The automatic double doors of the apartment slid open once again once it had verified the identity of the visitor, and Stuart walked in.Noah, who was standing by the kitchen counter, nodded toward him as he dropped the conversation with his grandfather in the middle.“You must be tired. Please, have a seat, Uncle Stuart," he said, his voice steady."I’ll get you some water."Stuart took a seat at the couch in the living room, glancing briefly and bowing towards Warner, who sat across from him, his posture as straight as the lines on his perfectly pressed suit. As Noah returned with a glass of cold water, he sensed something in Warner’s eyes— something like disapproval. But he couldn't figure out, for the life of him, what that was all about. He shrugged off the thought and placed the tray in front of Stuart, who gave him a small nod of thanks. “Thank you, Young Master. But you really didn’t have to–”"Come on, uncle Stuart! It was no problem at all.”Stuart replied and gulped the
The statement almost made Noah laugh, but he managed to control himself, and only reacted by giving a quiet nod. Warner, however, didn't notice to his grandson's reaction and continued, “While you were gone this afternoon, I took the liberty to assess your apartment. And I must say, I am dissatisfied with quite a lot of things, which I’m going to fix by tomorrow.”Noah watched as his grandfather paced, his steps slow but deliberate, a sign that he was deep in thought. He raised an eyebrow, feeling curious now. “First of all, I really don’t like the furniture that has been placed here. I don’t know why Stuart would commit such a faux pas, knowing the kind of taste I prefer.”Stuart, who had been silently observing the exchange, suddenly became the focus of Warner’s icy glare. His shoulders tensed, and he bowed his head, showing an appropriate level of embarrassment. Warner continued,“I will also send the interior designers with him tomorrow, so you can tell them your preferences f
Once Warner and Stuart had left, Noah realized that it was indeed time for dinner, and he hadn't even woken Eliana yet.Also, he didn't have any idea about what he was going to tell her when she woke up and saw the army of servants, who had infiltrated their house at his grandpa’s command. Right now, they were roaming from one place to another, doing something that was completely useless in his eyes. Not just that, the crowd of chefs had already made themselves familiar with the kitchen, and were busy whipping up a buffet that would be enough to feed the entire village, for only two people. He would have dealt with this matter easily, if these were the only problems of his life. But there were already three huge problems standing in front of him, which had been piled on his plate by Warner, and now he had to explain it to Eliana… while he was completely unaware of the problems that were waiting for him in the future.And the funniest part was that he didn't even have the time to thi
Noah looked at Eliana, his brows knitting into a frown as he looked at her with confusion and concern, while his eyes were filled with surprise. Her eyes, usually so guarded, were wide and vulnerable as she continued, her voice trembling slightly, “I’m sorry, Noah… I really am. I wasn't able to give you anything in our marriage– not even the companionship you deserved from the sacred bond called marriage. I haven't ever been able to take a stand for you, not even at my own house, where my own family treated you so horribly… like you were a second class human. But you… I don't know what you are made of, that you never let it faze you. I know that you must have been frustrated and angry, but forget about taking it out on me, you never even complained out loud. In fact, all you have ever done is protect me, shield me from everyone in this world… including my own family.”Her voice cracked, and she looked down, her hands wringing together nervously. “But I promise you… I promise you th
Noah couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Eliana was saying everything he had always dreamt of saying to her, everything he had longed to ask for, but had never dared to utter. The fear of offending her, pushing her away and scaring her off had always held him back and stopped him from opening his mouth where he felt like already, he was barely being tolerated.But now, here she was, speaking the very words he had kept locked in his heart, words he had wanted to shout from the rooftops, in the hope of hearing a "yes" from Eliana, in return.And yet, he stood there, speechless, struggling to believe whether this was his reality or the most beautiful dream of his life.Eliana’s hesitant voice cut through his thoughts, as she spoke up after he had been silent for almost two minutes straight. “It’s totally okay, Noah, if you don’t want the same. I can understand if you don’t. After all, it won't be easy to accept my proposal. You might have the doubt that I’m only saying all this becau
The next morning, Noah stirred awake at his usual. Except for one thing that definitely wasn't per usual: as soon as he opened his eyes, his gaze fell on Eliana, sleeping peacefully in his arms.If he had been capable of stopping the flow of time, he would have captured the seconds in the palm of his hand and stopped it, right there and then.But unfortunately, he did not have this power… nor had he forgotten what his grandpa had told him yesterday about the changes he wanted around the house.It was a good thing that he had already told the chef about what they wanted for breakfast, so that he could have a few more minutes with Eliana.But he noticed the clock placed on her beside, and it was already eight. He knew he had to wake Eliana up, otherwise, they were going to be late._________An hour and a half later, they were just finishing up their breakfast of a colorful platter of freshly sliced seasonal fruits, including watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, berries, and kiwi, garnish
All the eyes turned to Eliana, and she started to speak in a cheerful tone to cover up her discomfort;“I just wanted to say, how thankful I am that you both could come here today. I have admired your work for a long time, and I can’t wait to see what you have in mind for us. So thank you for taking out time from your busy schedules, it is such an honor…”Eliana stopped speaking abruptly; feeling like she was just rambling on. She then smiled, trying to mask her self- consciousness, which was rising rapidly because of the tense silence. Finally, Eva turned to Eliana, giving her a polite, if somewhat distracted, smile."Thank you, Miss Frost." Her sharp eyes quickly darted back to Noah before she added, "It is no problem at all, in fact, I'm quite excited to be here…”Eliana felt herself getting awkward due to how bold and straightforward Eva was. Meanwhile, Edward didn't remove his eyes from Noah for even a second and said with a crooked smile,“You’re so lucky, Mr. Turner. Eliana is
Ed stood in the middle of Eliana's closet, hands on his hips, surveying the rows of clothes with a critical eye. He scrunched his nose as if her clothes had done something to offend him on a personal level, while he muttered under his breath. “Darling, no, no, no… this won’t do at all.”He grabbed a plain, long white linen dress off the rack, holding it up as if it was something infectious that might contaminate him next. “This? Really?" Eliana cringed as he tossed the dress aside as he stood by the door, wringing her hands. The dress landed onto the growing pile of clothes on the floor, where nearly ninety percent of her wardrobe now lay discarded. "And this? Please, tell me this was a gift…" He sighed, chucking another plain, shapeless brown dress without waiting for a response.Eliana’s face flushed with embarrassment. She crossed her arms, trying to shield herself from his ruthless critique, but each garment he rejected felt like a personal insult. And yet, she couldn't sa