"Ms. Jane?" "Yes, Liam?" "Mr. Rafael is coming back in a few days, right?" "Mhm, he said that he only had two more branches to check up on and might even come back a day earlier than originally planned.""Oh..." He fiddled with the corner of his page, making me look up from my book in curiosity."Why do you ask?" "Um... There's something that I want to give him for Christmas, but I'm not sure if he would like it..." I raised an eyebrow, having never seen him so unsure of himself before. I knew that Achilles and Liam didn't exactly get off to the best start, but they had grown so close over the last few months that any passersby would've automatically assumed them to be a biologically related father-son pair. Liam rarely did anything without wondering about what Achilles would think of it nowadays. I closed my book and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around him as I joined him in his cozy nest of a cushioned chair. Hugging his little body I reassured him, "I'm sure he would
"Mrs. Cordova, I appreciate the effort, but I'm not sure if this would make an appropriate present..." "Nonsense, sweetheart! I'm sure he would be more than delighted to see you in something like this as a little Christmas present." She waved my words off as she spun me around to face the mirror in the fitting room. I nervously tugged at the hem of a very short and very see through light lavender baby doll outfit that just barely reached the edge of my bottom. Intricate lacing lined the edges of the cups and the hems of the outfit, elegantly just barely covering up my private parts but revealing all else. I tried very hard to change Mrs. Cordova mind, but once her mind was made up, she was set on seeing it through and dragged me all the way to a tiny boutique specializing in unique pieces of lingerie. Luckily, I managed to send Liam away to a nearby coffee shop to wait with his tablet before Mrs. Cordova arrived at the shop.It was already embarrassing enough that Mrs. Cordova was
"Mr. Rafael won't make it back today?" The sparkle in Liam's eyes died out almost immediately at the news. I knew he was trying to hide his disappointment with a blank expression, but I could tell he wasn't as unaffected as he was trying to be. His gaze dropped down to the papers in his hand, the packet of adoption papers that he wanted to gift to Achilles for Christmas. His fingers crinkled the edges of his papers as he bit onto his lower lip, lost in thought. It tore at my heart to see him so crestfallen. I tried to reach out to him, trying to explain to him, "It's snowing too hard in New York for him to fly in today. His crew said they wouldn't be able to take off until the storm passed and they got an okay from the landing site." But he only wordlessly pulled away from my outstretched hand. He nodded solemnly as he pulled the thick packet to his chest. He replied softly, "It's okay... I understand... It's not safe... I can always give it to him later, even if it's not Christma
To say that the entire experience was nerve-wracking was to say the least. Achilles had stared at the packet of adoption papers in Liam's hands in silence for a good few minutes without a single word, movement, or even any sign of breath. It was almost as if he had been turned to stone. And it definitely didn't help that his lack of response only made Liam more nervous. Liam hesistantly glanced up at Achilles, still stretching his arms out with the papers in hand. When Achilles still made no move in response, Liam's face dropped as he started to slowly retract to packet. But it seemed like that was all that as needed to snap Achilles out of his trance. Achilles caught onto Liam's little hands before he could fully retract his present and sputtered out, "D-Do you really want me to be your dad?" Liam nodded timidly as he shyly peered up at the taller man through his lashes. "Do you not want to?" "No, no, no, I do want to be your dad, but I thought that I wouldn't be allowed to tak
"Rafael Achilles Cordova! It won't kill you to let go of Danary for just a moment to help your mother out." The little lady of the house stuck her head out through the kitchen window in a huff, glaring at the said man latched onto my shoulder. It was quite clear who Achilles inherited his fiery gaze from despite her old age. I smiled sheepishly as I tried to unlatch Achilles's arms around from my waist. "Love, your mother is calling for you." He made a disgruntled noise with his eyes still closed and his arms as unmoving as ever. "She'll be fine." A loud clang rang from the kitchen at his reply, making me smile nervously at the woman with the heavy frying pan in her hand. I turned my head around and leaned up with much difficulty to press a kiss on his cheek, trying to coax him to listen. "Just help her out a bit... For me, okay? I'll be alright by myself."He let out a discontented sigh before eventually, albeit reluctantly, releasing me from his grasp and walking off in the dir
I walked back into our shared bedroom after sending Liam to bed and spending quite a bit of effort to coax him out of keeping his new relic in bed. I loosened my tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of my shirt as I closed the door behind me. Oddly enough, the room was completely silent with no sign of my lovely soon-to-be wifey. I meandered through the room in confusion until an unexpected yelp came out from the close bathroom door. I called out worriedly, "Love? Are you alright in there?" "I-I'm fine." Unconvinced by her shakey response, I walked closer to the door. "Are you sure? I can help you if you—""N-No!" My mouth immediately snapped shut, not expecting such a firm outburst."I-I mean, can you just wait for me on the bed? I-I'll be out in just a moment." "Okay..." I eyed the door warily before walking over to the bed and sitting down at the end of it. Jane had been all jittery ever since we got home from dinner at my parent's place. No matter how much I thought about
"Danary is still in a meeting right now." I turned around at the familiar voice, only to find Benedict standing behind me with a knowing smirk. He continued, "You were looking for her, weren't you?" I rolled my eyes at his unamusing antics but nodded anyway. "Liam's class ends in an hour, and I told her I would pick her up before then." "I see." He opened up the door to his office and gestured for me to enter. "She's running about half an hour behind schedule today. Why don't you wait in here until she's ready?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion but accepted his offer anyway. Sitting down in one of the free chairs in his office, I asked, "Did something go wrong? Jane isn't usually one to run behind schedule?" Benedict chuckled slyly as he rounded his desk. "I thought you, of all people, would know why she's late. After all, you are the one responsible for her limping, aren't you?" My cheeks heated up at the insinuation, making me divert my eyes out of the embarrassment of being
"Achilles? Is everything alright?" a soft voice called out from behind the bathroom door. Diverting my track, I walked over to the closed door and replied reassuringly, "Everything is fine, my love. Why do you ask?" I heard the water swish for a moment from behind the door before she quietly mumbled, "You were taking a while to put Liam to bed, so I was worried something was wrong." I chuckled softly. Though she had quite strong motherly instincts, she was still young and had quite an adorably innocent shyness to her. Leaning back against the wall, I told her, "Liam just wanted to ask me a few questions. He accidentally saw the marks peaking out of your sweater and thought someone was harassing you at work again." Plop!I raised an eyebrow at the sound of what I assumed was something dropping into the water. "Um... W-What did you tell him?" "The truth. That they are love marks from me." "A-Achilles! Y-You can't say those types of things to a five-year-old." A soft smile crept