Date The CEO.com

Chapter 133: Seeing is Believing

"Oh! Sorry, mister!" Ede apologized, bowing her head once. She moved out of his way and stood by her sister's side. Goosebumps sprouted on her skin. The intimidating gaze was still fresh on her mind. 

He was a man that she needed to avoid.

Or else, she'd get into a whole lot of trouble.

Eri tilted her head sideways while staring at the man. Unlike her twin sister, she didn't feel afraid. He hadn't moved since Ede unblocked his path. That simple pause had piqued her curiosity. She mimicked his stance.

They stood a foot away from each other.

Her brown eyes squinted at his face.

"You look familiar," she stated. Her height reached just below his chest. 

"Eri!" Ede hissed. "Don't. He's a stranger. We're not supposed to talk to strangers."

"But he's familiar!" Eri defended, sparing his sister a glance. She turned her head back towards Ambryan. "I know I've seen you somewhere. I am just not sure when."

Her forehead creased as she concentrated. Memories flooded her mind like a movie montage. They never met in real life. That much she knew. But, she had seen his face more than once. Either he was someone famous or he was someone that a mutual friend knew.

If it was the former, they could ask for his autograph and sell it.

Ambryan stared back indifferently. He came from the backdoor, where the bakery brought in its deliveries. The number of trucks obstructed the view from the reporters. The latter also saw no merit there since security blocked their chances to enter the establishment.

He only came to peek.

He didn't expect to run into anyone.

"AH!" Eri gasped. Her index finger shot up to point at his chest. "You're Eve's boss!"

"Eve?" Ambryan asked. Upon the mention of her name, he studied the little girl more. The mole under her right eye stood out against her fair skin. The strands of her cinnamon braid glinted against the indoor lights.

"Eve. Everlee Hart."

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His eyebrow rose up. "You know her?"

"She's my sister. Duh. We have the same eye color?" Eri explained, pointing at her almond-shaped eyes. She almost omitted the word, 'color', until she remembered that Eve had round eyes. 

"I see," Ambryan dismissed. He knew Eve had brown eyes but so did a lot of people. Still, the person before him was barely 10 years old. It wouldn't be good to argue about the topic.

Eri stepped from one to side to the next, searching behind him and wondering if he was alone or not. If he was here, someone else should be present as well. "Is my sister with you?"

Ambryan frowned. "No, it's her day off."

Why would the little girl think that? Didn't Eve tell her where she was going? 

Crossing her arms over her chest, Eri turned her face away from him. She began to mumble to herself. "Maybe Andie was right. Maybe Eve really is on a date."

"A date?" Ambryan bent his knees, matching the girl's eye level. "Your sister has a boyfriend?" 

"I don't know. I've never seen him. It's just speculation." Eri shrugged. Then, she blinked and stared at him with wide eyes. "Why are you asking? Do you like my sister by any chance?"

"I already have a girlfriend unfortunately," he humored her, smiling slightly. He hadn't spoken to children in a long time. His last memory of it was with a baby who cried as soon as he held her in his arms.

Others had too much energy for him to keep up.

He hadn't been this entertained.

"Who?" Eri asked. The question flew out of her mouth before she could think twice.

Ambryan nodded above her head, directing her with his nose. "That woman over there."

Right on cue, the redhead beauty whirled her head. Her bright smile could rival the ceiling lights. She spoke to a few customers and laughed along with them. One was a mother who carried a baby on her hip. A crash sounded nearby but away from spectators' view.

The mother shrieked at the source.

Hurriedly, Eve took the baby while the mother marched over to her other children.

Ambryan stopped breathing.

"Evangeline?" She demanded after following his line of sight. Only one other question came to her mind at the same time. "Why are you here and not with her then?"

The CEO straightened his legs and dusted off his jacket. He chose another all-black suit since it allowed him to blend in the dark. The tie he wore also fit the color scheme. "Because we can't be seen together."

