"What do you mean I'm staying here?" Luke asked with his arms crossed over his chest. "You're ditching me?" he accused with cold eyes.
Leo raised his brows. This little kid really acts like him when annoyed. How amusing. "We'll only be gone for a couple of hours. But it's already seven-thirty and kids shouldn't stay up late. Be good and stay here." Leo explained. "I already assigned two body guards for you outside this suite, and a maid to wait on you while we're gone. You don't have to worry about anything. Again, it's just a couple of hours." he added.
"Who said I need a maid?", he grumbled. "Take her away! I don't need a maid!" he yelled before climbing the bed and covering himself completely with the blanket.
Leo sighed. This boy is really one of a kind. He's always sweet and nice to his mom but always grumpy and rude to him. Such bias!
"What's going on?" Charmaine asked. "Are you arguing?", Wearing a gorgeous little red dress, and burgundy stillettos, with her long black hair now tied to a big braided bun while a pair of dangling ruby heart earrings decorated her ears, she made her way out of the bathroom. She was only wearing a light make up but it was enough to stun both the father and son.
Having seen her mother's fabulous look, Luke immediately jumped down from the bed and hugged Charmaine's legs. "You're the prettiest girl in the world, mommy!" he exclaimed. "I wish I could marry you!"
Charmaine giggled at the cute boy's antics. She ruffled his hair and bent a little to give him a kiss on his cheek. Leo however was vexed. See that? See how good he treat his mommy? And he has such a silver tongue too! The boy is way better than Leo when it comes to complimenting women and it's somewhat exasperating!
"Come on! We're almost late for our dinner reservation." Leo interjected unhappily.
"Just the two of us? But how about Luke?" she worriedly asked.
Leo glanced at the little boy and sneered. "Oh, he said he didn't wanna go. He'll be alright. I already made arrangements for him."
"Is that so? Then, let's get going now." She said before giving Luke another peck on his cheek. She didn't notice the glare the little boy has been throwing to his father who only answered him with a smirk.
***
Leo told Charmaine that they were going out for dinner. What he didn't tell her was that their reservation was on a dinner cruise down the Seine river! Leo Ji reserved a whole yacht for a nighttime sightseeing and everything on the boat was exquisite!
Charmaine's hand trembled as she accepted the bouquet of red roses from Leo once they entered the yacht. That was the first bouquet of flowers she ever received from him. He then led her to the diner where she sat on the table. Dinner was currently being served but her mind was else where. She looked away and watched the view outside of the glass window to calm herself for a bit but her eyes just lost focus. All of this felt surreal and dreamy; just too good to be true. Yes, she was born to luxury. All of this could be deemed ordinary, if it wasn't Leo who arranged all these for her.
"Do you like it?" Leo asked from the chair across her. Charmaine dazedly turned to him but didn't answer. "I'm talking about the view of the Eiffel tower from here." he clarified.
Charmaine turned to her left and realized they were passing the Eiffel tower now. The bright lights of the tower were dazzling in the night. It's just too beautiful.
Yes. Just too beautiful. Just like the luxurious meal in front of her. This was a date like no other. It's both wonderful and scary.
"Leo... I want to ask you something." she looked at him wearing a serious expression. She felt like she didn't deserve all this; that someone else does. "You said you want to be with me because I'm the mother of your son. But what if I'm not?"she asked. She's always been scared of him learning about her secret. Once and for all, she wants to know the answer.
Leo sighed. She was still bothered about that of course. "Then you can be the mother of my daughter. Maybe having a girl would be good." he jested. Seeing how surprised she was, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Do you still think that I'm just pursuing you to get Luke? Well... you're wrong. In fact, I'm not keen on getting his custody, unless of course you're included on that deal, then I'll take him. He doesn't even like me. How in the world can I handle him?" he stated in a playful way to lighten up the mood.
Charmaine chuckled. "Of course he likes you. It was very obvious you know!",she commented.
Leo found her statement too hard to believe. Could it be that his son is a tsundere? He wondered where he took that trait from. "I'm sorry that I'm not good with words when it comes to things like this. I can't give you any reason why I want you. It's just that I want you!" he declared.
Charmaine looked away. She wanted to tell him about Luke's real identity but it didn't feel right at the moment. She didn't want to ruin the mood so maybe she should just consider other things later and just live by the moment. She reached for the wine and drank a glass straight up and then glanced at the view outside. Those beautiful lights shining in the distance were just like her thoughts. Still glowing with hope even in the darkest nights.
Leo watched as Charmaine drank another glass of wine, and then later asked for a bottle of red wine. He wondered why she's suddenly drinking so much.
Charmaine finished her glass of wine and then turned to Leo. She stared at him with her sad eyes for a while before letting out a sigh. "Alright! Let's do it! Let's just get married!" she blurted.