Chapter 8 : Little Pain

“Good morning! Rise and shine,” Elena said cheerfully, bowing slightly as Nathaniel stepped out of his room.

“Where’s my dad?” he asked flatly, barely stopping.

“Mr. Hughson went out to the office this morning,” Elena replied, stepping a little closer with a smile.

“I see,” Nathaniel mumbled and kept walking.

“Oh, he asked me to give you this when you woke up.” She picked up a small box from the table and held it out to him.

Nathaniel glanced at it, uninterested.

“Take it to my room,” he said over his shoulder, already veering toward the piano section without waiting for a response..........

......

When Elena walked in, Nathaniel was already at the piano. Her steps slowed as the sound filled the room, fast, graceful, and almost too perfect for someone his age.

She stood there, completely amazed, watching his fingers fly across the keys. He hit every note with precision, not even glancing down.

As he pressed the final chord, Elena clapped her hands together in admiration.

“Wow! That was incredible!” she said, clapping a little louder than she meant to.

Nathaniel glanced at her with a deadpan expression.

“With that clap, you might break something,” he muttered, closing the piano lid with a soft thud.

He stood and walked out from the there

“Right,” Elena said with a small, awkward laugh.

She turned, half-smiling to herself.

“Totally just got roasted by a 7 years”, she muttered under her breath.

.........

Mr. Hughston doesn’t look up when Chris enters.

"You called for me, sir?" Mr Chris said immediately when he walked into the office

Mr. Hughson closed a file in front of him as his fingers tapped lightly on the desk.

“Yeah. Shut the door.” Mr Hughson said...

Chris obeys, the soft click of the door closing behind him. Hughson finally looks up..

“I want you to look into something for me. Quietly.” Mr Hughson muttered

Chris straightens. “Alright, Sir”

Mr. Hughson slides a slim folder across the desk.

Inside were expense reports, project memos, and travel logs

“These figures from the Singapore project? They don’t add up. And I don’t believe it’s just clerical errors.”

Chris flips through the pages, his eyes narrowing.

“You think someone’s skimming?”

“I think someone’s either cutting corners or cooking the books and doing a lazy job hiding it. Either way, I want a name.”. Mr Husghston said

Chris nods, slipping the folder under his arm.

“I’ll keep it off the books.”

Mr. Hughston leans back, voice low and firm.

“Good. And Chris? If you find anything that links this back to Van Der Tech...”

“I want to know before anyone else does.”

Chris swallows and nods again. “Understood, sir.”

.............

Elena collapsed on the bed, grabbing her phone. With an exhausted sigh, she hit call.

“Finally... a real human being.” she muttered the moment the line connected..

Sienna's laughter came through immediately

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“I swear, Sienna... I’m dealing with a robots. A tiny, rich, emotionally-detached robot. And I think he’s programmed to roast me daily.”

Sienna laughs even harder“Oh my God, Drama Queen. What happened now? Spill the tea!”

“I got clapped at just for clapping! I made him milk he looked at it like I offered poison. And the way he plays the piano? Sienna, Mozart would cry. But apparently I am the problem!”

“Wow...... . sounds like you’re in a whole N*****x show.” Sienna teased

“Oh, no. N*****x would’ve added a laugh track. This is a psychological experiment.”....

A heavy knock out through the conversation

“There we go,” Elena muttered and dragged herself to the door.

She opened it to find Nathaniel standing there with a furrowed brow and his wristwatch tilted perfectly toward her face.

“It’s one minute past my walk time. Are we going to start ignoring the schedule now? Or were you planning to just wing it from now on?” he said sharply.

Elena froze. “Y..yeah, right. I’m so sorry,” she stammered, her voice trembling slightly...

From her phone on the bed, Sienna’s laughter suddenly burst through the speaker.

Nathaniel’s eyes snapped to the sound. He stared at the phone, then slowly turned back to Elena.

“Phones during working hours?” he asked flatly. “Impressive. No wonder the scrambled eggs tasted like Lot wife”

Elena’s jaw dropped.

Sienna cackled again from the other end. “Did he just say?”

Elena rushed to grab the phone and muffle it with a pillow. “I’ll call you back!” she hissed under her breath.

She turned back to Nathaniel, who was already halfway down the hallway.

“Let’s go,” he called out without turning around.

..

The walk was quiet, tense.... Nathaniel didn’t say a word the entire time.

Elena tried twice to make small talk, only to be met with silence and an occasional eye roll.

By the time they returned, she felt like she’d just finished a silent movie with bad reviews.

.........

As the door slid open, Mr. Hughston was already inside, standing near the stairs with a phone pressed to his ear.

“Dad!” Nathaniel called out, with a lighter and younger voice...He rushed forward.

“Hey, kiddo,” Mr. Hughston smiled, ending his call just in time to catch him in a hug. He pulled back and gently ruffled Nathaniel’s hair.

“I missed you so much,” Nathaniel said, and for a moment, all his sharp edges softened into those of a regular 7year-old.

Elena stood by the door, quietly smiling at the rare sight.

“How was your flight?” Mr. Hughston asked, kneeling slightly to fix Nathaniel’s crooked collar.

“It was alright,” Nathaniel replied.

“Good,” Mr. Hughson said, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

A small pause. Then Nathaniel looked up at him.

“When are we going to visit Mom’s grave?” he asked, shifting the air.

Mr. Hughston blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Oh... soon. Maybe this weekend.”

“I brought some gifts for her,” Nathaniel added. “I can’t wait for her to see them.”

Mr. Hughston nodded, then gently shifted the moment.

“How about this.... why don’t you show Dad how much your swimming has improved? I bet you’re faster than last summer.”

Nathaniel’s face brightened, the sadness fading for a moment.

“Come on,” he said, tugging his dad’s hand..

Dinner had ended quietly. Nathaniel had excused himself early, claiming he wanted to read before bed. Elena was in the kitchen rinsing dishes, humming softly to herself. She turned and collided hard into a solid chest.

The plates slipped from her hands and shattered loudly against the floor.

She gasped, stumbling back, her heart jumping into her throat.

He stood there in complete silence.

His gaze dropped to the mess of broken porcelain on the floor, then slowly rose to meet her wide, panicked eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.

“Are you... deliberately trying to destroy this house?” he said softly, eyes narrowed more curious than angry...

“I...I didn’t even hear you come in,” she stammered.

He took a step forward.

She immediately stepped back, hitting the edge of the table behind her.

“Every time I walk into a room,” he continued, stepping closer again, “something’s broken… on fire or flying through the air.”

Her face flushed. “I just got startled… I didn’t mean to”

He closed the gap between them in two more steps.

His body loomed over hers now... close, too close.

One hand braced on the counter beside her, his frame angled just enough to let her feel the heat from him. His chest almost touched hers. The scent of his cologne curled through the air and she could barely breathe.

His eyes locked on her face, lingering too long on her mouth, then her eyes again, like he was reading something secret beneath her skin.

“You really need to stop getting in the way,” he murmured. The tone had changed. It wasn’t angry.

It was something else.

Elena looked at the corners of her eyes, confused as she wondered if Season 2 of that steamy night was about to happen...all again...

His arm moved, almost brushing her breast, only for him to open the drawer behind her.

And pulled out a small towel..

Then, just as quickly, he stepped back and tossed the towel onto the counter beside her.

“Make sure you clean this mess up,” he said sharply. “And be extra careful next time.”

He turned and walked off..

Elena stood there, stunned.

She looked down at the towel. Her fingers clenched it tightly.

“What the hell was that?,” she whispered to herself..