"You seem more cheerful lately," Alec took out a beer from Tobias's fridge and glanced at the man smiling down at his phone.
Tobias sounded a small hum while his lips remained in a smile, eyes looking at his phone. The corners of Alec's mouth twitch uncontrollably.
The hell! He was acting like a lovesick teenage girl right now!
With this thought in mind, Alec's eyes narrowed. He walked around the kitchen counter while opening his beer to the man standing in the living room.
"So, what happened to make you so happy?" He plopped down on a chair.
While scrolling through his phone, Tobias suddenly paused. He glanced away from Alec's gaze and raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. While Tobias still kept his usual stoic expression on his face, the backs of his ears were already flushed red.
Alec suddenly sensed an ominous premonition.
It wasn't until a few minutes passed before Tobias said deep and low, "I told Mimi I love her…"
Alec, who was sipping his beer, suddenly froze, his eyes wide and his gaze fixed upon Tobias.
"You…what?" Alec asked slowly, his mind processing Tobias's words. "No, wait. You're in love with Mimi?"
Tobias sounded an 'mm' of agreement. Alec just stared at Tobias in disbelief, who said nothing as he stared back at Alec emotionlessly.
After a while, Alec let out a heavy, frustrated sigh and leaned forward, a hand covering his eyes.
Finally, he had looked at Tobias before he demanded, "Explain. When did this happen?"
Tobias nodded, slumping uncharacteristically in his seat. "A week ago."
Alec's eyes widened, his mouth slightly gaped.
"I thought you only saw Mimi as a little sister or an apprentice." He looked at him skeptically.
"Those were my initial feelings." For the first time, Alec saw a blush faintly tint the man's cheeks as he cleared his throat.
Tobias looked away from Alec, taking in a deep breath. "However, for this past year, I couldn't take my eyes off her. Everything about her always was fascinating but recently, I started to see her."
"I've always loved Mimi as a friend, but now…If these feelings of mine for her are romantic love, it's powerful."
Tobias fell silent, looking too embarrassed to continue speaking. Alec just stared at the man who looked like a flustered teenager.
Holy shit. He really was in love with Mimi.
"Then, how did Mimi react?"
His sister has always been delicate when it came to love. To be honest, he wasn't even sure if she knew what love was since Emily's death. If she did, she buried those feelings away long ago.
Alec could imagine the courage Tobias had to express his feelings to Mimi, only to be rejected.
"She was scared as to be expected. But, she's willing to try." Tobias stared at his hands with a light smile.
Alec remained stunned for a second before recovering his sense.
"What?"
Rather than feelings of joy that his sister had finally opened up, Alec's heart felt nothing but bitter. It wasn't the bitterness of a protective brother giving away his sister, but rather, the feelings of failure.
Through all his years of knowing Mimi and watching her grow up, he had failed to recover her from her lost love. The pain and suffering she underwent for the past decade, he had missed.
But Tobias saw it. He saw her fear of love and rejection of emotions long before he did.
In the end, it was Tobias to save his sister from her dark and painful past. Not him.
"I see…" Alec lowered his bitter filled eyes and clenched his hands. "In that case, I wish the best for the two of you. I hope you continue to take care of her."
Tobias noticed the strangeness in Alec's words but said nothing.
He nodded his head with a faint smile. "I will."
Alec looked up at him and couldn't help but smile as well. "You're a good guy Tobias; you know that?"
Tobias chuckled and pulled out his phone. "I'm not all that good."
Alec inwardly shook his head while taking a sip of his beer. The man was too modest. He was a saint! He—Alec's thoughts paused as he looked at the phone in Tobias's hand.
"What are you looking at?" Alec leaned over to glance at the screen.
The moment he saw the image on Tobias's screen he choked on his beer. He suddenly burst into a fit of coughing, his forearm wiping the dripping beer from his mouth.
"Is that a picture of Mimi sleeping?!"
Never withdrawing his eyes from the photo, Tobias grunted. Alec was dumbfounded and stared at the man with a doubtful gaze.
"Who took that photo?" He was almost too scared to know.
"I took it myself. I came over while she was sleeping." Tobias looked back at his phone and thumbed through it before showing Alec the screen. It was a photo of Mimi with her head hung back, asleep at her computer, mouth wide open with sauce on her cheek.
"This one is my favorite of her," Tobias said with all kinds of satisfaction, a broad smile on his face.
Alec looked at the photo on the screen, then finally looked up at Tobias in horror.
"You…oh my god…" Alec turned away from him, too shocked to look him in the eyes. "That's a whole other level of creepy! That's…that's…"
Forget being a saint! The man was a sick, twisted pervert!
When he looked at the phone in Tobias's hand, he had the sudden urge to grab it and thumb through his photos. Who knew how many he had of his sister on there!
"Delete them! Everything! I won't allow you to use Mimi for your own personal obsession!" Alec reached for the phone.
Tobias frowned and easily evaded Alec, causing the lunging man to fall onto the sofa. He walked out of the living room and continued to look at the photos on his phone.
Before leaving the room, Tobias didn't forget to say, "Thank you for leaving Mimi in my care."
Once those words were spoken, Alec slammed a fist on the couch.
Damn that twisted bastard!
…
Mimi was in for a surprise. A week had passed since Tobias began his courtship and within those days, he spent every chance he had with her.
Although she agreed, she hadn't expected him to try so hard!
Even when she was working at his company, he would find the chance to meet her. When this happened, all he would do is stare at her, smile, then rub her head before leaving.
It was just too weird!
It was late in the afternoon, and Mimi was sitting in her office looking over her latest work. However, she found it a little difficult.
"Tobias…" Mimi peeked from behind her documents. "Mind explaining to me why you're working in my office rather than your own?"
"I told you, I'm courting you," Tobias said from his position on her office couch. He typed up something on his laptop, his eyes never trailing away from the screen.
"Again, how does work count as courting?" Mimi asked dumbfounded.
"You're thinking of me every few seconds while working right? I consider that progress." Tobias responded casually.
Mimi widened her eyes as her face turned stiff and she was lost in a daze. Only after a long time did she recover her voice.
She muttered softly, "Idiot."
She didn't expect him to be so smooth.
Lowering her head, Mimi continued working, her cheeks slightly puffed out. Tobias's eyes swept over Mimi, an amused glint in their depths before he looked back down at his work.