Pampered Like A Princess

Mikaelson peered at Edward, whose face was darker than the gloomy sky.

Edward had come to the St. Richard Health Center to visit Mikaelson, but he had only spoken not more than ten sentences for the past half hour.

Mikaelson couldn’t help but point out, “What’s with the long face? What did Sophie do this time? Can’t you just treat her as if she’s Anna? You should be more patient with her. Otherwise, you’re going to make it hard between our family and the Baileys.”

“I know,” Edward replied nonchalantly.

Mikaelson sighed, knowing that he was asking too much of Edward. After all, Sophie was not Anna.

Once again, he wished that Anna hadn’t gone. She was Edward and Sean’s favorite, and she would be the adhesive between the two families if she was still here.

With a heavy heart, Mikaelson sipped on his bland tea, and it upset him even more. He wasn’t good at brewing tea, so he hired people to make them for him.

Then, he remembered Edward had a secretary who could brew good tea. So, he asked, “Where’s the girl that makes good tea? Did you fire her?”

“No,” Edward answered. “But I could bring her over to brew some tea for you next time.”

Mikaelson nodded and shooed Edward away. He was about to call it a day.

“Don’t bother coming every day. Many people come to see me anyway. I’ll be fine if you skipped a day or two. Just get some rest, alright?”

Edward simply bid his goodbye, “Bye, Grandpa.”

……

The rain stopped.

Edward called Nelissa again while waiting for Andrew to pick him up. Just like before, he was sent to voicemail.

Andrew pulled up in front of Edward and got out to open the door for him. He then asked, “Are we heading home, Mr. Hales?”

“It’s fine,” Edward kept his phone away and headed towards the driver seat. “You may go home now.”

Andrew closed the backseat’s door promptly and watched as Edward drove away. He had a feeling that Edward was going to see Nelissa.

Andrew couldn’t help but be amazed at her means. Not only did she manage to stay hidden through the night, but she even made Edward look for her in person.

Edward sped toward Nelissa’s apartment. He overtook a public bus that had slowed him down and soon arrived at the apartment.

The security guard remembered Edward. Edward had always been generous with his tips.

Pulling up into his usual spot, Edward looked upwards to locate Nelissa’s apartment. The lights in her living room were switched on, but not those in her room. Therefore, he was sure that she hadn’t returned home.

He called Nelissa again, and he was welcomed by the familiar robotic voice once more after the long beeps.

“The number you’re calling is not in service. Please try again later.”

……

A bus came to a stop at the station.

Nelissa got off the bus, shuddering in the cool breeze after rain even though her clothes were already half-dried during her ride.

At times like this, she was more eager than ever to go home to her children. Nelissa wondered if Jolene made dinner that night.

Still tired from the nap earlier, she became less aware of her surroundings. She didn’t notice Edward’s car nearby as she headed straight towards her apartment.

Realizing that she hadn’t seen him, Edward pressed hard on the car horn, honking at Nelissa in the middle of the night at a residential area.

Residents nearby instantly opened windows to complain about the noise. Naturally, it made Nelissa jump too. She turned to see Edward taking long strides towards her with displeasure written all over his face.

In bewilderment, Nelissa could only remember his unwashed coat in her bathroom.

“I’ve been calling you for the whole evening,” Edward glowered.

Nelissa’s brows cocked in surprise. However, he gave her no time to ask any questions, dragging her towards his car and shoving her into the backseat.

Once the door was closed, he had Nelissa cornered. His menacing look frightened her to the point that she was too afraid to check if she had dropped her shoes.

She tried to pull away from him, “Edward, what are you doing? I had a very long day. Could you please just leave me be?”

“Did you sleep with him?” he asked in an eerily light and soft tone.

Usually, Nelissa would have glared at him for even suggesting such a thing. However, under such circumstances, it didn’t seem wise for her to do so. Her body stiffened in fear. Nelissa lowered her eyes to avoid his, but she could still feel his intense stare.

