Fenella’s POV
“Okay, easy,” Lloyd soothed Laird.
We slowly waited as Laird hobbled up the stairs one by one. The wound on his stomach still hadn’t fully healed, but the doctor had allowed him to go home. Fortunately, there was Lloyd, who had a similar posture to Laird. He supported Laird to walk up to his room on the second floor, while I carried Laird’s bag of clothes.
“Here we are,” Lloyd helped Laird sit on the bed, accompanied by a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Lloyd,” Laird said.
“Yeah. No problem.” Lloyd nodded.
“I hope you accept the fact that your room is here. Not the house on the other side.” Lloyd grinned as he glanced at me.
My face turned red, and I cleared my throat quickly to get rid of the embarrassment. How could I not? Now Lloyd knew that Laird stayed at my house for almost two weeks without a single word to him.
“It can’t be helped. It’s fate.” Laird snorted and shifted his body to sit more comfortably on the bed.
“Well, I hope you will be satisfied with Mrs. Myers taking care of you later. I know you want Fenella to take care of you every day, but she should be gone by the time Dad gets home.”
“Why don’t we just let Fenella stay as long as she wants in this house?” asked Laird with his head cocked in Lloyd’s direction.
“Are you guys now a real thing?” Lloyd’s forehead wrinkled with a finger pointing alternately at me and Laird.
“Yes, we are.” Laird replied steadily.
“Laird,” I called his name with a blush on my cheeks.
“It’s okay, it’s the truth.” Laird replied with a shrug.
“Wow, don’t you guys get tired of seeing each other since childhood?” Lloyd looked at me with his forehead wrinkled and even his nose wrinkled as if in disgust.
“That’s called true love.” I retorted with an exasperated furrowed forehead.
“Well, good luck with that. I hope you’re ready to be part of this chaotic family.” Lloyd chuckled.
“Lloyd, don’t scare her for things that don’t matter.” Laird warned Lloyd in a low voice.
“Hell, it matters, Laird. Dad and his girlfriends who are the same age as you are important. Fenella will find out one day too.” Lloyd widened his eyes and shrugged.
“Can we not talk about it now?” Laird growled between his clenched teeth.
“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. You need your rest.” Lloyd chuckled. “Take care of him.” Lloyd patted my shoulder lightly.
“Are you leaving?” I asked as I turned to look at him, who was already walking to the door.
“Group study for my first mock trial in class. Catch you later.”
Lloyd left and closed the door with a lazy swing. After making sure he had gone, I walked over to Laird and took him by the arm.
“Get some rest, Laird.”
“Yup. Are you going to leave right away?” he asked.
His eyes traced every curve of my face. Seeing him so fragile in his current state, of course I couldn’t bear to leave him alone.
“I want to keep you company for as long as possible,” I sat down beside him.
“Good. Stay here.” Laird’s hand slipped to my waist and curled comfortably there.
“It’s just that I’m a little scared to linger here because of what Lloyd said earlier.”
“You can’t be afraid of my father, right?” Laird raised one eyebrow.
“Not really. It’s just that I feel like he’s been acting cold for a long time. Even now, he’s not coming to the hospital to see you even for a day.” I stroked Laird’s cheek.
“You should have known by now. It’s not a surprise anymore.”
Laird snorted, then rested his head on my shoulder. He breathed in the scent on my neck, and I felt like it was his way of seeking safety from the discussion of his father.
“I don’t think he’ll accept me,” I said softly.
“Hell with that. His sugar baby should think the same way anyway. In fact, they go in and out of this house as they please with no regard for what the neighbors think.”
“What about your mom? Is she still the same perfectionist she used to be?” I ran my hand through Laird’s hair, massaging his head gently.
“I don’t know. The last time I saw her was when I was an intern at the prosecutor’s office. He came to Prosecutor Golden’s office back then.”
“Huh? Any work or deliberately come to meet you?” I asked in confusion.
“Malcolm Golden is the man who made my mother leave us.”
Hearing that, I jerked my body back. I stared at Laird with wide eyes as my hands held both of Laird’s arms.
“Malcolm Golden, as in Prosecutor Golden? He’s the man your mother had an affair with.” My mouth dropped open.
“Yup. The same jerk you gave your mom’s cookies to.”
“Then you initiated working with him to catch Alan?”
My voice stuttered between my rapid breaths. I hadn’t expected this at all. But the way Laird nodded with his lips pouting convinced me that his words were not a trick at all.
“So, is your mom okay? Are they happy together now?”
Laird gave me a long look, and then he shook his head. His hands then went back to wrapping around my waist. He looked down and kissed my shoulder again, as if he were holding his mouth to say more.
“They divorced when I entered law school.” He said with his mouth muffled by my shoulder.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” I whispered.
I didn’t see it coming at all. Gosh!
“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s just that sometimes she makes me couldn’t believe in true love. I thought my mom went on an affair with her true love. Why would she do all that if it was just to get divorced again in the end?” Laird let out a long sigh.
“I don’t think that’s true love. That’s why she divorced again.”
I rubbed Laird’s cheek gently. How sad and how hard it must have been for him. Then he has to join hands with the man who destroyed his family. It must not be easy.
“Never mind that. I don’t give a fuck about them anymore.”
“But you have a big heart, Laird. You want to cooperate with Prosecutor Golden.”
“Only for you,” Laird’s thumb rubbed my cheek. The next second, we kissed carefully so as not to hurt his stomach. Our lips licked each other with our tongues sucking on each other’s lips.
“Ouch.”
Laird winced and pulled back his grimace. He straightens up his back so the stomach won’t press.
“Uh, you know, it seems like a bad idea to stay here too long.” I chuckled along with Laird, who also let out a small laugh from his lips.
“Yeah, you should go home and rest.”
“You’ll be okay on your own.” I asked as I rubbed his cheek.
“No, I’m not going to be okay. Maybe just a bit longer? Promise, I won’t do anything.” Laird pulled me again into his arms and made me lie down on his bed.
“Laird,” I called his name with my cheeks warming.
He then lay down beside me. Carefully, he positioned himself to sleep on his side, and then he hugged me tightly. His lips kissed my forehead for a long time.
“It must be the medicine that makes me so sleepy. You should accompany me to sleep,” Laird said with his eyes starting to close.
“Okay. I’ll be here until you fall asleep.”
“Thank you, baby.”
Laird’s voice softened as his eyelids grew heavy. Then I kissed his eyelids quickly. Laird smiled a little and looked at me for a moment before he closed his beautiful emerald green eyes again.