Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 41: Fine

Chapter 41: Fine

LUCIAN

The house was silent save for the sounds of his keyboard and the low hum of the airconditioner.

Perfect working condition.

It was the weekend, but Lucian had to review the submissions for the final bidding and negotiations. He’d been at this since he got back to work.

He had been gone for a while and had to ensure everything went according to plan. Dean seemed to have followed his instructions, just as he expected of someone he had personally scouted.

Just as he was signing off changes, a notification for a video call from Oliver came in.

"Oliver." I acknowledged as his call came in.

"Good afternoon, Sir. We’ve detected movement from the Orwells. They’ve recently launched an internal audit and are waiting for answers."

"They’re trying to rid themselves of Jasper. They surely have gotten wind of his stay in jail. If they have any sense left in them, they’ll want to find reasons to sever ties with him."

"We’ll keep tabs on them and update you if anything significant happens."

"Has anything come up with the Bernards?" Lucian asked Oliver, who looked pained.

"We’ve been looking for leads, Sir, but we’ve yet to find a connection between them and the young mistress. But we caught movement from Lara Castor. She had left the country on a trip."

"Tighten the detail on Eliana and Lily. Prepare for greater interference. Before, being passive was passable, but not anymore. Interfere when necessary."

"Sir, should we inform the young mistress? She normally has plans, so I figured it would be best to tell her in advance."

"I’ll tell her myself."

"Tell me what?" asked a soft and slightly sleepy Eliana from the door.

Lucian opted to work outside the study because Chester kept pawing at him. So he wasn’t that surprised at her being there.

"About intensifying your security detail and increasing interference. The Orwells just launched an internal audit, and Lara’s flown out of her homeland."

"I see." She mumbled as she headed towards the fridge, grabbing herself some orange juice.

Oliver looked odd upon hearing her response. He had expected to encounter more resistance, similar to how she reacted the last time they wanted to increase the security.

Even Lucian found this surprising. She fought tooth and nail the last time he told her about it; now all he got was that. What, is she angry or hungry?

"You haven’t eaten." Lucian reminded her, only to get a nod.

She must be dying.

Eliana never treated food lightly, so when she said, "I’m fine," Lucian knew something was really wrong.

She sipped at her juice obediently, her hair slightly messy from lying down. She walked barefoot.

Not again. She didn’t dry her hair before sleeping, and now she’s walking barefoot. Is she planning on taking a day off from school by getting herself sick?

Oliver watched as his boss furrowed his brows. As a long-time assistant, Oliver knew that his boss was getting frustrated about something. Normally, that would have to be remedied right away, or someone would be sacked. But they can’t exactly sack the boss’ wife, can they?

So Oliver just waited in case his boss had any more orders. But before he could say anything, he watched as the mistress closed in on his boss.

What?

Then Oliver nearly broke down in fear and disbelief.

__

Lucian sat with his arms crossed as he observed his suddenly despondent wife.

He was about to berate her about her irresponsible behavior but stopped as she started to approach him.

He raised an eyebrow at her, not even bothering to ask why she was approaching.

Then Eli said, "I forgot my manners."

Huh?

Then Eli swooped in, both hands on each side of his face.

*Smooch*

Eli planted a close-lipped kiss on his face, momentarily shocking him.

Her soft lips and small hands cemented his face on the spot.

Nothing sexual, but full of gratitude. An innocent kiss, nothing like the ones they’ve shared recently as part of their physical exploration.

"Thanks, Lucian." She added as she lifted her lips from his.

She didn’t move fast or teleport, but she was gone by the time Lucian realized that Oliver may have been broken. Staring with such wide eyes, his professionalism was tested to the limits.

To Oliver’s credit, he managed to hold on to his scream. He just watched his boss get touched like that without him going berserk.

His boss was no saint, but he disliked it when people entered his personal space like this. It’s not like he had actually seen his boss with anyone, but he couldn’t anymore count the number of times they’ve had to call security to deal with attempts at touching him.

But when the mistress kissed him, he just sat there obediently and had zero indications of blowing up anytime soon.

Wow. Oliver just realized he managed to glimpse into a new world.

He was still musing about possibilities when Lucian called him out.

"Stop daydreaming and proceed with the earlier arrangements. Notify me for anything substantial."

Oliver reacted like he’d heard a thunderclap before agreeing and saying goodbye to his boss.

Lucian didn’t care much for Oliver’s over-the-top reaction. What’s odd about a wife kissing her husband?

Maybe it’s because I’m the husband.

But he’d already spent too much time on all this today when there were still too many things to do. So Lucian returned to work, trying to abide by his personal schedule.

Ten minutes, twenty, and finally, just before it hit thirty minutes, Lucian decided to go into the room.

He couldn’t concentrate.

He had to read that change order thrice, but none of it made sense. He felt like a child trying to make sense of the alphabet. Nothing was going in.

He figured it was because he feared her dying in there and was, therefore, unsettled.

So he got up to check on her by himself.

He was stealthy and trained to make the least noise when doing anything. Perfect for a person who likes silence.

For some reason, Eli never woke up whenever he entered the room. Did she just automatically assume herself safe from being attacked by Lucian?

He approached her quickly, and she just kept on sleeping. It was then that he noticed her face.

Flustered, her eyes furrowed uncomfortably, and tears were in the corners of her eyes. She’s even got tear marks on her cheeks.

Tears. She ended up crying.

Lucian unconsciously clenched his fists. A wave of anger crept in. He’s pissed.

Is she crying about today? He may need to deal with Jasper fully.

How could she survive in the world if she was crying like this?

Lucian pulled the loosened quilt over Eliana’s shoulders and received a sniffle in response.

Now his mood had turned even more sour, and he doubted if that fucking change order would make any more sense than it did earlier.

This has seriously messed with my schedule.

I need to deal with all this bullshit as soon as possible.

He vowed as Eliana scooted ever so slightly, her body contorting into a fetal position. And Lucian just brushed off the hair on her cheek.

This chicken, what would you do without me?