Chapter 4: Stubborn (Part 2)

Unexpectedly swamped with overwhelmedness, Ivie enfolds her arms around her child, one hand spread on his back and the other on the back of his head, holding him and returning his wholesome embrace as she squeezes him between her arms.

She picks him up and lets him sit on her lap while she soothes and calms him down by caressing his back up and down repeatedly with his warm hand. Worry etches her face.

He's shivering.

She pressed her lips softly against the side of his head and they stayed in that comfortable silence until his breathing and heart rate slowed down. She can see why his maid was troubled from chasing him down the halls and stairs a while ago when she failed to button up the last three buttons of his polo shirt.

It really looks like he was in a hurry to see her.

"Shhh. It's okay, mommy's sorry, too." She murmurs in his ear.

Oh, my sweet, sweet, sweet child. She can never get tired of continuing to live her life when she has him warming and making her heart full day by day. Just as now, embracing him had erased all her tedious worries away.

All the pain and pressure she endured. It was all worthwhile. She got home safely and earlier than the last day in return.

She cups the other side of his cheek and rubs his smooth and flushed baby skin, wiping away his warm and translucent tears. Her mellow eyes frowned at the sight of a mild redness at the corner of his sad drenched green eyes.

"You should have called me, sweetheart. Mommy's phone is always open for you," she consoles him more by placing a soft chaste kiss on his pale forehead. He instantly nestles to her warmth more, softening in her embrace as his eyes defenselessly shut close.

"You have meetings, mother. I thought the best way to see you were to meet you in person." Kieran breathes her calming fragrance. He didn't like the idea of communicating with his mother through a simple device.

It felt as if she was too far to reach. He detested it.

Kieran open his eyes and reached to play with the earring his mother wore from her left ear. His thumb gently strokes the white pearl surrounded and accompanied with tiny gemstones. His eyes glisten, pleased at what he's seeing. It suits her well. Everything does.

He decided white will be excellent for a favorite color.

Ivie grins at hearing his response, and she couldn't be more proud of how considerate her little boy was. He's very mature to think of her welfare. What did she do in her past life to deserve someone as sweet as him?

Did she save a whole empire? The universe, rather?

"Saturday, I'll take you to the office with me. How does that sound?" She says, skimming a handful of his thick and healthy hair backward with her fingers. Well, with her controlling parents' absence, they might as well take this great opportunity to show him around the city.

Kieran beams. Music to his ears! He loves the sound of that, "Every Saturday? I promise I'll behave."

Ivie suppressed the smile wanting to break free from her lips. There it is again. His boyish signature grin is back on full show.

How cunning can her little man be?

"Alright, every Saturday it is. As long as you behave inside the house and listen well to your tutors." Her index finger taps on the tip of his proud nose. She's glad that they could negotiate. At the very least, this way, she can keep his tantrums in check.

"I will," replied the young boy without delay and hesitation.

His eyes were smiling, and it was registered all over his face how thrilled and delighted he was. It was not because of the thought of him finally crossing the marked off limits outside these tiring walls, but because he was elated to spend extensive hours with his beloved mother. That's a first!

He's strung and looking forward to it.

Ivie brushes off the sweat cruising down his forehead with a clean handkerchief before giving him an apologetic smile, "But I have to apologize, sweetheart. I can't take you by this month."

She can only start touring him to her office once she settles down her hectic schedule because these days she's not mainly in her office.

And because stubbornness is already part of his nature, "I can wait," he replied, adamant. His wide promising eyes staring back at her expectantly.

A promise is a promise. He just needs to wait for her to fulfill her promise. He knows fair well that his mother never backs down from her words.

Ivie chews on her bottom lip, pausing for a minute. Now that the mood is set, it's time for her to fulfill the final goal for today. She breathed in and out and wished herself a stroke of good luck. She stares at his bright face and reluctantly opens her mouth.

"I'm leaving for a business trip to the Capital of Luisiana, my mitten." She whispers, stroking his bangs lovingly and hoping that her child could still be courteous enough to let her be without causing another tantrum in the mansion.

