Chapter 123 - 122

Aiden had entered Sophia's house through the balcony again and was reading a magazine in the living room when Sophia appeared, "Agghhh!!!" she screamed.

He pretended to act innocent as he looked up, but it was not only Sophia who was surprised. She had just taken a bath and had wrapped herself in a black silky bathrobe without drying her hair, so she was still dripping when she chanced upon Aiden on her way to the kitchen.

The sight of Sophia in her robe had rendered him speechless, her face was flushed from her bath, and it was evident from her robe that she probably wore next to nothing underneath. Aiden looked at her hungrily as he gulped.

"What are you doing in my house?" she continued her screaming. She did not expect anybody else to be in her house since she was used to being alone.

"I came to see you," he shrugged.

"Don't you know how to knock?" she snapped.

"I knocked earlier, but you did not answer. So I took the more convenient route," he answered as if Aiden jumping on the balcony had been her fault. Truth be told he knocked once and didn't even bother to wait and see if she answered the door.

"I was busy taking a bath," Sophia gritted her teeth.

"Yeah, I can see that," he roamed his eyes appreciatively up and down her body. 

She scolded him, "You cannot just come and go inside my house whenever you feel like it."

"Then give me the passcode for the door," he suggested, "Then I won't need to jump the balcony."

"No! Act like a regular human being and learn to knock. I'll open the door for you," she scoffed and got dressed.

The bathroom Sophia was wearing had been low cut, and the more she screamed and paced in front of Aiden, the more it slid open, but of course, he was not going to tell her that. He wanted to see what was underneath, but now that she left, he only had his vivid imagination to accompany him.

He was imagining her long legs wrapping around his waist as he opened her robe to expose what she was hiding. It almost made him groan, he had to adjust his seating position. The things he wanted to do to her were not for the innocent. A little more time and he will be able to fulfill his heart's desire.

Sophia ignored Aiden when she came out fully dressed and her hair dried. She watered her plants to get away from him, but he just followed her, taking the watering can from her hand.

"How do you have so much free time? Don't you have to work?" she asked curiously. Aiden looked so carefree, always roaming around, yet surprisingly the Cooper Industries performed better than the year before, and all their new ventures were flourishing.

"Oh, well, there's not much to do nowadays," he dismissed her question easily. The truth was that he worked until the early hours of the morning so he could spend as much time with Sophia when she was home. 

A butterfly tried to land near Sophia's shoulder, but she brushed it away and accidentally swatted it to the ground.

"Hey! What did you do that for? Are you okay little one?" He asked the butterfly when he picked it up. Luckily it was just knocked about a bit and started moving when he left it on one of the bigger leaves of her plants.

"When a butterfly comes, it means good omen," he said.

"Good omen?" she questioned.

"Yes, don't you know about the butterfly lovers?" he asked.

"No, there's no such thing. What is it?" She was confused.

"There's a famous folktale called the butterfly lovers. Many years ago, in a faraway land, a daughter was born to a rich merchant. She was beautiful and courageous. To learn was her dream, but during those times, women were not permitted to go to school. The merchant loved his daughter very much, so he granted her wish with a condition she could never break. 

She was going to school dressed up as a male student, and she could never reveal who she was, no matter what happened. When she got to the school, she met a nobleman's son who was intelligent as he was handsome. And one look at him got her smitten. 

Four years passed and she kept her promise, nobody knew her real identity, but in the process, she fell in love with the nobleman's son. The young man had treated her like he would a male best friend. And she could not leave without letting him know about her feelings, so she left him a letter and headed back home.

The young man read the letter and had a hard time grasping the truth. A month… then two... passed by, yet there was no reply from the young man. The merchant's daughter thought he did not feel the same way, so she started to mope around.

There was a festival in the city, and the young lady was tasked to light the lamps outside their house when someone held her hand, it was her young man. He had been in the city for a few weeks, observing her, he confessed that he had been mesmerized when he saw her wearing dresses instead of the men's garbs she used to wear at the university. He cared for her more than a friend and had been afraid to approach her, but as they hugged and rejoiced, he knew he made the right decision.

But their joy was short-lived, their parents opposed their marriage. Their families had been at odds since the beginning of time, and though they didn't have any idea why they were enemies, their families just kept the torch going. 

The merchant had arranged for his daughter to get married to another merchant's son, and since the young man could not do anything, he fell into depression and eventually passed away. The young woman, upon learning about his demise, refused to marry anybody else, she was just as heartbroken as her lover. 

Her parents did not care about her plight, so they went on with the wedding, dressing their daughter like a lifeless doll. Before they got married, the couple had to pay respects at the holy place, but on the way, she passed the graveyard where her young man was buried. 

The procession had been stuck for a while and could not get past the burial grounds, first, there was mud that stopped their wheels from turning. Then came the rains that impaired their vision, then the thunder that spooked their horses. The young lady took this opportunity to visit his tomb, crying and promising to love him forever, and as she cried for him to take her away, lighting landed close by, shaking and opening up the ground swallowing the young maiden. 

As the sky cleared, two butterflies emerged from the hole in the ground. Up to this day, people still say it was the lovers' spirits transformed into magnificent creatures so they could fly away and spend all their days together. 

So when a butterfly shows up around a man and a woman, it indicates they are soul mates," he said with intensity in his eyes.

Sophia bit her lower lip as she noticed his piercing gaze.

"Tell me, do you think it's accurate?" he said softly, referring to them.

"I don't know," she said as she looked at Aiden's teasing face.

He chuckled and replied, "We're not in a hurry. We can find out later,"