[Seventy-Four]

|Chapter 74|

🤍🔆

𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁

𝖠 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗒

"Seb, I promise that if you touch that food, I'm going to chop your fingers off," I point a sharp knife at him.

"I won't I promise," he backs up immediately, holding his hands up. "Even though I made it," he mumbles.

"Hey! I could've done it on my new expensive grill," I tell him as I grab plates. Although, I'd rather see him outside grilling shirtless.

He took off his shirt earlier because he began to sweat through it and now his bruised and tattooed torso is on full display.

He stands behind me and pulls me against him as I try to put our burgers together. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asks.

"Nope."

"Lips."

"So impatient," I roll my eyes playfully and turn around to meet his bare chest.

"Stop being so irresistible and maybe I'll be less impatient."

"Sorry, I can't," I grin. "You're stuck with me," I stick my tongue out.

"Damn right I am," he looks into my eyes, leaning down to my lips, but suddenly his phone rings.

"Answer that, baby," I tell him.

He sighs and kisses me on the cheek. "Fine," he responds and goes to grab his phone from the couch.

"Cheer up, lovey," I tell him.

"Hi mom," he says in a frustrating tone.

"Can you at least sound like you love your mother?" I ask him nicely.

He smiles sarcastically and changes his tone, "Yes mom, Elara is fine. We're actually preparing dinner right now." He walks back over to me and puts the phone to my ear.

"Hi Dana, I'm sorry we didn't get to speak to you before we left. I just really needed to come home."

"Stop, Elara. I know everything and I don't want to hear any apologies. You've been through so much this past month and you deserve to be in the comfort of your home. If you need anyone to talk or vent to, just know that I'm always available."

"Thank you, Dana, I'll keep that in mind."

"Also, if Emilian isn't behaving right just give me a ca-."

"Alright, that's enough." Seb pulls the phone away from my ear.

"Stop being jealous, baby."

He glares at me, "Nobody is jealous. Mama, I'll call back later after dinner. I love you," he hangs up.

"May you put these on the table?"

"Mhm. These look so good, baby."

"Thank you. Would you like some orange juice or wine?" I ask.

"Water is fine."

I open the fridge that is designated for drinks only and it's almost empty. "Grocery shopping is a must this weekend."

"Would you prefer to do grocery shopping online?"

"Hell no," I respond. "I need to be able to see and read everything for myself."

He sighs, "Alright, that's fair."

"I'll order online if you want me to though," I shrug. I know you're still concerned about my safety, so I wouldn't mind doing that for a few months."

"That would lower my concern and worries greatly. And I think I'm done over here."

"Good. Give me a second." I carry the drinks and napkins to the table and he watches me closely. Looking up at him, I ask, "Would you like to freshen up and put a shirt on?"

"Do you want me to?"

"You know the answer to that," I blush.

He chuckles and kisses my forehead, "Give me five minutes to change, love." He tries to move but for some reason, I can't let go of him. "Elara, you have to let go for me to change."

"I know," I mumble.

"Fine, I'll carry you with me." He swiftly lifts me into his arms.

"Baby," I say while giggling and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Mhm." We share intense eye contact as he walks up the stairs. "You're so beautiful," he tells me as he examines my face.

I blush and say, "Focus on where you're going, please. I don't want to be dropped down a flight of stairs."

"Alright, alright." He opens the bedroom door and places me on the bed.

I watch his muscles flex as he pulls a black shirt over his head. "Should we have a game night?" I ask.

"That would be nice. I've been waiting to do better than you in something."

"Competitive are we?"

"Yeah, but only when there is real competition," he smirks and pulls me off the bed.

I roll my eyes and smile, "Yeah, we'll see who is the real competition tonight. But first, food."

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It's the end of our little date night and we're comfortably laying on the grass, cuddling and enjoying the view. We're done with dinner and I decided it's the perfect time to give him the monthly gift that I promised him.

"What's this, love?"

"Just a little gift. I promise it's nothing expensive."

"You said that last time," he pulls me into his chest.

"I know but I'm for real this time."

He uses one hand to grab the bag and the other remains around my waist.

"You always want to be close to me for no reason," I tell him.

"Because you're my baby," he kisses my cheek. "Open it for me," he tells me and wraps both of his arms around me.

"Please?"

"Please, baby," his lips find their way to my neck.

I hand him the cute little bag that I picked out and he pulls out a candle. "What's this?"

"Read it," I point to the label.

"Lavender Vanilla scented candle? Sounds interesting."

"It's a candle for your office. You have a lot of late nights and I thought the scent would remind you of me."

He unwraps it and sniffs the candle. "Wow, it certainly smells like you," he looks surprised.

"Mhm," I smile. "It's the scent of my body wash and regular perfume."

"Damn, I didn't know they had a candle to go with it. Thank you, love. I will definitely be using this."

He pecks my lips and reaches into the bag once more, pulling out the two protective phone cases I bought him.

"Really, baby?" he chuckles.

"Yes, because you waste too much money every two or three weeks on a new phone and I'm tired of it," I explain.

"Thank you because I would have never bought a case. Is there something else?"

