Chapter 121: Influence on him

Jean was putting the finishing touches on lunch. It was already two in the afternoon, and they would usually have eaten by now. However, she had decided to wait a little longer since Kai had told her he would be returning soon.

Truthfully, she was getting rather impatient to see him. Of course, she wanted to spend time with him, but there was another, far more significant reason behind her restlessness.

That morning, Kai had told her there was something important he needed to discuss with her. The look in his eyes had been enough to tell her that he was uncertain about how to bring it up, and it had clearly taken him considerable effort to say even that much.

Since then, Jean had gone through countless possibilities, each more troubling than the last. Had the Association ordered him to distance himself from his family for their own safety? The thought had been gnawing at her more than any other, leaving her genuinely upset whenever she considered it.

I don’t know how I would even react if he told me something like that.

DING-DONG!

Jean flinched at the sudden sound of the doorbell.

Her gaze immediately shifted to her daughter, who had fallen asleep at the table after finishing her meal. Elara stirred slightly, letting out a sleepy groan, but thankfully, she didn’t wake up. Otherwise, she would probably have been rather irritable after being disturbed from her nap.

Not wanting to keep Kai waiting, Jean quickly made her way to the entrance.

"Coming!" she called out as she checked the security camera beside the front door.

Sure enough, the man she had been waiting for was standing outside.

She blinked in surprise when she noticed him hiding something behind his back. However, her curiosity didn’t keep her waiting for long, and she promptly opened the door.

"Hey, sorry for being late," Kai said with a smile.

Before Jean could respond, he brought out a bouquet of flowers and offered it to her.

"What... why the sudden flowers?" she asked, though a smile had already spread across her lips.

Kai paused, staring blankly into the distance for a moment before shaking his head.

"I happened to see a lady selling flowers on my way back. Then I realized that I’d never actually given you any. That’s rather shameful of me, isn’t it?"

Jean giggled as she accepted the bouquet. "I don’t really mind, but I’m happy you did. Thank you."

Kai smiled faintly at her before stepping inside and changing his shoes.

As they made their way into the house, he asked, "What is my baby doing?"

Jean sighed. "I had such a hard time feeding her today. And just as she was taking the last bite, she fell... asleep?"

Her words trailed off when they reached the dining area.

There sat Elara, wide awake and eagerly stretching her arms toward her father while practically bouncing in her seat.

Kai’s face lit up with a smile so wide that all the exhaustion weighing on him seemed to disappear at once.

He walked over and scooped Elara into his arms, earning an excited giggle from his little girl.

"Sit down. I’ll bring you some water," Jean said, shaking her head in amusement.

The same little girl who had appeared to be in the deepest slumber of her life just moments ago was now giggling happily in her father’s embrace. Jean could only wonder how quickly her daughter’s energy seemed to return whenever Kai was around.

Kai hummed in acknowledgment and carried Elara over to the couch.

Meanwhile, Jean poured him a glass of water and added a few ice cubes, just the way he liked it.

However, when she returned to the living room, she found Kai sitting on the couch all alone.

Jean raised her eyebrows and glanced around. "Where’s Elli?"

She had assumed Elara might have crawled away to show her papa the new toy she had received that day, a yoga roller that had apparently caught her attention.

Instead, Kai simply smiled fondly and pulled his coat open a little.

Jean leaned forward to peek inside, only to find her little daughter tucked comfortably within her father’s jacket. Elara even waved at her mother from her newfound hiding place, looking as though she had discovered the perfect little den.

"God... My Elara must have sensed how tired her daddy was and decided to heal me," Kai murmured, gently embracing his little princess before leaning back against the couch.

Jean hummed in amusement as she handed him the glass of water.

"I’ve never seen you this tired before, not even after a raid. What exactly happened?"

Kai shook his head with a weary sigh.

"Battles could never wear me down as much as formal meetings like the one I attended today." After handing the glass back to Jean, he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and leaned back more comfortably. "I’m simply not cut out for wearing such restrictive clothes."

He paused, remembering how Jean had praised his appearance that very morning. Realizing he might have given her the wrong impression, he quickly added, "Of course, for you, I’d be willing to wear them as often as I get the chance."

Jean giggled at his sudden clarification.

Sitting beside him, she took his hand in hers and gently helped him remove his watch. "It’s okay. You look handsome in your casual clothes, too. I just don’t tell you that very often because I don’t want you getting too conscious of it."

Kai gave her a wry grin. "So you do understand just how deeply you influence me."

Jean looked up at him, meeting his gaze with a playful smile. "Oh, yes, I do."

Something about the way they looked at each other, combined with the warmth of their close proximity, caused both their heartbeats to quicken.

For a brief moment, they seemed to forget everything else around them, their attention focused entirely on each other.

Just then, a small voice interrupted their moment.

"Maaah!"

Elara had finally emerged from her hiding place, her face flushed from the heat trapped inside her father’s jacket. The unmistakable displeasure on her little face made it clear that she hadn’t enjoyed her cozy adventure quite as much as she had initially imagined.

Jean and Kai turned toward their beloved daughter before exchanging a glance.

A moment later, they burst into laughter together.