Enraptured

Chapter 39

"Belle, I just finished putting Theo to bed," I called out softly from outside her bedroom door.

We had just gotten back to Belle's house from the gala. It was pitch dark outside when we left, so I wasn't too surprised when Theo fell asleep in Belle's arms just minutes after we started driving.

She didn't talk much on the entire way back, which made me worry that she might have regretted her original plan to marry me.

The silence felt deafening.

But that worry didn't last too long when she tiredly leaned against my arm halfway through the drive and mumbled in a half-awake state, "Thank you for standing up for me, Demetri."

My heart warmed as she snuggled deeper into my chest in her half-conscious state, like how an exhausted kitten would curl up. I had carefully wrapped my arm around her shoulders, keeping her pressed firmly against my side until we got back to her house.

By the time we arrived, she was already partially dozed off in my arms. I told my driver to wait outside for me as I gathered the two sleeping beauties in my arms

However, to my unfortunate luck, Belle woke up before I could pick her up. She stubbornly insisted on getting out by herself despite having a bruised ankle and no shoes. With a lot of effort in trying to persuade a half-coherent Belle to let me carry them inside, I managed to, at least, get her to let me carry the dead-asleep Theo instead.

As she haphazardly wobbled up the front steps of her house, I followed closely behind her with Theo in my arm, ready to catch her at any moment with my free arm. Once we got passed the front door, Belle then insisted on also going up her stairs by herself, which shaved a couple more years off of my life.

Luckily, she somehow managed to reach the top of her stairs without falling. But then she wanted to take Theo from me and personally tuck him into bed, even though she was barely awake and he was more than half her height already.

With a few soft promises of getting the unconscious boy into a pair of pajamas and remembering to close his windows, I managed to get Belle to let me take care of Theo instead while she gets undressed from her formal wear.

I had no trouble undressing and redressing the little boy before tucking him into bed, but I didn't know how I was to handle his dazed-but-still-somehow-standing mother.

I waited for a good minute in front of her bedroom door without any answers, but I also didn't hear any sounds of the shower running inside her room either. So what was she doing?

Did she fall asleep while getting undressed? Should I go in to check on her, or would that be an intrusion of—

THUD!!

My eyes widened at the sound. I frantically jiggled her locked doorknob and called out, "Belle?! Are you alright? Please say something!"

Several bone-chilling silent seconds passed by without any answer.

Right as I was about to reach my limit and break down her door, it suddenly swung open, revealing a pair of teary violet eyes. She was still in her makeup and dress. The only difference was the new red bump ordaining the left side of her temple. 

"Oh, Belle..." I reached up to cup her head and gently rubbed her bruise. "Do you want some help?"

She nodded quietly with a few sniffles. Her fingers adorably pinched onto the end of my sleeves, lightly tugging me into her room.