Chapter 35: Warm Welcome

ALICE

She looked exactly like she did in the portrait up on the seventh floor. The same eyes, the same hair color. I couldn’t believe that I was looking at Gideon’s sister. But I was glad this day had come.

I’d always wanted to meet her, ever since Gideon told me about her.

“Gideon, how are you?” Elizabeth came over and threw her arms around Gideon, who couldn’t properly hug her back because he had an arm around my shoulders.

“I’m good, Liz, how are you?” Gideon responded, holding her close. It was apparent that he had missed her a lot.

“You know, Gideon is not your only brother here,” Kieran grumbled.

Elizabeth removed herself from Gideon and hugged Kieran. “I missed you so much, Kieran,” Elizabeth said.

“Ditto, sis,” Kieran stated.

As soon as Elizabeth and Kieran stopped hugging, Elizabeth eyed my little brother.

She gave him a once-over before her eyes landed on me. When she gave me a once-over, I felt like I was being judged, because Elizabeth was important to Gideon, and if she didn’t approve of me…

The thought was so horrific that I immediately discarded it and instead tried my best to remain unaffected by her gaze.

Thank God Kieran broke the silence. “Are you just going to keep us standing in the cold, or are you going to let us in?” he whined. I eyed his pink cheeks and smiled. Kieran was cold.

“Sorry, my bad. Please come inside.” Elizabeth ushered all of us inside before closing the door.

Gideon let go of me and went over to Elizabeth. He whispered something in her ear, causing her to look at me before she nodded and pointed toward the staircase. Gideon gave her a smile before striding over to me.

“Come on, little dove, let’s get you to bed,” he said to me.

“No, that would be rude. We just got here. What will your sister think?”

“My sister thinks nothing, and you’re not being rude. You’re tired, and I’m not going to stand there and watch you fighting with sleep. Let’s go.”

Firmly taking a hold of my hand, Gideon led me up the stairs and all the way to the end of the hallway. He opened the last door on the left and tugged me inside.

I eyed the beautiful room with interest. The two colors dominating the room were white and sea green. A king-sized bed was placed against one wall adorned with white sheets and sea-green pillows, while a plasma screen faced the bed.

A shelf containing various knickknacks was sitting below the plasma screen. A love seat was placed in one corner with a lamp next to it.

The sea-green curtains were pushed aside, and various flowerpots sat on the window ledge. The room looked cozy.

“Come on, in you go.” Gideon gestured toward the bed, causing me to sigh but do as he said.

“Are you sure about this, Gideon? I mean we’re not intruding, are we?” I had no idea what Elizabeth thought of me, and the worry was eating at my insides.

Gideon perched on the bed next to me. He stroked my hair before speaking.

“Little peach, don’t worry yourself over trivial matters. Trust me, we’re not intruding. Don’t stress yourself. It’s not good for the baby. Close your eyes and go to sleep.”

“Are you going back down?” I asked.

“Yeah. I have to tell Lizzy what happened. But don’t worry. I’ll come back to you as soon as possible.” He smiled at me.

“Promise?”

“I promise, little fairy. I’ll always come back to you.” Kissing my cheek then my forehead, Gideon stood up. “Good night, little one. Sweet dreams.”

Giving me another loving smile, he strode out of the room, leaving me to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.

***

I woke up with Gideon’s warmth cocooning me. I blinked a few times to get rid of the residual sleep. I tried slipping out of Gideon’s grasp, but he held me in a vise-like grip, like he was afraid to let me go.

I tried to gently pry his arm off me, but he only tightened his grip on my waist.

“Looks like my little bird is awake,” Gideon murmured sleepily before kissing my exposed neck.

“Yes, I am. Would you let me go? I need to use the bathroom,” I told him.

“No. I like having you close,” he replied.

“What time did you come back last night?” I asked.

“Around 2 a.m.,” he answered.

“I see. Can I use the bathroom now?” My bladder was killing me.

“Do you have to?” he questioned.

