Emilia ✔️ NOW PUBLISHED!

60

The countdown begins. 8 chapters left.

♥️

Emilia

Aiden's acting weird.

Like really weird.

"If you don't get out of this kitchen, I'm going to take you on the counter and I'll never get dinner done." That was him, he's kicking me out of the kitchen.

Candles are lit, light music plays throughout our home, and Aiden is cooking.

He never cooks.

We're both wearing formal clothes, his request. Me in a Scarlett red dress, him in a black suit.

The guards are all outside, even though it's freezing. I keep popping out to tell them to stay in the greenhouse or the guard post, but they keep telling me no. At least their taking shifts so they don't freeze to death.

Aiden's been acting off all day, so now I'm going to tease him. "You know I can help you," I say, jumping onto the counter to sit. He gives me his best-crooked grin, it's freeing no one being in the home besides us. We can... do whatever we want.

I twirl a glass of red wine in my hands as he stirs something ... I peek over, "What are you making?"

I can tell his concentration is faltering. Where I jumped on the counter, my dress is slightly riding up. "I won't be making anything if I have to stare at those legs any longer." He grunts, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. "Well, I'll be making you scream my name but unfortunately we need to eat."

"Seriously Aiden." I take a deep breath, "It smells lovely. But I can't figure out what all you're doing?"

He wipes his hands on a kitchen towel, "This was a family meal." He sets his wooden spoon down to refill my wine glass. "Before things went to shit with my dad." He looks around, "Or maybe it was always fucked, the lines blur easily." He waves his hands in the air.

He takes a piece of French bread and dips it into the pot, bringing the bite to my mouth. It's a stew, and it's delicious. "It's the only tradition I've ever kept. And I eat it on my mom's birthday."

It dawns on me. "Her birthday was today."

He nods, "She would have been 45 today." He goes somewhere else, his mind transporting him to the past.

I grab his large hands, trying to cover them with my small ones. "Thank you for sharing it with me." The mood is too serious, "I didn't know you knew how to cook, that bite was delicious!"

He cracks a grin, "Don't get used to it. This is the only thing I know how to make." He continues prepping our meal. "Go sit, my love."

I walk into the dining room alone to wait for him and my breath catches in my throat. I don't think tonight is just about his mom's birthday tradition, from the looks of the dripping candles and dozens of roses -red roses, no yellow in sight- lining the room and tables this seems... is he going to?

"Dinners ready." Aiden smiles, walking in with two plated bowls. I look down at my plate as he exits, he even garnished the stew. He returns seconds later with the sliced French bread.

I take a bite, it's perfect. My mind races with the possibilities of how tonight could go as we eat and drink wine, he's kind of quiet and his left leg is shaking. Is he nervous?

I need to talk, because he's gone radio silent. "You did wonderful with dinner." I say, placing my napkin on the table.

He shrugs, his fingers trailing my cheek down to my locket necklace. "You do so much for me, Emilia. And I do so little for you, it's the least I could do. After everything I've put you through..." he looks away.