Chapter 41 THE VISIT/ HE KNEW
NOVA'S POV
I was still in my pajamas when Riley knocked on my bedroom door.
"Miss Sinclair?" Her voice came through the door. "Mr. Hale is downstairs. He says he wants to surprise you with breakfast. Should I send him up or ask him to wait in the sitting room?"
I stared at the ceiling for a moment.
"Sitting room," I said. "Tell him I'll be down in ten minutes."
I got up and pulled on jeans and a plain top then looked at myself in the mirror once without really seeing anything. Then I went downstairs.
He was already at the small table near the window, unpacking a bag from Ciel Bleu. Croissants, fruit, two coffees and a small container of jam wrapped in paper with a yellow ribbon on it.
He looked up when I walked in and smiled.
"Morning," he said, pushing a coffee toward the chair across from him like he had already decided where I was sitting.
I sat down and picked up the cup then watched him unpack the rest of it.
He was talking while he did it. Something about the awards, how the evening had gone, how good it had been to have me beside him.
His voice was warm like he didn't see the news of me everywhere. I sat there holding my coffee and let him talk.
"You're quiet," he said eventually, looking up.
"Am I."
"Didn't sleep well?" His brow pulled together. "You should have called me. I would have come back."
I looked at him across the table.
"Have you been on your phone this morning?" I asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Have you seen the news?"
Something changed in his face. It was gone so quick before I could name it. Then the concerned look was back.
"I saw some of the coverage, yes." He reached across and covered my hand with his. "I was going to bring it up. I know it can feel like a lot when—"
"You knew." I pulled my hand back. "You knew before you put me on that stage last night."
"Nova—"
"Don't." I set the cup down. "Don't say my name like that. Like I'm making something out of nothing."
He sat back and looked at me. The warmth in his face did not disappear. It just shifted into something more patient.
"I knew there would be coverage," he said. "These events always generate coverage."
"You called me to the stage."
"Because I'm proud to be with you."
"You had your hands on my backside in front of those people," I said. "And then the coordinator made a comment about wedding bells and the whole room laughed and I was standing there with nowhere to put my face. In a dress you sent to my door that morning."
He was quiet.
"I got carried away," he said. "I should have been more careful. I'm sorry."
"It is not about the cameras."
"Then what is it about?"
I looked at him sitting there.
"People are saying things about me," I said. "Online. In the comments on every one of those articles. Things I won't repeat out loud because saying them in this room will make them more real than I want them to be."
His jaw tightened. "Show me. Who is saying things?"
"It doesn't matter who specifically. What matters is that this morning my name was attached to words I have never had attached to it before. And you knew that was coming when you pulled me up there."
"I knew people would talk," he said. "Because we are together and I am not ashamed of that. I did not think you were either."
That was the right answer I needed. He did this for his selfish reasons.
"You should have asked me first," I said.
"You're right. I should have." He leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes steady on mine. "I got ahead of myself and I'm sorry."
I sighed and picked up my coffee.
"Okay," I nodded my head.
"Okay?" He searched my face, like he was waiting for more.
"I hear you."
He took my hand and turned it over then pressed his mouth to my wrist, which he knew I liked, which he had learned somewhere along the way and kept filed away for exactly these moments.
"Let me make it up to you," he said. "Whatever you want today."
I looked at the top of his head.
"I have work to do," I said. "The company needs them by Wednesday."
His thumb stopped moving on the back of my hand. Like he was deciding what he wanted to do then he started rubbing it again.
"Of course," he said. "That's important."
He stayed for another twenty minutes.
Finished his coffee and tried to talk me out when I said I wasn't going to go with him anywhere.
He wanted me to follow him to this house. I had work and was also not happy with everything. It is possible the news has not yet died down.
He stood up, and then I escorted him outside the house. He leaned in and kissed me on my lips briefly before entering his call.
"Call me later," he said, then closed the door.
"I will," I smiled and then watched him drive out of the building.
I walked back inside the house and then closed the door.
I haven't seen Callum nor have I seen Elias this morning. Were they avoiding me because of the articles? Or did they leave for the company already.
Riley walked up to me, coming out from the kitchen. “ Nova!” She called my name.
“Yes.” I nodded facing her.
“Callum and Elias left for the office and they told me not to let you out of the house today.” She said, not even looking at my face. Like she was afraid I would decline.
“Okay, you can keep me company then.” I smiled at her, shocking her with my response then I walked to the table Matthias was setting. The yellow ribbon caught my attention.
I opened it and then found a receipt of a reservation.
Hold on… He had booked a reservation in Ciel Bleu without bothering to inform me.
A three day reservation.
There was no way I'm going with him.
He doesn't even care about me. What?
I was still ranting in my head when the front door opened.