Chapter 287 - 274: I’m Very Good-Tempered with Girls
He pinched the bridge of his nose. ’Perhaps I remembered it wrong.’
"Uncle, have you met my dad?" Hannah asked, his excitement renewed.
Hannah blinked his big eyes, his gaze full of expectation. For a moment, Elliot was at a loss, unsure whether to say he had met the man or not.
Just then, Georgia and Chloe, who had gone out to buy clothes, returned.
Hannah was called outside by Chloe. Georgia came in with the newly bought clothes, saw the open photo album, and asked, "You two had a nice chat?"
"More or less," Elliot said, closing the album and setting it aside.
There were no proper suits here, so Georgia had bought him a tracksuit.
After Elliot put it on, he looked a good ten years younger.
Besides the ancient town, you could also go hiking in the mountains here.
According to Chloe, there was a very old and powerful temple on the mountain. Nearly every tourist who visited the area would make a trip up to see it.
Georgia hadn’t wanted to go, but since it was Saturday and Hannah didn’t have school, he insisted on dragging them all along.
"Ms. Thorne, let’s go to the mountain! Please, please, please!" Hannah clung to Georgia’s side, pestering her relentlessly until she had no choice but to agree.
Chloe wasn’t keen on going. "You guys go ahead. Just take good care of my son for me!"
Hannah didn’t mind at all and continued to cling to Georgia. "Ms. Thorne, don’t worry about my mom. It’s fine as long as we go!"
And so, the three of them headed out.
They didn’t leave particularly early. The stone path up the mountain was already packed with people coming to offer incense. Looking up, all one could see was a dense sea of heads.
By the time they were halfway up the mountain, Georgia was already sweating with exhaustion. Hannah, who had been skipping and jumping ahead, turned around. "Ms. Thorne, hurry up!"
Georgia’s stamina had always been poor. She gave a noncommittal response and forced herself to keep walking.
"If you can’t go on, let’s stop and rest for a while. It’s still early, anyway." Elliot glanced at his watch from beside her. It was exactly nine o’clock.
Georgia gritted her teeth. "Let’s keep going."
Elliot was worried about her. The mountain path wasn’t steep, but seeing her unsteady on her feet, he grabbed her wrist. "Hold on to me while you walk."
Georgia really was exhausted and needed the support. She grabbed Elliot’s sleeve, and they walked for another ten minutes or so.
When they reached a rest pavilion, Georgia was truly spent and asked to stop for a break.
Hannah was covered in sweat. He sat on the stone bench next to Georgia. "Ms. Thorne, I’m thirsty."
They had brought a few bottles of water with them. Elliot handed one to him. "Drink up."
As he spoke, he twisted open another bottle of water and handed it to Georgia.
Georgia’s face was flushed, her forehead covered in tiny beads of sweat. She chugged more than half the bottle before handing it back to Elliot.
He didn’t seem to mind, taking the bottle and finishing the rest of the water himself.
As Hannah drank his water, his gaze shifted back and forth between Georgia and Elliot. ’I’m so envious,’ he thought.
’It would be so nice if my mom and dad could go hiking with me too.’
After a ten-minute rest, they continued their ascent. About half an hour later, they finally reached the temple at the flat summit.
The temple was bustling, thick with the scent of incense. There were many devout tourists praying, and Georgia followed the crowd slowly into the main hall.
After they finished praying, Elliot pulled Georgia outside. She had no idea where he was taking her. She turned back to grab Hannah, then followed Elliot. "What are you doing?"
"This," Elliot said, handing her a bamboo cylinder filled with fortune sticks.
’So he wants me to draw a fortune?’
"I’m not doing it!" she said, shaking her head. She didn’t want to.
The fortune she’d drawn last time had left a scar on her. ’What if this time is just like the last?’
Since Georgia refused, Elliot didn’t force her, but his displeasure was plain to see.
Elliot’s expression remained gloomy all the way back down the mountain.
Georgia walked up beside him and tried to coax him in a soft voice. "Drawing fortunes isn’t accurate anyway. If you really want to, we can go back and do it now?"
Her tone was clearly meant to appease him. Elliot shot her a sidelong glance, quickened his pace, and grabbed Hannah by the collar to drag him down the mountain.
Hannah had been walking along just fine, and being dragged by the collar was incredibly uncomfortable. "Uncle, let me go!"
Hannah was too short and weak to escape from Elliot’s clutches, so he could only appeal to Georgia for help. "Ms. Thorne, help me!"
A smile spread across Georgia’s face as she caught up. "Why are you so mean to kids!"
"Who says I am!"
"Aren’t you? You’re so short-tempered with children! It wasn’t just Hannah. Last time with Leah’s good friend, Miles, you were so fierce you almost made the boy cry!"
Georgia rescued Hannah from Elliot’s grasp. The boy cleverly ducked behind Georgia, not forgetting to peek up at Elliot.
"I’m very good-tempered with little girls. If you don’t believe me, have one with me and see!"
