<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Chapter 1145 Still Pretending</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Back inside the mansion, Elena knelt down beside Elliot, gently stroking his hair as she tried to calm him. “Sweetie, don’t cry. Your dad is just sick. He’ll get better soon, I promise.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Elliot, though young, wasn’t naive. He knew she was only saying that tofort him. But, deciding to y along, he sniffled and nodded, trying to appear like any other ordinary child.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Really? Can I see my dad? I want to know how he’s doing now.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Elena hesitated, ncing over at Cecilia for guidance. “Ceci, what do you think?” she</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Cecilia smiled reassuringly. “After dinner, we can go see your dad,” she suggested.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">e asked softly.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Elena, still unaware that Nathaniel was pretending, nodded in agreement. “Yes, let’s do that,” she said, finalizing the n with Cecilia’s lead.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Elliot’s tears dried up as soon as he got confirmation. He immediately perked up and obediently started eating his dinner, excitement bubbling beneath the surface. He could finally check on his father and see for himself how things were going.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">After dinner. Elena took Elliot and Cecilia to visit Nathaniel. He was staying in his old residence, now under the care of his previous housekeepers, and his living conditions were far morefortable than they had been at the mansion.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">When they arrived, they found Nathaniel seated by the window, staring out at thendscape in a dazed state.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Has Nathaniel eaten yet?” Elena asked one of the housekeepers.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Yes, he’s already eaten,” the housekeeper confirmed.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“That’s good,” Elena nodded, clearly relieved that he was taking care of himself.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">From where he stood, Elliot nced at his father. Nathaniel still looked a bit lost, his expression vacant. Could this be the aftereffect of his surgery? The sight troubled Elliot. He could see that his father’s condition was a heavy burden on his mother.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Daddy,” Elliot called out sofily, stepping closer.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Sensing that things could getplicated. Cecilia gently held onto Elliot’s hand. “Elliot, your dad needs his rest right now. Let’s not disturb him today, okay?”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Seeing the look in his mother’s eyes. Elliot reluctantly agreed. “All right then,” he said, taking a step back</font></font>N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">After casting a few more lingering nces at his father, Elliot allowed Cecilia to lead him away. Later, once Elliot was out of sight, Cecilia returned to Nathaniel’s room alone.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">She closed the door behind her and walked straight over to Nathaniel, her brow furrowed in concern. Just as she was about to test whether he was still ying dumb, Nathaniel’s hand shot out, grabbing hers with surprising strength.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“How did you get here?” Nathaniel asked, his voice serious, his gaze meeting hers with rity–no longer the vacant stare from before</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Cecilia blinked in surprise. “Why are you still pretending?” she asked, confused.</font></font>
This was Nathaniel’s territory, and he wasn’t worried about anyone overhearing. However, he didn’t share every detail of his n with Cecilia. “I wanted to see who was truly concerned about me when I was vulnerable, and who was just pretending,” he exined. “Plus, it’s allowed some of my rivals to lower their guard.”
He didn’t mention the little “wedding gift” he had nned for his younger brother. After all, he wasn’t sure if Cecilia still had any lingering feelings for Nichs.
“All right. Just tell me what you need me to do,” Cecilia said, ready to cooperate.
“You’re willing to cooperate?” Nathaniel’s mind briefly wandered back to the earlier incident with Elliot. “We need to keep a closer eye on our sons in the future. They’re not as simple as they seem.”
Ceciliaughed, unable to hold back. “Come on, how can a four or five–year–old not be simple?”
As herughter rang out, Nathaniel found himself momentarily stunned by her beauty. Without thinking, he leaned in, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
Cecilia blushed as his handsome face came closer. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of red, and she shyly turned away, her
heart racing.
Nathaniel’s kiss was gentle, but Cecilia tensed up slightly at first. Mistaking her reaction for reluctance, Nathaniel stopped. “Ceri.”
“Hmm?” Cecilia asked, still flustered.
Taking a few steps back, Cecilia lightly touched her flushed face. “If there’s nothing else, I should go. I’m worried Eli might feel ufortable being here alone. Her voice held an odd tension that Nathaniel couldn’t quite ce.