Chapter 6

Moments after arriving at Zachary's estate, Eleanor was taken aback by what she had observed.

In terms of design, it was a two-story villa house with a modern and inviting feel to it.

A large lawn stretched out in front of the home, which was surrounded by a steel fence and a swing gate. While the well-landscaped front yard of Zachary's house was already impressive from the street; it was the house's distinctive architectural design that attracted the people's attention.

Zachary's house was a modern flat house that utilizes the celery ice paint color for the exterior, while the common functional rooms on the second floor have large tempered glass casement windows that provide wonderful views of the surrounding scenery. Additionally, each bedroom had its own balcony with a glass fence, and the ground floor was outfitted with double-hung panel windows.

It was also the warm variation of colored deck lighting that did honor to the house, as it lighted and created a magnificent impression on the exterior of the home.

"Let’s go inside, Babe," Zachary called out to her attention, who was still occupied with admiring his home. Even though she was still in a trance, she nodded her head and allowed him to take her into the house.

Eleanor wandered her gaze through the mansion, and as she took in the interior design, she found herself even more stunned. Given the fact that her family was living in poverty, it was far from the kind of place she had ever pictured herself being able to call home.

"Do you like it?" he asked her as he saw her reaction. Her eyes were still roaming around, stunned and in awe of what was in front of her.

The living area was equipped with an 85-inch 4K television screen that was mounted on the wall. The floor was made of marmol, and the couch set was in the shape of an L; made from Nordic Leather.

She responded with a nod of her head and a grin at him. They then started walking again as they explored the place. Eleanor, on the other hand, came to a complete halt in front of the television as she recognized what was appearing on the screen.

The look on her face when she glanced at Zachary's query revealed her perplexity. Many live recordings of footage from a CCTV camera that had been installed in every area of the premises, even those she had not yet seen, were shown on the television.

Zachary gave her a timid smile as he clumsily grasped the back of his head with his hands. He must have been shy since she seemed to have stumbled across one of his hidden secrets. "I needed to do that, babe, to monitor the company and see who was coming and leaving our establishment. In addition, it would be beneficial to have evidence as to who was responsible for evil deeds, " Zachary said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Let's go upstairs. I will show you our bedroom," he mumbled beside her ear.

His arms were still wrapped over her shoulders as she allowed him to take her to the stairwell. When they took their first steps, they emitted a clunking sound that made their synchronized steps sound like a song in the quiet sanctity of his house.

In the bedroom, Zachary was wearing a charming smile as he slowly unlocked the wooden panel door with his hands.

When she saw where she would be staying, her eyes widened.

The room included a king-sized bed in the center, which was connected to a black leather couch at the foot of the bed. In contrast to the sky blue wall, which was ornamented with items that were orange in hue, the ceiling was painted a soft blue. Zachary escorted her into the premises and then left her to explore on her own.

Her eyes continued to wander.

There was a sliding glass door on one side of the room that opened onto a walk-in wardrobe that was stuffed with Zachary's various outfits.

"Here's the bathroom, Babe," Zachary said as he unlocked one of the doors to reveal the facility. She stepped into the room, surprised to see that it was enormous. There was a bathtub and a little shower area on the side of the room, as well as a full-length mirror.

Seeing the delight on his partner's face, Zachary pulled her towards the sofa. "Come, babe, enough with the tour. For now, sit down here," he said as he dragged her towards him to sit beside him.

"I will just go get my laptop from the study room, and then we can go online and look for clothes for you," Zachary proposed before leaving her alone in their room to head downstairs.

Despite her best efforts, Eleanor could not help but notice how much she liked her bedroom, particularly the color of the walls. It would be soothing to fall asleep in such a room and wake up to the blue color of the ceiling with two pairs of white chandeliers hanging from it in the morning. She was intrigued by the two moon lampshades that had been put on each of the bedside tables until her eyes turned to look at her back.

"How do you find our bedroom? Do you like it?" The sound of Zachary's voice surprised her. She quickly turned her head around to face him as he walked into the room, a laptop in his hand.

"You scared me, " she replied, placing her right hand near her chest.

"Did I? I'm sorry babe. It was not intentional," Zachary said as he walked towards her and sat on her side. He sat down and placed his laptop on his lap before softly taking her hand in his and placing it near his lips.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," he sweetly uttered before he gently kissed the back of her hand three times.

As his lips made contact with her flesh, she felt a surge of electricity race through her body. The sensation she was having was incomprehensible and unlike anything she had ever felt before. Although it was not as painful as the times she had been accidentally ignited by an electric current, she did experience a rush of delight and excitement as the charge rushed through her veins.

Eleanor’s heartbeat accelerated due to both excitement and nervousness as her eyes remained staring at his heart-shaped lips that were still next to her hand. It felt like there was this invisible lump in her throat that she could not swallow as her breathing became shallow as well.

"I-It's alright," she said with a stutter.

"You're not upset anymore?" Zachary inquired in a soft tone as if he was taking her feelings into consideration since he did not want her to be harmed as a result of his actions.

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry if I shouted," she apologized while bowing her head slightly.

"No, you didn't shout; you just said it in a low voice, expressing what you were feeling at the time," Zachary remarked, surprised. He told her this so that she would not feel compelled in the future to keep her feelings for him hidden from others.

She could not help but grin when she realized that the guy in front of her was taking the time to consider her thoughts; something she had never experienced with her foster family, aside from the twins, until now.

"That's it, you're more beautiful when you smile," Zachary uttered as a smile formed on his lips as well.

The moment she felt the heat rising in her face, she instinctively bent her head. She was aware that she was flushing as a result of the compliment Zachary had given her. She had heard such remarks from other people before, but Zachary's compliment was unique in some manner, though she was not sure what it was because her heart was continuing to pound so rapidly and loudly at the time.

"Come on, babe, let's choose clothes for you," Zachary murmured as he walked closer to her side. The warmth of his body flowed towards her, and she could feel it because the only thing between them was a thin layer of clothing that separated them.

"You do not have to worry. I am willing to wait until you are ready to sleep next to me without inhibitions," Zachary said, causing her to lift her head and look at Zachary.

She could not believe that Zachary seemed to have figured out what she was thinking, just like that time in the auction hall. "Do you have any idea what I was thinking?" she inquired, her gaze fixed on Zachary's brown eyes as if attempting to figure out what was going through his mind.

Zachary just gave her a cheeky smile while peering into her eyes, causing chills to travel down her spine and down her arms and legs. "Did I not tell you before? We were meant to be together," he said solemnly before they both looked into each other's eyes as if reading their souls.