Chapter 67: Competition

His gaze suddenly swept across the room, that scent didn’t seem to be coming from in here exactly.

Eventually his gaze drew towards the glass doors that separated the private room and the main restaurant, through a gap in the leaves of a plant kept outside the private room, he spotted a figure. Specifically a woman sat at a corner table. She had golden blonde hair falling down her back gracefully, and the sight of this woman’s hair awakened the memory of his fingers running through beautiful golden blonde strands on that night.

If he didn’t know any better, he would think this woman looked just like her just from her back view.

The woman at the corner table was seated with a tall and straight posture, graceful and soft.

Her lean frame exactly the same as the woman from that night…the one who still haunted his dreams even though five years have now passed.

Slowly, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a glimpse of her face to him.

A sudden bolt of recognition shot through him as his gaze remained fixed on this woman…

She didn’t just look like her…his mind had replayed images of her enough times for him to know her at a glance.

“President, you need to sign here.” Kaleb suddenly cut through his view by stepping in front of him, placing a tablet in front of him for a virtual signature.

Tristan’s gaze never once settled on the tablet he had to sign, he immediately stood to his feet, pushing past Kaleb for a clearer look at that woman he just saw, but like a trick of the light, the table was suddenly empty. There were so many people standing all around in the restaurant now due to the ruckus his presence had caused.

“President, is something wrong?” Kaleb asked following his gaze to the main restaurant and the corner table where there was currently no one seated.

“Did you see the woman at that table just now?” Kaleb was shocked as he heard the sound of Tristan’s voice. He rarely spoke with such sheer desperation making Kaleb really look towards that corner table again.

“I didn’t see anyone president. Was there a woman sitting there?”

Tristan’s body tensed, growing rigid as though he had been abruptly pulled from a fleeting dream.

His gaze lingered at that corner table for merely a second longer before he looked away.

“Nevermind.”

What he had seen must not have been her, it was just a phantom stirred by the recent stress he had been under.

He recalled one time three years ago, he had dreamed of her in his room, woken up to an image of her right there in front of him but the moment he blinked that image disappeared.

He had no idea where she was, what she might have been doing during the past five years because he had blocked off any possibility of her news of ever entering his life, anything that might remind him of her existence, yet she lived in the quiet recesses of his mind where she tormented him in his quiet darkest moments, tormented him with a strange longing he wasn’t supposed to feel for someone he only spent a single night with.

She was gone from his world because she was a danger he couldn’t indulge in.

Tristan swiped his signature across the tablet screen, but for the rest of the meeting, a faint, persistent current thrummed through him, a longing to lift his gaze and spot her once again, this time real, not an imaginary illusion created by his mind which was fixated upon her.

But even if she were there, it meant nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Yet despite telling himself this…a silent part of his heart swelled with want.

*****

“Mommy!!!” An excited little voice screamed and ran to hug her. It was always Leah giving the hugs, Leo quietly omitted himself from it.

He didn’t give hugs or kisses, but that didn’t mean Celine never squeezed him in her arms whenever she felt like it.

“Hey, you’re back! How’d it go?” Natalia asked as Celine walked into the house.

Natalia’s voice made Celine suddenly paused her steps, her eyes however weren’t set on Natalia who had asked her a question, her eyes looked distant and lost.

Natalia noticed her expression and dropped her bowl of snacks to approach her. “What’s wrong Celine?”

Celine’s expression immediately returned to normal, she gave Natalia a smile, “Nothing. It went well.”

After giving that brief reply, Celine crouched down to Leah’s height and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Have you been a good girl Leah, I know you can be really naughty sometimes so I’m hoping you didn’t give Natalia a headache?”

“I haven’t been naughty Mommy.”

Celine patted her head lovingly, “Good girl. Where’s your brother?”

Leah immediately pointed towards the terrace where he seemed engrossed in reading a book.

Celine exchanged a few pleasant words with Natalia, thanking her for staying home with the kids before she headed to the terrace.

She read the title of the book in Leo’s hand and squatted in front of him rubbing his silky hair gently.

“Why are you reading a book meant for adults Leo?”

Her little boy’s face reminded her of the older version of him she had seen just less than an hour ago at the restaurant, the only difference in them was their age and hair. Leo had her hair color but his eyes were the striking hazel of Tristan’s.

’You look just like him Leo, I hope he never sees you. I don’t want anyone to take you away from me.’ She thought to herself.

“It’s not written anywhere that you have to be an adult to read it.” The boy replied with his usual indifference.

Celine could remember how so many times, Leo’s teachers would complain to her that he wouldn’t play with kids his age and would often be seen with kids from an older grade. He would even solve math problems meant for those higher grades.

The school had recommended an IQ test, whose results had stunned Celine. She had noticed beforehand that there was something different about her kids. They developed faster than other kids their age, started to talk faster, walked faster.

Ever since she realized her children were exceptionally gifted with an IQ score of 182, Celine had tried not to be too shocked whenever they did or said things beyond their years.

Celine smiled at what Leo said pulling him over for a kiss on the cheek, the boy frowned with displeasure but knew better than to say a word against his mother’s affections.

-The beginner’s step to investing.- that was the title on the book Leo was reading.

“You don’t need to learn about investments at this age Leo.” Celine said hugging him in her arms and sitting next to him.

“I’ll need enough knowledge to start a company of my own.”

Celine couldn’t stop herself from laughing heartily, it was still utterly hilarious to hear a kid talk about starting a company regardless of how high his intelligence was.

“Four year olds don’t get to start companies, Baby.” Celine said amidst her laughter.

“I’ll be five in two months.” The little boy argued.

“It’s still the same.”

When Celine said this, she noticed that sullen look had suddenly appeared in the child’s features. Her mirth disappeared and she looked down at her son with concern in her eyes.

“Why do you want to start a company Leo?”

’Because I want to compete with the father who doesn’t want us.’ the little boy thought.

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