cringed with laughter and tears at him.
It was after that day that he had strived to become a good cook... just for Aliya. Life was funny, who would have known, that he ended up using those skills for different person. A person that he had come to love and cherish in ways that he had never thought was possible.
Shelby saw the change in him and asked in a whisper, "Is everything okay?" Shelby asked as she still gulped in more air but studied Ian intently.
"Mmmm, yes." Ian straightened and then smiled at her.
"What did you mean that? I mean what you said earlier?" Ian asked suddenly as if to change the focus from himself back to her.
"Yes, I only wanted to cook you a meal..."
Ian found himself using the same words that Aliya had used for him,
"It’s okay, you tried your best.... It’s the thought that counts." Ian reached out and gently wiped the oil stain on her cheeks.
"You scared me so much!" He pulled her closer and crouched slightly to lean his chin on her head.
At that moment in time, he found himself slightly nostalgic especially since Aliya had been out of his mind for weeks on end. It was truly a strange feeling.
"At least, you and I both agree that you do not need to step into of the kitchen anymore. Leave that to the experts, okay?"
Shelby pouted slightly but she knew that what he said were the truth. Still, Shelby tried to counter it, "...but I only wanted to make a small meal for you..."
She traced lines on his chest trying to show how small the supposed meal was.
"You nearly burnt the house down together with yourself just from trying that!" Shelby hid her face on his chest as he let out a soft laughter.
"I’m so curious as to how you managed that though and what was Murray doing just watching on?"
"It’s not his fault, I told him not to intervene. I wanted to do everything by myself."
"That is still not excusable! But, you don’t have to do anything, my Elfin."
"I just wanted to thank you..."
"Between the two of us, you don’t have to thank me for anything. We are one in everything that we do." Ian whispered in her ears and just as suddenly, added,
"It’s settled, all cooking in this house will be done by the staff or myself!"
Shelby hung her head. She really wanted to show her appreciation to him. In fact, she had already opened a recipe book. She had all the ingredients, and then she had no idea what had gone wrong!
’I really thought that I could do it this time.’ She thought.
Ian remembered Rocky warning him once about not letting Shelby try to cook anything.
’It seems like I have to pay extra attention to that!’ He thought to himself.
Shelby pushed Ian back slightly and then said, "I’ll go and tidy up a bit." Her voice was also hoarse from the smoke.
"Don’t worry, someone will take care of it. Let’s take a walk so that you get some more air."
Shelby hesitated a bit and then nodded.
Ian intertwined their fingers and then slowed his steps so that they walked in sync through the back gardens and small array of vines behind the estate.
Behind the Thornston estate was a relatively smaller ray of grapes and other fruit plants that had been sectionalized. Some of the estate workers maintained it, and so it was highly maintained.
Ian kept peeking at her, marvelling at her beauty and the fact that she was all his.
"Do you like it here?" He couldn’t help asking as they stood by a small shroud of bush.
"Mmmmm mmmm Yes!" She unconsciously leaned towards him as if to hide from the slightly cooler breeze that circulated around them that evening. Seeing this, Ian opened up his coat and beckoned her into his embrace so that her cheeks rested on his chest, and he wrapped his jacket around her back.
They stopped like that as she relaxed against him.
She traced circles on his arms and then asked,
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Do you want to talk about her?"
Ian’s brows furrowed. He did not understand why Shelby had brought out that topic out of the bloom.
He looked deeply at his Elfin, and then he realized, "I can’t read you anymore... how?"
Ian started thinking back and realized that he had not been able to hear Shelby’s thoughts since he returned to the estate that evening.
He narrowed his eyes at her and asked,
"How did you do that?" It had barely been a full day since he started hearing her thoughts but how was it that he could not anymore. However, with his brows squeezed and him thinking deeply, a lone idea pierced his chaotic thoughts.
He pushed Shelby back slowly, not even believing that it was possible. He looked at her profoundly,
"No way! Don’t tell me ..."
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