Ella held her breath.
"Let them spread.’’ He said, sounding like an aloof deity detached from the affairs of the mortal world.
Rumors? Let them spread.
Only Adrian could say something so bold with such a straight face.
The moment he said that, another hushed yet not so hushed remark fell in Ella’s ears as a maid spoke.
’’You all asked me to lose some weight before marriage, right? See, a real man will love and cherish his woman the way the second master does with Miss Yu. Hmph! I am never listening to you all again...’’
Some more of these excited whispers fell into Ella’s ears and her face heated up.
She did not know if Adrian heard the last one or not because his calm exterior did not betray anything.
"Why did you pick me up?" Ella asked with a cough.
’’Because you wanted me to.’’
"_" Second Master, pray tell when this happened...
Slightly stunned, Ella laughed, ’’I just said that I don’t want to walk..."
’’That means you want me to carry you.’’
She could not really do anything with Adrian’s straightforward way of interpreting things.
Everytime she tried to convince him, she would realize why he was the CEO of King Empires and she was penniless even after living two lives.
So, Ella gave up and let him carry her.
Surprisingly, he did not show her around the mansion.
But rather, he took her to the backyard that led to a beautiful garden.
It was only when they reached there that he put her down to her feet, gently removing his hand from the lower flare of her dress.
The garden in the Eve Mansion itself was so grand that it was akin to an Imperial garden. Hence, Ella was not particularly surprised to see the variety of flowers here in the garden of the main mansion.
But there was one thing that caught her attention. She walked in the direction of a corner. Surrounded by graceful and rare flowers, an old magnolia tree stood there silently.
The shrubs of it had spread in all directions.
Somehow, it seemed to be disturbing the view of the entire garden that was very prim, proper and of uniform length and width.
"Why would they plant it here? It doesn’t seem to belong here,’’ Why did they make such a rookie mistake?
Ella was taken aback. Her head whipped in Adrian’s directions, ’’You... planted it?" She pointed at the magnolia tree.
Ella laughed... But then she stopped laughing when she saw that he was serious.
Adrian stepped towards a nearby bench and took a seat.
Ella immediately sat beside him, ’’Baby, have you planted more things in this garden too? What about the garden in Eve Mansion? Have you planted something there too?"
Adrian glanced at the magnolia tree, ’’Only this one.’’
"Why this... And nothing else?" Ella was curious.
"This one’s different," Adrian said quietly, almost to himself. he said quietly, almost as if speaking to someone who wasn’t there.
A strange chill brushed Ella’s heart, but she smiled it away.
Ella followed his gaze and wondered if this tree was some divine tree. To be planted by the great devil Adrian King, it was bound to be beyond ordinary.
Moreover, for some reason, she could not put together the picture of Adrian planting a tree in her mind. It just seemed unrealistic.
"Is it that hard to believe?" Adrian frowned.
’’Hehehe...’’ Ella coughed a couple of times, ’’Of course not. I was just admiring the view.’’
Adrian and Ella sat in silence, side by side.
Ella admired the view while Adrian admired ’his’ view.
Suddenly, something clicked in Ella’s mind and she looked at him.
Adrian looked away from her and gazed forward.
’’Adrian, why is it that I have never heard of your parents?" In her previous life or this one, this matter has always been a mystery.
If they had passed away, there would be at least some mentions of them but nobody talked about Adrian’s parents in the King Family.
’’Dead,’’ Adrian’s voice did not have any fluctuations in it. It was emotionless and cold.
Ella stacked away the doubts in her heart, ’’Can I ask another thing?"
’’Kade and you don’t look alike at all...’’
’’He is my half brother.’’
In fact, Ella knew this since her previous life. However, she wanted to figure out why Adrian and Kade reached such a point where their relationship was completely irredeemable.
Because right now, it seemed like both the brothers did not care about the differences of the past generation. And they were more like real brothers.
However, seeing Adrian’s calm appearance, Ella could not be sure if he had a hint of what was coming in the future.
Maybe Kade was acting like a good brother and biding his time... She rejected this notion as soon as it occurred. With all those subtitles written on his face, Kade would not have been able to pretend for long?
Moreover, if he was trying to get on Adrian’s good side, he could have tried to get along with her instead of clashing with her at every turn yesterday. His actions only showed that he really cared for his elder brother.
But, then what would be the turning point in Adrian’s and Kade’s relationship?
Why would Kade betray Adrian one day?"
Ella frowned. Before she could think deeper, fingers caught her chin in a tight grip.
"Who are you thinking about?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.
Adrian’s stormy eyes bore into hers.
Ella snapped out of her daze when she saw Adrian’s dark face.
Excuse me, sir, not to mention I was thinking about your well being. Even if I was not, do you even want to control my thoughts now?!
’’Of course, it’s... my future.’’
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, ’’And?"
’’My dream of becoming a phoenix and soaring high in the sky.’’
Ella spouted some more far-fetched bullshit till Adrian lost his patience, pulled her close, ’’Am I there in your future, Elle?"
A shiver trailed under Ella’s skin at the way he called her.
As her silence stretched, his brows became taut, "Is it difficult to answer?"
Dark clouds formed above his head and a gloominess surrounded him.
"No... Of course not...’’ Ella coughed, ’’Of course you are there in my future, baby...’’
Her words were cut off as the man suddenly yanked her into his arms, "I will take your words for it,’’ his breath caressed her neck.
In the next moment, Ella felt a soft touch on her shoulder as Adrian kissed the spot through the fabric of her clothes.
The hug was so tight she could barely breathe.
A/N: Creation is hard. It’s your support that pushes me to write more Chapters so if you book so far, do not forget to drop power stones, golden tickets and reviews <3