"Can you not go?" Unable to respond maturely, he muttered under his breath, feeling an unusual annoyance towards himself for not knowing the right words to say, and for not knowing how to comfort her properly.

Sid then noticed that Laurice stiffened the moment he spoke. His words must have struck a chord. If his deductions are correct, then based on her strange behavior, Laurice must have been unwilling to leave and go meet her clan. His brows knotted deeply. His a.s.sistant, Sam, have failed to report that there seems to be quite a rift in the relations.h.i.+p between Laurice and her own family. No specific details have been indicated whatsoever in her profile. It was a miss on his part.

Unbeknownst the man however, that particular aristocratic family was invicible in the public eye since time immemorial. The Ledesma Clan have flawlessly kept their affairs private blocking the media's attention deliberately avoiding public scrutinity.

Laurice on the other hand, noticed the frustration and panic in Sid's voice that she begun softening up within his embrace. She felt incredibly safe and secure with his strong arms wrapped around her as he held her warmly. She did not want to alarm him so she tried to hold back her tears. But hearing the man's soft voice laced with obvious worry, Laurice felt a tugged in her chest. She was deeply moved by his concern that she felt like tearing up all the more. But she refused to be pitied. She despised looking weak and helpless. Especially not around this man, she decided.

Laurice's expression was finally sobering up when she responded to him. "I have to." She said upon clearing a lump in her throat. She heard Sid heaved a long sigh before pulling her body away for a moment and gave her a discerning look.

Sid stared away until his heart's content. Laurice was staring back at him with her moist eyes.

'This woman.'

Sid resolutely opposed the idea of having her to leave his side, for seeing her this vulnerable but he can't just carelessly locked her up and put on her shackles. She seems to be an independent woman. He fear Laurice might be too tough for her own good that she might never ask him for favors. His eyes narrowed. With a determined expression, he held her gaze as he cupped her face and whispered her name.

"Laurice."

Her eyes dillated upon hearing her name.

After a long pause, Sid spoke again. The words unknowingly shook Laurice's heart tenderly.

"Remember that i am now your man. Whatever it is you're going through, you can tell me. You can tell me just anything."

'So, please depend on me a little more.'

Sid wanted to add but he felt somewhat unworthy and a bit insecure. It was oddly weird. He was never once doubtful. He was a self-a.s.sured man, confident and steadfast. Whenever he sets out a goal, he always achieve the expected results without even lifting a finger, much less ... beg. He also never thrive to be needed. But ever since he met Laurice, his heart was continually wavering. He wanted his presence known. He wanted her attention.

...

Sid was deep in thoughts when he realized something amiss. The moment his head tilted back in front, he noticed Laurice's gaze was still fixed on him, while flas.h.i.+ng him a warm, discerning smile. It was like golden sun rays brightening up his mood. Sid's heart pounded while he was momentarily dazzled with her angelic expression. This was her reply, indeed. A profound sense of relief finally clouded his face. He almost let out a chuckle. And here he was getting all worked up.

'What was he so worried about?'

Sid was so glad that Laurice could still smile like that. And he vowed to protect it with all his might.

"You must be hungry, it's way past lunchtime already. There's still enough time. Stay here to eat, i'll send for you later." He said uncaringly without pausing instead, contended with the woman's smile.

Laurice's eyes narrowed in slits.

'Did she not make herself clear awhile ago? The man need not need to send her to the old residence himself. Why is he fretting over such simple matter? She did not want to trouble him to such extent.''

Sid was merely amused by her suspicious and accusing glare that his lips curled up a little. "It's non-negotiable." He said with indignation. Meaning, there was no room for negotiations.

Laurice felt oddly defeated.

"Fine!" She harrumphed.

Saving her some gas allowance was not all that bad, she thought. Thinking about it, she nearly forgot her other worries. She jumped right off the man's lap and dashed over the counter across the room and grabbed her mobile phone.

Tap tap tap ...

Her beautiful slender fingers tapped over her phone constantly. She needed to reply to several people asap. Call them if necessary.

Meanwhile,

Sid: " ... "

Sid was utterly speechless. He remained unmoving from his position. His naked glory still in full display. He was feeling burdened somehow. Laurice could actually be a heartless and insensitive woman at times, it was almost unbelievable. She left him hurriedly just like that and was now completely ignoring him as if they had not shared such intimate moments awhileback. He pinched his brows and then unwillingly clothe himself.

Sigh. 'Tough luck, indeed.'

Sid busied himself while cleaning up his own mess which was sprawled across the marbled floor. He was instantly reminded of Laurice and her luscious mouth. His throat felt constricted and dry as he was having another hard-on. He did put on a robe so it was not noticeable at all.

Sid's eyes roamed around his penthouse in search for the woman herself and he found her in one corner facing downbelow the floor-to-ceiling gla.s.s window. He could barely hear her voice but he realized she was speaking over the phone in another foreign language. Was it french? or Italian? He could hardly distinguish the two. Sid was not very familiar with it since he was brought up with an English and a Filipino speaking family. Thanks to a few acquaintances that he had gotten a bit of knowledge of Cantonese and Mandarin. He was not a fluent speaker but he could understand the dialects with no problems at all.

Sid stopped when he finished and eavesdropped over her conversation with the other person on the line, crossing a few distance between them.

Laurice sounded a bit annoyed. But her now speaking voice was unconsciously turning him on. It was s.e.xy. He drew closer and hugged her for nth time from behind. Sid heard her gasp sharply as she retrieved the phone from her ears.

Laurice: " ... You!"

She gaped at him with wide eyes opened.

Sid: "What's taking you so long?"

He was pulling such a long face at the moment, obviously getting impatient.

True enough though, Laurice had been speaking over her phone nonstop. Sid was getting annoyed for some silly childish reasons. Laurice mistaken this for something else instead.

Laurice: " ... ? "

'Somebody save my poor heart. The man is relentless.'

She squinted her eyes towards him as if shooting daggers but Sid did not budge at all. Sighing in resignation, she quickly ended the phone call and faced the man with equal intensity.

Unfortunately, Laurice was not up to another staring game. She then said afterwards, "We better eat. You're getting grumpy again."

Sid frowned upon hearing her words.

'Grumpy? She said.'

At that moment, they both heard a slight banging on the door followed by an alarm ringing. There was clearly no need to mention that there was another grumpy presence from behind it.