Aiden pressed the doorbell and waited for Roger to open it. He tapped the floor with his shoe, patiently waiting for Roger to open the door. He again pressed the doorbell, wondering if everything was fine with him.
Finally, the door opened and Roger showed himself to him. Rubbing his eyes, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Aiden, I was sleeping," he murmured and leaned against the wall, gesturing to him to co inside.
"What’s wrong with your hand? Did you hurt yourself?" Aiden asked with a worried gaze as he stepped in.
"Ahh, no. I was picking up a broken glass and ended up wounding my hand. Don’t worry about it," Roger said and closed the door behind him. He asked Aiden to sit on the couch and asked him if he would like to drink water.
"No. You just woke up, so you should freshen up. Let’s go outside later in the evening for so fun. Demitri will join us too. As for Zayne, he is busy with Jane," Aiden stated with a smirk.
"Alright." Roger smiled and headed to his bedroom.
"He seems fine, but I highly doubt his mind is at peace," Aiden murmured. He took out his phone and responded so of the unanswered ssages, including Lucius’s.
{Keep an eye on Roger and don’t let him be alone on this weekend}.
Aiden smiled a little to read that ssage. Lucius was caring towards them. Every ti such situation had arisen, where either Aiden or Roger were stressed, Lucius would be there for them. He would show them that he was present in their lives.
Aiden didn’t have to wait for too long for Roger as he finally ca out freshened up in a bathrobe.
"Did you have lunch? Do you want to order sothing?" Roger asked.
"I’ll order. You should put on so clothes," Aiden stated.
"Sure. Thanks, dude," Roger said and rushed back to his room. After changing into a comfortable, warm attire, he returned to the living room and rested comfortably on the sofa.
He looked up at the ceiling and spoke, "I know you all are worried for ."
"Yes, we are," Aiden said.
"Sylvia would be kind on if I had my own family– I thought about this a lot of tis," Roger pronounced and tilted his head to look at Aiden. "But seems like I was always wrong about it."
"What do you an?" Aiden couldn’t get the depth behind those words, so he asked him to explain.
"The problem was not in . It was in Sylvia. She has always been insecured about her life. She was worried thinking what will happen to her once all of us leave her side, which eventually happened. Though I always felt bad for Sylvia because her parents died in a brutal mafia war, but every ti I tried understanding her, she hurt ."
Aiden realized the depth of his pain. "Learn to ignore her. When her own brother couldn’t handle her, how do you expect us to handle such a brat? Also, she won’t co near you ever again," he asserted.
"I hope so. Sorry, I made you feel gloomy too," Roger apologized.
"No, it’s fine. The sadness lessens when you share it," Aiden affird. Just then, the doorbell rang. "It must be our order. I’ll take it," he said and went to the door.
"Let’s have lunch, Roger!" Aiden said, returning with a bag in his hand.
"Sure!" Roger stood up and headed to the kitchen behind Aiden.
~~~~~
"You drank in broad daylight? Why?" Ivy asked, her brow furrowing as the faint sll of alcohol reached her from Roderick, who had just sat down across from her in the café.
"Is it banned to drink during the day?" Roderick countered with a smirk, leaning back casually in his chair.
Ivy sighed and pushed a glass of water toward him. "You’re not an ordinary man, Roderick. Don’t you think you should be careful about your image?" she asked, her tone laced with concern. "Drink this water," she added softly.
Roderick grabbed the glass and downed it in one go, setting it back on the table with a clink. "My image is already ruined. Among my friends, I’m known as the player," he said with a chuckle.
"Why does it feel like you’re deliberately ruining yourself?" Ivy muttered, almost to herself, as she raised her hand to call over a waiter. After giving her order, she looked back at him.
"I’m not ruining myself," Roderick replied nonchalantly. "It’s the weekend, so I do what I want. You just happened to call at the wrong ti—I had planned to take a nap in my room."
"Is that so?" Ivy said, her voice tinged with guilt. "I’m sorry for that. I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. You did a big favor," she added with a small smile.
Roderick chuckled, leaning forward slightly. "Suddenly, I’ve beco a good guy, huh?"
"Well, you have beco a good guy," Ivy admitted, though her smile wavered as she recalled the events of the previous night—specifically, the kiss. "But why did you kiss last night? You know I’m not into you," she asked.
"Why?" Roderick echoed, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Did you not like it? I thought you did, considering you didn’t yell at or push away," he teased, his smirk widening.
Before Ivy could respond, the waiter approached their table with their drinks. "Here’s your latte, ma’am, and your coffee, sir," he announced, setting the cups down before them. "Please enjoy," he added with a polite nod before walking away.
Ivy focused on her latte, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of the cup as she took a sip.
"I didn’t expect you to kiss at that ti," Ivy said softly, her fingers nervously gripping the edge of her cup. She paused, eting Roderick’s gaze. "I was upset and... and you did that out of the blue. But I hope you don’t do it again in the future."
Roderick leaned back in his chair, an unreadable expression on his face. "I felt you needed a reality check," he said casually, sipping his coffee.
"A reality check?" Ivy repeated, her brows furrowing as she gazed at him in confusion.
"What you expect doesn’t always co to you," Roderick replied with a faint smirk. "Sotis, life throws things at you when you least anticipate them." He paused as his tone softened slightly. "Who would have thought we’d be sitting here, having a chat like this?" he murmured.
Ivy humd. She hadn’t thought she would keep any kind of contact with a man like Roderick.
The two of them silently finished their coffee. As Ivy began paying, Roderick stopped her.
"You always pay," Ivy whined, crossing her arms.
Roderick smiled faintly, shrugging. "Pay next ti," he suggested simply, sliding his hands into the pockets of his long coat as he walked out of the café with her.
"I can go ho by myself. You should head back too. How did you get here?" Ivy asked, glancing at him.
"I used a chauffeur service," Roderick replied, nodding toward a car parked outside, where a man stood waiting. "Do you want to drop you ho?" he offered, tilting his head.
"No, thank you. I’ll just book a cab," Ivy said quickly, shaking her head.
"It’s the sa thing. Co on, follow ," Roderick insisted. The chauffeur opened the car door, and Roderick gestured for Ivy to get inside. She hesitated for a mont but eventually slid in, followed closely by him.
Roderick gave her address to the chauffeur, and the car started moving.
Out of nowhere, Roderick leaned his head onto her shoulder, catching her off guard. "Let borrow it for a while," he murmured, his voice drowsy but gentle.
Ivy froze, her fingers curling tightly in her lap. Her first instinct was to push him away, but sothing stopped her. She stayed still, letting him rest, though her heart thudded wildly in her chest.
As the car moved through the city streets, Ivy’s eyes shifted hesitantly to Roderick. Her gaze lingered on his hand, noticing a simple platinum ring on his middle finger.
A mont later, she found herself studying him— his long lashes, the calm expression that replaced his usual playful deanor, and the subtle way his lips parted as he breathed.
Ivy quickly averted her gaze, her face heating up. "Get a grip," she muttered under her breath, not sure whether she was scolding herself or the man leaning on her shoulder.
As they arrived Ivy’s ho, Roderick promptly lifted his head and turned to look at Ivy, who turned to him at the sa ti.
Their faces ca so close that Ivy moved away promptly, almost hitting her head but Roderick acted at the right ti, placing his hand on the back of her hand, eventually hitting the window.
"Ahh, I’m sorry. I didn’t an to–" She couldn’t finish off as he placed his fingertip above her lips, thus shutting her off.
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