Chapter 69: Chapter 69

"What are you guys doing?"

My body froze when I heard Greyson's voice. I turned to the side and saw him eyeing the two of us with utter bewilderment.

With all my strength, I pushed Garren away. I felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off of my chest after that.

"W-We..."

I coughed and pinched my arm to calm my raving nerves.

"Your d-dad and I-"

"We were talking, buddy. I was asking Cleo about something."

I'm glad Garren spoke up. It's the least that he could do for putting me in this situation.

But Greyson doesn't seem like he bought his father's excuse. With a doubtful voice, he said, "Really? As far as I know, you don't have to be THAT close when talking to someone."

I held my breath. Right. How stupid of me to think that this kid would fall for such a lie. He's not that gullible.

The corner of Greyson's lips tugged upward all of a sudden.

"Were you guys kissing?"

My face has never turned red like an overripe tomato until now.

I glared in Garren's direction, and I was even more infuriated after seeing the mischievous smirk plastered on his face, like he's taunting me.

He finds this hilarious?!

After a whole minute of silence, he turned to his son.

"Something got in her left eye, and being the kind person that I am, I had to blow it off."

I inwardly rolled my eyes. He managed to lie while tooting his own horn at the same time. What a talent.

"Right, Cleo?" Garren asked, still grinning.

I forced a smile. "Y-Yes. Your dad was helping me."

Greyson squinted his eyes at us for a couple of seconds and shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine. Anyway, dad I need you."

He pulled his father away, but before they left, the latter looked back at me and winked, making me squirm in sheer distaste.

What the hell is wrong with him?

I stared at the nothingness. I was stupefied on that spot, mindlessly pondering over the conversation that just happened between us.

"Whether you like it or not, I'll court you. You need to be held accountable for bewitching this monster."

My heart leapt just by remembering those words. I kneaded my throbbing forehead.

"He's not serious, right?"

Despite my quivering legs, I forced myself to stand up.

That entire day, I barely went out of my room. All throughout the dinner, I was trying to avoid Garren's gaze and imagining that he wasn't in the same room as me.

But it's physically impossible because we were literally sitting across each other.

"You were unusually silent earlier. Are you alright, Cleo?"

I stopped fixing Greyson's bed when he blurted that question out all of a sudden.

So he notices it... Am I that transparent?

"Of course. You know what? Sleep now because it's already late," I responded dismissively.

He didn't interrogate me more, much to my pleasure . I gave him a forehead kiss before heading out of his room.

The silence of the hall serenades me as I walk down the pathway. It feels serene, not until I saw Garren at the end of the stairs, standing with his arms crossed and staring outside.

He must have felt my presence as he turned to me. A subtle smile appeared on his lips, and that almost halted me dead in my tracks.

"Cleo..."

That voice again... that same goddamn voice. It's giving me flashbacks of the memories I'm trying to bury in the back of my mind.

"Good evening, sir." I'm grateful when my voice didn't crack as I greet him, despite the storm in my heart.

I don't know what he's doing here or if he purposely waited for me, but that's the least of my concerns. I have to get away from him as soon as possible.

So when I saw that he's about to grab my wrist, I instinctively avoided his hand and walked past him. I noticed how shock and disappointment ran across his eyes.

But I shouldn't fold to that.

"I-I have to go now, sir."

Without waiting for his response, I took long and decisive steps back to my room. When I closed the door, I held onto my rapidly beating chest.

This is merely the first day. How could I survive the following days of living under the same roof as him?

I breathed deeply and shook my head. I have no choice but to bear with this.

That night, I slept with hundreds of thoughts running through my head. No matter how much I told myself to get over it, I still think of Garren.

"Goodness. I look more terrible than ever," I wailed while staring at my reflection through the mirror. My eyebags have never been this prominent.

This is all Garren's fault.

I headed out after a while, but then I saw a bouquet of flowers on my doorstep.

With furrowed eyebrows, I picked it up. A smile made its way onto my lips when I saw that those are tulips- my favorite flowers.

While admiring its beauty, a paper piqued my curiosity.

"If flowers grew every time you crossed my mind, I'd certainly have a garden by now."

I knitted my eyebrows upon reading that. Who wrote this? And who put these flowers here?

