Chapter 126: The Mountain Estate
Moana
I agreed to sleep with Edrick that night. Even though I was still a bit upset by what he had said the night before, I couldn’t deny the fact that I missed him and wanted his company, especially after the fact that he saved Ella and myself from the paparazzi.
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of the shower water turning off. Edrick was already awake, and before my eyes were even fully open, he came out of the bathroom in his robe with his toothbrush in his mouth.
“Rise and shine,” he said, his mouth full of toothpaste as he rifled through his dresser drawers. “We’re leaving in an hour. You should go and pack.”
I sat up and furrowed my brow. It was still early; I knew that he had planned on leaving for the mountain estate today, but not this early. Nonetheless, I obliged and quickly rushed over to my bedroom to pack some clothes and toiletries for the upcoming few days. I packed my painting supplies and my small travel easel as well, just in case I did decide to do some painting after all.
Within the hour, all of us were packed and ready to go. Selina helped Ella pack while I got ready, so there was no lag in our preparation time. Soon enough, all of us — including Selina and the maids — were piled into the car and on our way out of the city.
“I love the mountain house!” Ella exclaimed, swinging her legs happily as Edrick drove. She had a little breakfast sandwich in her tiny hands from the bakery downstairs from the penthouse; Edrick had purchased all of us something to eat there, as we didn’t have time to eat breakfast and deal with cleaning up before we left. Once again, I was immensely grateful for the Alpha billionaire’s sudden kindness, and I was even more surprised that he still wasn’t even remotely bothered by the paparazzi incident the day before.
The ride to the mountain estate took a lot of winding and twisting roads that slowly led us up into the mountains. I could feel the air in the car begin to cool down the higher we got, which was refreshing.
But at the same time, I felt myself become motion sick from all of the twists and the turns.
When I had driven up to the mountain estate before, on the day of my interview, the road hadn’t bothered me at all. In fact, I loved the drive, and the view was amazing. However, now that I was pregnant and prone to nausea, I felt sick the entire way despite Edrick’s careful driving.
Finally, however, we reached the mountain estate before I threw up. I was relieved to finally get out of the car as quickly as possible and breathe in the sweet, chilly mountain air.
While the maids took our bags in, I took my time to walk up to the front door of the mansion. It was a huge and sprawling Tudor-style mansion that overlooked the mountain range, surrounded by tall pine trees on all sides. The pebbled walkway was lined with fountains and statues that were covered in moss, and I paused to look at one of them.
“I should have someone clean these off,” Edrick said suddenly, picking at a bit of the moss and looking at it between his fingers.
My eyes widened and I turned toward him, shaking my head vigorously. “No!” I said. “Don’t clean it off. The moss is beautiful.”
Edrick raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he said.
I nodded. “It makes everything look so lush and natural. Leave it alone. Please?”
Edrick paused, then shrugged. “I guess you’re right,” he replied thoughtfully. “Maybe I will leave it alone.”
When we walked into the mansion, Selina and the maids ran around in a frenzy opening up windows and curtains. Meanwhile, Ella ran about wildly, pounding her feet on the wooden floors. I called after her to slow down before she hurt herself, but it was too late; she was already long gone, exploring the mansion on her own. I couldn’t wait to explore the mansion, either.
…
Later that evening, I was finally settled into my own room. It was a sweet little room with a bay window overlooking the garden in the back, which was lit by little lights that were dotted around on the stone fence. The sun was on its way down, casting the mountains in a bluish glow. I couldn’t wait to get outside in the morning and paint the sunrise, but it had just begun to rain, and so I wouldn’t be going outside tonight.
Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door.
I looked up to see the door open and Selina’s head poke in. I waved for her to come in the rest of the way, and when she did, I saw that she was holding a long, wrapped gift box.
“Mr. Morgan wanted me to give this to you,” she said, setting the box down on the bed.
I furrowed my brow and stood from the chair I was sitting in by the window. “What is it?”
Selina merely shrugged. I tore open the wrapping paper, admittedly feeling a little excited, and my eyes widened when I saw what was inside.
It was a beautiful blue dress: soft satin with thin straps, and it came down to my ankles. I held it up to myself in the mirror, my eyes still wide. What was this sudden gift for? I almost felt a little spoiled if he really got it for me for no reason.
“What is it for?” I asked sheepishly.
“Mr. Morgan wants you to have dinner tonight,” she said. I swore I could see a hint of a smile on her lips. “And he wants you to wear that.”
Once again, I was taken aback by Edrick’s sudden kindness. Despite everything that happened with the paparazzi the day before, he continued to be nothing but kind and sweet to me. Not only that, but he was even kind and sweet even after I clearly hurt him the other night by mentioning that I might fall in love with someone else if we could only ever have a fake relationship.
Was this Edrick’s way of making me feel better for everything, or was he secretly apologizing? I couldn’t deny the fact, either, that I secretly hoped deep down that this was his way of showing that maybe he would want a real relationship someday.
And Mina seemed to feel the same way.
She reacted strongly as I held the dress up to myself in the mirror. She had been reacting strongly to Edrick’s presence ever since he saved me from the Rogues, but it was only getting more intense every day. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was beginning to think that Edrick might be my mate, but at the same time, I knew that she still wasn’t strong enough yet to realize something like that. But I did know that she liked Edrick a lot, and she wanted to get closer to him.
And I wanted to get closer to him, too.
