BXBX NOVEL Chapter 27 Facing Them 1
He stood there mesmerized. \'Since when did she know how to play an instrument?\'
The woman in front of him was like a puzzle, she constantly left him in bafflement. However, he couldn\'t keep himself from figuring out the mysteries surrounding her.
How she lived and survived all this time..
How she stumbled upon Silvertown..
How she learned to do this and that...
How she interacted with people..
And most of all -
How she confronted the fact that she was pregnant.
How she decided to stick with it.
All of these things and many more, he wanted to know the answers. But before he could solicit an answer to one, here she is, adding another mystery into his already long list.
Standing there bewildered, he suddenly found himself in a trance as he watched and heard her play the violin. While everyone saw an image of their beloved ones with colorful petals raining down on them as they twirl to the music, what he saw was a vision of a mother and child merrily dancing and enjoying the music.
Such a loving scene..
Only that, he wasn\'t there.
He could just imagine how much he would be missing if he wouldn\'t get to join that loving family of two. A deep sense of longing sprouted in from the depths of his cold heart, so deep that he had to use all his mental capacity to stop his mouth from uttering out loud -
\'I want to be there too…\'
That was his decision as soon as the music stopped, as soon as he heard the cheers from the crowd, as soon as he found himself clapping along and nodding with pride -
\'This is the mother of my child..\'
At that moment, he knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be part of this family. He wanted to be there. He also wanted to belong. He decided that he will be staying beside her and go through this journey of building a family with her and his child.
Prior to this, it was only out of the obligation to care for a descendant of his family. His motivations came from the fact that he had to be responsible for his future offspring. For people like him the word \'family\' had a twisted meaning. But now…
He stood there in anticipation, waiting for the moment to finally have a serious conversation with her. As he stayed beside her, he felt an agitation to settle this matter as soon as possible. He found himself impatient, even helping her settle such a trivial task of setting up a bank account for a random dealer just to finally talk things with her. He couldn\'t wait anymore.
After settling the matter, he found her uncaring about him. She even just hummed a tune out of excitement in getting a new instrument. Most probably, it didn\'t occur to her that he already knew her identity.
Although agitated, he found it amusing. However, he wouldn\'t let this opportunity be lost.
Finally deciding to remind her of his presence, he teased with his magnetic baritone voice -
"So my lovely dear wife, shall we settle OUR family matters?"
--
\'Oh my Glissando! He knew!!!!"
Goosebumps crept through Eli\'s body as soon as she heard his words. She was caught off guard. She cursed herself for how naive she was thinking that the man didn\'t recognize her.
At that moment she froze, her mind went blank. She felt as if there were no people around, not even Baobao nor Wisey. Just her and this man, one of the people she wanted to meet the least.
Eli started to feel anxious, that her shoulders closed in forward and her hands were placed on her chest - a body language showing anxiousness and inferiority. The silver haired man felt her fright, afraid that it would stimulate her too much he said in a much gentler tone,
"Free lady, I know you are anxious.. But we need to really talk," his crystal blue eyes were pleading as he tried to display his pure intentions.
"If it will make you feel better, let us move to a location where you feel safe the most, whether it is a restaurant or the plaza." The silver haired man continued to coax Eli.
Still wary of the silver haired man\'s intention, she forced herself to think calmly. Inhaling deeply, she took her time to reply with the man\'s request. After feeling her body relax from anxiety, she started to mentally communicate with Wisey about the situation.
Wisey, assuring her that they would be with her whatever decision she made, told her not to worry. As a spirit of knowledge, Wisey laid down the possible choices Eli can think about.
She can choose to confront the man now, or decline to give some time for herself, then confront him later on. But one thing was for sure, she definitely had to face him someday.
After contemplating, Eli took a deep breath and helplessly replied,
"A place where I would feel safe… Then we go to Argentum,"
If someone would ask her who in Prasinos does she trust the most, that would be Grandpa Andi. She wanted to gamble on the fact that Grandpa Andi and Grandpa Ben were legendary people. Eli was sure that in Argentum, she would be protected no matter what.
Without any emotion but utter calmness on his face, the silver haired man nodded. He, along with Eli and the furry buddies, wordlessly walked towards Argentum. The atmosphere around them was so tense, especially for the two furries who were on high alert for Eli\'s safety.
