Chapter 173
Jojo:
“I’m serious, Alpha Lake. Where are we going?” I protested. He had a grim smile on his face, like a man with a lot of evil plans, and I was too tired for pranks. I needed to know where we were going, and he wasn’t telling me.
“You’ll see, and you’ll like it, trust me.” He continued.
No, no. I did not like that smile, and hold up! Did he say trust him? Come on, we should all know how that often ends by now. I know he’s a changed man, but I cannot allow that smile fool me into doing something crazy! For all I know, he was about to make my sky dive!
“I would get down from this car right now, if you don’t let me know where we are going.” I blurted out. I tried to fiegn a frown, but the blush on my face just wouldn’t let me.
He turned to me, his charming smile reached his eyes, causing the onyx in them to sparkle.
“Easy, tiger! You’re not going to jump from a plane, don’t worry!” He laughed as he spoke.
I fought hard not to let my jaw drop. Had he read my thoughts? I turned away from him and relaxed against the seat. His smile often had a way of throwing me off guard, I didn’t want that.
“It’s a very nice place Kenji showed me in the few days we spent here. We can just sit down, have a nice and hot cup of coffee, they have great coffee there by the way. We could listen to the birds chirp, the sweet silence of nature.” He spoke.
Damn! He sounded so dreamy. Since when did he become a lover of nature? But I had to give it to him. This was a better idea than sky diving.
Relaxed, I chuckled.
“That’s fine by me.”
“I get the feeling you’re scared of heights.” He teased.
“Can we go please?” I asked, shooting him a playful glare. He threw his head back in laughter, before starting the engine.
The drive was silent, except for the soft music that played at a very low volume. It helped me close my eyes and relax a little bit. I had to fight back the urge to call Mrs Smith every ten minutes, just to make sure that Lucian was okay. I knew she could take good care of him, I didn’t have a doubt.
We had been driving for almost twenty minutes when the car stopped. I opened my eyes to find us in the middle of what seemed like an empty parking lot. There was a tall building up ahead, with huge glass windows at the top, and a very wide balcony below.
“El Martins cafe” was written in bold letters, which were lit up with bold yellow lights. There were beautiful trees and flowers planted all around. A walk way adorned with ixora and alamanda plants was in front of us. It led to the entrance of the restaurant.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
The sight was one word – breathtaking. Kenji did have an eye for good stuff.
The alpha got down from the car, walked to my side and opened the door for me. He stretched his right hand to me, and I placed mine in it. He helped me step out of the car and closed the door behind me.
As soon as I placed my feet on the concrete walkway, bits of white matter started to fall from the sky.
“Tiny snow” Valerie liked to call them.
It was going to start snowing soon. Winter was really coming.
I wrapped my arms around myself. The alpha’s muffler was no longer enough to keep me from the cold. Just as I was about to turn to him to speak, I felt him wrap his leather jacket around me. I did not speak, I only slipped my hands into the sleeves in silence.
“You forgot to wear something warmer. But the weather took us both by surprise.” He whispered above me.
I did not know what to say, especially as I was so consumed by thoughts of him.
I looked up at him in a bid to thank him, but all I could do was smile. His beautiful lips carved into a thin smile as looked at me. My heart skipped eight beats at once. I sought to tear my gaze off him, to keep my sanity intact, but I couldn’t.
Between his eyes and the snow, I couldn’t tell which would freeze me faster.
I was grateful when the sound of his phone ringing distracted him, because it distracted me too, and I needed a distraction from how charming he was in that moment.
He picked the phone from his side pocket and stared at the caller ID.
His smile disappeared faster than it had appeared. His scowl was deadly, the type that you showed someone you were about to strangle.
Something was wrong, but what?
************
Lake:
Fuck him. I know he is my father, but fuck him. Of all the times to ruin my moments, he chose now! Now!
I looked down at Jojo, only to see that her eyes were on me. She must have noticed the change in my expression. I couldn’t help it, the man knew how to turn me sour.
I swiped the answer icon and pressed my phone speaker to my right ear.
“Where is Jojo’s mother?” I fired immediately. I did not want to give him time to say whatever he believed he had to say.
“Don’t you think you stooped so low, father?” I was angry, and it was impossible to hide my anger when I knew he probably had a wide smile on his face.
“Well, she would like to speak to her daughter.” He replied, tactically ignoring my previous questions. He must have thought me to be a joke.
I turned to see Jojo staring at me, a million questions etched in her gaze.
I brought the phone down from my ears and put it on loud speaker.
“Your mum.” I said.
With eager and keen eyes, Jojo snatched the phone from my hands immediately, it was expected. My heart broke for her. She had been through a lot, and my father was only making it worse.
I was mad at myself for allowing him put the woman I loved in this position, for making her feel so much pain and constant worry.
Even though it was on loud speaker, Jojo pressed the phone to her right ear. I could see her right hand shake, her fingers were trembling. She dug her teeth into her lower lip and blinked hard to fight back her tears.
“Mum?”
There were no words, just muffled sobs coming from the other end of the line. Jojo’s grip on my phone grew tighter. The veins in her hands seemed as though they would pop from her skin.
Fuck.