Unexpectedly Loved By The CEO - Chapter 87

Chapter 75: Staying Strong

…

“Have you eaten?” I asked her when we got inside and her parents left.

“Yeah,” she said. “I just wanted to go home before going to school.”

“Why? It’s only an hour before you go to school,” I told her as I adjusted the hook of my shoe because it had been removed.

“It just doesn’t feel right sometimes,” she told me. I looked at her and she seemed to be guilty of something. I sat down next to her and caressed her hair.

“Is there something you want to talk about?” I asked Summer, hoping that she’ll tell me what’s been going on with her mind but she shook her head.

“It’ll be later when we both get home. You’ll be late for work,” she told me. I didn’t speak and just nodded.

…

“Did you two talk to each other already?” I asked Alice. We are having lunch together today because Kellen is having lunch with Mr. Whitmore because they have a business that needs to be talked about. We can’t go with them because Alice doesn’t want us to eat together with Mr. Whitmore. It’s also a respect for Cindy’s sister because she’s the girlfriend.

Speaking of Cindy, she no longer visits the hotel very often. Her cafe has also opened and I heard that she is one of the people who work there, even the cafe itself belongs to her. She likes the idea of ​​working in places like that. It doesn’t seem like it’s tiring when the atmosphere of a cafe is peaceful.

“I told him about it last week. I said I’m going to resign,” Alice replied to me before she bit into the sandwich she bought. She treated me a sandwich and a drink too so I didn’t spend anything today on my lunch.

“What did he say? Was he surprised?” I asked him again. We’re eating our favorite clubhouse sandwich and this fast-food restaurant is just across from the hotel.

“He couldn’t answer at first. Well, I was expecting that reaction. He wasn’t that shocked because since he and Kelly became together again, I started being cautious around him. Maybe that gave him a hint that I’ll resign,” she explained to me.

“But even you’ll not go back to Florida, will you still work for him?”

She shook her head. “I was actually planning on starting my own business, a little business here in Brooklyn. I’ve already earned somehow so I thought of that. And also, it’s like I can free myself. I’ve always been imprisoned by my mental issues, it increases when I remember what Zach did to me. ”

Truly, Alice is the strongest woman I know. She forces herself to be okay because she doesn’t want anyone to worry about her. And one more thing, her family don’t listen to her back then so it’s a good thing that they really got along with his mom already. It’s a relief for me too.

“I know you’ve heard it a few times but I’m really happy for you, now you’re okay with your mom. Gosh, it’s been almost a decade since you went to Brooklyn. You deserve a break, look after yourself more,” I said. “Although it’ll make me sad seeing you leave, I’d rather see you happy.”

She gave me a small but sad smile before putting her sandwich down on the table and sitting next to me. “Even if we need to call every day, I will. I’ll make sure we’ll keep in touch no matter what, Liv. Always remember that it’ll all be just the distance, but we’ll never forget each other, okay? ”

“Of course, Alice,” I replied smiling at her and she hugged me.

“I’ll miss you so much,” she bitterly said.

“Me too, Alice. Me too.”

…

“Can we have dinner together tonight? At my place?”

I stopped when Kellen asked that. I’m arranging things at the desk because my work for today is done. I couldn’t answer right away because Summer told me earlier that we would talk when I got home.

“Or not?” he politely asked.

“I can’t tonight,” I told him.

“Okay,” he said and gave me a small smile. “I’ll take you home.”

We got out and got in his car. While we were on the trip, I was restless. It’s like he’s sad that I rejected his ‘dinner proposal’. I took out my cellphone and texted Summer.

To: Summer

Hey, what are you doing right now?

From: Summer

Just some school stuff. Why?

To: Summer

Can I uhm … go home late tonight? I promise we’ll talk as soon as I get home.

From: Summer

Liv, relax. It’s fine. Are you going to have a date with my brother?

To Summer:

Kind of.

From: Summer

Go ahead then. Tell me about the good night kiss, will you?

I laughed a bit when I saw her message. I turned off my cellphone and put it back inside the bag before I looked at Kellen as he was driving. He noticed that so he turned to me for a moment.

“What?” he asked while his eyes were on the road.

“Let’s go to your place. I miss watching you cook,” I told him and it caused him to smile.

“Why the sudden change?” He arched a brow.

“It’s because of that very reason. I miss spending time with you, Kellen.”

…

Whenever he cooks for me, I help. I don’t want him to be the only one fixing everything, I also want to do something to make him cook faster. I even forgot to wear an apron so while I was slicing tomatoes, he put it on me. I felt butterflies inside my stomach when he was tying the apron on my waist before playfully kissing my neck.

This feels so illegal! We’re in the kitchen!

I just smiled and continued what I was doing. His scent really hypnotizes me every time he gets near. It’s like an addictive scent that I’m not able to resist.

After cooking her recipe, I prepared a plate on the table before we ate. Kellen never fails to impress me when it comes to cooking. I didn’t really expect that he was cooking his own food because he was so busy. But sometimes, when he really can’t cook because he’s too tired, he just orders or delivers food to restaurants.

When we finished eating, I forced him to let me wash the dishes. He didn’t growl anymore because I would be the one he’ll obey. After I wiped the plates, I put them in the proper place and we went up to the rooftop terrace of his house. Every time I come here, we spend time here after we eat. It’s peaceful because we can see the stars in the sky, especially the moon.

“Did you design your own house?” I asked him before resting my hands on the railing.

“No, I entrusted everything to George and Ben.”

George is the architect of the hotel and Ben is the engineer. I have no wonder why his house looks so elegant and well built.

“The only thing I asked them to build for me is this, the rooftop terrace,” he added.

He really likes high grounds. It makes him get the peacefulness he wants. It’s also very quiet here, it’s like you can say and think freely.

“Summer hasn’t been here yet. Maybe you can ask her to have dinner with you sometimes,” I told him. Summer always goes to her mom and dad’s house but not to Kellen’s separate house yet.

“Liv, can I ask you something?” he said.

“Of course,” I looked at him. His elbows are resting on the railing and looking straight at nowhere.

“Are you mad at me and my family?” he suddenly asked.

“No, why would I be?” I asked but he did not answer immediately. Then, I had the idea why he asked that. “Is it because of Summer?” He couldn’t answer again so I knew that was the very reason. “Kellen, don’t ever think that. At first, I was scared. I thought you were all gonna take Summer from me forever. But you didn’t. And I’m also happy that Summer already found her family. Aren’t you happy about that?”

“I am. I am happy, Liv. It has been thirteen years and this is the only time where I got to be free from the guilt I was feeling since. It’s just that… I felt something different,” he stood up straight.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It felt like a gap was built between us. I just can’t help thinking about you getting tired of the situation. I don’t know if you’re a hundred percent okay with Summer getting separated to you from time to time,” he explained.

“Kellen, I’ll admit that at first, I hesitated. I didn’t want Summer to be away from me. But I want the right thing to happen, I don’t want to be selfish,” I answered him. “And if you’re worried about the gap being built between us, I’m sorry if you felt that. I’ll be better for you, Kellen. I promise.”

His eyes looked sad and I just know what the right thing to do. I went closer to him and held his face to pull him into a deep kiss.

….