As they got down from the car, Michael pinched the bridge of his nose, as though the re thought of ’Josh the Boy Artist who stole his daughter’s heart’ was enough to trigger a migraine.
"Papa, are you okay?" Olivia asked, tilting her head.
"No, honey. Papa is... deeply concerned about the state of modern art," he said, confusing the little girl and Noah coughed into his fist to hide a laugh. "It’s not funny. This is very serious."
"I’m aware," Noah said. But still, it did seem funny from another perspective aside from theirs.
"Olivia, you’re back!" Alyssa said as she walked out of the flower shop and Olivia rushed towards her.
"Aunty,"
Michael saw this and then turned around with Noah, docking their heads together.
"Alright," he said, his voice dropping to that overly calm tone parents used when pretending they weren’t panicking, "So we keep the drawing, fine. But it stays at a place where our little girl can’t see so she doesn’t think of that Josh boy every single ti she sets her eyes on it."
"Yeah, easier said than done, baby."
It sounded like a foolproof plan. Only, their daughter was now on guard against them and if the drawing ever went missing, she knew it had to be them.
Plus, it would probably break her heart since it was apparently the first drawing she had ever received.
Maybe it didn’t matter that it was from a boy. The thought of receiving such a thing was probably what made her so happy, right?
It would be great to simply think that way but that underlying factor just couldn’t be ignored.
Why did it have to be a boy? And of all boys, ’that’ boy?!
Noah patted Michael’s back, trying to soothe his nerves.
"Aunty, look at this." Olivia excitedly showed Alyssa the drawing and she took it.
"Oh my, isn’t this you? You got better at drawing very fast." She said, looking amazed. "This is amazing."
Hearing this, Olivia felt proud.
"That’s because it’s not my drawing." She said. "It’s from a boy called Josh. He drew ."
Alyssa was taken aback and then looked at the two at the front docking their head together.
"Did you say a boy?" She was struck with disbelief and thought maybe she had heard wrong, but Olivia nodded.
"Yes, that’s right. A boy."
"Do... Do your parents know about this?" She asked and once again, Olivia nodded. "And they didn’t try to burn this?"
"Of course they did." She folded her arms, pouting angrily. "They’re such anies."
Alyssa went silent and then thought maybe it was better to just fold the cardboard and keep it far away forever.
"Hey, don’t bend the cardboard!" Olivia suddenly yelled. "This is precious."
Precious, she said. Now that’s interesting. She wondered what Roland would say about this.
Alyssa handed it back to her and watched as she disappeared inside the building before anyone could stop her.
She looked at Michael who stood there for a long mont, glaring at the front door as if Josh himself might be standing behind it.
"We can’t let this escalate," he said.
Noah sighed.
"Maybe we’re taking this too far." He said. "He might be Stevens’ son, but he’s just a five-year-old with crayons."
"For now," Michael added and but his thumb. "In the next couple of years, he’ll be a little art genius with a brush, painting our daughter like she was his only muse."
(Oh my, can you see the future too?)
"In any case, we’ll simply keep an eye out for any fishy business," Noah said but Michael’s eyes were suddenly glued to the side.
"And what exactly counts as fishy business?" He asked, still looking at the side.
"If he lurks around our house or tries to know more about Liv, then we’ll need to think deeply about this." He said and Michael pointed at the side.
"Then I guess that’s enough fishy business for us to take action, right?"
Noah followed his hand and saw that a flashy white Porsche was parked outside the next house. It definitely belonged to Steven.
What in the world was he doing at their neighbors?
"Ah, he’s there again." Alyssa suddenly said as she approached and they both turned sharply to her.
"You know them?"
"Uh, yes." She began to feel a little anxious. Did she say sothing wrong? Why were they staring at her so intently? "They moved in two days ago."
"Moved in? Two days ago? The owner of that Porsche?" Michael asked, his question broken into bits, so it felt like his brain had malfunctioned.
It made Alyssa even more anxious.
