The Secret Obsession of the CEO-Chapter 215: Late Visit

Rory walked to her house. The work there was almost over. The weather forecast predicted snow starting in a week. It was already bitingly cold outside.

"Ah!" She rubbed her arms as she entered the house. The heating was turned off and she turned it on.

She took a look around. Liam told her to choose the paint color, and she already had finished painting. Liam was talking about being here for Christmas and so she used baby-safe paints. Count Charles even got her crib from the storage, and she set the nursery for Ellie.

"We could stay here even today..." she whispered. Everything was ready.

But...

A sigh escaped her mouth. Her family is not here.

She walked back to the Campbell mansion. Ian was walking toward her. She wanted to change her path, but she knew it would be too obvious. She didn’t want to act childish. So, she walked in the same path.

"Rori, can we talk?" he asked as she got near to him.

"Okay," Rory said.

She is staying with his parents, and she didn’t want to be awkward with each other.

"Shall we go there?" he pointed at the small hill in the distance. They used to play in that place a lot in the past.

The wind was chilly, and Rory put her hands in her pockets to hold the pocket warmer. Her hoodie was up and she was feeling warm.

"Do you want..." Ian tried to get the muffler around his neck.

"No, I am fine," Rory stopped him. She was not feeling cold anymore.

"Man... for a long time I missed your presence, you know..." Ian let out a deep breath.

Rory pressed her lips. That was not the case for her. She was missing her parents very much back then and she had Derick, Liam, and others with her even though she did not like to stay in her grandmother’s house.

So, she rarely missed Ian.

Ian smiled wryly seeing Rory silently staring at the bushes dancing in the wind. She didn’t even tell him that she too missed him even for courtesy.

But then, that is who she is. She doesn’t speak words she doesn’t mean.

"I told you that I had something important to tell you back on that day. Do you remember?" he asked.

Rory looked at him. That day?

She thought for a moment, and she remembered that while Ian told her the information he collected about Lennon, he told her that he needed to talk to her about something.

"Yes, you did. I am sorry I forgot all about it," she smiled awkwardly.

She hated herself for being so useless. She doesn’t care about anyone else.

"It’s fine..." Ian shook his head. He did not intend to make her feel guilty. "You were dealing with a lot after that day. It’s not your fault."

Rory nodded. She was glad that Ian understood her situation.

"So what is it?" she asked. She had a feeling regarding Davina or Elizabeth.

"I’ve..." Ian stared into the distance keeping his hands inside his trouser pockets. "For a long time, I was not interested in dating anyone... My mother had my dad have "the talk" with me to tell me that it is fine if I liked someone from the same gender and..." he snorted. "I made them that worried."

Rory silently listened to him. She is good at listening. She had the patience for listening when someone opens up to her.

"But I just wasn’t..." he shrugged. He then bowed his head digging into the ground with his shoes.

"You weren’t ready?" she asked.

"Yes. But my mother.... she was so worried... So, when they introduced Davina, I thought I will give it a try, you know... I liked her soft demeanor and I... We started dating..."

"But..." Rory raised her brows. "There is a "but", right?

Ian sighed. "But I couldn’t keep my eyes off Elizabeth after I started dating Davina... I saw Elizabeth crying in the garden the evening Davina came to our home, and I... I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, you know?"

Rory nodded. The heart is a weird thing. No one can control how it feels at times. "So, she fell for you first, and you... you are wavering between the two?" she asked.

"No... Well, I think Elizabeth fell for me first, and... No, my heart is not wavering anymore. I know who I love... But, it’s late..." he closed his eyes and tilted his head to face the sky.

Rory looked at his side profile. He looked tired and confused.

"My mother asked me the other day, Rory... If I like Elizabeth..."

"And?" Rory raised her brows.

"I... I refused her," Ian bowed his head in shame.

"You’re such a..." Rory gritted her teeth. How could he ruin such a perfect chance?

"Davina... she’s such a good woman, but..." Ian looked at Rory. "She comes from money and..."

"You come from money too," Rory said. "And you made millions on your own along with it."

She couldn’t understand the nonsense he was spouting.

"But I can lose everything like this," Ian snapped his finger. "She is a very nice and polite girl, but at times I feel like she likes the lifestyle more than me... She never eats in fast food chains because there are all sorts of people... I..."

Rory raised her eyebrows. She did not want to hear Ian diss his girlfriend. His heart is not with her and whatever she does won’t suit him.

Or it could be the other way around. His heart distanced itself from Davina after getting to know her. In that case, it is disingenuous of him to stay in that relationship.

"But then..." Ian rubbed his forehead. "I think that I am doing wrong by letting Davina go for such a superficial reason. It would affect the relationships my parents have built over the years, right? I don’t want to disappoint them."

Rory could see that he is in conflict with his heart and mind. But it is fairly obvious, and his heart has already chosen who he likes.

"I wonder if I am so fickle and untrustworthy. I feel pathetic, Rori," Ian sighed. "What if I come to hate Elizabeth too once I start dating her and the honeymoon period is over? Ugh! Why am I acting so fickle!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"If you come to hate Elizabeth too, you will put yourself out there once more and get another woman. There is a lot of fish in the sea, Ian. Your woman will be out there. You are only 24 this year. Don’t decide anything hastily," she said.

Ian looked at Rory and went silent. He walked to the front and stared at everything around him.

"What do you want me to do to help?" she asked.

"...nothing!" Ian shrugged and turned to look around after that. "I just wanted for us to have nothing between us. I value you so much," he said.

"Okay then," Rory smiled.

That evening, she told Aunt Isabelle that Ian might give them bad news soon. She also told them that Ian is too young to be married and that he should wait for the right woman.

"It’s Elizabeth, isn’t it?" Aunt Isabelle asked and Rory was taken by surprise.

They always knew?

Aunt Isabelle then told Rory that they won’t stand in the way of Ian’s love. Rory heard them speak about the issue. It appeared that they were pretty happy about the prospect that Elizabeth could become their daughter-in-law, and to inherit the Campbell fortune.

After dinner, Rory picked a book from the home library and went to her room. With the book in her hand, she fell asleep. She had a vivid dream of hugging Liam and kissing him. She even got to feel her baby’s hands on her cheek.

What a beautiful dream!

Rory woke up in the morning with a smile on her face. But then she ended up crying as she missed her baby so much. Liam asked her to wait for two days. She decided to leave the next day. And if Liam wanted to spend Christmas here, they could travel here then.

She had a meeting with her therapist that day. She got ready and talked to the therapist for almost two hours. The therapist kept on asking in a roundabout way if she had missed something. That confused her.

She thought she had talked about everything she needed to talk about. Technically, she should be healed. But how will she know if Liam was not with her?

She said that she didn’t even know the purpose of her staying here alone is. She did not feel any different except that she missed Liam and Ellie so much.

The therapist smiled in a weird way. But Rory failed to understand the meaning behind that.

Rory went for her usual walk in the morning. Rather than walking to the village, she walked to the cemetery.

It had been a while since she had visited her parents.