Chapter 38: Chapter 38

I soon shifted with Lucas, it wasn’t a hard decision to make but the whole situation, to me seemed sketchy.

I can’t just forgive Lucas after all that he did to me. He broke my trust over and over again, and I still trusted him despite that.

It’s not that I’m scared of him breaking my trust, at this point if he does that. I won’t be surprised. I became used to it. But it just doesn’t feel nice to be made a fool of, especially if it’s not him making a joke of me, but it is my own self.

As the saying goes:

Fool me once, shame on you

Fool me twice, shame on me.

It’s a war within, one I’m scared to lose. I just hope I’m not making any wrong decision because the consequence of that would turn me bitter.

I hope he doesn’t hurt me again. I was scared of being hurt initially, now I’m just tired of it.

Nonetheless, I still shifted.

We settled in his house, I was given a room besides Lucas’s room. Lucas also prepared a separate room for Tim.

Though Tim, still being a child, was quite disturbed by the whole shifting process. He was rather fond of Noah. He doesn’t like Lucas.

Right now, it’s time for dinner and I’m trying to persuade Tim to come down.

“ Why don’t you want to come down Tim? “ I ask, sighing. I’ve been trying to convince him by he is being stubborn.

“ I wanna go back… to our house Em. “ He replies.

I didn’t come here because I wanted to either… If I stay here, he’ll help manage the business. And there is no one better than him to do that.

If I don’t stay, he will back off. He won’t pester me but I doubt he’ll manage it for me, without anything in return for him.

He wouldn’t make a deal that will earn him nothing and if he did, then it wouldn’t be Lucas.

After a few more minutes of persuasion, Tim finally jumps down the chair. He wears his slippers and I take him with me to the dining room.

I don’t spot his parents there.

He sees me looking at the empty seats and then gestures me to sit beside him.

“ My parents aren’t here often,”  he replies, sensing my confusion.

I sit down and the food is served. My nostrils are filled with the enticing aroma of continental food.

I only eat a moderate amount though. These days, food gets me nauseous.

“ Don’t you like the food? “ Lucas asks me, seeing that I didn’t put much on my plate.

“ I do, it’s just to avoid any nausea. Maybe if I eat less… “ I state.

He disagrees, shaking his head in negative.

“ That’s not how it works. We haven’t taken any appointments for regular checkups but we’ll do that soon. Eat until you don’t feel hungry. “ He advises.

I don’t argue on that and out a little more food.

After eating a few bites I hear culinary dropping. I look beside me to see Tim throw his spoon on the plate rudely.

“ Can I leave now? “ He asks me.

Lucas also takes note of Tim’s rude behavior.

“ Tim, that is no way to behave. Finish what is on your plate at least. “ I state sternly.

He looks at me and makes a face then scurries away.

I am about to go after him but Lucas stops me.

“ Give him some time Emma. He is just a kid. “ He advises.

His composure seems quite calm. I expect him to mad by the way Tim acted since he mentioned before that he isn’t fond of children.

“ He’ll be fine. Don’t stress about it much. “ He says assuring me, gently squeezing my hand.

We continue our dinner in silence before I decide to ask him about his parents.

“ If you don’t mind me asking…is there a problem between your parents? “ I ask, abruptly.

He looks at me with his brow raised.

“ Curious? “ He asks, with a smirk on his face.

“ No…I just..that reminded my of Noah and how he had problems with his parents. “  I explain. He stares at me directly making me a bit nervous. His deep brown eyes staring right into mine.

“ My parents are simply annoying. It’s not the same as his. “ He replies.

Well…he doesn’t have a good relationship with his parents either.

“ But they still are your parents. “ I point out.

“ If they were here, they’d try to gain complete control over my decisions which is something I hate. I make my own decisions and I don’t like people interfering in them. “ He remarks, a bit rudely. Thought I feel like it isn’t directed towards me.

“ How bad can it be? “ I ask.

“ They want me to marry a dumb blonde bimbo because it’s good for the business. I worked hard for all this. I did it by myself Emma, they had no hand in it. Besides, the Last thing my company needs is a rich woman with daddy’s money to help it. I’m an egoistic man Emma and my ego wouldn’t allow that. “ He completes.

“ So you don’t want to marry that girl because your ego won’t allow you to? “ I ask.

“ That’s all you picked up? “ He asks, faking anger.

“ I’m offended. It’s because I don’t like to be controlled. I make my own decisions. No one else has the authority to make decisions for me. That’s one thing, my parents won’t get. You should be glad they aren’t here. They’re quite snobbish. “  He states.

“ They won’t like me being here? “ I ask.

He shakes his head in negative.

I look down, getting lost in horrifying thoughts.

“ What if they find out that we’re pregnant? “ I ask, getting nervous.

I don’t want to be in that position.

“ God Emma. You’re overthinking. As I said, I make my own decisions and I want you to be here with me. I don’t need their approval. “

“ You said you wanted to marry me? “ I ask.

“ I still do. “ He replies as a matter of fact.

“ But your parents would never agree on that. If I had married you it would have caused a great number of problems. You’re just leading me on to a dead end. “

“ The question is, are you being led on? “ He asks, eyeing me cautiously.

“ What? No! “ I deny abruptly, though a red tint spreads over my face.

“ Emma, I mostly keep them out of my life.  Even my company is separate from theirs. So if someday you change your mind, I promise, you will not have any problem from their side. “ He assures.

“ What if they force you to marry someone belonging to a wealthy family? “ I ask, not knowing why I keep on asking him that.

“ Emma, they can’t force me. It doesn’t work like that. “ He says laughing.

“ Let me ask you something. Have you been watching too many k dramas? “ He asks.

I nod, looking at him.

“ You need to stop watching those. They aren’t the reality. “ He says, still cackling at my previous question.

“ It’s late. I should go. “ I state, finally getting up.

“ You should, and don’t be too hard on Tim. All he needs is time to adjust. “ Lucas reminds.

We both depart from the dining room after that.

I expected Lucas to be a little angry at Tim, he isn’t as I thought of him to be. Or is it just a façade?

I talk with Tim, and I tell him a bedtime story before putting him to bed. I then go to my room.