Love Unspoken

Abigail felt a bit awkward too. She said, "Alright, enough talking. Let's eat. I'm starving."

Orion nodded. "Yeah, let's dig in."

He glanced at Landon, who had been quiet the whole time, and couldn't help but say, "Landon, aren't you the host? Why's Abigail doing all the work?" Landon looked at him, didn't say a word, then picked up his wine glass and stood up. "Thanks for coming, everyone. Cheers." Abigail quickly backed him up, and Oliver followed suit.

Quinn nudged Alexander, signaling him to join in.

So Alexander picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and suddenly coughed.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Quinn asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Alexander coughed a few more times, then put down his glass. "It's nothing. Just drank too fast and choked."

Quinn looked at him suspiciously but decided not to push it.

Landon gave Alexander a knowing look, then put down his glass. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."

Everyone ate in silence. Though it was called a gathering, it didn't feel like one.

A gathering is fun when everyone's on the same page. For them, it was just an awkward meal.

It felt like having dinner with your parents.

After finishing the meal, everyone felt relieved.

Abigail went to clean up the dishes and pulled Landon to help.

In the kitchen, she whispered, "Let's not do this again. It was super awkward."

Landon agreed, "So many dishes. I don't even want to wash them."

Abigail smirked. "That's what you're focused on?"

Landon shrugged. "What else?"

Abigail sighed. "Never mind."

Quinn wanted to go home since her two kids were waiting, but she had to wait for Abigail and Landon to finish up. After about half an hour, they finally came out.

Quinn said, "Abigail, we should get going. Thanks for the meal."

Abigail smiled. "Why thank me? You guys did all the cooking."

Quinn was taken aback, then awkwardly smiled. "Alright, we'll head out then."

Abigail nodded. "Okay, you guys should head back early. You should've brought the kids over."

Quinn replied, "They're too noisy. If you want to see them, come over."

Orion said, "Oh right, I haven't seen the little guy yet. Can he walk now?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, do you want to come see him?"

Orion eagerly replied, "Sure, can I come over now?"

As soon as he finished talking, Orion felt a cold stare. He looked over and saw it was Alexander.

Alexander was being super petty, getting jealous just because Orion wanted to see the kid.

Even though they used to be rivals in love, Orion had spent the last two years doing charity work. His romantic feelings had turned into something bigger, and he had long since moved on. Quinn noticed Alexander's gaze too. She tugged on his sleeve and said to Orion, "You guys have had a long day. Get some rest first. Come over tomorrow when you're fresh."

Orion chuckled, "Alright. You always know how to put things nicely."

Even a refusal sounded nice coming from her, unlike Alexander!

Alexander took Quinn's hand. "Let's go."

Quinn nodded and left Abigail's house with Alexander. They got in the car and drove off.

Abigail turned to Orion, "Do you have a place to stay tonight? If not, you can crash here. We have plenty of rooms."

Orion rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? You guys just got married. How can I stay here? Don't worry, I've already booked a hotel. Worst case, I can go home."

As he said that, he paused. He hadn't even thought about going home.

Abigail's cheeks turned red, and she quickly shooed him away. "Alright, hurry up and go. Stop hanging around."

Orion finally decided to go home. He hadn't been there in a long time. Even though he still had some issues with Charles, he was still his dad.

Even if he didn't want to see him, he still had his mom and Ryan. It was time to go home.

Oliver and Natalia were the last to leave. Oliver pulled Abigail aside for a bit, hoping their sibling relationship wouldn't change now that they were both married.

Abigail was quiet for a while before she sighed and said seriously to Oliver, "I know. Don't worry. I'm not that petty. Although I'm still a bit uncomfortable, I'll get used to it soon." Oliver smiled. "I'm glad you think that way. I'll head out now. You and Landon take care."

Abigail nodded. "Okay."

Even though the atmosphere had been awkward earlier, it was lively. Now that everyone had left, the house felt empty.

Abigail turned to look at Landon. As their eyes met, Abigail's cheeks flushed again.

She asked shyly, "So, what should we do now?"

Landon stared at her for a moment and said, "Sleep."

Abigail couldn't help but smile, but she felt shy. Feeling conflicted, she followed Landon into the bedroom.

Both seemed a bit hurried. Even Landon, usually so composed, looked a bit uneasy. "Do you want to shower first?"

Abigail responded with an "Okay" and grabbed some clothes before heading to the bathroom.

Quinn got home to find Sprout and Brandy already asleep.

Briar was still downstairs, tidying up the toys scattered everywhere. Seeing them come in, Briar quickly stood up to greet them. "Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy, you're back."

