Chapter 755 Strolling
As much as Matt tried not to, he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious due to their silence as they strolled around the building. The silence made him feel uneasy.
This wasn't a big deal. He had played too many of these roles to know what the stroll was about. It wasn't like they were going to say anything other than ask him to be good to Candace, so what was the big deal?
Why was a grown man like him feeling so anxious? Matt mused as he decided to take the bull by the horns and break the silence himself.
Matt cleared his throat, "I know you are worried about Candace. I promise to take good care of her," he said, and both Harry and Aaron exchanged an amused look.
"Of course, you will. We don't expect anything less," Aaron said, and they continued walking in silence, making Matt frown.
"Isn't that what you both wanted to talk to me about?" Matt asked Harry in confusion.
Harry raised a brow, "Did I say anything about talking to you? I said we were going for a stroll, and that is what we are doing," Harry said simply, and Aaron chuckled.
"So, you are not going to ask me any questions or say anything to me?" Matt asked, and Harry smiled.
"Candace is most likely going to be wondering what we are talking about. That is more reason the stroll is fun," Harry said, and this time, it dawned on Matt that Harry had asked him to stroll with him just to make Candace uncomfortable.
"So, what do I say when she asks to know what we discussed? There is no way she is going to believe that it was just a stroll," Matt said, and both Aaron and Harry laughed.
"That is left for you to figure out," Harry said with a shrug.
"So, I can go in now if you have nothing else to say to me, right?" Matt asked, and Harry shook his head.
"No. Not yet. I have something to say to you," Aaron said, and Matt frowned.
"But you said you only wanted us to take a stroll," Matt reminded him.
"Harry said that, not me," Aaron said, and Matt drew a deep breath, which made both Harry and Aaron laugh since they were both enjoying messing with him.
"I'm curious about something, though. How did you manage to convince her to give in to you? I kept trying to encourage her to open up to her feelings, but she just wouldn't listen. So, how did you do it?" Aaron asked, surprising Matt, who hadn't expected that question.
Matt smiled, "I don't know. Maybe it's because I stopped trying too hard and decided to let her meet me halfway when she is ready," Matt said, and Aaron smiled in approval.
"That's good. I'm glad she finally decided to do this with you," Aaron said happily.
"Thank you," Matt said, happy that he had both Aaron's and Harry's approval.
"You do know that Candace has a lot of insecurities, don't you?" Aaron asked as he stopped walking so he could look at Matt as they spoke.
"I'm aware of that," Matt said as both he and Harry also stopped walking.
"I hope you won't add to them. Even though a part of me believes I should trust you and not say anything, I believe some things need to be said between us. When you met her, I wasn't present in her life, but now Harry and I are here. If you have any plans of hurting her or misbehaving in the future, I will suggest you don't take things further cause I won't let you be if you hurt her," Aaron said, and Harry gave Matt a dark look.
"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that I won't let you be either. She has had one bad relationship in the past. We don't want a repeat of it. I know you had a reputation for being a playboy. I'm hoping all of that is in the past, and you won't mess with her," Harry said, and Matt nodded.
"You have my word. I don't intend to mess with her," Matt promised.
"I'm saying all this because we all know about her past. As her father, I love her and accept her whichever way she is. The same goes for Harry. But you, we can't totally tell. You are a celebrity, and you might not want her past to affect you…."
"I'm sorry to cut in, but I need to make something clear to you. You are speaking of it as her past now, forgetting that I was with her even when it was her present. If I wanted to be with her while she was a stripper, why do you think I would have any problem with what people think when she is no longer a stripper? In case you don't know, she once performed for Bryan and Sonia at the club. The knowledge of her performing for my best friend didn't stop me from wanting her, so you should know that regardless of what anyone thinks or says, I remain unaffected. I already told her how I feel about her job as a stripper. She is the one who is ashamed of it, not me. I love her the way she is," Matt said, and Aaron sighed.
"I hope so," Aaron said, and Harry nodded.
"Since we are on the subject, as her boyfriend, you should know that we plan to go public soon…."
As soon as the words left his lips, Harry realized that apart from the fact that he was yet to tell Aaron and Candace about the recent developments and how Sara would be going down on Monday, there was a flaw in his plans.
