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ELSIE

"The lunch box better be empty after school, okay?" I smiled at Ian and he giggled after he lifted his head to look at me.

"I put a little surprise in there." I leaned close to his ear and whispered. "There are strawberries inside." He covered his mouth and his big round eyes widened.

"Really?" His voice was a whisper as well.

"Mhmm." Tiny hands circle around my waist and he buried his head in my stomach.

"You are the best Eli." I ruffled his hair and crouched down. I fixed his jacket and pushed the wavy strands away from his forehead. His brown eyes shone with happiness and my heart skipped a beat.

I loved him like my own child. I can't even imagine how my life would have been without him.

It was like yesterday when Sally called me. We weren't really in good terms at that time. We still aren't. It was strange for me to receive her call, especially that late in the night.

She said that, her and Ian were going to visit me. Gladly, I welcomed in my home. Ian was such a tiny little boy at that time. Sally stayed for a while, I cooked them a meal and she asked me about my work.

The sadness in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. She was not okay and it tore me apart. The drugs have even changed her looks. She was skinnier and her face looked sunken.

I have tried everything to help her. There was guilt eating me up every time I remembered her. She is my little sister and I can't help her in any way.

I even tried to save up money for her rehabilitation but Sally gave all of the savings for drugs.

"That's Macy." Ian jumped up and down and waved at a girl his age. That must be his crush. The girl was exactly like he described her. Long hair done in box braids and an adorable smile. Her front tooth was also missing and she waved back.

There was lady next to her which I assume was her mom. They looked identical.

"Hi, Ian." The little girl hurried to us and a big grin formed on her face.

"Hello, I'm Helena. And this must be the Ian." Her mom spoke when she caught up to her and extended her hand to me.

"Elsie. Nice to meet you." We shook hands and I saw Ian's cheek blush as he stared at Macy.

"Nice to meet you as well. Macy always talks about Ian." She ran her hand over Macy's hair.

Helena had beautiful green eyes that matched the dress she was wearing. It was down to her knees and had long sleeves. Her hair was in a bun and two strands were falling down her forehead, framing her face.

"Now that we met, we would love to invite Ian to Macy's birthday next week. If that's okay with you." She said and Ian looked up at me with eyes filled with hope. He has never been invited to a birthday before and I was always worried of him not making friends.

I didn't want him to be all alone at school. He had a bubbly personality and was very smart and deserved to have good friends who loved him.

"Of course I'll bring him." Ian clasped his hands together and hugged me again.

"If you can give me your number, I'll send you the address. There won't be many people only her cousins and few classmates." I quickly dug into my purse and took out my phone. I gave her my number and she politely smiled back at me before we parted ways.

I kissed Ian's forehead for the last time and left after he was settled in his classroom.

Thankfully the restaurant was opening at 9am so I had time get Ian to school and then make my way to work.

My legs almost gave up even though it was not that far. Last night after Mr. Carolingian or Fenix as he said, walked me to my apartment building, I made myself a tons of work at home.

I accidentally spilled the boiling milk on the stove and spent the rest of my night cleaning that. Usually before going to bed, I liked to drink hot chocolate. Whenever I remembered that was.

The dark clouds loomed over my head and I guess today was going to be one of those days where I'll watch the rain and wonder why I wasn't home, curled up on the sofa while reading a book or watching a movie.

Just as I reached the door, drops of rain fell over my face.

I quickly ran to the changing room and dressed in my usual attire. We still haven't gotten the new uniforms and I guess I have a few more days to enjoy working in these comfortable dress pants.

The last thing I did was tie the apron around my waist and I exited the changing room.

Aspen was already here and her hair today was up in a slick ponytail.

"Oh my God, Elsie. You have to read Fallen Stars. The guy literally bought her a yacht just because she said that she has never seen one in her life. Can you imagine?" Aspen started to speak as soon as she closed the distance between us.

"I have hundreds of books on my kindle because of you." I pointed a finger at her and we both chuckled. Aspen had a whole library at her apartment and sometimes she borrows me some of them.

Most of them were,... well R rated.

"Why doesn't any of these rich men here fall in love with me?" A dreamy sigh left her lips and she placed her hands on her hips.

