Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 196: The Cake

Chapter 196: The Cake

"Happy birthday to you..."

Leander heard her voice. His heart jumped inside the chest cavity out of excitement. And slowly the ball of warm light got closer to him. What was under the candle was dark. But maybe he didn’t care what was under the candle.

It probably was a cake she ordered for him.

His eyes ended up on the angelic face that was glowing in the warm candlelight as she walked closer to him singing the song of angels. Or it was just the generic happy birthday song. But she did sound like an angel. Not that he had heard an angel sing.

But she is an angel. And she is his wife. And she is currently singing him a birthday song. And also she has a cake on her hand.

"Happy birthday to dear Leander..."

He followed her with his eyes. He wanted to get up but he couldn’t move. He was frozen because of happiness.

When was the last time someone celebrated his birthday at midnight with a cake and a candle? Well, that was the wrong question, right? He should ask when was the first time.

It’s the first time! This is the first time someone celebrates his birthday at midnight in his home.

Lionel would go to the extent of harassing him to spend time with their friends on his birthday. But he never wanted to go out. His brother treated his birthday as non-existing if anything. His mother would seem like she was mourning rather than being happy.

His grandfather would be the only one who celebrated his birthday. He wouldn’t celebrate his birthday with a cake and candles though. He would give him gifts.

But this year, everything was different. His mother came to his home even though she didn’t have any good intentions. His brother and he had a nice talk probably for the first time in their life.

And now...

He has an angel by his side...

"Come on... Make a wish and blow your candle," Viviana said kneeling beside him.

She was mad at him but then she thought about it. He specifically told her to remember what he told her in the morning. In the morning he said a lot.

He said he was in love with her.

Well, she didn’t let him finish. But he insinuated that he loved her.

He also said that she is not some helpless mouse. And he was right when he said that he stood by her side when Evander tried to attack her. And Gabby was right. He chose to side with her even against his mother.

He even talked about leaving his family and becoming one flesh with her.

Although she didn’t think that he would ignore his family and take her somewhere, she believed that she is somewhat high on his priority list. As long as she doesn’t actively hurt his family, he will try to be on her side.

Leaving all that, she wanted to celebrate his birthday just like she planned. What does she achieve by keeping on fighting with him and resenting him for what his family did? He touched her heart when he said that he wanted his wife to be happy when they are in the bedroom.

That’s some touchy stuff that touched her heart. She’s weak to stuff like that. She would have gotten angrier if he ordered her to smile or berated her for being moody all the time.

She liked how he handled the whole situation. Although he didn’t give in to all her wishes, he did listen to her. He said he would look into the tape Evander is holding. He is trying.

He also gave her an out by asking her to come back after she calms down. So, she decided to let go of her anger and give him what she can.

It’s not much, but that’s all she can give.

She went to the kitchen to bake the cake she meant to bake. It did not go well at all. The cake turned out fine, but the frosting went all wrong. It became runny and unusable. But it was already getting closer to midnight. And she returned to the room.

She should have ordered a proper cake from a bakery. That would have been better. Who asked her to turn into a baker with her lousy skills?

Sigh! I am a fool!

He gets her the nicest things and yet all she gives him in return are lousy things. She couldn’t accept herself for that.

She almost didn’t want to wake him up, but she was there already. She decided to give it a try. Good or bad, she wanted to hear it from him.

"Blow the candle," she said as he was just staring at her. His beautiful eyes twinkled in the warm candlelight. He might be angry or he was still sleepy. "Don’t forget to make a wish," she added.

But he was still not moving.

Alright, maybe I really did screw it up! I shouldn’t have disturbed him! How childish of me to wake him up with a cake...

Viviana’s heart broke. "Sorry," she mumbled. She tried to get up but Leander grabbed her wrist suddenly.

He blew out the candle and she couldn’t see anything. He was still holding her wrist. Then he turned the bedside lamp and she looked at him. He sat on the bed facing her.

"Knife," she gave him the knife. "Cut the cake..." she smiled. "I think it turned out good. It looks good doesn’t it?" she grimaced. "I wanted to write your name on the cake but the frosting didn’t turn out good. It tasted good though..." she went on a ramble out of stress.

"You baked the cake? For me?" he asked. He thought she ordered the cake. But she bothered to bake him a cake?

"I did..." Viviana handed him the knife. "Taste it... I should have ordered it, shouldn’t I? Or I should have asked the help of the chef at least..."

"No, no... this is better..." Leander looked at the butter knife in his hand. So, his wife brought the knife to his room along with the cake she baked.

And he thought that he might kill him. He does not deserve her.

"You don’t have to eat it... It’s not like I poisoned it!" Viviana got the cake back.

He’s been hesitating for a long time. He just kept on staring at the cake as if he was looking for something.

It does not look bad. What is he hesitating about?

And then it struck her. He is doubting her. They had a fight earlier and she had a track record of hurting him and his family. She had openly stated that she wanted to see the destruction of his family.

But she never once thought of killing him. And that too with food. How can she kill him with the food he loved to eat? And to kill her husband on his birthday with a cake...? She is not that much of a monster.

She never thought that he might think that she would poison him. But it looked like he was thinking about it.

It hurt her. It hurt her so much.

Before she knew it, tears dripped from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks like pearls.

"What are you..." he grabbed the cake from her hand before holding her hand. "Idiot!" he shouted as she tried to get out of his hold.

Placing the cake on the bedside table he hugged her. "Why are you crying, idiot? I was just admiring the cake. I didn’t want to destroy the beautiful cake my wife baked for me!"

Although that was not entirely true, he lied. He did not think that she poisoned the cake; not even for a moment. He did think that she might kill him with a knife though.

He could only scoff at himself. Honestly, wouldn’t it be easier to kill him with poison? Women usually prefer to kill using poison. But why didn’t he ever doubt her?

Yeah, he knew she was not a traitor. She would never stab him in the back. If anything, she would stand face to face before she does something.

But feeling her shaking in his embrace, he had a feeling that she wouldn’t do that to him either. He felt it in his soul that she wouldn’t hurt him deliberately.

He was ashamed of himself. She struggled hard in the kitchen to bake this cake for him. And yet he...

"No one had baked a cake for me on my birthday... And I’ve never blown candles to make a wish ever," he said patting her back.

Viviana looked at Leander. She wanted to ask him why. She wondered if it was his preference. But the sadness in his eyes revealed that it was not his choice.

"You’re the first woman, Minnie..." he said. A film of tears formed in his eyes.

Viviana’s heart skipped a beat. He looked so...

She hugged him closely around his shoulder. "I’ll celebrate all your coming birthdays with a cake, Leander," she said and kissed his cheek. "I promise."

She didn’t know what got her to say that. At that moment, she forgot everything else. She forgot her fate, her insecurities, and even his last name.

What she cared about was the happiness of the man she had accepted in her heart.