Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 336: The Dress

Chapter 336: The Dress

The drive to what had been his father’s secret man cave was a quiet one. But their silence was not an awkward one. Instead the two of them were just enjoying the way the road, curved, and straightened in places. Stretching on for what seemed like eternity. A sea of flowers on one side, and on the other the vast waters of the ocean. It made for quite the contrasting view, which was why Derek had no problem slowing down and then pulling over on the side of the road.

"It is beautiful here," Emily said, and Derek had to agree. Looking from the side with the flowers towards the deceptively calm waters,

He took a breath. "That it is. I would rather we were here under different circumstances. But I am glad we get to see this view," Derek said. Looking over at him, Emily wiped a tear. Then she looked out into the water.

"Do you think that it was anywhere near here? The accident I mean," She asked and he shrugged.

"Probably. Maybe if we had been able to come when the accident had first happened. We would have been able to tell which area had recently been fixed. But it has been too long,"

"Either way, I think that we should pay our respects," Emily said.

"We should have brought flowers. Roses would have done well on this occasion," She continued, and Derek found himself agreeing with her. She was absolutely right. They were standing on the bridge where their fathers had died.

Coming empty-handed felt as though they were being disrespectful. Looking around, Derek stared at the flowers on the other side of the road, and made his way over to them. Then he knelt down and picked a few. The wild flowers were not much.

But when he crossed the road again and gave them to Emily, who had been watching him curiously. She looked at him as though he had given her the most precious gift on earth. "Take a few as well," She held out half of the flowers for him, and Derek took them.

Standing at the edge of the bridge the two of them threw the flowers in one by one. Watching as the bursts of colour were slowly carried away by the waters.

"The next time we come here, we will be better prepared," Emily said, her voice full of emotion. And Derek nodded. She was absolutely right. They would be coming back.

They would absolutely be returning to the area. They had never done so before, because they hadn’t known its significance. But now that they knew it felt right that they pay their respects. The impromptu ceremony done the two of them got back in the car and they resumed driving again.

When they finally made it to the warehouse.

He and Emily stood for a moment looking at the outside of the place. As a child, the warehouse had seemed endless and as an adult it was still large. But it was very clear to see the ravages of time on it. Especially on the side that had belonged to his father.

Jasper Haven’s side of the warehouse clearly showed that it had not been visited in a long time. There were cracks on the wall and rust on the iron sheets that made up the roof. Whereas the side that belonged to his uncle, showed that the man still visited from time to time.

Because it was not nearly in as bad a state, as the other side.

"Shall we?’ Derek said. And they walked forward. Luckily for them, the disrepair of the place worked in their favour, because it did not take much effort for Derek to force the door open.

The old chain simply snapping in half when he applied a bit of pressure. After decades of neglect, the place was in a bad way. The inside was barely better than the outside. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere and when Derek found the light switch and turned it on.He was not at all shocked to see that the place looked even worse once there was more brightness.

The furniture was now moth-bitten, and some of the relics that his father had kept there, were covered in layers of dust, to the point that they were barely recognizable. Emily’s hand slid into his, and they began walking forward. The two of them looking around.

"Do you think the dress is still here?" Emily asked, and no sooner had she said it. Derek’s eyes landed on the very item that they were looking for.

"There it is," He said, removing his handkerchief from his pocket.

Unlike the rest of the materials in the warehouse, his mother’s dress had been protected, encased in a glass case. And as Derek began wiping away at the dust and grime on the surface. Emily helping him from the other side, it was revealed to the world once again.

Despite his best efforts not to, Derek found himself tearing up.

His father had not cared enough about anything else in the warehouse. But he had put effort into making sure that his wife’s wedding dress was taken care of. The protection that he had afforded it, by placing it in the case. Treating it like it was a rare artefact, had preserved it for decades.

Looking over at Emily, Derek found himself wishing to show her the same amount of love, and dedication that his father had had for his mother. That was the kind of man he wanted to be.

He hoped with everything in himself that he was strong enough to become that for Emily. "It’s beautiful," She breathed, taking in the dress, and Derek had to agree. He had seen the photos of his mother wearing it on her wedding day, and she had looked stunning. The simple design had done well through the ages. Nothing like the monstrosities that most brides had worn back then.

"Your father did an excellent job of repairing it," He said, leaning closer to stare at the right side where the tear had been. There was nothing there. The repair really had been top-level. Looking from the dress to him, Emily gave him a watery smile. Clearly touched to see her father’s work.

"I guess that adds one more piece to the puzzle that we are trying to solve.

Whatever happened, it happened after our dads had left here. Because the dress is finished, it means that they had time to come here,"

"So the two of us were probably here with them. And then the accident happened when we were returning.

Let’s look around a bit more, maybe we’ll find something," Emily said, and the two of them began walking the warehouse again.

There were dust-covered pictures of a younger Derek with his parents. The video games that his father had secretly played away from home. Old baseballs, footballs, cricket bats...

Just a few things, knick-knacks really, proof that his father had not really spent much time there, that he’d been happier with his family. "What’s this?" Emily called, and he looked up to find her pointing at a door that had been designed to blend with the wall. Oh.

"That one leads to my uncle’s side of things," He said.

"Really?" Emily gave him a mischievous look. Then she began rattling the lock. Just like with the outside door, the lock gave away easily enough. The door groaning loudly as it opened.

"Emily," Derek said, sounding like a teacher chastisising a misbehaving student, and she did not help matters by giving him a naughty smirk and batting her eyelashes at him.

"One little look, let’s see what the mighty Sebastian Haven has in his man-cave," Derek’s resistance was fading quickly.

"Come on, I know you’re curious," She said, and he let out a sigh. "Okay, fine. But only for a few seconds and then we have to go," From her little squeal, Derek guessed that they would be taking longer than a few seconds.