Chapter 246: House tour
’’Eh... Elsa is cool.’’
’’Oh?" Daisy glanced at Ryle.
’’Daisy... you... are you jealous of a fictional character?" Ivy zipped her mouth when Daisy shot her a calm look.
"_"
’’Do I need to be?" Daisy crossed her arms in front of her chest, the temperature in the living room dropping by a few degrees.
’’Hmm.. I hope I am not interrupting anything here,’’ Caleb walked out of the kitchen, ’’The dinner will be ready in some time. Are you guys bored?" The man’s charming face looked rather awkward as he said that.
’’It has been quite some time since I received guests so I am not very good at this. Why don’t you tell me what you want to do? I can make some arrangements."
’’There is no need. We are comfortable here,’’ Daisy said.
Ivy nodded, ’’In fact, there is something. But I am not sure if you will agree to it.’’
Caleb chuckled for a moment, ’’Go ahead. Tell me,’’ he arched an eyebrow.
’’I had walked off to the opposite hallway while on a call and I discovered that your house is not as small as it looks from the outside. How about we explore around for a bit?" Ivy blinked.
Caleb stiffened but his expressions turned to normal before anyone could notice, ’’That...’’
’’Yes, that would be good, if you don’t mind,’’ Daisy chimed in, her gaze fleetingly settling on Ryle before she looked back at Caleb.
Caleb paused for a moment. His fingers briefly clenched into fists by his sides. After a brief moment, he nodded slowly, ’’Sure, go ahead,’’ he said softly.
’’I’ll pass,’’ Ryle calmly said the moment everyone’s gaze settled on him.
Ryle simply did not want to go. It was probably one of the rarest times when he was trying to not pay attention to Daisy.
He could see her little efforts in cozying up to him or else there was no way in hell she would be interested in roaming around in someone’s house. Not that Caleb’s house was bad, it looked rather ancient, like an antique piece but Daisy was simply not cut for such idle things.
If she had some time in hand, she would rather spend it with Angel and him. Fine, with Angel. As for him, he liked to be delusional enough to have the audacity to think that he was also there in the equation.
But back to, he could feel everyone’s gaze on him however he did not move his gaze from the telly, looking at Elsa with such sharp focus as if it was him who had lent her the magic she was using.
Ivy’s words were still fresh in his mind. She claimed Daisy was jealous of a fictional character. He would not be deluded enough to follow that trail of thought but her attempts of seeking his attention seemed to have sent his heart fluttering to faraway lands.
Even Angel had gotten distracted from her favorite movie at some point and she was trying to slide off his lap.
’’Baby, do you wanna explore Grandpa’s place?"
Caleb, who had been standing distracted, snapped to his senses when he heard that, ’’Girl, I would have taken grave offense at you for making me a grandpa as I don’t look like one at all,’’ he complained but his eyes softened when he glanced at little Angel.
If... If things had played out differently in the past, then he probably would have been a grandfather by now...
’’But you don’t seem offended at all. You look flattered,’’ Ivy remarked.
’’You have such a sleek mouth. Did you forget I am your superior?"
Ivy blinked innocently, ’’Last time I treated you like a superior, you solemnly told me I should behave well and not make it sound like you are an old goat. Oh, you even told me you are at the peak of your youth and you could pass off as an intern if you tried to...’’
"Enough!" Caleb pinched the spot between his brows. These little hellions... ’’Are you going or not?"
Daisy quirked a brow and glanced at Angel.
Angel leaned her head on Ryle’s chest, looking at her mother with her wide eyes.
The pair’s eyes met and Angel blinked as she struggled to get down from Ryle’s lap.
Ryle sighed and reluctantly let her down. But who could have thought that as soon as her feet touched the floor, the girl did not walk away from him. Instead, she turned around and reached towards his hand.
Her small hand seemed to try to envelope his hand in a series of futile attempts before she gave up and wrapped all her fingers around his little finger instead. Her entire palm still looked tiny against his finger.
’’Tour...’’ the girl mumbled.
Ryle choked on air, snapping out of the trance he had fallen in because of her cute antics.
’’You want to go around house touring?" Daisy asked the little girl, sounding as innocent and genuinely curious as she did so.
Angel bobbed her head up and down as if she took the cue right away.
Both mother-daughter duo looked at Ryle with bright and expectant eyes.
And Ryle knew he was so utterly doomed when wordlessly, he pushed himself up to his feet. His body slightly inclined to Angel’s side so that she could continue holding onto his finger.
’’Let me grab the keys to that room,’’ Caleb disappeared in the direction of the hallways and appeared within two minutes, holding a bunch of keys in his hand.
In that time, Angel seemed to have lost control of Ryle as she trotted over to her mother’s side before eventually being carried up by Ivy.
Unlike how Angel usually lazed around when she was in his arms, she was unusually active while being carried up by Ivy. Both talked to each other in some incomprehensible whispers, that Ryle could not decipher even when he paid attention to it.
Not that he was all that interested but it was his attempt at trying to not look at the woman who had subtly taken a few steps back to stand by his side.
