“Here, for you,” Jayden said, his dark orbs sparkling with warmth, as he presented the stunning bouquet of roses to Ria, who was feeling guilty for neglecting him, and forgetting about the surprise he said he had for her. His thoughtful gesture makes her even more guilty.
“Thank you.” Ria collected the bouquet and inhaled its intoxicating scent. As she breathed in the sweet fragrance, Ria’s earlier guilt dissipated a little.
“Wow, uncle, you are so kind and handsome,” Layla said in her childish voice. Jayden’s smile faltered for a moment as he struggled to respond. He wasn’t accustomed to interacting with children.
“Is sister Ria your girlfriend? Do you like her?” Layla bombarded Jayden with different questions. Gosh, who was the one teaching this little kid all this? Ria couldn’t help thinking about it. Ria’s face flushed as she frantically thought of a way to escape the awkward situation. Who had taught Layla to ask such direct questions?
“Layla, you can’t say that.” Ria intervened, trying to shut Layla up, but Layla’s curiosity was relentless.
“Hmm,” Layla whined, not wanting to listen to Ria. “My big cousin told me that a boy giving a girl flowers means he likes her. If this handsome uncle doesn’t like you, he wouldn’t get you these beautiful flowers.” Layla mouthed, her thick eyelashes that were longer than that of kids of her age fluttered in excitement and curiosity.
Not knowing what to say to the kid, Ria looked at Jayden, her eyes asking him for help, but Jayden avoided her gaze as if saying; deal with this yourself.
“This bastard.” Ria couldn’t help gritting her teeth. By the way, didn’t Layla direct her question to Jayden? Why was she the one panicking?
An evil thought erupted in Ria’s mind. “Jayden!” Ria turned to him, her eyes shining with a mischievous grin. “Layla was asking you a question earlier. Why don’t you answer her?”
Jayden’s eyes narrowed, his expression wary. He seemed to sense that Ria was up to something.
Layla, oblivious to the undercurrents, looked up at Jayden with excitement. “Yeah, uncle! Do you like sister Ria? Are you going to marry her?”
Jayden’s lips curled up. He gazed at Ria lovingly. “Layla, your beautiful sister Ria is a beautiful woman. “Why should I allow this rare gem to escape me?” He was talking to Layla, but his gaze was on Ria, whose mouth was wide agape, staring at him in disbelief.
“So to answer your question, Layla, I like your sister Ria, and I’m willing to marry her if she accepts my proposal to be my wife and also the mother of my unborn child,” Jayden said, not minding if the five years old Layla understood him or not, his voice filled with conviction, his eyes never leaving Ria’s stunned face.
“Yay!” Layla exclaimed as she jumped around in circles. “Uncle Jayden likes Sister Ria.” She was so happy that her joyous mood was immediately infected by the other children who were looking at them in confusion earlier. They also started jumping around in happiness, thinking this was another game introduced by Ria and Layla.
Ria was brought out of her daze by the kids’ excited squeal. After understanding why they were so happy, a rush of warmth crept into her cheeks. She glared at Jayden for saying all that nonsense earlier.
“You,” Ria wanted to scream at Jayden, but she was interrupted by a beautiful teenager walking towards them, calling to Layla, who was still jumping around.
“Layla!” The young girl called again. Layla turned back and saw her elder cousin. She ran towards her, hugging her legs. “Kayla, I’ve missed you. I thought you said you won’t be coming to the park today?”
Kayla smiled as she ruffled little Layla’s hair. “I knew I told you I wouldn’t be coming to the park earlier. But guess what?” Kayla’s excited voice filled the park as the gentle breeze carried her words to Jayden and Ria, who were standing nearby, observing the cousin’s reunion. I just stumbled on mind-blowing news on the entertainment news.
“Really?” Layla raised her head and was buried in between her legs. Her big doe eyes were filled with a curiosity that could only be possessed by a child of her age. From Layla and Kayla’s interactions, someone would have known they were very close. And this isn’t their first time gossiping.
Kayla grinned mischievously. “Huh-huh, I came to the park because I just saw the most amazing news online. I just saw my goddess Ashley trending online with her boyfriend she had been hiding for all this while. I’m so happy that my goddess caught the most eligible bachelor in the country. I can’t wait for their marriage.”
Kayla squealed in excitement like she was the one that was trending online. She was talking like no matter what she said, the little Layla would understand her. “No one would understand my excitement like you, that’s why I rushed here.”
“Wow, your goddess Ashley now has a boyfriend?” Can you show me the pictures?” Layla couldn’t contain her curiosity. By now, the other children had left, leaving only Layla and her cousin, with Jayden and Ria, who were not far away from them.
“Sure, this is it. I’ve even saved the pictures to use as my screen wallpaper later.” Kayla excitedly fished out her phone from her pant pocket.
Before Kayla could show Layla the pictures, Ria rushed over to snatch the phone. Her eyes were wide open seeing Ashley’s intimate moments with Raymond. She hugged Raymond lovingly from the back. She also saw how Raymond lovingly gazed at her from the photos.
“Who are you? Why are you snatching my phone? Don’t you have manners? Kayla rudely said to Ria, annoyed at her rude behavior towards her. Her earlier happy mood was immediately replaced with fury.
Jayden also walked over, his brow furrowed at what he just heard from Kayla. Didn’t Raymond tell them he won’t allow Ashley back into his life? What was this all about? He questioned himself.