Chapter 166: Blue Vulnerability
The next day passed quite quickly as it was filled with intensive physical and structural lessons.
Because the rolling schedule reserved the daytime for training, April found herself in the heavy Jeep beside Alexander, pushing her driving skills even further.
They practiced advanced off-road maneuvers, precision drifting, tire traction control, and emergency handling across the estate’s rugged terrain.
With her exceptional mental processing speed, she adapted to every challenge almost effortlessly, turning difficult obstacles into second nature.
"You know, you’re so good at it now that you don’t even need me to watch for mistakes anymore," Alexander said, cackling as he sipped from a can of beer.
"I guess I’m already that good at it," April said, drinking from a simple can of soda. "But thank you, for taking out so much time to help me despite the things going on with your grandfather."
They were preparing their fortress, and Robert Greels was taking out enough time to handpick personnel whom they could keep beside them. Doctors, nurses, chefs, gardeners for his botanical garden—practically people from each category of work class.
He was picking those who had simple families and not complex family ties where they would start worrying about grandparents, first cousins, last cousins, and so on as the list goes.
And while he was doing all that, Alexander was spending one out of two days with April. So she hoped he could go help out the old man and fulfill his role as a filial grandson, even if he didn’t want to fulfill his grandfather’s one wish and get himself a wife.
"You know," Alexander added again, staring at the setting sun on the horizon. "I don’t want our lessons to end," he whispered. "I feel like I’ve only got this lesson going for me. I can disturb you about Winecraft just to have a conversation with you. But when it comes to helping you, I don’t really—"
"You’ve helped plenty, Alexander," April interrupted him.
He looked at her, his body suddenly going rigid as he watched the flat expression on her face.
"You taught me how to drive. So, that is already enough for me to remember you by."
"You think so?" He asked, his voice smaller than he intended as he shoved his fingers through the back of his blonde hair. "But it doesn’t feel that way to me. Maybe I just want... More."
"That’s just you being greedy," she said. "And arrogant."
Hearing that, he laughed.
"I guess it is. I’ve always been one to keep taking, after all. Don’t know when to stop." He leaned his head to the side, his eyes trailing her expression as she looked away from him.
She could feel it. That immense interest she was getting from the other two—Alexander had that same interest. If she just pretended not to notice it, it would go away, right? He would realize he didn’t stand a chance or that she held no interest and then back off... Right?
She sighed. Dealing with relationships and feelings like this coming from different men was hard. She lacked the proper emotional intelligence to handle it.
"Alexander," she called, getting off from her seat on the porch. "It’s getting late, we should..." but her words were cut off when he suddenly gripped her hand and she paused.
She looked down at him, and what she saw was a deep look of vulnerability in those blue eyes of his. It was the eyes of someone wanting something they knew they very much could not have. The eyes of someone pleading...
It made April uncomfortable but she did not force her hand out of his grip.
"This is why you shouldn’t drink alcohol in the daytime," she muttered and he let out a grounding chuckle before bringing her hand to his lips.
"It was just one beer, Miss Seer. No harm there." He said, but he clearly wasn’t acting like himself at all.
Alexander suddenly stood up from his seat, stepping closer until he completely blocked her path. His tall frame cast a long shadow over her under the orange glow of the sunset.
"April," he murmured, his blue eyes locking onto hers with a sudden intensity. "Can I do something daring?"
"No," April answered immediately, her voice sharp and flat.
"I’m going to do it anyway," he said softly, ignoring her rejection.
He reached his hand toward her face. His long fingers gently brushed back the loose strands of hair hanging over her forehead, his touch incredibly warm and light against her skin.
Her eyes followed his movement but she did not move. She just stayed still, like a mannequin getting a makeover.pp
He leaned down slightly, his gaze dropping to the spot he had just cleared, and whispered, "You make me so nervous."
April didn’t move away, but her eyes narrowed into a calculating line as she looked up at him. "If I make you nervous, Alexander, you should step back. Increasing your proximity will only make your heart rate fluctuate further."
Alexander let out another soft, helpless laugh, his fingers lingering near her hairline for just a second more before he finally dropped his hand back to his side.
He didn’t pull away completely, though. He just stood there, looking down at her as if he was trying to memorize every line of her indifferent face.
"You really don’t understand, do you?" he muttered, shaking his head. "Or maybe you just choose not to. Either way, it’s terrifying."
"There is nothing terrifying about efficiency," April said, entirely unbothered by his dramatic sigh. She checked her titanium pro, noting the time. "The sun has set. I have to prepare for my stall in the black market tonight."
She was still looking down at her screen, her thumb scrolling through the schedule, entirely occupied by her calculations for the evening.
Because she didn’t back away or show any signs of panic, Alexander looked at her quiet, focused face and found a sudden wave of courage.
He leaned down smoothly, his shadow completely enveloping her, and pressed a soft, lingering kiss right against her forehead.
April froze instantly, her thumb stopping mid-scroll on the screen. The unexpected warmth of his lips against her skin sent a rare shockwave through her calm composure.
Alexander pulled back just as quickly, though he didn’t run away. A bright, genuine flush had crept up his neck and into his cheeks, making his blue eyes look incredibly bright under the dimming twilight.
He let out a breathless, nervous chuckle, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as if to keep himself from reaching out again.
"Alright," he said, his voice a little rough around the edges as he took a step back to give her space. "I’ll let you get ready for your market run. Don’t want to mess up your efficiency, Miss Seer."