\[Elise’s POV\]
I watch as Serenity’s cheeks turn a bright pink while embarrassment flashes in her eyes. Oh, I could almost guess what, or rather, who this involved, and since I was pretty bored having to play student day to day, I could really use some entertainment.
“Go on,” I announce, dropping down to the floor in front of her. “Tell Auntie Elise all about it.”
Ugh. It sounded so weird to say that, but since Serenity knew my secret, there wasn’t really any reason for me to continue playing Eleanor in front of her.
“What has the gentle giant done to you now?”
“It isn’t him.” Serenity says slowly, clearly trying to compose her thoughts. “It’s me.”
“Please don’t give me the whole it isn’t him; it is me thing. You didn’t see just how frazzled you looked when you ran into me. Clearly, he did something to cause that, right?”
“He...” she begins, but stops as her blush grows deeper. “I think he tried to kiss me.”
Eyes widening, I can’t help but give props to the gentle giant for being so bold. To go as far as try to kiss Serenity when he acted all stoic was definitely a good thing, but why was Serenity so upset by it? I was almost certain that the two had feelings for each other, even if they didn’t realize it themselves yet.
“And you didn’t kiss him?” I ask, deciding to poke a bit. “I mean, from an outsider's perspective, you two come across as a pretty good couple, and I can certainly feel some chemistry brewing between the two of you.”
“Is that how it looks?” She asks sadly. “Because to me, it just seems like he sees me as nothing more than a charge.”
Frowning, I fight the urge to shake Serenity. Man, she really was blind, wasn’t she? Didn’t she see the way he looked at her when they were together? Or how his eyes always follow her anywhere she goes? To have a man that damn infatuated with you and not even realize it was...
“Poor, gentle giant.” I sigh, leaning back on my palms. “He must be growing tired of waiting.”
“What?” Serenity gasps, her eyes widening. “What do you mean?”
Smirking, I can’t stop the mischievous side of me that just wants to push a bit and help the gentle giant out. Anyway, I was sure that the big lug would lose his shit if he saw his daughter getting cozy with her protector.
“Poor, gentle giant.” I continue, tsking. “I wonder how long he has held a torch for you while you were completely oblivious.”
“Aunt Elise!” Serenity gasps, her eyes widening. “How can you say such things without solid proof?”
“Didn’t you say he tried to kiss you?” I point out. “Isn’t that enough proof?”
“It…” she squeaks. “How can something like that determine whether someone likes you? I mean, what if he does that with other women when I’m not around? He was doing those things so naturally.”
“Those things,” I repeat, my anger spiking as I begin to wonder what things the gentle giant did to my niece. “What do you mean by those things? What the hell did that man do to you?”
As I speak, I jump up and prepare to go find the bastard, but stop when Serenity grabs me.
“Listen!” She gasps, pulling me with so much strength that it surprises me. “It isn’t like that! Aunt Elise, he didn’t do anything bad to me! He just…”
“Go on,” I urge her, trying to calm down. “What did he do?”
“Touched my cheek so tenderly.” She whispers, clearly embarrassed by what she is saying. “He was so gentle, and when I thought of him being so gentle to another woman, I just...”
“Oh, sweetie.” I sigh, realizing that Serenity is already in pretty deep. “You’re so innocent, it kills me.”
Turning, I take in Serenity’s blushing cheeks and innocent gaze. Goddess, was I ever this innocent before any man wrecked me? No, probably not, since I was destroyed long before a man ever touched me. But to see my niece acting like this, I couldn’t help but want to squeeze her. I also wanted to thump her for being so damn oblivious. But mostly, I wanted to help keep this creature from knowing the pain that I suffered and that her mother suffered. I wanted her to always be happy and protected.
“Why don’t you try testing the waters a bit?” I continue, genuinely wanting her to be happy with whoever she chooses. “It’s pretty clear that you both have feelings for one another.”
“Test the waters,” she says slowly, frowning. “But what if he doesn’t feel that way about me? What if I make a complete fool of myself or if I’m wrong about my feelings entirely?”
“What if, what if, what if?” I huff, hating those two words. “You can’t live your life on what if’s. If you do, you’ll miss out on the world around you.”
Sighing, I try to ignore the pain that is beginning to build in me over not following my own heart when I had the chance. Because I was too afraid to follow my heart and listen to my feelings, I lost out on something that could have been good after so many fuckups.
“Take it from me,” I say, forcing a smile that I’m certain doesn’t reach my eyes. “Following your heart is the best thing. If it is telling you that maybe, just maybe, the gentle giant is the one you should listen to it.”
“But what if...”
“What did I say?” I snap, giving her a stern look. “Stop focusing on those.”
“But, my mate. What if he appears?”
“Well,” I say, giving her a sympathetic smile. “You’ll be the one to know what the right decision is if and when that happens.”
Nodding, Serenity remains silent as she considers everything that I’ve said. And when a look of determination begins to form on her face, I know that she is actually taking my advice to heart.
“Go on then,” I urge her, heading to the door and pulling it open. “Go find your man.”
“Alright,” she says, beginning to move past me but stopping when she reaches the hall. “Aunt Elise,” she continues quietly. “If he only knew, then maybe...”
“No,” I counter, knowing what she is about to say. “There’s no chance that something like that can happen, not given our current places in life.”
“Then are you just going to let someone else snatch him up?”
“Yeah,” I respond, smiling. “If it means that he will finally be happy, then that is a sacrifice I’m willing to take.”
Giving a smile, I begin to shoo Serenity, and when she finally starts to move down the hall, heading in the direction of her own dorm, I let out a long breath.
“Look at you being a hypocrite.” I huff, scolding myself.
“Eleanor.”
Gasping, I whirl around and watch as William begins making his way toward me with a stern look on his face.
“Shit,” I hiss under my breath. “Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.”
Sighing, I wait as William closes the distance between us, and when he stops in front of me, I’m almost certain I know what he is about to say.
“Listen,” I begin before he can speak. “I know you told me to stay away from her, but she needed somebody, and I...”
“Forget that for now,” William counters, grabbing me and beginning to pull. “There’s an emergency; come to my office now!”