Chapter 128


    Chapter 128: A Child’s Laughter


    Moana


    That night, I fell asleep next to Edrick with a full heart. I couldn’t help but wonder if all of this meant that


    our rtionship might go further than simply being a fake rtionship, but I didn’t want to spend too


    much time getting my hopes up in case things didn’t work out as nned. All I knew was that my wolf


    was happy to be near him, and I was also happy to be near him. Edrick seemed happier than usual as


    well, and it made me think that maybe things would at least be just a little different after our mini


    vacation at the mountain estate.


    The next morning, I awoke to the feeling of Edrick’s warm arms around me. I was turned toward him


    with my face buriedfortingly in his chest, so close I could feel his heartbeat. We had fallen asleep


    the night before with a respectable distance between us as we didn’t want to get too close, but it


    seemed that we simply couldn’t avoid getting close to one another in our sleep. However, I couldn’t


    deny that feeling him this close to me gave me a sense of safety andfort.


    Edrick’s eyes opened shortly after mine did; he rarely ever slept any longer after I woke up, as though


    he needed me to be asleep beside him in order for him to sleep as well. I felt my heart begin to race as


    his gray eyes looked down at me, expecting him to pull away.


    But he didn’t. For several long, quiet minutes we just looked at each other as the sun shined on us and


    the cool, fragrant mountain air wafted in through the open window. His arms stayed firmly wrapped


    around me, holding me close to his body and keeping me warm in the chilly morning air. He was so


    much bigger than me, but our bodies fit perfectly together like two puzzle pieces.


    Neither of us pulled away, in fact, until we suddenly heard a knock on the door. I gasped and quickly


    moved away with the intention of jumping out of bed and hiding in the closet so as not to be seen, but


    Edrick’s hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist, stopping me before I could.


    “Daddy?” E’s tiny voice called through the door. “Are you awake?”


    My eyes widened, but Edrick stayed surprisingly calm.


    “Come in, Princess,” he said, releasing his grip on my wrist as my heart pounded even harder. How


    was he not panicking? We weren’t together romantically — or at least, we weren’t supposed to be —


    and therefore we shouldn’t have been sleeping in the same bed. It would have been difficult enough


    already to admit our sleeping arrangement to the maids, let alone E. And yet, Edrick didn’t seem


    concerned in the slightest. What changed?


    The door cracked open then, and E shuffled in with her stuffed duck under her arm and her hair a


    mess from sleeping all night. Her tired eyes didn’t catch me at first as she walked up to her father’s


    side of the bed, but when they finally did, her jaw dropped.


    “Moana?” E said, rubbing her eyes with one hand. “What are you doing in here?”


    I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing woulde out. However, Edrick seemed to have it


    handled already, and what he said next took me byplete surprise.


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    “Moana and I sleep in the same room now,” Edrick said matter-of-factly, as though it was only natural


    for the two of us to sleep together. I waspletely taken aback by the fact that he so casually


    admitted our sleeping arrangement to his daughter, and my heart pounded even harder as I wondered


    how E would react. Would she get the wrong idea and wonder again why we weren’t married? Would


    she resent me and feel as though I was stealing her daddy away from her? Maybe they had a morning


    ritual of ying together sometimes and she thought that my presence would only get in the way of her


    bonding time with her father.


    E was silent for a few moments. Her blue eyes flickered back and forth between Edrick and I as she


    looked at us both, processing what Edrick said. I feared the worst.


    But, much to my surprise, E merely shrugged and mbered up onto the bed with her stuffed duck in


    tow. “Okay,” she said with a grunt as she hauled her tiny body up onto the tall bed without any help.


    She seemed just as nonchnt about the situation as her father; I couldn’t quite tell if Edrick’s own


    nonchnce made her feel at ease, or if she was simply expecting things like this to happen between


    Edrick and I at this point.


    “I want to go on a walk today,” E said, nestling herself down between the two of us with her stuffed


    duck in her arms. “Can we go?”


    Edrick chuckled. “Sure,” he said, “but you’ll have to pay the toll first.”


    “The toll?” E asked, sitting up again and c*****g her head to the side.


    I watched as Edrick grinned. In the morning sunlight, he looked even more handsome with a smile on


    his face. “Yep,” he said, “you have to pay a fee to the tickle monster!”


    “No!” E shrieked, but it was already toote. Edrick grabbed her and began tickling her furiously,


    causing her to scream withughter as she kicked her little legs and threw her stuffed duck in an


    attempt to get away. “Not the tickle monster!”


    Edrick let out aical, cartoonishugh that sounded like an evil viin as he kept yfully terrorizing


    E. I couldn’t help but grin andugh along with them. A rush of emotion for both of them came over


    me at that moment, and I swore for the briefest of moments that I really did feel like Edrick’s wife and


    E’s mother as I watched them y together. Seeing Edrick act so openly and candidly with his


    daughter made my heart fill with warmth, and as he began tossing E in the air and causing her


    giggles to grow even louder, I couldn’t stop smiling.


    Seeing them like this together made me so happy, and I was d that we had decided to get out of the


    city after all. It seemed that a bit of fresh air and a slower pace away from the hustle and bustle and


    noise of the city was something that we all needed, and I felt my own stress beginning to melt away,


    too.


    And yet, at the same time, I couldn’t deny the fact that there was a tiny pang of confusion deep within


    me still.


    As I watched E and Edrick y together, I was smiling. I loved seeing them like this, and it warmed


    me to see the once-cold and indifferent Alpha billionaire acting in such a silly way with his daughter in


    front of me. But that feeling of confusion was relentless, and it put a bit of a damper on the moment.


    I just wished that my rtionship with Edrick didn’t have to be soplicated. If only it could be simple,


    as simple and pure and natural as the love he had for his daughter.