"Are you sure you're not just a stalker?" Ede cut in. She wasn't blind. She saw how many reporters were outside. This could all be a ruse. "We know the people outside are here for her. It's not for a good reason either."

Ambryan showed her a smile. 

"Yes, I'm sure. I only came to see if she's okay. " He pressed a finger to his lips, half-stepping towards the back entrance. "Don't tell anyone you saw me, okay? I'll be leaving now."

"If you're worried about her, why don't you stay?" Eri scowled. She couldn't comprehend why the couple needed to be discreet. The need to look after one another should matter more than anything.

Why care about what others think?

Ambryan glanced over his shoulder, taking one last look at the twins. His back loomed over them like a tall building. "Haven't your sister told you? I'm a busy man."

With nothing else left to say, he headed for the exit.

"We'll look after her for you if you want," Ede called out as he retreated to the shadows. She figured he came by because no one else could do it. Since they would be here for the entire day, they could do it on his behalf.

The CEO halted in his steps. 

He shuffled his feet until his body faced the wall while his neck twisted the rest of the way. Both twins looked at him with the same determination in their eyes. Out of all the things he expected to happen on this visit, this never occurred in his mind.

He had been so cryptic.

At most, he guessed they'd become confused.

Who knew that they'd want to help him out? It was sort of adorable. 

"Really?" He chuckled, rubbing his chin. He should do something in return but what? The answer came to him not a second later. "Do you like dark chocolate? I can bring you some the next time we meet."

"Mm!" Ede nodded. "How did you know?"

"It was a feeling."

It wasn't an entire lie. Although Eve had said the same thing, it was still possible that her sisters had a different taste. He continued on his way without a second look back. The watch on his wrist reminded him of his limited time. He couldn't afford to be late.

'What an interesting family.'

Ede nudged her sister's arm. "Hey, Eri. What do you think of him?"

"He's weird," Eri answered without hesitation. Her head remained stuck on his words. He was a famous figure but so was Evangeline. Were they hiding their relationship? Is that why he said they couldn't be seen?

What was the problem?

"Eh, why do you say that?"

"He came all this way but doesn't want to talk to his girlfriend," Eri explained. She ruffled her hair, messing up her braid. "They could hide in the back if they didn't want to be seen. There's always a way! I can't tell how his brain works at all!"

It sounded so simple in her mind. Maybe they got into a fight? The lack of information gnawed the sides of her head. Oh, how she disliked cryptic messages! 

She shouldn't have approached him in the first place!

"Eri? Ede? What's taking you so long?" Georgie said, appearing at the other end of the hallway. She found the twins standing by themselves in the middle of an empty corridor.

"Nothing, Aunt Georgie." Ede responded for the both of them. "We got caught up talking about the upcoming recital. We lost track of time and we're very sorry."

"Is that true, Eri?"

"Yes," the older twin backed up. 

Then, people started to come out of the kitchen. They carried trays and trays of delicious sweets. The sight erased the previous incident from her mind. "Are they taking out the cookies?!"

.

.

.

Wen stood beside a delivery truck. The back opened to an adjacent alley which limited the amount of people and vehicles. Since Evangeline had security around the premises, they managed to blend in without alerting the media. 

"Sir Hathaway. Back so soon?" She pushed herself off the truck and escorted the CEO towards the back of it. The other members of their team unlocked the doors. 

Ambryan walked ahead of her, one hand tucked in his pant pocket. "I was spotted."

His head bodyguard stopped walking. 

She raised her hand, ready to give the others her signal. "Should we take care of it for you?"

"There's no need. They're only children."

Ambryan climbed into the truck. A small bench had been provided for him. He sat on it as the truck vibrated to life. His thumb clicked on the new app. It had only been a few hours since he downloaded it.

A voice flowed out of the phone speaker.

"And they're here! Cookies for everyone!" Cale announced in his live stream. "I'll be turning this off for now. I just have to try Evangeline's cookies. See you later, lovelies!"