Chapter 18 Softhearted
Nelson's POV
I pushed down all the surging emotions and my face returned to its usual indifference.
I picked up my fork, speared a perfectly pan-seared piece of French foie gras, and brought it directly to her lips. "Open up, taste it."
Elodie froze for a moment. She stubbornly pressed her lips together and turned her head away.
I didn't give her a chance to refuse. I gripped her chin, applied a bit of pressure, and pushed the warm, tender foie gras into her mouth.
Her lips were impossibly soft. The instant I touched them, it felt like an electric current shot through my fingertips.
Elodie was forced to chew, her eyes wide and round, like an annoyed cat glaring at me indignantly.
That look was so adorable it made my heart itch.
"How is it?" I asked, knowing full well.
She swallowed the food forcefully, her neck stiff, and said spitefully, "Not good."
I almost laughed at her defiance.
Muku's head chef was a three-Michelin-star chef specially brought in from France, and this pan-seared foie gras was his specialty—you couldn't find a second place like it in all of New York.
Her saying it wasn't good was clearly just her being stubborn with me.
I loved watching her throw these little tantrums—so lively and vivid, so much better than that careful, forced-strength act she put on before.
I suddenly leaned in close. The distance between us shrank instantly, close enough that I could see the fine downy hair on her face and her eyelashes trembling slightly from nervousness.
She instinctively leaned back, her breathing becoming erratic.
I reached out with my thumb and gently wiped the corner of her slightly pouted mouth, picking up a bit of glistening sauce on my fingertip.
"Is that so?" I said. "If it's not good, then I'll have it changed."
With that, I straightened up, making as if to call someone over.
"Don't!" Elodie grabbed my wrist, her cheeks flushing red. "I... I was joking! It's good, really good!"
She was afraid I'd actually make the chef redo it. Those clear eyes were full of chagrin and a hint of barely noticeable embarrassment.
I turned my hand and gripped her slender wrist. Her skin was delicate and cool, and holding it in my palm felt surprisingly good.
I rubbed her wrist bone. "So is it good or not?"
"It's good!"
"Then why weren't you happy just now?" I continued teasing her, enjoying watching her retreat step by step under my pressure.
"I wasn't unhappy!"
"You were."
Elodie was left speechless by my persistence. She simply turned her face away and pulled her hand free. "How I feel doesn't seem to have anything to do with Mr. Nelson."
There it was again, that distant formality.
The bit of pleasure in my heart instantly dissipated. I'd gone to such lengths to tie her to my side, yet her heart always wanted to build walls to shut me out.
Before I could say anything more, her phone buzzed on the table.
The second Elodie saw the caller ID, her face changed. She quickly declined the call, but it started ringing again immediately.
I heard the shrill female voice coming from the receiver. Even though I couldn't make out the words, the harsh, accusatory tone was clear enough.
Elodie took her phone and walked to the side, keeping her voice low, as if desperately trying to endure something.
Her back looked thin and tense, every word revealing powerless resistance.
I didn't need to guess—the person on the other end was her vampire of a mother, and the topic was undoubtedly about Alex.
When she hung up and came back, her face looked terrible.
I watched her, an inexplicable anger rising in my chest.
Whether it was her greedy mother or that clueless idiot Alex, they were all pressuring her in their own ways.
And all I could do was protect her through these underhanded methods.
"How is Alex doing now?" Elodie sat back down, listlessly pushing food around her plate, then suddenly asked me.
My hand paused mid-motion as I was serving her food. I looked up at her, my gaze instantly turning cold.
Just moments ago she was arguing with her mother because of him, and now she was asking about him again?
Where exactly did she place that man in her heart?
A fury mixed with jealousy burned in my chest.
"What?" I put down my fork. "Worried about him?"
Elodie quickly shook her head, hurriedly explaining, "No! That's not what I meant! I just... I just don't want to cause you trouble because of my situation."
She looked at me. "Alex's family is pretty prominent in New York. You hurt him like that, and I'm afraid..."
So she was worried about me.
That realization instantly extinguished all the displeasure in my heart.
She was afraid I'd get in trouble.
My Elodie—even in this situation where she could barely protect herself, what she was concerned about was still me.
I looked at my reflection in her clear eyes, and something hit the softest part of my heart hard. An unprecedented sense of satisfaction nearly overwhelmed me.
Good.
As long as she still cared about me, worried about me, that was enough.