He had planned that after Sara's arrest, he and Candace would go see her so that she would at least see her biological daughter and so that Candace could see her in person, too. And then Alicia would interview him and Candace, but now things wouldn't be able to go as planned because he had pushed Sara's arrest forward, Candace was going back to Sogal, and Andy would be headed for Sogal too.
"What is wrong?" Aaron asked when he saw the frown on Harry's brow.
"I just remembered something," Harry said and then looked at Matt.
"I'm sure you are dying to go back to your girlfriend. You can go in while I continue the stroll with my dad," Harry said, and Matt gave them both a nod before walking away.
Although Matt had wanted to ask Harry what he meant by saying they were going public soon, but he decided to ask Candace instead since he could tell that Harry wanted to discuss something with his father.
The moment Matt left, Harry looked at his father, who was looking at him curiously and waiting for him to speak.
"Let's go sit on the patio," Harry suggested since he didn't want his father to over-exert himself.
Once they were seated, Harry told Aaron about his plans for Sara to be arrested on Monday since he wanted to get it done with quickly so that they could move on to other things.
"Won't you say anything?" Harry asked when Aaron remained silent.
"I already told you I have no interest in any of this. Do with her as you see fit," Aaron said, and Harry nodded.
"There is something else I want us to discuss," Harry said, and Aaron looked at him as he waited for him to speak.
"It's about Andy. Candace's sister," Harry said, and Aaron nodded.
"What about her?"
"What happens when she returns? Will you be willing to adopt her as your daughter as well since she is Candace's sister?" Harry asked, and Aaron smiled.
"If she lets me do that, why not? As long as she is Candace's sister, she is my daughter, too. Besides, she risked her life to keep Candace and Jamal safe, so she is family whether or not we are related by blood," Aaron said, and Harry smiled, glad to see that his father shared his sentiment, too.
"Why did you ask?" Aaron asked, and Harry shrugged.
"I just wanted to be sure you wouldn't mind. Also, because she will be coming soon," Harry said since he believed that Aaron needed to know in advance and not be taken unaware like Candace and Jamal.
"Soon? How soon? And how did you know? Did she contact Candace again? She didn't mention it to me," Aaron said with a frown.
"The meeting I went for earlier? It was to meet with the man who took her," Harry said and went on to explain the detail of their discussion.
"Why would she need to rent her own place when my house is big enough for all of us? You know she is welcome to stay with us, right?" Aaron asked, and Harry gave him a nod.
"Yes. But we don't know if she would be comfortable…."
"What do you mean by that? It's our duty to make her comfortable. Candace wasn't very comfortable when she came either. Don't worry about it. I will make her stay," Aaron said with a confident smile, eager to see the young lady whom Candace and Jamal always talked about.
"Don't forget that it's a surprise. You can't tell Candace or Jamal about it," Harry reminded him.
"Sure. So, you will be coming with us to Sogal?" Aaron asked, and Harry nodded.
"Yeah. Jade would likely be coming too," Harry said, and Aaron grinned.
"That is nice. I'm going to have a full house. I bought a house with too many bedrooms even when I had a son who never liked to stay home. It's good to know that I now have a large family to fill the place," Aaron said happily.
"And all that is left is a wife," Harry said, and Aaron nodded.
"Yes. The moment you get married…."
"I was talking about you, not me. You should get married," Harry said, and Aaron shook his head.
"I'm not interested in women anymore," he said, and Harry raised a brow.
"What? You're interested in men now?" Harry asked, and Aaron laughed out loud.
"Don't worry, dad. I'm okay with any partner of your choice as long as it's not an animal," Harry said with a grin, and Aaron laughed harder.
"What? Is this some sort of payback?" Aaron asked since he knew that Harry was only repeating what he had told him some time ago before he started dating Jade (chapter 186).
"You deserve to be happy, Dad," Harry said, and Aaron smiled.
"You have no idea how happy I am, Harry. I am very happy," Aaron assured him.
"You know what I mean, Dad. You should find love again," Harry said, and Aaron shook his head.
"Love doesn't come easy to everyone. I've used up all the love I have. No, I'm content in watching my kids."
"What about companionship? Even if you won't do it for love, do it so you will have a companion. I don't want you to be lonely." Harry insisted.
