Chapter 32 — Naive Little One

Aurelius blinked twice before chuckling at my surprised expression written all over my face, especially when he walked into the restaurant silently and shocking me with his presence that I wasn’t expecting him to grace me. Last time was enough to warn him how terrible of a human being I am, yet he’s still here. Standing in front of me with all his British glory and that dashing smile that was a bit awkward with the situation at hand.

This man is definitely someone you shouldn’t underestimate. He would creep up and steal your heart without you knowing.

He pulled out the chair across me and sat. After a few seconds of just staring at each other, he spoke. Scratching his cheek, he tilted his head to the side and grinned. “Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?”

“I’m quite surprised you still came to see me.” I huffed softly, turning back to my cup of hot cinnamon spice tea. The contrast of the orange liquid slowly twirling in the white cup reminded me of how I may appear normal outside but chaos ensues inside. “What made you come?”

“If I tell you, you’d probably smack me on the head.”

“Depends on what you’ll tell me.”

He laughed softly, capturing my attention once again. His eyes crinkled on the sides, the beautiful sea green color would have hypnotized if I were to ever meet them. “I don’t want to leave someone who is in dire need of companionship. I just… it’s wrong to leave you, all lonely like this.”

It should be illegal to be this naive.

“You do know I survived being alone before you came along. Plus, I’m totally not alone since Elise is around.”

Until Aiden showed up anyway and whisked my best friend away. One of the only few people I would never trade for anything in this world.

“Well, I’m not here as a best friend, Alex. You know that…” he cleared his throat, still not meeting my intense gaze due to such a bold statement. “Do you think I would be fine with just being a friend?”

Yes, I do know that.

Emptying the cup, I exhaled in contentment at the warm beverage before licking my lips. When Aurelius didn’t seem like he wanted to add more to his words, I cleared my throat to grab his attention. Once his eyes met mine, I flashed him a small grin. “I’m flattered, truly. I’ve never met a man as persistent and as charming as you, I’d give you that.”

He was silent, earnestly listening as I continued. “To be honest, I would rather be lovers than be just friends as well. However, I’m afraid that you’ll just give up on me as soon as you realize just how hard it is to be my boyfriend.”

“If there is any need for me to die for you, I would do so in a heartbeat. Mark my words.”

Eyes wide at what he just stated, my shock turned to skepticism. “Really? What if I ask you to get naked right here, right now… would you?” Getting no response from him, a laugh escaped my lips. “See? You couldn’t even do such a simple task—”

Aurelius slowly stood up from his chair, his face unreadable as his hands made their way to the collar of his polo, unbuttoning the first half. That was when I realized, he was indeed a crazy bastard. Face red in embarrassment and fear, my decorum flew out of the window as my hands reached out to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life.

“I was just joking—for fucks sake don’t expose your manly pecs!”

I swore the whole restaurant paused for a few seconds before resuming their activities as if I just didn’t scream about pecs, to which I am grateful. The case isn’t the same with Aurelius though, who burst out in laughter at my reaction as I sat down once again, praying for the whole floor to swallow me immediately and spit out my bones after. When he sat down with the biggest smile on his face, I narrowed my eyes at him in irritation. “Are you done?”

“Sorry about that…”

“Don’t be, because I know you ain’t.”

He shrugs. “Whatever floats your boat, but there… you got your answer. I’m sure I was able to make it clear, hm?”

Exhaling heavily, I leaned back on my chair and crossed my arms across my chest, looking at him intently. “It’s clear to me, but I’m still not convinced.” At my words, he made a sad face. I had to fight back the urge to throw my boot at him.

“What do you want me to do for you to believe in me?”

At the sudden statement that left my mouth, I was sure that I was possessed. Possessed with the intent on making things even more difficult when we could have solved this right there and then.

“Accompany me to South Korea after the New Year.”

» — ✣ — «

“Where have you been? I had to rummage all the cupboards and drawers here to find cinnamon. Where did you place it?”

Mom’s voice flooded from the hallway as I just entered through the door. She was still rambling aimlessly as I approached her, knowing very well where the spice was located. As soon as I got to the kitchen, a wave of annoyance washed through my whole being as countless bottles and other knick-knacks were all placed on the counter. Biting my lower lip out of frustration, I wasn’t surprised when it drew blood.

“Alex, come and help me. Don’t just stand there! You made me wait for an hour doing god knows what just trying to find this stupid spice. Dinner could’ve been finished if you arrived earlier—”

“Mom.”

She glanced up from trying to see whether the cinnamon was on one of the lower cupboards, brows furrowed slightly at my tone of voice. “What?” Her eyes widened slightly at what I had on my hand.

Holding up the cinnamon jar I hid inside the cupboard she hasn’t checked up on yet, I gave her a small smile as I reached out to give it to her receiving hands. “Don’t worry, next time I won’t hide it. Just place the bottles and jars near the stove so you don’t have to trouble yourself, okay?”

“Oh…”

I walked out of the kitchen as quietly as possible with hurried steps to my bedroom. Shutting the door behind me, I was once again safe in my room. Safe from her rage and biting words of wisdom as she claims. Handshaking, I fisted them and tucked them into the pockets of my jeans.

It’s about time I break free, just a few more… you will soon understand, Mom.

Standing in front of my desk, I pulled the left drawer and stared down at my passport. The key to solving my mother’s continuous path to a bitter life and my key to finding out why.