Lily's POV
Garrett seemed somewhat surprised by the number of questions I was asking, but he answered them all, seemingly willing to open up a little more.
"I prefer winter, coffee, my favorite color is blue, I like quiet places, yes, I like music. My favorite song is 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash. As for books, it's hard to choose a favorite, but I really like '1984' by George Orwell."
I was delighted to get to know him better through his answers. Each response seemed to reveal a bit more of his personality and preferences. I smiled and continued with the questions.
"What's your favorite movie? And favorite food?"
He thought for a moment before answering.
"My favorite movie is 'Fight Club'. As for food, I enjoy a good steak."
Our footsteps echoed through the park as I kept asking questions and he kept answering, revealing a side of himself that I didn't know. It was a relaxed and pleasant moment, and I felt a connection growing stronger between us.
As the afternoon progressed, the sun began to set on the horizon, painting the sky with golden and orange hues. I stopped asking questions and simply appreciated the beauty of the moment alongside Garrett and Arthur. The atmosphere was calm and cozy, and for a moment, I felt like we were part of a family.
"Thank you for answering my questions, Garrett. It was nice to get to know a bit more about you," I spoke sincerely, looking at him with a smile on my lips.
He looked at me and smiled back, a gentle smile that seemed to light up his entire face.
"The pleasure was mine, Lily. It's good to be able to talk and share a bit more with someone."
That simple and intimate moment seemed to break down some barriers between us. I felt like I was gaining my boss's trust little by little, and that made me happy. Perhaps there was more than just a professional relationship between us, maybe a friendship was blossoming, and maybe, just maybe, there was something more. But I didn't expect what was about to happen next.
One of the maids in the castle had told me that Mrs. Felicity, Garrett's deceased wife, had ordered the complete decoration of Arthur's room along with her husband. Up until the last weeks of her pregnancy, Arthur's room had been fully decorated as they eagerly awaited the baby's arrival. However, after Mrs. Felicity's death during childbirth, Mr. Ward ordered all the decorations to be removed and they ended up in the castle's dungeons, serving as storage. Displeased with my boss's decision, I asked the maid to accompany me to the dungeons and show me where the items from Arthur's room had been left. I then requested that everything be brought back to the baby's room, as I was determined to set up the room again so that Arthur could be in a pleasant environment.
I first assembled the crib decorations with the toys that hung over the crib, and the baby became excited and happy as he played with his new toys. I laughed, feeling satisfied to see him so joyful. It only fueled my determination to continue with my task. I assembled the wardrobe, arranged his clothes neatly, and also set up more comfortable furniture for the baby, organizing all his toys on the sideboard. That day, Mr. Ward had gone to the town and had spent the whole day working there, but he returned early in the evening and went straight to the room where Arthur and I stayed. When I turned my gaze to the door, I saw him standing there, observing everything I was doing. I had a huge smile when I saw him.
"Hello, look what I found in the dungeon. Arthur is all happy with his new toys." I said innocently, in the last few days he and I were more open with each other. I kept asking him questions, and he answered all the questions, and we talked for hours about banal matters, it was clear that Garrett enjoyed my company, he even smiled and even laughed a little from time to time, it was so good to know that I was the making you smile by least, so he could forget his embittered life.
"Who ordered you to do this?" He spoke, still standing in the doorway, my smile broke when I noticed his displeased expression. I stopped what he was doing and got up.
"No one, sir. But I thought adding some color to Arthur's environment would make him happier…"
"You don't get paid to make your own decisions here!" He cut me off sharply as he approached me. "I ordered them to burn all this down, but you meddled and did what you shouldn't." His jaw was locked as he approached.
"I-I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again…" I took a step back as I remembered what had happened in the dungeon weeks ago. He had such a furious look.
"Why are you always interfering? Why do you care? You know this child is not yours and as soon as you're out of your usefulness I'll take him from you and go out into the world, so you'll never hear from him again. You know that ? So why do you still insist on taking care of the baby and me...?" At that moment he was so close to me that I couldn't form words, I just swallowed hard and thick tears fell from my eyes, just imagining being away from Arthur I already felt myself collapsing. Mr. Ward was just trying to break my heart… "Why are you crying? Do you love that child so much?" his words were fuel for my tears, I didn't want to be away from Arthur. Mr. Ward brought his thumb to my face and slowly wiped away my tears, the act was so simple that I even doubted it was coming from himself.
But as a surprise, he pulled me by the back of my neck and brought his lips to mine in a kiss. I widened my eyes in surprise at that sudden act of his, but he pulled away as if he was repelling himself from me, he was looking at me with a troubled face and hurried out of that room, I was still in shock that I didn't know if I was sad or happy, I didn't know which was my feeling at that moment. My legs gave out, and I fell to the floor with all that little mess of decorations surrounding me, my fingers trembling as I brought them to my lips. Had my boss kissed me? Garrett Ward had kissed me? But what did that mean?
I had the answer when that same night he sent for me, I had already taken care of the baby, and he was sleeping peacefully in his crib. I had also removed all the decorations and returned them to the dungeon, causing the room to return to how it was before, so I lay down on my little bed and closed my eyes to sleep, but one of Lord Ward's guards came to my room and said he wanted to see me. Furthermore, I put a robe over my nightgown and followed the man's guard into his office, as soon as I walked in, I saw him sitting in his usual chair, only today his tie was sloppily pulled down around his neck, his slightly messy hair and a look staggering with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
"Sit down." He pointed with the bottle that the contents of it were almost at the end, he pointed to the chair in front of him as soon as he saw me, I nodded slightly and sat down in front of him. He was clearly drunk. "You think you're very special, don't you?" He spoke in a mocking tone and then laughed. Had he called me there to scold me? "When I drink, I don't have a tongue, it's easier to say what I'm thinking. And there's a lot I've wanted to talk to you about since you got here. You came into my son's life and mine and even put the smiles back on our faces. Why? Every day you've been happier and more docile, it's simply impossible not to like you, have you been trying too hard to see me happy? Why do you care? You look so much like her... Felicity... You look so much like her... So much like her that even sometimes I get confused that maybe she's still here with me, but then I remember it's just you, so I go back to hating you for that.
"But I'm not her…"
"Yes, you are not!" He cut me off sharply and then went back to talking sadly. "But I wish you were... Because if you were, I wouldn't feel so guilty, I wouldn't feel so guilty for liking another woman while I promised my dead wife eternal love. If you were her, I wouldn't feel fucking guilty for liking you, Lily."