Chapter 71 Getting to know her
While she slept, Aurora felt his lips mold into her face, causing her to slightly open her eyes. She let out a soft moan as she saw Arthur watching her like it was some business.
She felt her cheeks flush as she hid her face from him. “Why are you staring?” She asked in a whisper.
“Good morning, beautiful. I couldn’t help but stare. You look so beautiful even when you’re asleep.” He responded, his hand reaching for her hair as he moved the hair strands away from her face.
“I’m flattered.” She answered, turning her head to look at him again.
“Last night was amazing.” He added, his eyes searching hers as he spoke.
“Yes, it was.” She raised her hand and touched his cheek, letting out a smile.
“You wouldn’t mind if we did that often, right?” He teased, catching Aurora unaware.
“What?!” She asked shyly, her cheeks turning red. Arthur broke into laughter and shook his head.
“That was just on a lighter note.”
“Lighter? So you don’t want to do it often?” Aurora asked, looking at him again.
“I’ll do it over and over again if you let me.” He answered, and they both chuckled. He lowered his head and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Work today?” He asked as he climbed out of the bed.
“Yes. You?” She inquired as she sat up.
“No. I took one week off from work.”
“Why?” She furrowed her brows.
“Because I want to be with you, of course. Work would take most of my time and I wouldn’t be able to chase you.” He answered, checking out his face in the mirror.
Aurora smiled softly as she stared at him from on top of the bed. “So what will you be doing throughout the week?” She asked.
“Chasing you.” He answered, letting out a smirk as he looked at her through the mirror.
“Right.”
She got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom door. “I should get ready for work.”
“Yes. I’ll go and check up on the kids. You don’t mind us coming to the restaurant to pick you up in the evening, right?” He asked, and Aurora shook her head.
“No. Just don’t give them balloons. They looked so cute!” Aurora giggled.
“They weren’t the only ones that looked cute. I looked cute too!” Arthur ran to where Aurora stood and lifted her from the ground.
“Arthur!” She screamed, holding onto him so she wouldn’t fall.
“Tell me I looked cute too.” He sulked, causing her to laugh hard.
“You looked cute, okay?! Can you let me go now?” She asked amidst laughter. He let her go carefully and planted lots of kisses on her cheeks.
“I’ll check the boys.” He uttered as he headed out of her room. With butterflies in her belly, Aurora headed into the bathroom to freshen up.
It all seemed very new and sweet to her. ‘Who would have expected Arthur to be this soft and flirty?’ She thought as she stood under the warm shower.
And just when she was admiring his efforts, she remembered Anita again, and the happiness in her washed down the drain.
‘He hasn’t even spoken about her in days. Why?? Did they just stop talking?’ She wondered. She was unsure whether to bring up the conversation with him or let it go.
“I should find the perfect time to talk to him about her. This isn’t the right time.” She muttered to herself as she tried to stop thinking about it.
Getting out of her room, Arthur found the boys in the kitchen, washing the dishes.
“Oh… there you are.” Arthur uttered as soon as he got to the Kitchen door.
“Good morning, Dad.” They chorused, turning their heads to look at him. They all had aprons on, and they stood on stools so they could reach inside the zinc.
“Good morning, and well done. How long have you been up?” He asked, walking into the kitchen.
“About an hour ago. We didn’t want to bother you and mom, so we decided to clean the house first,” Ryan said to him.
“Wow. That’s so thoughtful of you all. Thank you. And for yesterday, thank you all too. I wouldn’t have done it without you.” Arthur added.
“You don’t have to thank us, Dad. We were supposed to help out too. We want you and mom back together, and we are glad you involved us.” Riley added as he arranged the plates in the plate-rack.
Arthur smiled at his response and nodded. “Well, that means you all wouldn’t mind helping me out with another surprise for her today.” He uttered in a whisper, moving closer to them.
“Another? Do we have to lift balloons again? My hand hurts from yesterday.” Rowan mumbled, rubbing his hand sadly.
“No. No. You don’t have to hold balloons. All you have to do is help me set up. I’m planning a house date for her. We’ll need rose petals, flowers, candles, wine, delicious delicacies, jewelries and what else?” He asked as he ran out of ideas.
“Scented candles?” Riley asked.
Arthur raised his brows in surprise as he stared at him. “How did I not think about that? Scented candles!”
“What about a dress? Won’t we get her one?” Rowan added, and Arthur nodded, adding all of these to the list he had made up in his head.
“This is why I need all of you there with me when I go shopping. I know you know what she likes more than I do.” Arthur confessed, and they giggled.
“Yes, we do. But that will change soon, right?” Ryan asked.
“Of course! I’m getting to know her better.”
“You need to be fast about it, though. We will resume school soon. We won’t be here to help you all the time.” Ryan answered, and Arthur laughed.
“I know that, and I’m trying my best, okay? I’ll do the best I can, okay? I promise.”
Aurora finished freshening up and walked out of her room. She got to the living room and heard some noises in the kitchen. Getting to the kitchen, she saw the boys and Arthur cleaning the place.
“Hey, boys! Good morning!” She opened her arms, and they all rushed to embrace her.
“Good morning, Mom. How are you today?” Rowan asked with a large smile.
“Very fine. And even happier to see you’re cleaning.” She answered, and they all laughed.
“We woke up very early. We didn’t want to bother you, so we thought we should help out here.” Ryan uttered.
“That’s so thoughtful of you, Ryan. Thank you.”
“You’re leaving already?” Arthur asked. She was already dressed up and she had her bag hung on her shoulder.
“Yes. Here… your phone. It was ringing.” She uttered, passing his phone to him.
“Oh.” He collected the phone and checked who had called, and it happened to be an unknown number.
“Who is this?” He wondered and then just ignored it.
“What’s wrong?” Aurora asked, and he shrugged.
“I have no idea. It’s an unknown number. If it’s important. The person would call back.”
And immediately he finished talking, the call came in again. “Talk of the devil.” He uttered as he answered the phone. He put it on speaker and continued cleaning the cabinet with a wet towel.
“Arthur?” They heard Anita’s voice and they turned to look at his phone.
“Anita?” He called in surprise, turning to look at Aurora, who just stared blankly at his phone.
“Why did you block my number? I thought you forgave me.”
“Forgiving you doesn’t mean I still want to talk to you, Anita. You should stop trying to reach out. Nothing is ever going to happen between us.”
“Are you sure? It’s because of Aurora, right? You went back to her. I saw your apology video on the internet, and…”
“Bye, Anita.” He butted in and pressed the red button. Without hesitation, he went ahead to block and delete the phone number.
Fearfully, he looked at Aurora and walked towards her. “I got rid of her number before, this is her trying to reach me with another. I’ve gotten rid of this too. I’m sorry.” He apologized.
He tried to reach her but she moved back, wearing a feeble smile. “I have to get to work. I’m running late.” She answered and turned to leave.
Arthur gulped hard and turned to look at the boys who also looked so done.
“Okay, why do I dislike her so much though?” Ryan muttered, shaking his head in anger.
“Now, we have to make another apology date. Argh!” Riley muttered, his head dropping forward tiredly.