At this moment, she felt Edward’s hand slipping under her top, tracing her waistline. His other hand lifted her chin to have her look him in the eyes.

Nelissa’s heart sank when she noticed the murderous hint in his eyes.

“Were you coming to see me or Zayden in front of the hotel tonight?” he asked.

Nelissa replied hesitantly, “What do you think?”

She was confused as to why Edward would think that she was looking for him in the first place.

The corner of Edward’s lips curled into a smile, “I think it’s clear that you weren’t there for me.

“I couldn’t even pay attention in the charity dinner because I felt bad seeing you in the rain. But you left with Zayden, didn’t you?

“Is this how you keep men around, Nelissa?”

Nelissa bit at the insides of her lips and denied, “I only went to Zayden to take back my photo albums. I didn’t know that you’d be-”

Edward interjected sternly, “Liar. You’re telling me all these sweet lies now… But you’re still going to run back to him the first moment you could, aren’t you? Or are you planning to manage your time between both Zayden and me? You’d like that, don’t you?”

What he was implying had insulted Nelissa in every possible way. Her eyes brimmed red with tears, Nelissa pressed her lips to his to shut him up.

Even though Edward didn’t expect that she would kiss him, he didn’t push her away either. Instead, in almost an instant, he took charge and pressed her tighter against him.

Their lips were intertwined into one. Nelissa wrapped her arms around Edward’s neck and pulled him closer.

Then, when he lowered his guard, she bit the insides of his mouth unexpectedly and grabbed the opportunity to make a run for it.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

However, Edward reacted more swiftly than she had expected. She pushed the door open, only to be pulled back by Edward. The door closed once again with a slam.

“Why the run? Are you trying to save yourself for Zayden?” he hissed.

It ticked Nelissa off, “You’re just the same as Zayden! No, you’re worse! Zayden merely took me as the substitute for Susan. But you made use of me to forget about Bailey, and… What’s her name? Anna, isn’t it? Please, leave me alone!”

Edward frowned, “How do you know about Anna?”

“Penelope told me,” Nelissa breathed.

He seemed to cool down after hearing her answer. He stared at Nelissa thoughtfully before finally saying, “Anna was a lot like you.”

Nelissa rolled her eyes at the lack of logic in his sentence. If she was indeed the stand-in for Anna, it would be that she was a lot like Anna, not the other way around.

Knowing that there was no hope for her to escape, she gave up resisting. She murmured, “Let me go home. I’m not feeling too good.”

“Were you caught in the rain?” He brought his hand to her cheek and felt the temperature.

Nelissa closed her eyes and kept quiet. She could feel Edward’s hand moving away. Thinking that she could finally go home, she opened her eyes to see him climbing to the driver seat nimbly and locking the doors.

“Where are you taking me?” her brows were knitted together.

Edward glanced at her through the rearview mirror, “My place.”

“I’m not going!” she objected, already knowing that the night wasn’t going to end well for her if she were to go over to his place.

However, he ignored her and started the engine. Nelissa had no choice but to fish out her phone to call the police, only to find that it had run out of battery.

Meanwhile, the car stopped at the exit of the parking lot. Edward lowered the window to pay for the parking fee.

Nelissa’s eyes brightened up at the chance. She poked her head out and shouted, “Help! I’m being kidnapped!”

The security guard paused, and he scanned Edward, wondering if he should stop him from leaving.

Naturally, Edward noticed his hesitation. He took out some cash from his wallet casually and explained, “Don’t mind her. She’s into these kinds of plays lately.”

Then, Edward turned to Nelissa, who was already flushed red, and grinned widely, “Babe, have some rest now. You’re not going to have any sleep later.”

He then turned back to the security guard and shoved the stack of cash into the guard’s hand before reeling his window up.

In a daze, the guard let Edward leave, thinking that the riches indeed had some exquisite hobbies. As he counted the generous tips given to him, he dropped the initial suspicion for Edward altogether.

Meanwhile, Nelissa slumped at the backseat of Edward’s car in exasperation. No doubt, he was the death of her.