"Yeah, it's just a few chocolates to restock in your office, but I'm gonna stop buying them if you keep eating them as lunch."

"Thank you," he smiles and showers me with kisses.

I giggle in response then ask, "Would you like for me to start making your lunch?" I was thinking about cooking and packing him meals because I know that's what he would rather as supposed to buying food every day.

"Baby, I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do that for me," he speaks softly.

"Seb, I don't mind, honestly. I genuinely enjoy cooking for you."

"Well, I would love that," he grins. "But if you ever feel like it's becoming an obligation then please stop."

"I know, baby and I understand."

"Good." He puts everything aside and wraps his arms around my torso. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"The whole situation that happened in Romania."

"Well, that's a way to kill the mood." I sigh, "I don't want to talk about it right now."

"I know but how are you feeling about it?"

"I'm coping."

He entangles his finger with mine and says, "You know that I'm always here for you right?"

"Yes," I say lowly.

"Can we please talk about it a little just so I have an idea of how you feel?"

"Seb, I was kidnapped," I pull away from him. "I feel like I'm in danger every time I'm alone or when you're not near me. I'm now more  alert of my surroundings, even when there is nothing to be afraid of and I refuse to make any more friends in this damn city."

"Can I touch you?" he asks.

"Yeah," I lean back into him and he soothes me by gently massaging my thighs.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here."

Tears begin to well up in my eyes. "I know, but I feel like it's my fault too. How could I be so stupid?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Do not do that," he says seriously. "It is not your fault and don't ever say that again. If anything, it's on me, so stop blaming yourself."

I nod and turn to cry into his t-shirt. A wave of emotions just hit me and now I can't stop crying.

"Do you want to skip the game night and just chill in bed?"

"Yes, please" I sniffle and cover my face. "Let me wash my face first."

He chuckles, "You look cute, baby. Come on."

I pull away and he stands up, lifting me into his arms. He looks me in the eyes and says, "I love you."

"I love you too," I respond softly.

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It's the next day and I feel much better. Seb spent the night comforting me and reassuring me that everything is going to be ok.

When I woke up this morning I felt like getting out of the house and doing something fun like shopping. And now he's taking me out.

"Baby, do you want to stop at the cafe before we go to the boutique? I know you're hungry."

"Please no," I immediately say. "I love Miss Layton but I can never go back there again."

"I understand. I'll just stop at this McDonalds over here."

Once we pull into the drive-thru, he looks over to me. "What, baby? Pay attention."

"I'd rather watch you," he releases my hand and places his hand on my thigh.

"You're annoying," I roll my eyes playfully and open my phone.

"Do you have a jacket to go with that?"

"Nope."

"Will you wear mine?" he questions.

"Nope!" I smile. He just stares at my cleavage and I say, "Seb, it's not even showing that much. You're being dramatic right now."

I snake my hand behind his neck and pull his lips to mine. "I'm glad you're feeling better today, love," he tells me.

"Baby, you can move up now," I pull away from him. There's a huge gap between us and the other car because he's so focused on me.

He kisses his teeth and squeezes my thigh.

"Don't be mad at me," I kiss his cheek and giggle. "I've been looking at a few houses in Canada, lovey and they're all gorgeous."

"Yeah? What style were you looking at?"

"Something cozy and homey like our house, but doesn't cost too much money."

"Woman, if you mention money to me again, I'm kicking you out of the house."

I laugh, "But Seb, I'm just trying to be smart about our money."

"Just show me the house you want. I don't care about the price."

"Fine. I will later."

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After eating and chilling a bit longer, we're finally at the boutique where I'll be buying my dress for the event. He finally agreed to let me go because he doesn't want to leave me home alone.

"Good afternoon! Do you guys need help with anything?" a man says from behind the counter as we walk in.

"Yes, you can actually. Is Mr. Muller around?"

"Yes Sir! He's in the back, I'll go get him for you," he responds and leaves us.

"Why is the shop so empty?" I ask, looking around.

"Because I requested it to be empty for a few hours."

"Emilian!? This is a business, you can't do that!" I whisper shout.

He presses his lips onto mine then pulls away saying, "Relax, love."

"Look. Now you have lipstick on you."

"I do?" He frantically takes out his phone to open the camera app.

"Stop! I'm kidding," I giggle.

"Ha, ha, ha, so funny," he says sarcastically and pulls me into him smiling.

"Dammit, Emmy? In public? You know I don't like PDA," I hear a familiar voice from behind us.

"Oh my gosh, Tyler!" I wave.

"What's good, Elara? How has he been treating you?"

"He's been great," I respond while admiring the beautiful dresses on display. "I didn't know you owned a boutique. This is incredible."

"Thank you, I've had it for a while now, thanks to Emilian."

"Alright, alright. Do you have the outfits I asked for?" Emilian asks.

"Yes, I do but it'll be best if Elara tries the dresses on now."

"Baby, you chose dresses for me?" I ask excitedly.

"Yes, but I'm hoping you choose one of the less revealing ones."

"Of course you do," I roll my eyes and turn to Tyler excitedly. "Show me!"

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