"I'm not lonely. Right now, I think it is impossible for me to be lonely. I have you, Candace, Jamal, and Andy. And once you get married to Jade, I will have Jade and more grandkids. And if Matt gets married to Candace, I will have Matt and more grandkids. And not to talk about the Hanks as well as Lucy's family too. See?" Aaron asked with a happy smile.
"And just so you know, it is wrong to marry someone just because you don't want to be lonely. It's the same as using a person. No one deserves that," Aaron said, and Harry sighed in resignation.
"I didn't say you should use anyone. You can easily find someone who feels the same way, and you can both use each other," Harry muttered, and Aaron chuckled.
"Thanks for being so concerned about your old man, but you don't have to worry. I'm okay. I'm going to be too busy caring for my daughters and grandson to feel bored or lonely," Aaron assured him.
"What about me?" Harry asked with a frown.
"What about you?" Aaron asked with an amused smile.
"You no longer care about me because the family has increased?" Harry asked, and Aaron nodded.
"Yes. Now I can finally pay you back for all those years you refused to make out time to visit me," Aaron said with a chuckle, and Harry chuckled, too.
"Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Let's go in," Harry said, and they both rose and headed inside.
Harry walked into the bedroom and chuckled when Jade jumped out from behind the door to scare him.
"You can't even act like you're scared?" Jade asked with a scowl.
"If your man, who is supposed to protect you, jumps back in fear, will you love me the same?" Harry asked, and Jade rolled her eyes.
"What took you so long, anyway? Do you have any idea how long I've been standing behind that door to scare you? I've been here since Matt came in, and I thought you would come in soon," she said as she went to sit on the bed.
"Sorry, had to tell me dad about tomorrow. You know, Sara'a's arrest," he explained as he walked over to her.
"Shouldn't you be happy to see me?" Harry asked as he kissed the crook of her neck, and Jade pressed her lips together to stop herself from smiling or laughing as she turned her face away from him.
"I know you're only pretending to be mad," Harry said as he nibbled on her ear. and this time, Jade giggled as her arms quickly went around him, and she pulled him on top of her so that he lay on her as she fell back on the bed.
Harry chuckled as he tried not to let his entire weight rest on her, "Did you miss me?"
"You know I did. I can't wait for us to go back and I spend the rest of the week alone with you in your place. Uninterrupted," She said, and Harry winced.
"What?" Jade asked with a frown when she noticed the awkward smile on his face.
"About that…."
"You better not tell me you changed your mind. I won't accept it, Jonas," Jade said as he got off her, and she sat up.
"I was hoping we could go to Sogal with my Dad and Candace. That way, you get to also see my bedroom and my childhood pictures," Harry suggested.
"And before you decline, you should know that we will only be spending one or two nights there. I just want to see everyone settle in," Harry said, and Jade looked at him for a moment.
"Alright. Let's do that," She said, and Harry raised a brow.
"Just like that?" He asked, surprised that she had agreed so easily.
"What do you mean? Am I supposed to argue with you over it? I'm not illogical, Jonas. They are your family, so it's okay if you want to travel with them and make sure they settle in since Candace and Jamal will be moving in with your dad," she said, and Harry smiled.
"Thanks for being so understanding. I was worried you might be upset," he admitted, and she gave him a pointed look.
"Just so you know, I'm not going to count the two days in Sogal as part of the time I was to spend with you in your apartment. This means I'm going to stay longer at your apartment," she said, and Harry chuckled.
"You can stay for a week. But you're not moving in with me fully," he said, and she smirked.
"Yet," she enunciated, and he grinned
"Yeah. Yet. I love you, esquire," Harry said, and Jade grinned.
"You have no choice. Not when I'm so sweet and lovable," she said, making Harry chuckle.
As he watched Jade, he hoped she would not be broken afresh by Lawrence's death during the funeral since he knew very well that she had been distracted from the pain of the loss only because of all the drama that had taken place.
"What?" Jade asked when she noticed the way he was staring at her with concern.
"Tomorrow is the funeral. Will you be fine?" He asked, and she sighed.
"It's not like I have a choice. Although it is still hard to accept that he is gone, but nothing can be done about it," Jade said, and Harry kissed her forehead.
"I'm here for you. So you can cry all you want. My shoulder is here, and I will have spare hankies for you," he promised.
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