𝟏𝟏

ELSIE

The house was very quiet.

When I woke up this morning from my short sleep, Fenix was gone. He did say that he is rarely home.

I was curled on the end of the bed, completely covered with the blankets and I had to immediately take a shower because I was literally a sweaty mess.

Maybe it was also the fact that I have been overthinking the whole night. Thankfully Fenix was a peaceful sleeper and he was barely noticeable.

It was like he was not even in the room. I hope I sleep quiet as well.

When I was done with my shower, I dressed in a comfortable clothes and exited the room. I immediately went to Ian's room and he was still sleeping.

I quietly walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed. I took him a day off from school because first I had to figure out how was I going to take him to school. Fenix said that there will be guards and a personal driver for us.

Also I wanted him to have a little rest with all the madness going on in the past few days.

I brought my hand to his face and pushed his hair away from his forehead.

"Ian. Wake up, baby." I said and ran my hand down his arms. He slowly started to open his eyes and turned on his back.

He smiled as soon as he saw me and stretched his arms over his head. I rubbed his belly and pulled the covers off him.

Thankfully Ian was not hard to wake up in the morning. When he is extra tired he knows how to fuss but other than that, he had no trouble getting up.

"Let's get up buddy. I'm sure you're hungry." He nodded and sat up on the bed.

"Is Fenix here?" Is the first thing he asked.

"No, he's at work. He'll be home later though." Now I felt bad because Fenix said that he rarely comes home. Ian's gonna be disappointed from now on. I'll try my best to make it up to him.

I pushed his hair back and kissed his temple. "Let's get ready. We'll eat and then Fenix will be here soon after."

"Okay." He got out of bed and I took some clothes for him and we walked towards the bathroom. There was one in his room as well.

I helped him shower and then he brushed his teeth. I then dressed him in sweatpants and a hoodie.

I already knew the main spaces of the house so that's why we headed downstairs to the kitchen. There must be some food in the fridge for me to prepare breakfast.

I'm sure Fenix wouldn't leave us without anything.

We walked down the stairs and when we reached on the first floor, we headed on our left.

When we were getting closer to the kitchen, I heard noises. Pans being moved around and someone humming to a song.

I still haven't seen any maid or any staff in the house. Only the guards outside.

While holding Ian's hand, we finally arrived at the door.

There was a man with a chef uniform working around the kitchen. He had a buzzcut and his back was facing us.

When he heard us enter, he shifted around. A big smile stretched over his face and he turned the radio off.

"Good morning, Mrs. Carolingian." His smile widened and he then looked at Ian and waved at him.

"Umm, good morning to you too." I nervously grinned.

He threw the towel he was holding over his shoulder and rounded the kitchen island. He closed the distance between us and extended his hand.

He had couple of tattoos on his fingers and hands and had a piercing on his left eyebrow.

"I'm Yavuz. I'm the chef around here. Whenever they need me that is. Nice to meet you." We shook hands and brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Okay...

"I'm Elsie. Nice to meet you as well."

"I'm intrigued to meet the person who finally won over our boss. I thought he was never going to get married." A laugh broke through his lips and I noticed a piercing on his tongue as well.

I also wanted to laugh because his boss definitely didn't settle down.

"But I better shut up before he hears me." He winked at Ian and Ian chuckled.

"And you little guy. What is your name?"

"I'm Ian."

"Well Ian. You hungry? Because I made you guys some delicious Turkish breakfast. My grandma's specialties." Yavuz said and walked back to the stove.

There were many dishes on the island and everything smelled delicious.

Ian climbed on the chair and opened his mouth in awe. His eyes sparkled as he observed the food and then focused on Yavuz doing the last touch ups.

He continued to hum again and I sat on the chair next to Ian.

Yavuz placed plates and utensils in front of us and clasped his hands in front of him, waiting for us to try the breakfast.

We quickly dug into the food and Ian wiggled his shoulders and hummed as soon as he took his first bite.

Oh my... this was the best food I have ever tried. And I thought the food on the wedding was amazing. This one, this one tops it all.

Yavuz seemed to be more than pleased with our reaction. The lines on his faced deepened as he grinned and whispered a quiet yes.

He seemed like a nice guy but I definitely wanted to cook on my own as well. Maybe he was able to teach me some delicious dishes.