“I’m carrying your baby, so, yes, I have to,” I replied.

“Our baby,” he muttered before kissing my cheek and finally removing his arm.

“Thank you!” I exclaimed before jumping out of bed. “Where is the bathroom?”

“Over there.” He pointed to a door in the corner that I hadn’t noticed last night.

“Thanks,” I responded and dashed inside the bathroom.

Once I finished relieving myself, I washed my hands, rinsed my mouth, and washed my face before emerging from the bathroom.

Gideon was sitting up, his back against the headboard. And even though he had just woken up, he looked incredibly sexy.

“Are you going to change?” Gideon asked, eyeing my rumpled dress.

“Yes. Where is the bag?” I looked around, finally spotting the suitcase next to the nightstand. “Never mind, I found it.” I hurried over to it and, after a couple of minutes, took out a new dress. Then I dashed back inside the bathroom and, after another two minutes, emerged.

“I’m going to make breakfast,” I told Gideon.

“You don’t have to do that. Lizzy will make it,” he said.

“Are you kidding? Lizzy shouldn’t bother with this. I’ll make breakfast.” Without waiting for his response, I left the room and skipped down the stairs.

When I reached the foyer, I looked around, trying to spot the kitchen. I sighed in relief when I saw a door on the left. Hoping it would be the kitchen, I went over and pushed the door open.

And when I saw the silver utensils, I sighed in relief. Finally, I had found the kitchen.

Now I just need to look for the ingredients.

I knew I had no right to venture into someone’s kitchen and act like I owned the place, but Elizabeth had helped us so much. She’d given us a place to sleep, so the least I could do was relieve her of breakfast duty.

I didn’t want to look ungrateful.

Opening the fridge, I took out a few eggs and a jug of milk. As soon as I placed the items on the counter, a voice had me jumping.

“What are you doing in my kitchen?” she asked. She was wearing jeans and a pretty floral top with her hair tied up in a ponytail.

“Uhh, I was making breakfast,” I answered.

She frowned. “Why? You’re my guest. I should be the one making breakfast for you,” she stated.

“You have already done so much for us. You gave us a place to stay. I just wanted to help you, repay you for your kindness,” I said.

Elizabeth cocked her head to the side, a gesture that reminded me strongly of her brothers. “Are you always this formal?” she inquired, a small smile on her lips.

“Uh, I just don’t want you to think that I’m an ungrateful person,” I muttered. Elizabeth was so confident, and I just felt awkward standing in front of her.

“Trust me, I don’t think you’re ungrateful. Quite the opposite actually. I mean that is why Gideon chose you as his wife,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling confused.

“I can see why he picked you,” she clarified, taking the eggs and getting a glass bowl.

“Can you tell me why? Because Gideon never told me,” I requested.

“I can, but I’m not going to,” she replied. Elizabeth was confusing me; I couldn’t figure out if she liked me or not.

“Oh, okay. Can I help you make breakfast, if it’s okay with you?” I queried.

Elizabeth went over to the pantry and came back with green chilies and a can of mushrooms. She placed the items in front of me, along with a cutting board and a knife.

“You can cut the chilies and the mushrooms,” she said.

“Thank you.” I didn’t waste time. I immediately began cutting the chilies. Once I was done, I moved on to the vegetables.

“So, you have a little brother,” Elizabeth said in the form of a statement.

I nodded. “Yes. Nico is my brother.”

“And he lives with you?” she asked.

“Yes. He is too young to live on his own,” I replied.

“I can see that.” She paused. “How do you feel about Gideon leaving his family?” she questioned.

“I didn’t want him to leave his father,” I answered.

“So if Gideon wants to go back to his family and leave you fending for yourself, you’d be okay with it?” she queried.

“Yes. If Gideon wants to leave me in order to be with his family, I’ll be okay with it,” I responded, biting my lip.

“Why?”

“Because I love Gideon and want him to be happy. If his happiness lies with his family, then who am I to come between them?”

