'She isn't an artifact to store on your shelf until you get bored of it.' Ean's words hit Alvin a little harder than they should.
Was he considering the lady as an artifact he was fascinated about?
He was always attracted to the things which were rare and unique of their kind. The Young Mommy definitely fitted that list according to him, she wasn't like other women he met. She makes him feel grounded and light which he hadn't felt in the past five years. In the past five years of rigorous and nonstop work, the first time he craved to pause and breathe after meeting her.
Was he selfish to desire some more time? If he was, then he wanted to be more greedy and pause his life there and enjoy it. So the young lady resting in his bedroom wasn't really the lifeless thing he excavated.
"Hadn't you left her back? Why did you kidnap her?" Bernard's irritated question followed by Ean's high-pitched voice brought Alvin back to reality, "Kidnap!?" The revelation blew Ean's mind.
Alvin stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn't kidnap her, if he had followed Bernad's plan then that would have been a kidnapping. He saved her when Harper's men were going to make her life a living hell.
"Uncle Bernard," He uttered slowly and coldly as he turned his gaze to Bernard, "Who planned 'HER' kidnapping?" He stressed the word 'Her' to let them know he couldn't be tricked so easily.
Bernard: "..."
Alvin glanced at his friend and walked towards the stairs, "Find the mole." His words were more like an order when he walked away.
Bernard was working on finding the mole so his attention went on 'Her.' He glanced at Ean who was probably in the same dilemma as him, "Ean, do you think he identified Anya?"
Ean watched Alvin ascend the last steps before he disappeared from their sight, "President Collins, Alvin is definitely not a fool."
Taking Alvin's personality, he wasn't pressing them to tell about Anya because their actions were already giving them out. Alvin was probably mentally preparing himself to accept what he had long found out.
'Perhaps having an internal argument if he was wishing for Puffyball or the lady…' Ean shifted his bewildered gaze on Bernard, "President Collins, is Anya Owen a divorcee? A widow? Or had a child out of wedlock?"
Bernard paused his thoughts on the mole and became confused about how does that matters to Ean or Alvin, "Why are you asking this?"
Ean smoothly revealed all his thoughts to Bernard as the latter was like a father figure to Alvin, "I guess this idiot has fallen for her… Probably five years ago and hadn't realized it." Even after completing their graduation, Alvin hardly missed any day and frequently dropped by at the university library for her.
'I suppose... He still doesn't understand yet.' Ean felt like pulling his hair out.
Bernard didn't know if he should be happy or not. He liked Anya and wished somebody like her to be his daughter-in-law but Zane's presence had stopped him. So he wasn't sure how to react to Alvin liking Anya.
"Anya has a son." She rejected her suitors for five years who were ready to accept her with Zane. She would never put her son at any kind of disadvantage. So Bernard thought Alvin might not succeed in wooing her.
Back in his mind, Bernard was aware that he honestly didn't like the idea of Alvin looking after somebody's child. Although he didn't judge Anya for having a baby, he wasn't ready to let society judge Alvin and their family due to her. "Chairman Matthews will never agree."
Ean shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back on the couch. Alvin's father would spit fire on Alvin and Anya, "A big battle is up ahead."
Bernard sighed. He left the mansion soon after. Ean who was sitting on the couch ran out and saw the car drive away. "Damn, I forgot to ask why Alvin kidnapped Puffyball… Puffyball doesn't suit her anymore." He mumbled to himself and also left the mansion to work on bringing the Johnsons ship back to the port.
----
Upstairs, Alvin crossed his arms over his chest while leaning on the door of his bedroom. He wasn't sure if it was her habit that she sleeps with her hand aside as if holding somebody.
He didn't consider it could be her son because as far as he could recall, he had a big room all for himself from a very young age. Her son was old enough in his view.
He went inside the room after a few seconds. With a slide of his fingers on her forehead, he brushed the hair away from her face. He had a question to ask, 'Why are you hiding from me?'
Yet he wasn't ready for the response because she might loathe him due to his family.
After losing his startup, he was so busy building himself powerful and unbreakable from his father that she had disappeared from his memories.
'Alvin Matthews,' she used to take his full name only when she was angry. The moment she uttered his name, he knew his guess was right and she was the chubby girl who admired him for who he was unlike his looks or money. She never bothered to request or ask anything apart from working on software and helping her learn to hack. She was the only person he ever got envious of.
He didn't have the power to protect himself in the past, but now the time was different, he could keep her safe from everyone, including his family.
Anya, who had no idea about his family or what was going on in Alvin's mind, was sleeping peacefully. When she woke up, she didn't react immediately. She slowly opened her eyes. The room was dimly lit, her eyes traced the room that was in her sight. Nobody was in there. She flipped as if she was still sleeping. She noticed there was no one in the room.
Getting off the bed quickly and silently, she shivered standing on the cold floor after leaving the warmness of the duvet. Without wasting time, she stretched herself and found she was all fine and wasn't sleepy anymore.
The other reason why she chose to sleep in Alvin's room was so she could steal his clothes before escaping. She tiptoed to the walk-in closet. She grabbed a knitted sweatshirt and a thick jacket. When she wore them, she was speechless, looking at them reaching her thighs. 'Oh crap, what about pants and shoes?'
She had to pick pants that had drawstrings, yet it was too big for her. She felt like stealing her father's clothes when she was young. Although she could manage with pants, shoes were impossible to fit.
'Is he a monster? Why are his feet so big?' She cried to herself. Putting on socks, she told herself to make do with the home slippers.
Pushing the door open very slowly, she stepped out of the room, to the balcony. It was dark, the lights of the mansion gave enough light for her. So she closed the door and checked around. She spotted no one. She easily and carefully climbed out of the balcony and held the pipe that was attached to the wall.
Successfully she passed the first and easiest phase of her escape. The second was sneaking out of the estate without falling into anybody's eyes. The third was leaving the regency and taking a taxi.
She made her way towards the exit of the mansion while being careful about anyone patrolling in the huge estate. After walking twenty minutes, she saw there were guards at the main gates.
Her gaze calmly traveled by the wall and spotted a tree near to it. She could jump over it. Shoving the slipper into the pocket, she climbed the tree, struggling a little. Then jumped on the wall scratching her palm in the process.
The wall was too tall but she had no choice. She sat down and held the corners of the wall and suspended herself. Then she slowly left the wall and jumped to the ground without making noise or attracting any attention.
"That's quite an adventure." She mumbled in satisfaction, breathing out a long sigh of relief.
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