Chapter 180: Ah, look what the jaws of fate dragged in
Alyssa was startled, not that Olivia’s strength could actually move her, and so she fell on Roland, her eyes looking into his as he caught her with his arm around her waist.
Her heart raced and before they knew it, the photographer caught the perfect moment.
"Now, there’s the couple vibe." He said and then Roland looked at his hand holding hers.
Her hand was soft despite having trained in martial arts all her life. How was that? Or was it just him?
"S-sorry," she said, and wanted to get out of his hold, but he held on tighter for some reason. "Roland?"
"Ah," he quickly realized what he was doing and let go. "It was so sudden." He simply said and said nothing more.
Alyssa looked at her hand and pressed her lips together. Yes, it was so sudden.
Michael and Noah watched the romcom and then cleared their throats. Something was brewing between those two but they just didn’t want to check it.
They were ignoring it. They weren’t kids anymore. Couldn’t they just face these things without beating around the bush?
Michael shook his head and sighed. Then, he turned his head to the side, only for his eyes to lock on a figure ahead.
He was shocked.
No, was he just imagining things?
"Noah?" He called.
"What is it?"
"Am I imagining things or do I see a white haired guy carrying a white haired child over there?" As soon as he asked this, Noah’s gaze shot in that direction and his eyes widened.
Steven.
And in his arms, his little boy, Josh, stayed comfortable.
Josh clutched a Mickey balloon with his little hand while his bright green eyes flicked curiously over the crowd, until they landed on Olivia. His face lit up instantly, as if it were the moment he was waiting for.
And then, this quiet child, who rarely spoke at home, raised his voice for the first time as he called out,
"Olivia!"
He didn’t want them to miss him. After all, this was the reason he wanted to come here anyway.
Olivia froze for half a second before turning to see Josh. Her lips immediately curled up into a hearty smile as she called out as well.
"Josh? Papa, look. It’s Josh."
Yes, it was ’the’ Josh.
"Olivia?" Steven was surprised that not only did his son yell, but he also called the name of that very girl, the daughter of Alpha Noah.
And then he looked ahead, only to find them up ahead.
"Ah, look what the jaws of fate dragged in."
Michael’s jaw clenched and Noah’s hand moved to touch Olivia’s shoulder, as if getting ready to hold her back if she planned to run off.
Steven’s gaze was cool and unreadable, glancing from Noah to Michael, just long enough to make the air feel heavy.
Alyssa held her hands tight, feeling the pressure. So, this was the Alpha of the Red Moon Pack. He didn’t fall short at all.
"Well," Steven said, his tone calm but edged with something sharp. "What a coincidence."
Michael didn’t answer right away. The noise of the park must’ve been getting to him but he couldn’t believe this was a mere coincidence.
"First, you move next door, then your son somehow enrolls in my daughter’s school, and now this?" Noah gnashed his teeth. "Do you think this is a coincidence?"
"Believe it or not, this time it is."
So, he was silently admitting that he planned everything else.
"And how do you think we can trust your words?" Michael asked.
"I..." Josh suddenly began to speak, his voice silent but loud enough for them to hear and he fiddled with the balloon he was holding. "I told Daddy I wanted to come."
Michael frowned.
"You see. There’s my alibi."
"Did you really make your kid say that?" Michael asked. "You’d use him even for this?"
"Gosh, don’t paint me to be a criminal. We’ll be in-laws soon." He grinned and Noah frowned, stepping forward. "Mind your words."
"But it’s true, isn’t it?" He asked, his eyes glancing down to Olivia who was looking at Josh with a blush on her cheek. "And if you don’t believe me, let’s ask Josh. I didn’t know why he suddenly asked me to take him to Disneyland yesterday, but I never question my child if his requests are reasonable."
"Is it reasonable for your kid to suddenly ask you to take him to Disneyland?" Michael asked, folding his arms.
"Of course. We’ve been here a few times anyway. It’s understandable if he wants to come back every time he remembers the place." He looked at Olivia. "Isn’t that the same for your little one?"
"This is Olivia’s first time in Disneyland," Noah said. "And I would like it to be without any nuisance."
"Oh, come on. I said it was a coincidence. Come on, ask him." Steven said. "I’m starting to wonder why he wanted to come and how we ended up meeting each other."
All eyes fell on Josh who wriggled in Steven’s arms. He looked at the adults watching him and buried his face.
He was too shy.
"And how do you expect us to ask a kid as shy as him?"
"Then why don’t you have your kid ask him?"
Michael wondered if Steven was really manipulating all this. Because Josh looked genuinely shy, and if he was asked to do all this, he wouldn’t make Steven lose face and say his lines well.
But he was shy, a genuine trait of a child in front of strangers. Well, most children. Olivia was an exception.
And Steven looked to care for his son very well, given how he was always carrying him. If he only saw him as a political tool and didn’t care about his own desire, he would never pay much attention to him.
"Josh, do you want me to place you down?"
Josh looked down at Olivia, whose eyes were twinkling at his balloon. He looked at the balloon in his hand and nodded.
"Here you go." He placed Josh down till he stood on his feet and he shyly stood in front of Olivia, shorter than her despite being a few months older.
(Josh is five years old but he’s not a full year older than Olivia, who’s going to be five soon, so he’s not much older. Only by a few months)
They fixed their eyes on the shy boy and then saw as he stretched his balloon towards Olivia.
"Do... Do you want it?" He asked and she nodded.
"Yes, but what about you?" She asked him. "If you give me that, you won’t have one for yourself."
"It... It’s okay." He said, blushing. "I want to give it to you. And... My Daddy can get me a new one later."
"Then, thank you for this." She said and took it from him, smiling brightly. "Thank you, Josh."
Josh blushed, fidgeting with his fingers.
"Awn, look at that young love bloom," Steven said but the gloom coming from Michael and Noah didn’t seem like they were in support of this so-called young love.
"Olivia," Michael called, and she returned to him, showing him the balloon.
"Look what Josh gave me, Papa." First, it was a drawing, and now a balloon? What was this? A circus?
He felt defeated because his daughter was so happy but sighed and let it go.
"Olivia, can you ask Josh why he came to Disneyland today?" He whispered to her.
"Didn’t he come to have fun like me?" She innocently asked.
"Well, he probably has other reasons. Just ask him."
It looked like the only way to get him to talk was to make his crush ask him.
"Josh, Josh," she skipped back to him. "Why did you come to Disneyland today?" She asked, and Josh shook his head, his face heating up. "What? No reason?"
Michael’s eyes darted to Noah’s. No words passed between them as they silently listened to the kids, but the same thought was loud in both their heads.
They would definitely get the truth from the kid since he wouldn’t want to lie to his crush. They would use this as a weapon, huhuhu.
Steven watched calmly because he had nothing to hide to begin with and simply watched them.
"Do you want the truth?" He asked her softly and she nodded.
"Yes, please. I don’t like lies because they deceive me."
Josh heard this and nodded.
"Yesterday, Olivia said she was coming to Disneyland today." He said and they all paid attention to hear the ’truth’. "So, I thought if I came with Papa today, I’ll see Olivia in Disneyland as well and... and..." He blushed. "We can play together."
"Ah, is that true?" She asked and he nodded. "You wanted to play with me that badly?" Once again, he nodded.
Steven looked up and gave them a knowing glance.
"I told you I had no hand in this." He said and folded his arms. "My boy definitely knows what he wants."
Michael saw that this was not a scheme so he wasn’t that worried. It was just two innocent kids sharing innocent feelings.
Wait, it was innocent, right?