"Maybe one will in the future." I nudged her stomach with my elbow. "Now let's get to work."

The restaurant soon started to fill up with guests. The busiest was around 2 pm when business man and women were having their lunch break.

I waltzed around the space with plates in my hands. My mind went to Ian and I had to figure out what should we buy Macy for her birthday.

Ian's heart must be jumping from happiness right now. He loved interacting with people and now he was finally able to do so.

We'll have to figure out something for his birthday well. He was turning seven in three months.

Sally was exactly seventeen when she gave birth to him. It leaves a bittersweet feeling of watching her being pregnant and seeing the panic but also excitement on her face. When she gave birth, she loved Ian. I'm sure she still loves him with her whole heart.

The time passed quickly and I lifted my hand to see the watch on my wrist. It was already past 1 pm.

Everyone seemed to be in a better mood today because Stephan, one of the waiters, was as also in the same shift as us. As usual he was making people laugh.

"Elsie can you cover table eight, please." Aspen called out for me and I saw the tiniest smile reach her lips.

"Okay." I went to the cabinets and grabbed one of the menus.

A polite grin painted on my face as I marched to table eight. There was a man sitting there and his back was to me. His head was down and from what it looked like from here, he was on his phone.

I ran a hand over my apron and finally reached the table.

"Hello." My voice came out as a squeak when I realised who the man was.

It was Fenix.

Oh...

His green eyes lifted to me and stayed on my face. Today he was dressed in a dark blue suit with a white shirt underneath. The colours were less intimidating than last night but still, the harsh lines on his face made him look terrifying.

The silver chain was still around his neck and this time I noticed a tattoo peaking from underneath the shirt.

He had a silver ring on his pinky finger. It looked like something you would see on a history documentaries. Like some type of ancient jewellery.

"Hello, Elsie." My name rolled out on his tongue and I felt my cheeks get hot in the same second. What was wrong with me? And why was I blushing for the smallest things?

A person can just walk in front of me and I'll get a blush on my cheeks. Literally for nothing.

"Here's the menu." Thankfully I didn't shutter as I thought I would.

Before I was able to leave him to look through the menu, he stopped me.

"Wait." Okay...

I stepped back to my place and intertwined my fingers behind me. I let out a quiet breath and the polite smile formed on my lips yet again.

"What would you recommend?" Why when someone asks you for something, that same thought just flees out of your head? What could I recommend?

"Umm..." I stared at his vainy hands, holding the menu with a gentle touch.

"The chicken's breasts with Marionette sauce. It's the chef's specialty. It's really good." I don't know how Raoul was able to make the sauce that good. It was with mushrooms and cream. I asked him for a precise recipe but I just ended up with a sauce that looked like it was cooked by a five year old.

"Then I'll have that." He didn't even check anything else on there.

"Okay then." He handed me the menu and I hurriedly walked away from his table. Why was this man so intense?

A deep breath escaped from my lips as I got as far as possible from the very intimidating Fenix.

Aspen winked my way when she passed me in the kitchen. And of course she sent me there on purpose.

⋆˚✿˖°

It was the third day of Mr. Carolingian visiting the restaurant. He sat on the same table at the same time.

He has been ordering different foods though. He was in a different suit every day as well. I mean he was rich so why not.

⋆˚✿˖°

On the eighth day, he asked me what my favourite drink was here. Of course I had to recommend the mango non-alcoholic cocktail.

It was what I would call the best drink I have ever tried in my life.

Whatever Sisi was doing with these drinks was magical.

When I took the drink to him, he eyed the orange and yellow juice and tried it while I was there. The satisfaction on his face told me that he was as impressed as I was when I first tried it.

⋆˚✿˖°

On the tenth day, he wanted my help of choosing the best dessert.

This time I smiled big as I pointed to the tiramisu on the menu. The tiramisu here was out of this world.

I was big on sweets so I was more than happy to recommend him one. It became like our little routine I guess. It was strange though. The man didn't even know how to crack a one tiny smile.

Was his face always that serious?

I was glad that he also enjoyed the food I recommended him. It would have been embarrassing if he returned them back.