Georgia: "..." ’Who wants to have a baby with you?’
At the mention of children, the conversation immediately fell silent. Georgia lowered her head, avoiding Elliot’s gaze.
Elliot assumed Georgia still hadn’t moved on from the shadow of losing their child. After a long moment, he worked up the courage to grab her hand, forcefully intertwining their fingers, and said softly, "I’m sorry."
"Hm?" Georgia looked up in confusion and met his guilt-ridden gaze. It took her a long moment to understand.
The matter of their child was his fault, and it was her fault. Neither of them could escape that responsibility.
The moment Georgia squeezed his hand back, she suddenly felt an inexplicable weight lift from her chest. Perhaps she had finally overcome that hurdle in her heart.
The smile on her face was too bright, too brilliant. It captured his gaze, and he couldn’t look away.
Georgia narrowed her eyes slightly. "Am I that pretty?"
Elliot hummed in agreement. "You are. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen."
Hannah stood beside them with his hands on his hips and huffed. "Do you two have to be so sappy? And right in front of a kid!"
He was embarrassed for both of them!
Georgia’s face flushed. She tried to pull her hand away but couldn’t break free. She looked up to glare at Elliot, only to be surprised to see that the tips of his ears were red too.
By the time they got down the mountain, it was afternoon. After several hours of running and jumping, Hannah had finally run out of energy and had Elliot carry him.
Georgia and Elliot stayed one more night, leaving the next morning.
Hannah whispered something to Elliot. Then, Elliot got in the car, said his goodbyes, and they drove off.
"How did you know I was here?" Georgia finally asked after they had been driving for a while.
"I installed a tracker on your phone," Elliot said, his eyes on the road. "When you turned your phone on that night, your location pinged. I drove through the night to get here."
"When did you install a tracker on my phone?"
Georgia had always thought of Elliot as a sophisticated, upstanding man; she never imagined he would do something so underhanded.
Thinking back, there was only that one time her phone had been in his hands.
’I’m getting a new phone as soon as I get back,’ she decided.
"You should get some sleep. It’s a long drive back," Elliot said, glancing at her. He even pulled a blanket from the glove compartment.
Georgia was, in fact, a bit sleepy. She covered herself with the blanket. Elliot cranked up the heat, and she was asleep before long.
She had no idea how long she had slept. When she woke up, she found the car was parked.
"Are we there?"
"No, we just got to a rest stop. Are you hungry? Want to get out and grab a bite?" Georgia shook her head. She was worried about getting carsick later.
Elliot filled up the tank, and they got back on the road.
The journey was much longer than Georgia had imagined.
By the time the two of them arrived in Portmire, it was already noon.
As expected, Georgia got carsick. The moment she stepped onto solid ground, her legs felt weak. Luckily, Elliot was quick to catch and steady her.
"I feel a little carsick."
Elliot simply carried her into the apartment and laid her on the bed.
"Do you want something to eat?"
Georgia shook her head. "I just want to sleep for a bit."
She took off her coat, curled up in the blankets, and fell asleep.
In a daze, Georgia sensed someone coming and going in her apartment, but the queasiness in her stomach was so strong she couldn’t open her eyes. She remained in a groggy sleep until evening.
When she woke up, Elliot was gone, but she discovered that her home was full of new things.
For instance, there were men’s clothes in the closet, men’s toiletries in the bathroom, and other assorted items.
Georgia got changed and came out just in time to see Elliot walk in, carrying a bag.
The things in the bag were, not surprisingly, the same things he had bought at the supermarket last time.
"Why are you moving all your stuff in?" Georgia asked, momentarily dumbfounded.
Elliot’s reply was perfectly smooth. "Since you won’t move back to the apartment complex, I had no choice but to move in here."
"..."
’What a high-and-mighty reason.’
Elliot smiled faintly and placed the bag on the dining table. Georgia glanced at it and felt a headache coming on. "My place is tiny! Where am I supposed to put all your stuff?"
"It’ll fit, it’ll fit. It can even fit me!" Elliot said, slipping on his pair of oversized cotton slippers.
’So shameless!’
Georgia huffed and sat down, watching him slowly try to organize his things. But the more he tried, the bigger the mess became.
She had forgotten that Elliot was a young master from a wealthy family. He had housekeepers to tidy up for him at home; why would he ever be bothered with such trivial tasks?
Unable to watch any longer, Georgia stood up and took the items from his hands. "Here, let me."
Elliot had bought a lot of things on a whim last time.
Some of it was usable; the excess was stored away in a cabinet for now.
After finishing, Georgia looked up at him. "Are you really going to sleep here?"
Elliot hugged her from behind, enveloping her small frame in his arms. "Georgia, have you ever seen a married couple who live apart?"
"Of course. Otherwise, how would the concept of ’separation’ exist?"
Elliot: "..."
At that moment, Elliot didn’t want to hear any word related to ’parting’.