Eli didn\'t know how she could even manage to walk in the long busy road to Argentum. Full of uncertainty over what will be the outcome of this confrontation, she walked with her head hung low. She was so afraid to lift her head and see the expression of the silver haired man, so during their stroll, her eyes were only focused on the cobblestone road.
In the busy cobblestone street where the fiery orange color of the dusk was starting to grow darker, a group of young kids was playfully running their way home. They ran towards Eli and the group, with one of the kids about to collide with Eli. Before Baobao could shield her from the impact, a pair cold arms gently pulled towards safety,
"Watch out.." the silver haired man softly said, as he covered his arms on Eli\'s body, protecting her from colliding with the child.
"Thaa-thank you.." Eli, consciously replied. She had been too physically close to this man, ever since she met him. She was not too comfortable with this kind of interaction.
She was a salarywoman. She only knew how to work. She never gave herself an opportunity to socialize and mingle with men. The things she knew about men, all came from her female colleague who would come and rant on her during work breaks and ask advice about relationship problems.
An irony though, she was a single woman, yet her female colleagues would all ask her for advice on the things she was not even able to experience. Maybe it\'s because the eyes of an independent person were the most reliable and unbiased?
"Uhn, do not wander your mind off.. Focus on walking to Argentum safely." the silver haired man replied with a stern tone.
"One thing I assure you, I came with clean intentions. Just give me a chance to talk with you, So do not worry too much, lest you stumble on the road." he continued his tone was still stoic, yet his crystal blue eyes were filled with worry.
"Yes.. Apologies." still wary and embarrassed, Eli docily replied, but this time she held her head up and looked at him cautiously.
\'He is right, my worrywart attitude may cause Little Han harm,\'
\'Eli, be courageous!\'
Finding a bit of courage, they continued to walk along the road, again filled with awkward silence. Wisey who could take the level of awkwardness between these two dense people, mentally asked Eli,
\'Since you would be conversing with him, then might as well introduce yourself?\'
\'Eeeh why me? What if he would not respond to me? No way!! I won\'t take initiative!\'
\'Heh.. you were fearless enough to go through the hellish pregnancy but you chicken out on just introducing your name? Such a scaredy cat~~"
\'It\'s a different matter!\' Eli retaliated.
\'Oh~~~ You were even brave enough to accept being reincarnated into a strange world, but you were too cowardly to make such a man an acquaintance??\'
Wisey continued to tease her so much until she scrunched up her face in frustration. She was so provoked by Wisey\'s taunt, that she dared to do exactly what the other wanted.
With a determined look on her face, her brows furrowed in concentration and her eyes so intense, she looked towards the silver haired man and said in tone feigning boldness,
"Since we will be talking, let\'s get acquainted. My name is El-"
"Elise, I know.." the silver haired man interrupted.
"You already knew me?" Eli was surprised. As far as she knew, Elise and this man had only spent a drunken night with each other. She never reckoned that the man knew Elise by name.
"Uhn, I used to.." the man answered in a cryptic manner.
"You used too???" Eli was as speechless as much as she was confused. This man really was so aloof he didn\'t want to talk. Silence again filled the air.
Wisey face palmed, she lifted her parrot wings and hid her head in it, frustrated.
\'These two, how cringy had this conversation become? Aishh!!\'
She was about to nag Eli to continue the conversation, however she eventually lost hope when she looked at the two. Soon they arrived at the Argentum, where they saw the little elder dwarf, Grandpa Andi.
"Heavens, you lot are still here? The night is just around!" Grandpa Andi hastily met the group with a distressed expression. As he said this, he was gasping in between, as he wiped the little beads of sweat in his forehead.
"Grandpa! How come you seem exhausted?" Surprised, Eli welcomed the anxious Grandpa Andi.
"Ah no bother, no bother, I just came to check some matters.." Seeing Eli worried, he assured her that everything was fine. He also felt touched that the young lass was worried about him and immediately cheered him up.
"What brings you here.. Oh who might be this gentleman?" Cheerfully changing the topic, he asked Eli and noticed an aloof silver haired man beside her.
"Ah this.. Man was…" Eli was too embarrassed to tell them who the man was.
"Greetings Elder, I am the father of the child she is conceiving." The silver haired man respectfully bowed on Grandpa Andi and introduced himself in a straightforward tone.
Too shocked about what was happening, Grandpa Andi looked towards Eli with eyes wide and mouth agape, then back to the man, then back to Eli.
He was stunned as a rock, like a father hearing her precious daughter introducing her boyfriend for the first time.
"Fa..father?!"