"I'm sure you love your work but... can I cook myself sometimes?" I asked him and hoped for a positive answer.

He cocked his head to the side and pinched his eyebrows together.

"This is your house and your rules ma'am. Whatever you want. I'm here whenever boss calls. You can cook yourself of course." Oh... I completely forgot that I was the lady of the house now, or whatever.

"Yeah... maybe you can teach me some of the specialties you know." I grinned and felt my shoulders shrug.

He was easy to talk to so I was not surprised of my question. I didn't feel embarrassed to do so somehow.

"Sure. Why not? I would love to." I felt more at ease now that he didn't think I was some weirdo for asking that.

We finished our breakfast while Yavuz cleaned around and told me a short story of his life.

Ian wiped his mouth and looked up at me.

"Will Fenix be back now that I finished my food?" He asked, his round eyes gazing in my own.

I rubbed his back and helped him climd down the chair. "We can play outside for a while. What do you say to that?"

"Yes, but let's take my toys first." He jumped up and down and immediately forgot about his question which made me let out a breath. I thanked Yavuz and nodded at him after he refused my help to clean the rest of it.

We walked to Ian's room and took a couple of his toys. I grabbed a blanket as well and we headed back downstairs.

The weather outside was nice and Ian waved at the guards outside of the front door. There were couple of them and they all had stoic expressions on their face.

We explored the garden and we were pleasantly surprised.

There was a big pool in the back yard and a gazebo. There were many tall trees and so many flowers in different colours.

The grass was neat and looked like it was a carpet. I'm sure people are constantly taking care of everything around.

We played around a little bit and then laid the blanket on the ground. While Ian played with his cars, I tried to look up for some jobs on my phone.

Fenix said that it would be best for me to work from home because of safety reasons so that's what I was trying to do. I'm sure I can at least find something.

The clock was almost 2 pm when Ian said that he was thirsty and also wanted a snack.

We picked up our things and headed inside. Yavuz was yet again in the kitchen and I assume preparing lunch.

I gave Ian a glass with water and waited for him to drink when we heard someone walking inside the kitchen.

I turned my head to the sound and saw the person I least expected.

Fenix.

He said that he is rarely home? Does he come home for lunch maybe and then leaves again?

"Fenix!" Ian explained and placed the glass of water on the table before he ran toward my husband. It was such a weird thing to think about.

He wrapped his hands around Fenix's leg and hugged him. Fenix was dressed in a black suit and his jacket was thrown over his forearm.

He bed down and kissed Ian's head. He then straightened himself up and made his way over to me with long strides while holding Ian's hand.

"Hey..." I said nervously and stepped back till the back of my legs hit the table.

The distance between us narrowed when he bend down and kissed my forehead while circling his free hand around my waist. He pulled me closer to him and I tensed for the slightest second.

Of course. Yavuz was literally couple of feef away from us. And we had to act like a happy family.

"I thought you wouldn't be back this soon." I said and looked up at him. He was already staring down at me and I felt my face get hot.

"Work finished earlier today." He said and I felt shivers run down my spine at his voice. Was it possible to be attacked to someone's voice? Because I definitely was.

"Hello boss." Yavuz spoke from behind us and I felt Fenix pull me even closer to him. Basically gluing my body to his. He really was dedicated to his act.

"Lunch will be ready soon."

"Okay. I'll take a shower and be back down." He leaned and kissed my forehead again. His hand squeezed my hip for a second and I dug my fingers into my palm.

He should definitely stop doing that because it felt a little too good.

We agreed to do a minimum physical touch but I guess that won't really work.

After Fenix parted from me, he went upstairs and I fanned my face. I don't want to look like a tomato when I face Yavuz.

My heart rate increased and I tried my best to calm down before Fenix gets back here.

Why did he have to come back home this early? Just when I thought that I won't have to see him that much because I didn't want myself to become even more delusional with my thoughts.

Ian grabbed his glass filled with water again and gulped the whole thing down. The smile on his face was very much evident and I know for a fact it has to do with Fenix getting back from work.

Yavuz worked around and set the table for lunch. There were again many delicious smelling food.

I thanked him and we waited for Fenix to walk downstairs.

The kitchen was bathed in sunlight and the white polish marble on the counters glistened, making the space looked warm and peaceful.

