After dinner Callum went to make a call in his office after he received messages from his subordinates all throughout the dinner. In the meantime, Eva returned with the girls to their room.
She helped them have a bath and read them a new book, cuddling with them on Emmi's bed. It took a while for them to settle as they were overly excited from the day full of activities.
As they neared the end of the book, Callum appeared in their room.
"I came to say goodnight." He explained quickly.
Eva nodded and finished reading the last page of the book. She kissed the girls on their foreheads and wished them Goodnight, leaving them with Callum. Callum sat on the chair beside their beds, pulling the duvet up to their chins.
"Did you like mummy and daddy?" Emmi asked out of nowhere. Eva froze just outside of the room peeking through the gap in the door.
"I really loved your mummy. She was my sister, Emmi. I loved her as you love Suzie. And I liked your daddy too."
"Do you miss mummy?"
"I miss her very much." Callum looked at Emmi's face. His face was serious, stoic. He hid his pain well.
"I miss her too, uncle Cal."
"I know." Callum nodded as he caressed Emmi's cheek. He then leaned over and planted a kiss on her head, almost in the exact same spot as Eva did. He then did the same with Suzie. "You need a good rest tonight. We had a busy day and you need to be all recovered for when you go to Eva's home tomorrow."
"Will we come back here?" Suzie asked.
"Yes." Callum nodded. "You will come back once a week for now. With Eva. And then maybe more if you'd like to."
Girls nodded as they made themselves comfortable. Callum turned the lights off. "Uncle Cal." Suzie chirped up in the dark. "Can you leave a light on?"
Callum hesitated but he turned a mood light on the sideboard on which softly illuminated the room.
"If you need anything, just give me a shout."
"Uh-huh." Girls agreed.
Callum strode towards the door giving Eva just enough time to reach her bedroom.
Eva felt increasingly conflicted. She didn't ever want to give up the girls but she knew that she couldn't give them what Callum could. Being with her meant moving away from their roots, from their parents. Maybe Callum was right.
She was selfish in thinking that they didn't need anyone else besides herself.
Eva changed into her pyjamas. She made sure to pack pyjamas which was a little more grown up than last time. It was her only 'good' pyjamas.
She laid on the bed for hours, distracting herself with her phone. Around midnight she realised how thirsty she was. She fidgeted on the bed trying to decide what to do. She noticed the bell which had 'service' written underneath it but she thought it cruel to bother someone at this time.
After another hour of internal turmoil she decided to go for a search of a kitchen.
She walked out of her room and tried to find the light switch in the corridor. It was nowhere to be found. She swore quietly seeing nothing. She heard a nearing footsteps which only stressed her out more. Someone was walking towards her in complete darkness.
When she thought she reached the end of the wall with the light switches, she stubbed her toe on the table and she heard a ceramic move across it. She dived right in to catch it.
"What are you doing?" Callum switched on the light, finding Eva with a vase in her hands. Eva froze in absolute fear.
"Oh my God." Eva let out a sigh and started breathing again. She placed the vase down. "I thought someone was creeping in the dark."
"You are creeping in the dark."
"That's a fair point." Eva nodded.
"Why are you creeping in the dark?"
"I was hoping to get a glass of water. I was trying to make my way to the kitchen."
"Why didn't you call a housemaid?"
Eva was silent. She wasn't sure how to describe the turmoil of trying to decide whether to do so or not.
"I didn't want to bother anyone."
Callum watched her with judgment. He looked down at her pyjamas which was a navy blue satin set, and back up at her reddened cheeks.
"The kitchen is this way." He said as he pointed at the exact opposite end of the corridor to where Eva was walking.
"Thank you." Eva mumbled, embarrassed about it all, and feeling like she intruded in Callum's home. Callum started walking beside her down the corridor. "I hope the call went well." Eva tried to strike a conversation.
"As well as it can go when you're discussing LTIP with finance and HR." Callum answered as he put hands in his trouser pockets. "Sorry, corporate business jargon."
"Long Term Incentive Plan can be challenging to discuss when you have two groups of people with different objectives." Eva responded in hope to sound empathetic towards the challenges Callum might be facing. "Hopefully, you'd be able to mediate the middle ground."
"Uh-huh." Callum looked over at her, realising how little he knew about her. Not even once did it cross his mind that she might have an awareness of business and corporate in any shape or form.
"The girls were very happy about today." Eva informed him with a smile.
"I'm glad. What about you?"
"Me?" Eva was surprised that Callum would bother to ask. "I'm very happy to see the girls smiling."
"That's good." Callum nodded. He then remembered the conversation "Marjorie is such a bitch?" He repeated more as a question.
"Don't come at me. I didn't teach her to swear." Eva said defensively. "She must've overheard me."
"Uh-huh." Callum didn't sound convinced. "Who is Marjorie?"
"My manager." Eva answered.
"And do you think it to be kind to call your manager a bitch?"
"I'm sure your employees called you worse." Eva shrugged.
Callum stared at her. He never thought about it like that before. Not even once did he think that one of his employees may dislike him.
He led her into the kitchen and quickly grabbed a glass.
"Still? Sparkling? Lemonade? Pop?" He asked.
"Just the tap water." Eva replied grabbing the glass and filling it up herself.
Callum nodded and grabbed himself a drink from the fridge.
Evelyn and Callum walked back up to the first floor barely talking.
"If you need anything else, just ask." Callum told Eva as he stood with her just outside her bedroom. "If you don't want to bother my staff, you can knock on my bedroom door." He pointed at the door right beside Eva's bedroom.
Eva nodded but all her thoughts seemed to go directly to the fact that they were a wall apart.
Callum noticed her still reddened cheeks and wondered if she really felt embarrassed enough about it all.
"Good night, Eva."
Eva flinched as he said it. She wasn't used to hearing her name being spoken by someone like Callum. She felt goosebumps go down her spine.
"Good night, Callum." She said as she quickly entered her room.