⋆˚✿˖°

It has been exactly fourteen days since Fenix started visiting the restaurant on daily basis.

In my mind we were already friends. Even though if he read my ridiculous thoughts, he would probably think I'm crazy.

He was pleasantly a nice guest. He didn't talk much but whenever he did, he was polite. He didn't complain and he eat all of his food without returning it back.

And have I forgotten to mention the tips he leaves? He alone has filled my bank account in the last two weeks.

It felt wrong for him to tip me more than hundred dollars with each of his visit. I didn't even do much more than I do with other costumers. I just put on a polite smile and serve them the food.

"And today sir? What would you like?" I asked and held the tablet in my hands.

"The chicken breast with Marionette sauce and that mango cocktail you like." Humming, I placed the order on the device and smiled at him before I turned around and walked to the other tables.

My mood these days was instantly better because now I was able to save up some money for Ian's birthday. With all the tips, I was able to even afford myself a cake for my birthday.

I haven't had those in years. Only grandma use to make them for me. While they were still alive, me, Sally and them would have gatherings in their yard and make a picnic with all kinds of foods.

Then Sally would always sing to me and then after many ceremonies of hers, I was able to blow the candles and cut the cake.

It was our little tradition for each of our birthdays.

For Ian though, since he moved with me, I was able to make him one, but it was only me and him. No one else was with us to celebrate his big day.

Hopefully this time we'll invite Macy and a couple of his classmates. The one he hangs out the most with.

When the food was prepared, I took the plate in my hands together with the cocktail. I was getting more comfortable with bringing him food and my nerves were easing down.

He still made me feel anxious but not as before.

"Here's your lunch and the cocktail. Bon appetite." I said after I placed the order on his table.

He leaned back on the chair and his eyes found mine. Green on brown. I have always admired people with green eyes. There was something beautifully alluring about them.

His hair was pushed back and he poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue before he gestured with his hand to the opposite chair.

"I want to have a word with you." What...? What word? Did I do something wrong?

"I can't, sorry. I have other tables to serve." There was so much work to do because the restaurant was packed. All of the tables were filled. Aspen, Lucas and the other waiters, were running around and I couldn't afford to just sit here and leave everything on them.

Also if my boss saw me sitting here, he'll probably fire me for sure.

Fenix waved his hand and I looked behind. There was man in a suit as well. He started walking towards us. He had brown hair, lighter than Fenix. He had all black suit and had tattoos on his hands and fingers.

The brown colour in his eyes was so dark that it almost looked black.

Fenix said something to him in a language that I did not understand. What kind of language was that? Weren't they from Irish descent? So it must be Irish they were using.

While I was thinking about the words and what they meant, people started to leave. What was going on?

The guests began to stand up from their chairs and soon the restaurant was completely empty.

The other workers stayed with the plates in their hands as they looked around.

Fenix said something else and the man ushered my coworkers to leave. Aspen was holding her laugh while the other ones left with confusion written all over their faces.

"Now you don't have work."

My lips parted but not a single word came out of my mouth. Was he being for real? He emptied the restaurant just so he can talk to me?

"Sit." He spoke again.

Stunned by his actions, I nodded my head and lowered myself on the chair opposite of him. I adjusted my glasses and placed my hands on my lap.

His hand went on the top of the chair next to him and he leaned further back. The shirt he was wearing imprinted on his chest and the chain glistened on the rays of sun light peeking from behind the clouds.

The window next to us was covered in droplets of rain and I gulped the lump that was forming in my throat.

"So?" I finally spoke after couple of seconds, when I was able to gathered some courage.

His gaze slowly traveled from my lips to my eyes.

He pushed the plate and the drink in front of me. They were untouched and the food was still warm, being served just couple of minutes ago.

"Eat first. You must be hungry."

Okay but what was his deal? First he said that he wants to talk and now he's saying I should eat?

"I'll like to know what you wanted to talk about first, sir." I don't think I'll be able to eat with all of the anticipation bubbling in my chest.

He nodded his head slowly and leaned forward. Bracing his elbows on the wooden table.

"I want you to marry me."

And it begins🤭

Thoughts??

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