"Alyssa, did you say the owner of that Porsche moved in two days ago?" Noah asked, helping Michael take a step back.
"Ah, yes." She answered. "I was going to tell you about it since he even sent a flower bouquet but you guys were busy at that ti."
She glanced at their anxious expressions and then gulped.
"Is... Is sothing wrong?" she asked, sweat rolling down several pores on her body and soaking her shirt.
"Alyssa, that man is an Alpha," Noah said. "The Alpha of the Red Moon Pack. Didn’t you know that?"
Alyssa’s eyes gradually widened.
"A-Alpha?" She imdiately felt pressured and began shaking. "B-but, I didn’t feel anything. There’s no way I wouldn’t sense they were an Alpha, right?"
"Then maybe the one who ca with the bouquet was a servant and not Steven himself," Michael answered, and then massaged his nose bridge.
This was turning into a serious issue before they even realized it.
"Should we ask them to move?" Michael suddenly asked but Noah shook his head.
"He won’t listen." Noah said. "It’s not like he ca all this way to be asked to leave and would peacefully pack up."
Michael twisted his lips.
"Yeah, you’re right."
If anything, it was better if they packed up and left instead. But who’s to say he wouldn’t follow them to the next area as well?
"If he could find his way here, he can certainly find his way to the next place we go so let’s just leave it and watch," Noah said, his eyes glaring subtly at the car.
It was as if Steven was trying to test his patience but he wouldn’t lose it so soon. He would definitely be the bigger person and thwart all his plans.
That evening, Noah went shopping with Olivia and Michael since he needed to pick out clothes for himself and a few that they could wear during the trip.
While they spent no more than an hour in the n’s section, picking out only the best for Noah, they ended up spending nearly three hours in the kiddies section because Olivia simply looked good in everything and they just couldn’t decide which to leave.
So, they bought almost everything the store had to offer had Noah had a new wallpaper for his phone. His phone’s gallery was swarming with pictures of not only Olivia, but also Michael, who felt shy trying out a few clothes Noah picked out.
They never really had the chance to go on a shopping date so he had no idea he could be this shy.
This was the sort of bonding mont they both wished together and though it did feel a bit awkward with them being older now, their love still felt so fresh that they could afford to kiss intimately in the changing stalls and be all over each other.
As a result of all of this, they had dinner outside and returned ho late with Olivia sleeping like a log in Noah’s arms, with no care in the world.
The next morning, their black SUV rolled into the private terminal of the airport and then, they beheld Noah’s jet.
It glead on the tarmac under the sun, its polished silver and deep blue stripes catching every stray light it basked in.
It was a beauty.
As the family stepped out, the hostess and flight crew approached with warm greetings and practiced smiles.
Olivia, perched on Noah’s shoulders with her tiny hands gripping his head like a steering wheel, gasped in awe. "It’s so big! Does it fly all the way to the clouds?"
"It flies above them," Noah said with a small smile.
Michael walked beside him, quiet, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the surroundings in that way that made him look like a bodyguard who didn’t trust the air itself.
Behind them, Alyssa and Roland rolled the luggage until uniford attendants swooped in to take over.
"So handy," Alyssa exclaid, smiling warmly.
It wasn’t like that when they entered the country.
"Well, we’re going with the great Alpha, the treatnt has to at least be this level," Roland said with a lazy tone and then looked at the ones in front.
The group boarded smoothly and Olivia couldn’t stop humping on her seat in excitent. She watched through the window as the jet took off from the runway but got airsick and threw up.
She just wasn’t used to flying in the air, but aside from that, she was okay.
They were headed to California and Olivia’s dream trip to Disneyland was about to co true.
It wasn’t ideal to go right after such a long flight, but telling her to wait another day would have been like telling the sun not to rise.
She just couldn’t hold it in and as such, they headed there as soon as they touched down.
"Papa, Papa, we’re really here." Olivia bellowed as her eyes twinkled in excitent. "We’re in Disneyland!"
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