Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Alessia’s POV

Day two of me having dinner in the dining room and I have to say that it isn’t all that bad. As long as I can ignore the stares and whispers that follow me everywhere I go.

The fact that Caden and Raphael are still sitting on either side of me isn’t helping the rumors to die down and by this time, I’ve actually given up.

Let people say whatever it is they want. I’m done with trying to keep things on the low to pacify them.

They should come up with whatever tale it is that they desire.

Caden and Raphael have been sharing suspicious gazes with each other and it’s hard to not notice it when they sitting down on either side of me or when they don’t even bother to hide it.

Tired of the secrecy, I groan out loud, drawing their attention.

“Is anyone of you going to tell me what this is about?” I ask exasperatedly, knowing that it’s something that concerns me because I’m very sure that I heard Raphael whispering, “Tell her.’ to Caden.

I wouldn’t even call it a whisper because I’m sure that the people on the other side of the table also heard it. He has a lousy whispering voice that he definitely needs to work on.

Caden shoots a glare at Raphael before turning to face me. “I have something that I wanted to ask you.”

I arch a brow in question when he suddenly goes quiet. I’m not a mind reader. I’m going to need him to actually voice out this question.

“I’ll tell you about it after dinner,” he finally says and Raphael groans, dropping his head on the table, causing half the people in the room to turn in our direction. This time he gets a glare from both Caden and me and has the nerve to smile sheepishly at us before muttering an apology under his breath.

I roll my eyes, turning my attention back on the plate and suddenly losing my appetite. All I can think about is what question Caden wants to ask him that has him looking unsure of himself.

Picking at the food on my plate, I push it around, ready to end dinner, and find out what it’s that Caden has to ask.

“Aren’t you hungry? Do you not like the food that was served?” Caden asks, worry evident on his face.

“I can have the chef make another meal for you if it’s not up to your liking.”

“No,” I rush out, blushing when a few people glance our way at my outburst. “Don’t do anything like that,” I beg, this time in a much softer voice. I’ll legit kill myself if Caden goes to bother Mrs Smith

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Chapter 96

all because of me. It will be a fate far worse than that. “The food is perfect.” I make a show of shoving a fork full of the food into my mouth and smiling around a mouthful.

Caden smiles back but doesn’t look completely convinced. He spends half of his dinner by throwing glances my way.

It’s something that he just recently started doing. He always looks at me as though he’s waiting for something to happen. I’m not stup i d enough that I can’t piece the puzzle together.

This watching started after Jake’s death. Caden probably thinks that I’m going to do something stupi d.

I appreciate his concern but I sometimes wish that he wouldn’t watch me like I’m a dynamite that is about to explode at any moment.

With him watching me like a hawk, I cat the food on my plate, forcing the food that I don’t have an appetite for down my throat just so that he doesn’t actually seek out poor Mrs Smith and have her make another dinner for me.

I sigh happily as I place the last piece of broccoli in my mouth, chew on it, and wash it down with the glass of water beside my plate.

Half of the people in the dining room had cleared away their plates and that’s when I realized that I spent more than half an hour on my plate.

Raphael is gone but Caden is still right beside me with his empty plate in front of him. He waited for me to be done with my dinner? That’s oddly…sweet of him.

“You’re done?” He asks with a raised brow and I nod in answer. He smiles at me, picking up his plate and mine as well, stacking them together.

I open my mind to tell him that I’m more than capable of taking my plate to the kitchen but decid to keep shut at the last moment. There are times that I have to pick my battles wisely and this isn’t one that’s worth fighting.

I follow Caden silently into the kitchen and stand behind him as he dumps the dishes into the sink

“What did you want to tell me earlier?” I question, my curiosity coming back in tenfolds. I so badly want to know what all those whispering was all about.

Caden turns around, leaning against the kitchen counter and taking a look around the kitchen. We’re the only ones present, creating the perfect atmosphere for a private talk. That’s one of the reasons why I brought up the conversation here.

He coughs and scratches behind his ears, looking almost…shy? Ok, now I’m really invested in finding out what this is all about.

“You don’t have anything you’re doing tomorrow night, right?” He asks.

Chapter 96

I answer his question with a blank stare. Caden knows about my whereabouts twenty-four seven and he definitely knows that I don’t have anything lined up for tomorrow evening. “I don’t,” I

answer anyway.

“How about going on a dinner date with me?” He swallows and lets out a nervous laugh. “What do you say? Will you go out on a date with me?”