Chapter 117: Chapter 117 Morning After Drama
Elara
My fork clattered against the plate as I tried to focus on my meal.
This had to be the most awkward breakfast I’d ever experienced.
Nancy sat to my left, eyes downcast and completely silent as she pushed food around her plate.
Across from us, both Yardley and Orion stared at her with undisguised interest, though for entirely different reasons.
Meanwhile, Dominic seemed determined to put on a show of affection.
"Sweetheart, hand me your phone," Dominic requested casually.
I raised an eyebrow at him, suspicious of that innocent tone. Nothing good ever came from Dominic sounding that casual.
I passed it to him, wondering what he was up to. With deliberate smugness, he flipped both our phones over, showcasing matching couple phone cases.
Dominic held them up like trophies, a satisfied smirk spreading across his face.
"Orion, aren’t these awesome?" Dominic asked, his lips quirking up at the corners.
Orion wrinkled his nose. "Uncle Dominic, that’s so lame."
His brutal honesty made me want to laugh. Clearly, matching phone cases ranked somewhere between dad jokes and cargo shorts on his cool scale.
Yardley barely spared the phones a glance before returning to his coffee, apparently above such trivial displays of affection.
Nancy, being the polite guest, offered a strained smile. "The phone cases are cute."
But her voice came out flat and hollow, like she was reading from a script. Her knuckles were white where she gripped her fork.
Her comment was so obviously forced that Dominic frowned slightly.
I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he realized his romantic gesture had fallen completely flat.
I kicked him under the table, hard enough to make my point.
"Ow! What was that for, mate?" He rubbed his leg with exaggerated pain. "Don’t be shy about showing off our couple stuff."
I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole. Could this morning get any more uncomfortable?
Thankfully, Dominic seemed to sense he’d pushed far enough and backed off.
Nancy set down her fork first, clearly eager to escape.
"I’m finished," she announced, carefully avoiding Yardley’s intense gaze. "Elara, thank you for last night. I’m sorry for being such a mess. I should head to work now—I’ll explain my absence to HR."
Our cars were still parked outside the bar from last night, which complicated matters.
"Don’t worry about work," I quickly reassured her. "I’ve already called in and got you a personal day. You should rest and recover before going back tomorrow."
Gratitude flickered across Nancy’s face. "Thank you."
"I can have our family driver take you home," I offered.
"Actually, I’m heading back downtown anyway," Yardley suddenly spoke, breaking his silence for the first time during the meal. "I can give Nancy a ride."
Nancy looked like she wanted to refuse. "I wouldn’t want to trouble you, Mr. Wolfe."
His response was clipped and brooked no argument. "No trouble at all."
His tone was so commanding that Nancy seemed at a loss for how to decline.
Dominic’s lips curved into a subtle smile. "Don’t worry about it. Our driver needs to take me to the office later anyway. Let my brother save you the hassle."
"Public service is what he lives for," he added with a mischievous glint in his eye.
Yardley shot his brother a death glare, his lips pressed into a thin line. He stood and grabbed his jacket. "Let’s go."
"Well... thank you," Nancy reluctantly followed him.
Orion’s eyes widened. His little legs carried him quickly across the room. "Dad, I want to go with you too!"
His face lit up with excitement, bouncing on his toes as he reached for Yardley’s hand.
To his surprise, Yardley actually refused. "You have soccer practice this afternoon. Let Uncle Dominic take you. It’s too early to go now. Be good, Orion. We’re leaving."
Yardley’s voice was gentler when addressing his son, but still firm. He ruffled Orion’s hair apologetically.
Just like that, Orion watched his father drive away with "Aunt Nancy," leaving him behind.
The little boy stood frozen by the window, watching the car disappear down the driveway.
His bottom lip started trembling, and he burst into tears, running back to me to complain. "Aunt Elara, Dad is so mean! He won’t let me ride in his car!"
Huge crocodile tears rolled down his chubby cheeks as he threw his arms around my waist.
And worse, he’d taken away his precious Miss Nancy!
I could practically see the betrayal written all over his little face.
I fought back a smile and handed him a tissue. "Maybe your dad was really in a hurry?"
Even as the words left my mouth, I knew how ridiculous they sounded.
Dominic scooped Orion up before departing. "Get some rest this afternoon. You barely slept last night."