But as expected of his reaction, his charming and dashing smile instantly drops as he distances himself from her. He glances up at her with his horrified and startled wide eyes.

"When mother? For how long?" Kieran anxiously replied, looking paler than usual. Is his mother leaving now? That can't happen!

"The day after tomorrow, for a week or two." Honestly, it depends. They could only know once they get there, but she could never tell him that it would most likely take her three weeks in minimum duration. That's twenty-one days prior. It's even worse when she ponders more about it.

The day after tomorrow!? "So sudden? Who's coming with you, mother?" Kieran's voice turned slightly distant and cold.

Ivie bites her tongue underneath her sealed lips, studying the way his brows lift then inch closer, furrowing and she can see how his green eyes were bathed with different emotions she, herself, as his mother can't name. Well, it's a good thing she had prepared herself well for his intrusive attacks.

"Don't sulk, sweetheart. I know it's a bit rushed, but my secretary will be there to accompany me," she tries to smooth-talk him. Sometimes, she wondered about his nosiness that is idly similar to a man she knew in many aspects.

She shakes the funny thought of it away.

Kieran stared at her collar, his lips frowning. Can he come with her, too? "Mother, is your secretary a he or she?"

Ivie's lips thinned, her eyes squinting at him. Right. Of course, he'll ask her that, "A he? But he may be interested with another 'he'," she says, trying to imply that her secretary was not straight.

Geez, a four years old like him should fall for that, right?

"That doesn't count. It's still a guy, mother."

Her child sternly responds, his arms professionally crossed in front of him, making her gulp. If there's anyone who wouldn't fall for her tricks, the certificate should directly reward her witty child. She sighs in defeat and she could only shake her head at his oblivious response. His logic is definitely on another level. How is he just four?

Samuel, her meticulous secretary, though clueless that his reputation was already tarnished to the next heir had already proven his loyalty to her, and she's proud to say that he passed in flying colors. Whereas the only missing piece for the evidence of his candor was a pledge paper that states he's willing to take a bullet for her.

And God knows if such a thing existed, he'd even sign it using his blood as ink.

Over the years he functioned under her wing, they had shared the same obligation and pressure throughout her overtime schedules and sleepless nights. There was not a single moment where he grumbled about the workload or left the office before her.

He's genuine, loyal, and chivalrous, so it was only natural that he's an employee she greatly values. He's a person who thinks outside the box and everything he states are with lesser jurisdiction but on point. He's calm but maddening smart, and she had watched his growing sincerity every single day and deeply appreciates his honesty.

He's a man who wouldn't make any reckless move and thus respected her by showing no ounce of interest other than his admiration towards her as his superior.

In this cunning world, she needed loyal and trustworthy subjects by her side, and she's glad to call him one.

Though she might have assumed her secretary wasn't straight as he wasn't interested in any women in and out of the office. There were no dating rumors of him as well. In fact, his anti-romanced life only made it worst for him to be such a workaholic.

She was worried he'd marry off his work if it was legally established.

Should she also start mentoring dating skills to that kid, too?

"Well if you'd wanted to come by my office, you'd get to meet him," She continues to button his clothes, fixes his collar, and brush off the slight greases from his clothing her eyes can spot. She bets they'll get along well.

Kieran's brow secretly arches. He grits his teeth, irked, "Don't wanna."

He has no ounce of interest in knowing her secretary. What should he do? Should he feign having an upset stomach to stop her from leaving?

Would it work this time as well?

His grimace deepens as he rests the side of his head against his mother's shoulder.

Is his mother fond of that person—the secretary?

He hated the idea the douche gets to spend more time with his mother than he can.

Unaware of his hysterical thoughts, Ivie wraps him with silk that was supposed to be hers. She was terrified of the idea of him catching a cold. Afterward, she pulls him closer and covers her arms around him again, sheltering him with her motherly warmth.

She couldn't resist but give in when he was using his usual clingy card on her. She hopes to at least lend her warmth to his cold body, "Well, you had a month to decide on your own."

Though she knows very well that he'll eventually change his mind.