Quinn looked at the messy house. "Still not done?"

Briar smiled. "I just got Brandy and Sprout to sleep and finally had some time to clean up."

Quinn felt a bit guilty, knowing how hard Briar worked day and night, taking care of the kids, cooking, and cleaning. "You've worked hard. I'll give you a raise next month." Briar was momentarily stunned, then a delighted smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Mrs. Kennedy."novelbin

In this household, Quinn was in charge, so the raise was certain. The only question was how much.

Back in their room, Alexander asked her, "How much are you planning to raise her salary?"

Quinn thought for a moment. "How about eighty thousand dollars a month?"

Alexander looked at her with a hint of resentment. Quinn knew he was probably feeling that his allowance was too little again.

Quinn smiled. "I'll give you a raise too."

Alexander's eyes lit up. "How much?"

Quinn teased, "Two thousand dollars."

Alexander pulled her into his arms. "Thank you, honey."

He acted like he'd never seen money before, getting so excited over a two-thousand-dollar raise.

When Alexander asked Quinn to manage his allowance, she set it at two thousand dollars without giving him a chance to negotiate.

After all, whatever she said, Alexander would agree to.

Quinn asked playfully, "So how are you going to reward me?"

Alexander looked down at her and said, "I'll help you take a bath."

Quinn was taken aback. "Is that a reward for me or for you?"

Alexander picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. "Of course, it's for you. You're still not well, so I can't reward myself."

So, Alexander really did just help Quinn take a bath, purely a bath.

Quinn had been bedridden for days and hadn't had a proper bath, so she really appreciated it.

The next morning, Orion came knocking. Briar answered the door.

Briar had never seen him before and looked him up and down. "Who are you looking for?"

Orion craned his neck to peer inside. "Where's Quinn? Where's Alexander?"

Briar replied, "They're not up yet. Who are you?"

Orion introduced himself. "I'm Orion, Quinn's friend. I'm here to see her son. Let me in."

Briar didn't know him, so she didn't let him in. "Wait outside. I'll go inform Mrs. Kennedy." With that, she shut the door.

Orion smirked. This nanny really didn't know how to act.

Briar went upstairs and knocked on Quinn's door. Quinn groggily got up and asked what was going on.

Briar explained, "Someone named Orion is here to see you, Mrs. Kennedy. Do you know him?"

Quinn immediately woke up. "Yes. Let him in. I'll be down in a minute."

Briar nodded. "Okay."

Quinn went back to change clothes. Alexander was already sitting up and asked, "Orion's here?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I'll go see him. Stay here, or you'll get upset again."

Alexander protested, "Am I that petty?"

Quinn wished she could move the full-length mirror in front of him. "Look at yourself in the mirror. You're already frowning."

Alexander smirked, then lay back down. "Alright, go ahead. I'll keep sleeping."

Quinn glanced back at him, unsure if he was really going back to sleep or just sulking.

She changed clothes and went downstairs.

Sprout was already awake, sitting on the couch, watching Briar make his formula.

Orion sat next to Sprout, talking to him. However, Sprout only had eyes for the formula, staring at Briar without giving Orion a glance.

Orion scratched his head in confusion. Seeing Quinn come down, he asked, "Quinn, is your son deaf or mute?"

Quinn glared at him. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Orion quickly slapped himself. "Sorry, I misspoke. I've been talking to him for a while, and he hasn't responded." Quinn explained, "He's hungry. He doesn't have time for you. Wait until he's full, then play with him."

Orion asked, "Really?"

He had never taken care of a child, so he didn't know these things. He stared at Sprout for a while and couldn't help but remark, "Isn't it said that sons look like their mothers? Why does Sprout look so much like Alexander?" Quinn laughed. "Really?"

Orion replied, "I read it online. But it's good he looks like Alexander. Look at that aura. He'll definitely charm a lot of girls in the future and be a leader among boys. If he looked like you, he might get bullied at school." Hearing this, Quinn couldn't help but think of Calvin.

Calvin looked so much like Quinn that it undermined his authority. Whenever people found out what Obsidian Circle looked like, they couldn't help but laugh behind his back.

Quinn wondered when she would see him again.

Orion waved a hand in front of her face. "Quinn, what are you daydreaming about?"

Quinn snapped back to reality, smiled, and sat down on the other side of Sprout. "Nothing, just thinking you might be right."

Orion chuckled. "Right? Let's just hope he doesn't turn out to be a bad guy."

Quinn patted Sprout's head. "He won't."

Orion asked, "By the way, what's his full name? I only know his nickname."

Quinn replied, "His name is Leopold."