The chairs positioned next to the dinner table were in a beautiful rich dark green colour and made of a velvet material.

It looked like the kitchen was not used daily which meant that Fenix wasn't usually home for lunch as I assumed earlier.

Maybe it was just today.

When we sat by the table, Fenix arrived. He was dressed in a sweatpants and a t-shirt. His hair was damp and pushed back. I haven't seen him in such casual attire before. He looked more... approachable.

The muscles on his arms flexed as he pulled a chair next to me and lowered himself on it. His hand went on the back of my chair and he rested his fingers on my shoulder.

Something that I noticed he does a lot.

I had short sleeves so his warm fingers slowly caressed my burning hot skin.

We started to eat after everything was set and Fenix withdrew his hand which meant I was finally able to breathe properly.

Yavuz was gone as soon as everything was done.

"Why don't you kiss Eli? Macy said that her parents love each other and they kiss on the lips." Ian asked while looking at Fenix and I started to caught. The food got stuck in my throat.

"Ian..." I warned him and glared his way. Where was this coming from?

"Macy kissed me as well." He said that like it was nothing out of ordinary. My eyes widened.

"Ian you are too young for that. And what kind of conversations are you having with Macy?" What were kids these days talking about? I placed the fork on the table and cleaned my mouth with the napkin.

I glanced over to Fenix who was smirking and eating his food peacefully.

He also must have noticed how uncomfortable the whole situation made me so he spoke. "Elsie is right, buddy." He leaned back on his chair. "When you finish your food we can watch a movie. What do you say to that?"

"Okay!" Ian agreed and quickly got back to eating. Ian was going to be the death of me. Why did he have to bring that up? Oh God this whole thing will bury me into the ground from embarrassment.

Ian finished his food in a speed of light and looked at me. I smiled at him and reassured him that I'm not mad. How could I be mad at him? He stood up from the chair and went to wash his hands.

He lifted himself on his tiptoes and turned on the faucet.

A grin formed on my lips. He was growing up way too fast. He then came to me and kissed my cheek. It's what he always did when he thought I was not pleased with his behaviour.

He knew that it would melt my heart. And he was so damn right.

He ran to the living room and popped himself on the sofa. It was far from the kitchen but I was still able to see him.

Fenix was also finishing up with his food.

"I'm looking for a job." I said out of nowhere.

He nodded his head and shifted his body to me. I tried my best not to roam my eyes over him. The t-shirt he had on was glued to his body and showed off every little defined muscle he had on his torso and shoulders.

"You know you don't have to hurry. You're not paying for anything. Even after our divorce I told you, you and Ian will have everything you need." I did know that.

"I know but I can't just not do anything."

"Focus on your time with Ian. You can do whatever you want. Leon and Winston will be accompanying you everywhere. Wherever you wanna go." I'm sure he meant the best but I wanted to work. I nodded and intertwined my fingers on my lap.

"How was your work today?" There were slight dark circles around his eyes which meant he was tired. He probably didn't even sleep well last night. Or maybe he just had to wake up really early.

His eyes bore into mine and a flash of foreign emotion raced through them. Then they went to my lips for the slightest second and then back to my eyes. His jaw clenched and he cleared his throat.

Fenix wasn't much of a talker but he did communicate with me whenever I had a question and didn't just ignore me.

"It was good. Just some office work." He said, this time with a softer voice.

He relaxed in his seat and I felt my palms get sweaty and my stomach twist in an unusual way under his stare.

"I can make us some hot chocolate if you want. Of course if you like it. Me and Ian always do when we watch movies." I started blabbing and sealed my mouth shut before I said something stupid.

"Mhmm." He hummed in agreement and we both stood up from our chairs. Fenix helped me clean up and placed the dishes into the dishwasher while I made the hot chocolate.

I would have never expected him to work around the kitchen. He seemed like a man that would expect everything to be delivered to him on a silver platter.

After we were done with everything, we took the drinks to the living room and sat on the sofa next to Ian.

This is not how I imagined my first day of being married to be like but I secretly enjoyed it.

I didn't plan for this book to go this slow with the romance but here we are...😅

Btw I'm still sick and this chapter didn't really turn out as I wanted it to be🥲

Thoughts??

🤍🤍🤍