"Done yet?" Amy asked as she walked into the room from the bathroom.
"One more", Zach answered as he covered Roserie in layers of blankets.
She had just changed her diaper and had gone into the bathroom to get rid of it. Zach picked her up as Amy joined him to go downstairs for breakfast.
"Is she asleep?" Amy asked from beside him.
"She's awake", Zach answered after glancing down at Roserie.
"She's quiet", Amy commented as she looked over and soon found out why. "Oh."
The little one had placed her some of her fingers in her mouth. Amy removed them and traced her index finger around Roserie's mouth. She opened her little mouth a little too eagerly.
"She's hungry", Zach commented with a chuckle.
"Again", Amy complained. The child never stopped feeding. As soon as Amy removed her finger, Roserie started crying.
She took the crying baby from her father and patted her little bottom as she shushed her. They were now approaching the dining room. The maids were serving the older couples and Suzy and Trevor on the table while the latter chatted about among themselves.
"Edmund, set our breakfast in the living room", Zach said.
"Good morning", Victoria sung as she walked over to Amy to kiss her granddaughter on the forehead. "Awwwwww... What's wrong with my grand baby?"
"She's hungry", Amy said.
"Go on and feed her. And you need to eat too", Victoria said.
"I'll check on you afterwards", Suzy said.
"Me too", Stella said.
"Edmund", Victoria started as she walked back to her seat. "Do you know if Xavier already left for work? The girls are almost done here."
"Master Xavier didn't come home last night", he answered politely.
"Did he say why?" She was now frowning as she sat down.
"He didn't call the house", he said.
This got her worried even more. She looked to Zach who had his brows furrowed too. "I'll call him."
They left for the living room. Amy finally sat down to feed Roserie who stopped crying as soon as she was given her food. Zach was sat next to her and took out his phone to dial for his brother.
"Thought you'd call", Xavier answered in amusement.
"What happened?"
"I'll be staying here in Albany for a while. There are a few things I need to sort out. And don't worry about work, I've got that sorted out", he said more calmly.
"You sure?" Zach guessed it was serious. And whatever it is, it had to do with Lorraine.
"Yes. Don't worry. How's Amy?"
Zach didn't respond and put him on speaker instead. He brought the phone closer to Amy so she could speak.
"Hey Xavier", she said softly as she looked back down at Roserie.
"How are you doing today? And how's my niece?"
"We're doing alright. So how was your date?" She asked in a sing-songy way with a smile.
"Do you guys ever hide anything from each other?" He grumbled knowing he had only told Zach about his whereabouts from the day before.
"Nope", they answered in unison and smiled at each other. Zach pecked her lips twice making her giggle.
"I'm still here", Xavier complained. Then he cleared his throat. "By the way, is this a good time to ask you about that stuff I asked?"
"Yeah, about that", she started. The maids had long set their meal on the coffee table and it was just her and Zach. The latter started to serve them their food as she took over holding the phone whilst feeding Roserie.
"I can't guarantee whether those girls are dead or alive, but I'm ninety percent sure that Greco took them for the clinical trials", she said.
Zach cut a piece of bread garlic bread and brought it to her lips. She bit into it and he wiped the corners of her mouth before throwing the rest of the piece in his mouth.
"Shoot. But if they are alive....."
"Xavier, I'm going to be honest with you. These people are dangerous. They definitely would not like having any loose ends. Whether experimenting on these girls was successful or not, I don't think they'll see the light of day at the end."
Xavier was quiet as he digested this bitter truth. He felt bad for Lorraine who had been tirelessly working to find them. Of all people, it had to be the Dark Waters.
"Hey, I could be wrong. We'll know when it's time", she said as Zach fed her again. From his silence, she could guess Xavier's line of thought.
"Okay."
"Hang up if you're done", Zach said with seriousness. He didn't want her talking and eating at the same time. She was already feeding their daughter.
"Geez. Bye sis! Kiss Roserie for me."
"Will do. Bye."
Amy shook her head as Zach put away the phone. She found his antics quite amusing yet charming. She thought he would stop feeding her since she was no longer on the phone but she was wrong. He continued with his job.
"You're enjoying this too much", he commented.
"I'm being fed by a hot guy, of course I should enjoy it", she said before opening her mouth for him to feed her.
He looked at her and shook his head. This woman sure loved being spoiled by him and he was not complaining. Her phone chimed and he got it for her.
George: Joanne is insisting on being discharged.
Amy frowned at this. She could already picture how stubborn the woman was as she knew her to be. So she used her free hand and gave a response.
Amy: Let her do as she pleases.
Back in West Village
George sighed when he saw Amy's response. Even Alice could not convince the woman otherwise. The latter was tired of being confined to a hospital bed. She would rather be back at the orphanage.
"I'll go process your discharge papers", he said with evident disapproval.
"Thank you dear", Joanne said sweetly.
This just made Alice dislike him more. She would rather have Joanne stay in hospital than back at the orphanage. In no time, they left the hospital. George drove them using his car as they sat at the back. He could not help but throw worried glances at the older woman up until they reached the orphanage.
"You can go back now", Alice said as she helped Joanne out of the car.
"Sister Moon is right", Joanne agreed when she saw George was about to disagree. His disappointment was clear on his features with her agreement. "Go home and rest. You can come back tomorrow to check on me. I know you haven't been sleeping well and it must have been hard staying in one room with two women."
"I'll check on you tonight", he promised and Joanne nodded. He looked at Alice who immediately looked away.
Ignoring her, he helped bring in their luggage. Some sisters came to receive them and help George. When he saw she was settled in, he left the orphanage on his way back to the hotel he was staying at.
He took a road that led him to pass by the construction site and saw it coming along much quicker. It reminded him of the work he had left behind. He sighed and his stomach growled. Since he was already in town, he decided to stop by the supermarket and get a few things.
He stopped by the biggest supermarket in West Village and parked there. He took a cart and pushed it to the food section. He was still debating whether to cook or get frozen food.
"Come ooooon. She's totally checking you out, go for her", a woman whispered from behind the shelf George was. He stopped to pick up a can of beans, that voice... it sounded familiar.
"Leave me alone", a young man grumbled.
"How long are you going to be hang up on Emily? She has a man and a whole baby now", she grumbled.
"Look who's talking", the young man scoffed.
"Hey, this isn't about me", she sounded annoyed.
George found himself scoffing in amusement as he walked on. She was giving advice that she herself needed, what a funny woman.
"Then go for her", the young man said.
"She's not my type. I like the ones...."
George couldn't hear anything else and found himself walking to that isle to find the woman describing in a whisper and with her hands the type of women she was into. The young man moved away as he was clearly embarrassed while she laughed. George finally got a good look at her and stopped in shock.
"Nora...?"
"You...", She was also shocked from where she stood with a cart full of groceries. She recovered and grew annoyed. "Are you stalking me?"
The young man beside her was Ian, still in his bangs that shielded his eyes. He stopped to give a curious look at his aunt's 'stalker'. George wasn't bothered by this. He was shocked by one thing and found himself disappointed.
"You're into women?" He asked with brows raised.
Nora found herself laughing seeing his expression. She walked over to him and looked him straight in the eye as her eyes shone in amusement.
"I like.... a little bit of both", she whispered in his face seductively and looked at his chest to trace a finger before looking up at him. "Why?"
One word came to his mind in that moment: shit.
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on (f)reew𝒆(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