Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 58: Finding Out

Chapter 58: Finding Out

Arthur smiled looking at the bathroom door. Talia offered to help to make dinner but he wanted to do it himself.

’She should be taking a nice bubble bath now! If only I could join her!’

He let out a deep sigh and proceeded to cut vegetables for a nice Sunday roast. She loved it back when he tried it in high school. Now he has improved a lot. Even the maids back there praised him on his culinary prowess. He wanted her to taste it for herself.

That time he received a call from Jordan. Wiping his hand in a towel, he picked up the phone.

"The ones watching over her are not from Rosandale. Apparently Talia refused any protection from the Royal family even when the Queen Dowager ordered her to..."

Arthur’s brows knitted closely together. He thought till now that those people were from Rosandale and left them be. She is part of their family too and he thought after what happened to some of their family members recently, they’d be more careful with the protection of their family members and hence the heavy security around her.

During her university days, she had 24/7 security from the Rosandale Royals and he thought they are the ones continuing the security still.

But if they are not the Rosandale security...

"Did you check if they are from the Lion Hearts?"

Arthur picked the knife and gripped it hard. If the Lockhart family is the ones watching her closely, that means...

Does she know about it?

"I’m trying to check but it is not easy to check up on them. I asked Nathan to try and break in their server..."

"Is it impossible?" Arthur got impatient and growled and the tomato in the cutting board got squished to a pulp.

"I’ll try to..."

"Get permission from the Esterian Consulate under my name and get one of those who follows her and interrogate him. What good will staring at a screen do?"

If they use some false allegations on one of those thugs following her by the Esterian Government, they could arrest him even in foreign soil and he could be taken in for custody inside the Embassy. And the Embassy is Esterian land and no one can question what happens there.

"Arthur... That.. You cannot... It’s breaking the law. Even your father won’t allow it... " Jordan stumbled on the other end. "I’ll get you the results by tomorrow," he ended the call.

"Do what I say!" he grunted at the phone and Arthur knew the line went dead. He was furious that Jordan ended the call and wanted to tear him to pieces. But he controlled his anger looking at the bathroom door.

She must not know this scary side of me!

He composed himself and started preparing dinner. Jordan always delivers and if he said he’d get the answers by tomorrow, he will.

But watching her for this many years... What are they thinking?

"You’ve greatly improved,Fred! Ah just eating your food... I wish I could keep you with me for longer," Talia leaned lazily on the couch and rubbed her tummy that looked a bit round.

"I can stay here forever, you know?"

Talia looked at Arthur saying those cheesy, yet heartfelt words with his eyes shimmering with love.

"No!"

She said immediately like a reflexive action. But seeing his expression, she realised how many times she had rehearsed for this situation and now that she had said it she herself felt a bit odd, like she’d done something wrong. She knew she herself got trapped into this odd situation.

He asked me for just a week, right?

He was the one who said ’a week’!

But... Now he says ’forever’?

Should I let him stay here?

Ah, wouldn’t that be selfish?

Or, may be should I be selfish a bit?

She tried to smile to get off this awkward situation, but felt her lips were stiff and for some reason she couldn’t smile seeing his deeply disappointed face.

"I’ll get fat like a pig" she added trying to lighten up the mood and seeing the situation was still awkward, she walked to the kitchen to get out of the situation.

She was used to run away anyway. All she knows is to run away.

Arthur understood her instant refusal as her unwillingness to accept him still and he gulped swallowing his emotions.

What more should I do?

Talia not knowing what to do in the kitchen, drank some water and that’s when she saw some notification popping up in Arthur’s phone.

Her hands froze seeing the background picture. It was a picture of a pair of left hands holding each other and both hands were wearing a matching ring.

One was a slender and beautiful female hand and another was a big and protective male hand.The picture of those hands were so pretty like that images one would find in catalogues or in websites.

She could recognise that hand and the ring. It was hers. And she was wearing the eternity ring showing and Fred was placing his hand above her hand in a protective and loving way.

She loved it so much! It was exactly like how she would have wanted one of her wedding pictures to be.

’I want that picture. How do I get that picture?’

Arthur saw her staring at something intently and realised he left his phone there.

"You want to see something?" he asked walking towards her and she blinked wondering if she’d been caught eying the picture in his phone. Thankfully before he came near, his phone screen turned dark and she sighed in relief.

Both of them were sitting on the bed comfortably and he showed the gallery in his phone.

"Is this my room?" she asked getting the phone from his hands.

It seemed like her room and at the same time not her room.m since there were some changes. She herself didn’t know about all the twenty guest rooms in her home and she wondered if it could be one of them.

" Did you forget your own room?" he asked and his voice hid a lot of emotions.

Is ten years that long a time for someone to forget their own room.? Then again, she didn’t stay there for long.

"You are staying in my room?" she asked pouting seeing the touch of a man in that room.

"Hmm, your grandfather insisted," he added and he expected another tantrum thrown by her but was surprised she was so calm and she was smiling even going through the pictures.

"Where’s this?" she asked looking at the cozy place with some bookshelves, a cozy couch, a tea table and a grand piano.

"It’s the turret in your bedroom. Didn’t you used to say you want a piano and a small library in your room so that you don’t have to walk hundreds of meters around your home? So when your grandfather renovated, I changed the design the way you wanted and the piano... I bought it for you. Do you like it? "

Looking at Arthur seriously explaining to her, Talia felt a gust of breeze blowing through the deep, dark corners of her heart.

" You laughed at me when I said that to you.... " she looked at him and her eyes stung holding back her tears.

Back in high school, she lamented to him one day sitting in his studio apartment saying she’d prefer living in small cozy places than her home which was a big castle. And as usual, he laughed and mocked her.

But he went and changed her room, according to her wishes, anticipating her return?

He could have placed a pool table or something else he preferred there... But he made changes keeping her in mind?

Talia felt overwhelmed.

"Well... I.."

Arthur looked at her leaning at him and he was stunned wondering what she is upto.

*Smack *

He felt something soft on his lips and his eyes widened to see her eyes really closer to him. Her long lashes that were thick and curled were tickling his nose as her eyes were closed. She was so close that he couldn’t even see her properly.

" Just a smooch?" he asked as her heated breath fell on him and he could feel his breaths quickening.

He thought she’d say something and back off but she didn’t and meeting his eyes with a slight smile, she leaned closer once more, this time slightly sticking her tongue out.

’Well, she started it this time! ’

He leaned closer and took her lips and as her tongue entered his mouth he gently rolled and suckled on it while pulling her closer, wrapping his hands around her waist.

After the scare he got pushing her down the other day, he was scared to take the initiative, but since it was her who took the initiative now, he was not willing to let this change go to waste.