“But you’ll go back to being poor. Is that okay with you? I mean from living like a royal to going back to living in the slums…” She let her sentence trail off, but I understood what she was trying to say.

“I was born in the slums. So what if I lived like a royal for a little while? I know what I’m worth, and poverty is not new to me. I lived like a poor person before, and I can do it again. If Gideon decides to leave me, I won’t ask for a single cent,” I replied.

“You sure about that? People can get used to the rich life,” she said.

“If people can get used to the rich life, they can get used to poverty as well. It just takes a little longer. I might’ve married Gideon for money because I wanted my brother to get his surgery, but I love him now, and his money doesn’t matter to me anymore,” I stated while continuing to cut the mushrooms.

Elizabeth didn’t say anything for a while. When I was done cutting the mushrooms, she took them, along with the green chilies, and threw them into the beaten eggs.

She then proceeded to make an omelet, while I looked around the kitchen, trying to distract myself from Elizabeth’s overbearing presence. I had a feeling that Elizabeth did not like me much.

“Good morning, love.” I looked at the unfamiliar male who had entered the kitchen and hugged Elizabeth from behind. He placed a kiss on her neck, causing me to blush. Now I really was intruding.

“Morning, babe, did you sleep well?” Elizabeth asked, smiling at the man. This must be Henry, her husband. Henry was about six feet tall, with curly blond hair and jade-green eyes.

“I slept with you. What do you think?” He grinned at her. It was only when he glanced at me that he realized I was also present.

“Oh, hello there, you must be Alice, Gideon’s wife.” Henry let go of Elizabeth and strode over to me, holding his hand out for me to shake.

“Yes, nice to meet you, and thank you for letting us stay the night.” I shook his hand.

“You are so small. How can you handle a man like Gideon?” Henry asked. I gave him a puzzled look. What was he implying?

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean.” Now I just felt stupid.

“Just that you’re so delicate, and so small. Gideon is the exact opposite of you,” he stated.

“Opposites attract, babe,” Elizabeth said, making Henry chuckle.

“I guess they do,” he gave me a warm smile.

“Alice, will you please set the table? The plates and other things are over there,” Elizabeth said.

I was only too happy to comply. “Of course.” I immediately grabbed the plates, spoons, knives, and forks before heading out of the kitchen. “Where is the table?” I asked.

“The dining room is the next door,” she replied.

Nodding my head, I left the kitchen and entered the dining room.

I quickly placed the cutlery in the best possible way that I could. I wanted to take as much time as possible. I didn’t want to deal with Elizabeth or Henry. I wished Gideon would come down soon, or even Kieran.

I should’ve listened to Gideon when he told me to stay in bed. Damn it, I was such an idiot. Next time, I was not going to help anyone, no matter how much I wanted to.

I didn’t even know what Elizabeth was thinking about me. Maybe she would tell Gideon to leave me.

“Little peach, I see you’ve set the table.” Gideon’s voice had me relaxing in an instant.

“Yeah, why don’t you sit down?” I pulled out a chair for him, causing him to frown.

“Don’t do that,” Gideon admonished.

“Don’t do what?” I asked.

“Pull out a chair for me. I’m supposed to do that for you, not the other way around,” he explained.

“So what? I’m your wife. I can pull out a chair for you,” I argued.

“No, you’re my little fairy, and you’re never going to do anything of this sort ever again,” he said firmly.

Just then, Kieran and Nico entered. “Good morning, little mushroom, you look well,” Kieran commented, pulling out a chair and sitting down, while Nico did the same.

“Good morning, Kieran, Nic,” I greeted.

“Good morning, Alice,” Nico said.

Elizabeth entered the dining room, followed by Henry, both of them carrying breakfast dishes in their hands, which they placed on the table. My stomach growled when I looked at the mouthwatering food.

How long had it been since I last ate? I didn’t think I had dinner last night, with the whole fiasco. Maybe that was why I was so hungry.

“Dig in, everyone,” Henry said, sitting down next to his wife.

~Oh boy, another family meal. I hope this one goes well.~