The young lady took a few more pictures and sent then all to Hayley with a caption that read, ‘Miss
Seymour, you may want to keep a close eye on your man because this woman here is trying to seduce
him!
Hayley was lounging in her hospital room and scrolling through videos on her phone when she clicked
into the new text. When she saw the pictures of Anastasia and Elliot, her eyes widened in disbelief
while anger rose in her chest. Anastasia is on a date with Elliot with her son in tow!
She wondered furiously if it meant Anastasia intended to have Elliot become her son’s new father. A
single mother like Anastasia had little to no prospects on the marriage market, and she could very well
be using Amelia’s sacrifice from all those years ago to trap Elliot in a marriage in the guise of repaying
a selfless deed. Not only that, she’s trying to get Elliot to accept her son as well!
Hayley thought she had already seen through Anastasia’s plot, and she swore she would not let the
latter succeed.
It looked like it was time for her to approach Elliot’s family and let them know that she had given up her
chastity just to get Elliot out of a tight spot as well.
Meanwhile, under the lights of the restaurant, Elliot was practically glimmering with elegance as he
sipped on his red wine, the shadows and lights interplaying over his delicately-chiseled features.
He looked up and gazed at Jared from across the table. At that moment, he had a sudden feeling that
he and this boy met under the most particular of circumstances, which inevitably led to his affection for
the little boy.
Likewise, Jared felt the same thing. He had only met Elliot on a few occasions, but he inexplicably
warmed to him and found him very much like a safe harbor. As far as he was concerned, Elliot was a
man he could trust.
Jared was only a child, and for a child to feel safe around someone they did not live with was a rare
situation indeed.
After dinner that evening, Elliot dropped them off at the apartment. Anastasia held Jared by the hand
and helped him down from the car before turning to address Elliot, “Thank you for this evening.”
With that, she led Jared away from the car and toward the apartment.
Just then, Jared suddenly piped up, “Mommy, since Mr. Presgrave bought us dinner, shouldn’t we at
least have him up to the house for tea?”
Anastasia froze. She had no intention of asking the man to drop by her house for a cup of tea, but now
that Jared had mentioned it, it would seem rude of her not to extend an invitation to Elliot. “Would you
like to come up for a cup of tea?” she asked, having turned around to ask the man in the driver’s seat.
She had assumed that he would say no, what with his busy schedule and all. It was only a matter of
courtesy on her part to ask him to stay for a cup of tea, and it was the only way she could get her kid off
her back about being a polite host.
However, she most certainly did not expect Elliot to turn off the car engine and emerge from the driver’s
seat. His straight and tall silhouette came down from the car and walked up to the entrance. “I suppose
I could do with a cup of tea,” he said as he approached them. All of a sudden, Anastasia felt pressured
as she took in his towering figure. I shouldn’t have asked, she thought darkly while regretting her
decision.
“Mr. Presgrave, you can drop by my house for a glass of water!” Jared offered with a happy jump like
he was in a pantomime.
And just like that, Anastasia brought the man home. She rummaged through the cabinet for a spare
cup, but when she could find none, she resorted to filling Jared’s cup with water. When she handed the
mug with the cartoon printed on it to Elliot, she said, “I hope you don’t mind using my son’s cup.”
The man wasn’t bothered in the slightest as he took the cup and drank from it. Meanwhile, the little one
was building bricks next to the couch. He glanced over at the boxes of toys stacked up on the couch,
and at first glance, none of them looked cheap.
Elliot immediately guessed that the toys had been bought by Nigel. Without dwelling on it, he turned his
attention on Jared, who seemed engrossed in building bricks, and the somber gleam in his eyes
disappeared as a look of warm compassion replaced it.
Meanwhile, it looked like it was going to rain soon. Anastasia was bringing in the laundry from the
balcony, but just as she was making her way across the living room, a pink piece of clothing fell out of
the heap in her arms. She didn’t notice this, but Elliot, with his eagle eyes, did.
The pink fabric that had fallen was ladies’ underwear.
He rose from the couch and grabbed the flimsy garment off the ground. Then, he
headed into the room after Anastasia and said, “Hey, you dropped this.”
She turned around, and her pretty eyes widened by a fraction when she registered her underwear
hanging on the tip of Elliot’s finger. She hurried over and snatched the garment out of his grip, blushing
as she muttered, “Thanks.”
At that moment, a purple streak of lightning flashed across the dark sky, and this was followed by a
deafening clap of thunder.
A childish scream sounded from the living room as Jared cried out, “Mommy!” He had abandoned his
toy bricks and had both his hands clapped over his ears, looking terrified.
Elliot instantly walked back to the couch and scooped the little boy into his arms, drawing the child
close. The little one was pressed into Elliot’s well-toned chest, shrinking into the man’s embrace as he
hid from the thunder.
When Anastasia hastily walked out of the room, she was greeted by the sight of Elliot protectively
holding Jared close.
Another loud crack of thunder echoed in the sky, and this time, a torrential downpour followed. The
gray slates of rain showered across the balcony, and just as Anastasia was assessing the weather
beyond the window, a white lightning tore through the sky ferociously. The thunder that came after was
loud and violent, causing Anastasia to instinctively cover her ears. She seemed to shrink into herself,
looking terrified as well.
At that exact moment, Jared clutched tightly onto Elliot, equally terrified. It was then that Elliot realized
with a tug of his heartstrings how the fear for thunderstorms was clearly a shared trait between mother
and son.
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