Chapter 169 - Step Aside, I Shall Help

After dinner, Roman washed the dishes while Julie helped in wiping each of them before placing it in their respected place. Doing something like this together felt like they were more of a married couple, and Julie's heart fluttered in her chest. 

"Sorry about Donovan riling things up earlier. It felt like having a chewing gum stuck in the hair, and the only way to remove it is to chop the hair," commented Roman, and Julie turned to look at the living room, where her uncle and Donovan sat with dessert in their hands. 

"He is a lot more chaotic than usual," murmured Julie under her breath before she turned to look at Roman, who continued to concentrate on the plates. "But I think it's okay." 

Roman's eyes moved to the corner, giving her a look asking if she truly believed it to be okay. 

A smile appeared on Julie's lips, and she said, "I mean he is troublesome, but I think he's trying to connect to people in his own ways. Maybe?"

"I think the right word here is 'How to make one hate you'. Your uncle is a patient man," remarked Roman, and she couldn't help but agree on it. 

"Uncle Tom has always been that way. Someone who is the most understanding person in the room, and will always come to help. My mother was lucky to have him as her brother and me as his niece," said Julie, and she took hold of the china plate, carefully wiping the water off of it. "Did he tell you why exactly he's here?" 

"He told me he missed me and he's added you to the list too. Probably because you are Opaline La Fay's daughter, and now my girlfriend," replied Roman with a concentrated look on his face and his lips that had set in a thin line. 

Julie stared at his side profile, where some pieces of his hair rested on his forehead. After spending enough time with him, she had learned to pick the subtle emotions that were often pulled up and hidden behind his expressionless facade. 

"Will you be able to forgive him one day?" she asked him softly. 

Roman's hands didn't stop moving from washing the last plates, and he didn't reply to her immediately. But before he could reply to her, Julie's aunt appeared and said, 

"Julianne, if you will come and help me with the blankets and pillow." 

Julie nodded her head, and she wiped the plates that were done before leaving Roman's side. 

When Roman finished cleaning the last utensil and placed it at the side, Donovan appeared and said, "You know you didn't have to do that. I could have called the servants to come and do it. Or maybe ask the woman to do it, as she seemed to enjoy glaring at me the entire time. Though I was waiting for her to snap at me." 

"The people who live here are important to Julie. Like I mentioned earlier when we were outside, I would appreciate it if you would keep your curious self to provoke people around you to yourself. If you are missing Luciano that much, you should snap your fingers and go to him," Roman's words were nonchalant, but there was a hint of glare in his eyes, which was directed at his father. 

"People who live here? I am living here, so I am important, Rome," Donovan pointed out the not so obvious thing. The elder vampire had dropped his coat near the couch and had folded his sleeves. "I would have never pegged to ever see my kin cleaning the dishes."

"This is how it works in the normal and modern world now. You learn to help and share things," stated Roman, wiping his hand with the towel hung on one side of the wall. "It is how you slowly become part of a family."

"Is that so?" hummed Donovan, his eyes holding intrigue, and he said, "Step aside." Roman didn't know what Donovan was trying to do, but he stepped away from where he had been standing. He took note of Donovan picking up the plates and placing it in the drawer. "Hmm, this doesn't seem so bad."

Roman was surprised that Donovan was even picking up the plate. But when the Elder vampire was placing the last second plate in the cupboard, Aunt Sarah appeared back in the kitchen, and at the same time, the pressure on the plate was enough to turn it into two pieces.

Aunt Sarah's eyes widened on hearing the sound of the plate break, and her eyes fell on Donovan's hand. 

The Elder vampire's gaze moved up to meet Aunt Sarah's eyes, who looked like she wanted to use the sharp object and stab Donovan. The next words that came from the Elder vampire didn't help either, where he said, "Looks like this plate wasn't of best quality."

Roman closed his eyes and said, "Let me clean this up. Why don't you settle down." 

Julie turned to look at Aunt Sarah and called, "Aunt Sarah?" 

"Huh?" the woman responded, coming out from the little shock. "Let me go sit down for sometime." 

"Yeah," Julie agreed, and she pulled the chair from the dining table, and her aunt sat down. "Would you like me to get you a bowl of ice cream?" 

Julie went to the fridge, sharing a look with Roman before scooping and handing it to her aunt. She could tell her aunt had never been irked this much, at least not by one, where she wasn't able to retaliate. 

Later that night, Uncle Thomas had offered Donovan his clothes so that the man could sleep peacefully without crumpling his clothes. And though he wore regular clothes, the man, for some reason, continued to look as if he wore elite clothes. 

And though Uncle Thomas had suggested that Donovan sleep in Joel's room, but Aunt Sarah had been too angry and decided that Donovan would sleep in the living room and on the couch. 

Julie and Roman, who were in Joel's room, were in the bed with just the bedside lamp still on while the rest had been turned off. 

She turned to look at Roman, who had a smile on his face, and the smile just widened with every second. She asked, 

"Do you think it is safe to keep him there in the living room?" 

"He's not a child, Winters. He will be fine, and it was him who imposed himself here, when he could sleep in his lush and exquisite bedroom. Let him take it as an experience and enjoy the night," said Roman, and there was an evil glint in his eyes along with mirth. 

"I worry that he will end up killing Aunt Sarah out of spite," murmured Julie in worry. Her aunt might have been strict, but the last thing she wanted to see was her uncle finding the woman's dead body next to him in the morning. 

"Don't worry about that. He knows your aunt is family and not to touch a strand of hair when it comes to them," Roman pulled the pillow down, adjusting it before he turned the lamp off and said, "Rather than killing, I think Donovan enjoys pushing people's buttons, just to get a reaction from them that feeds his boredom." 

That was probably what was going to happen tomorrow morning, thought Julie in her mind. 

She felt Roman pull her hand, slowly sliding into the blanket next to him. He put his arm around her waist before bringing her to him. He pressed his lips on her forehead, and Julie closed her eyes, feeling the warmth that started to spread on her skin. 

Julie ran her fingers across his chest, mindlessly drawing lines on his skin which he didn't mind. Craning her neck to look at him, both of them stared into each other's eyes. 

"Something on your mind?" asked Roman, staring into her brown eyes. 

Julie hummed, her lips parting while she watched him, "You didn't answer my question earlier." She knew she didn't have to repeat it, and he would know what she was speaking about.

Roman ran his hand over her hair, tucking the hair behind her ear before he caressed her cheek. He said, "Right now, I am not sure."

"Do you hate him?" asked Julie, referring to Donovan.