Filed To Story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel
“You too,” Ruka replied, her solemn gaze locking with his.
He closed the car door for her once she had settled in the backseat. Elijah then started the car, but he did not step on the gas pedal immediately, worried that there might be other things Ren would like to say to Ruka.
However, Elijah was surprised when he turned around and saw that the both of them were not speaking at all but merely watched one another with reluctance with eyes that were filled with the pair of separation.
“Fine then. I‘ll have lunch with you after this.” With that, Ren signed his name on the document with a flourish.
At the sight of this, Ruka‘s eyes lit up, and she quickly grabbed a piece of blank paper as she said to him, “I‘d like an autograph, please.”
She looked at him like he was her favorite celebrity. Smiling, he took the pen and signed his name on the paper. She stared at his elegant autograph and laughed, saying, “I promise I‘ll treasure this always.” She thought she might be the very first fan to have the vice president‘s signature on a non– work document!
Let me enjoy this moment, ‘she thought happily as she left the study with his precious signature in hand.
When lunchtime rolled around, the maids had prepared a feast, but Ruka was not hungry. She found herself thinking about how hard it would be for them to meet again if she were to leave this time.
“Eat up. You can‘t go home looking all scrawny, or your parents would file for abuse,” Ren chided good–naturedly as he heaped food onto her plate.
Ruka sputtered and said, “Don‘t worry about it. I bet they‘re more concerned that I might be a nuisance to you here.”
His smile deepened. She was by no means a nuisance unless he counted the times he had to take cold showers because of her presence here. If anything, she was the reason he had caught a cold after all these years of being relatively healthy.
Elijah dropped by as soon as they had finished their meal. Ruka looked torn; she wanted to stay, but she missed her parents as well. In the end, by 1.30PM, she got into Elijah‘s car.
Ren had personally seen her to the car door, but with Elijah there, he did not say much to her. “Remember to take good care of yourself.”
“You too,” Ruka replied, her solemn gaze locking with his.
He closed the car door for her once she had settled in the backseat. Elijah then started the car, but he did not step on the gas pedal immediately, worried that there might be other things Ren would like to say to Ruka.
However, Elijah was surprised when he turned around and saw that the both of them were not speaking at all but merely watched one another with reluctance with eyes that were filled with the pair of separation.
“What‘s the rush?” Claire interjected. She did not like the idea of having her daughter see anyone unless it was a truly nice young man who had the makings of a wonderful husband.
Vanya smiled indulgently. “Well, Ruka‘s always been pretty, and I‘m sure she‘ll blossom in the years to come. Men will be lining up outside your door just to ask for her hand!”
Blushing, Ruka lowered her gaze, and for some reason, Ren‘s silhouette surfaced in her mind. Will I really marry him someday?
“She doesn‘t need men to line up for her hand; she needs someone who can really care for her,” Claire argued.
Just then, Ruka‘s phone buzzed with a new message, and she glanced at it to see that it was from Ren. ‘What are you doing now?‘ he asked.
She peered at the grown–ups warily over the dinner table, then quickly replied, ‘Family dinner. My aunt’s trying to set me up with nice young men.
‘Say you‘re taken,‘ came his response.
‘I can‘t,‘ she objected.
‘Well then, tell her you already have a nice young man in mind, but leave my name out of it, Ren countered, refusing to entertain the thought that his woman would go on a blind date with some random guy.
A small smile curled on her lips as she read this, and she buried this happy secret in the midst of the grown–ups‘ lively chatter.
That night, she could not sleep no matter how hard she tried. It was already past 10.00PM, and as she lay restlessly in bed, she thought about all the warm and happy memories she had with Ren.
Ruka remembered how flustered and jumpy she had been when they first met. To think, she had gone from that to missing him even though they had only been apart for less than a day. Now, the idea of being together with him did not seem half as scary as not having him in her life at all.
She wanted to text him, but she didn’t want to bother him at this hour, knowing that he was probably working
At that moment, she pulled up their photos, taken while they were strolling around while window shopping. She zoomed in on the photos and memorized his features through her screen. Gradually, a blush crept up her checks, and a strange heat coursed through her as her heartbeat quickened. Unbidden, the memory of his lips on hers, fiery and demanding, flooded her mind.
She burrowed into the covers, blushing madly, and decided that it was dangerous to dwell on the thought for too long
The next morning, she went to work carlier than usual. She was reinvigorated after a weekend’s worth of rest, but lightning struck when she walked into the office and realized that the results of thcir last assessment were relcscd.
She hurriedly searched for her name on the list, and her heart plunged to her stomach when she saw that she had failed. She wasn’t sure if Victoria’s outward dislike toward her was the sole cause of this, or if the results were based on actual discrepancies in the materials she submitted.
“Ah! I passed!” Michelle exclaimed happily, clapping her hands over her mouth in disbelief.
“Me, too! Did anyone fail to make it?” Inara looked up and swept her gaze smugly over the others in the department. She grew suspicious when she caught the uneasy look on Ruka’s face, and she called out bluntly, “Hey, Ruka. Please tell me you’ve passed! This is just the first assessment, for goodness’ sake.”
At once, everyone turned to look at her. Caspian was the only one who showed her any sympathy while the rest eyed her condescendingly. They were all thinking that this was what she deserved for pulling strings to get into the department. In any case, the assessment only proved that she had no right to be here save for her connections, otherwise she would not have failed.
Ruka took the onslaught of judgment in stride and nodded. “Yeah, I guess I just need to work harder.”
“And if you fail that one, you might as well forget about the rest of the assessment,” Inara pointed out sardonically. She was never one to hold back on her candor, though it would help if she didn’t have such a sharp tonguc. “If I were you, I’d pack up and go home right now before I embarrass myself any further.”
“Can’t you just shut up for two seconds, Inara?” Caspian snapped, frowning
“Why?! Are we all treading on eggshells around Ruka now? You know I’m right,” Inara argued, then scoffed as she dragged Michelle out the door with hier.
Caspian heaved a long sigh after those girls left, and he addressed Ruka curiously, “I don’t know why you failed when you worked twice as hard as everyone else. Could something have gone wrong along the way?”
Ruka pursed her lips and forced out a smile as she said, “Just bad luck, I guess.”
In truth, she was a little bitter over this. She had done all her research and submitted all relevant materials for the assessment, confident that she would pass.
It was lunchtime at the cafeteria when Ruka turned into the hallway, only to accidentally bump into someone. She looked up to see that it was none other than Victoria, who shot her a cold glare before brushing past her.
“Miss Parfait, a word please?” Ruka spoke up boldly.
As though knowing what this would lead to, Victoria arched her brow and said, “I know what you want to talk about, but any opinions you might have will not change anything.” With this, she had as good as told Ruka that she could slave her days and nights away to make up for the failing grade and it would not change a thing, because there was no way she would ever let her pass the assessment.
She’s holding me back on purpose.
“Miss Parfait, I was only hoping that you might drop this unfair treatment toward me,” Ruka pointed out calmly.
“Don’t be so pretentious, Ruka. You want to talk about fair treatment? Fine. How about you share that sentiment with Ren? He was the one who pulled strings to get you into the Translation Department, no questions asked,” Victoria sneered.
Ruka sroze. There was no hiding Victoria’s hostility now.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.