"Whose that?"

I was snapped out when someone spoke in front of me- it's Claudette who's eyeing the bouquet of tulips with curiosity.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I saw them on my doorstep. Perhaps-"

Before I could finish my words, she took the tulips from me and smelled it.

"It smells nice."

She suddenly grinned.

"Is someone courting you, Cleo?"

I felt all the blood on my face disappear.

"Nah ah. I think the more accurate question is... is my brother courting you?"

If I wasn't anxious with her first question, I'm definitely walking on eggshells right now.

But still, I managed to keep myself calm and collected.

"You're blabbering nonsense, Claud. Your brother is not courting me. Why would you even think about that?"

How I wish that's really the case. I wouldn't be this frazzled if her brother isn't acting up.

"You're asking why I thought of that?"

The snicker on Claudette's face made me a nervous wreck once again. But what she said next pushed me into a deeper pit of shock.

"Because I was there last night, Cleo. I heard everything."

I was flabbergasted after hearing that. I stared at Claudette with utter horror, my heart thumping wildly.

What the hell?! She was there?! But I didn't even see her that night!

Claudette chuckled while looking at me. Where does she get the audacity to laugh while I'm literally soaked up in mortification here?!

God, hear me this once. Take me out of this place.

She patted my shoulder and winked. "Don't worry, I won't tell a single soul. But I'll be an avid spectator of your fairytale. Ciao, my dear!"

I followed her with my eyes as she walked upstairs. I was glued to that spot for a couple of minutes even after she disappeared before finally being able to move a muscle.

This day hasn't even started, and I already feel lethargic.

But oh well, it seems like the world has a one-sided cavil with me today because my day just kept on getting worse.

After stirring the coffee that I made, instead of staying in the kitchen, I made my way to the veranda.

I have my diary with me that I found while I was looking for something in my room a while ago. I found it along with my old pictures and some stuff that I kept in a box that serves as the sanctuary of my memories.

I want to recollect my childhood, so I decided to read it while enjoying my morning coffee.

However, when I opened the door that leads to the veranda, guess who I found sitting on the chair?

For Christ's sake, the sole reason why I want to be here is to avoid Garren so I can at least taste peace even for a little while. Is that too much to ask?!

He must have heard the door creaking and turned to me. I don't know if I'm just tripping, but his eyes lit up upon seeing me.

Going here is a bad decision.

"Good morning, sir."

He slightly frowned for reasons that I have no idea of. But it was only for a couple of seconds because he went back to smiling again.

"Good morning, Cleo."

Goodness. The way he uttered my name sent shivers down my spine. It feels weird.... and euphonious.

I brushed off that thought quickly.

"I didn't know you're here, sir. I'll leave now-"

"Who said you have to leave?"

I pursed my lips.

"Stay here."

I wanted to protest, but I know I can't defy his words. My guts to go against him already ran out that night.

I went to the other side of the veranda and leaned against the railings. I want to make sure that despite breathing in the same expanse, there's still enough distance between us.

I dared not utter a word or even glance at him, but God knows how many miles my brain has run.

The silence was broken when Garren cleared coughed. I stole him a glance. He seems dithering to speak.

Good. I'm not the only one getting keyed up here.

"Cleo."

I inwardly flinched when he called my name.

"Yes, sir?"

"H-Have you seen the flowers that I bought you?"

For the nth time, Garren bereft me of speech. I already had an idea that the flowers earlier were from him, but to personally hear his confirmation still left me shaken.

"I don't know if you like tulips, but they're beautiful, so as soon as I saw them, I thought of you."

My cheeks heat up in a matter of seconds... and so does my heart.

I don't know what to say. Should I thank him? Or should I tell him to stop?

I don't know... I really don't know.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw him stand up.

"I hope you love them. Have a great day, Cleo."

He turned his back. I thought he would finally leave, but then he suddenly stopped.

"By the way, those won't be the last flowers that you'll receive from me. I'll make this house an entire garden if that's what it takes to make you mine."

My jaw fell on the floor. I bet even Van Gogh will have a hard time to paint the dumbfounded expression on my face right at this moment.

Garren Montreal has gotten insane, and he's dragging me into his insanity.