Arranged Love

Hidden Room to Pumpkin Picking

Bose's POV

Week 4

"What!" I exclaim.

"My parents said they had done research on the boy, but your grandparents...why were they looking into him?" Mika says.

I walk over to Mika, take the file, and set it on the desk. Mika's hands became clenched and she began to quiver so I pivot her toward me.

"Mika...just breathe, ok. He's not here...I am."

Mika closes her eyes taking the moment to breathe and level herself.

"If you don't want to look in the file you don't have to and if you don't wish for me to examine the file...I won't. All I care about is that you are comfortable...even if it indicates we might lose out on some crucial information." I assure.

Mika opens her eyes latching them with mine.

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do! Mika, he traumatized you and stole a precious experience in your life that you can never get back. If I were to go against your best interest and look in that file I would be no better than him. We are friends, colleagues, and royal counterparts but at the end of the day, we are a couple. If our relationship doesn't rely on pure trust then our relationship will always cease to function...and I don't wish for that to happen ever again." I assure.

Mika wraps her arms around me, clinging on to me with a firm hold but still delicate enough to not injure me or herself. I wrap my arms with the same amount of pressure around her midriff as she sinks into me while her weeping was softened by my chest. I felt her quickened heartbeat start to slow down and her trembling body come to a standstill. After a couple of minutes, Mika gradually raises her head with dampened eyes to say...

"Let's take it with us and look over it later."

"Sounds good to me." I say.

I kiss Mika's temple as she grins and leans back into my chest.

A few hours later...

Mika and I are now on our way to pick Addi up from daycare in our personal vehicle since we decided it's less conspicuous if we drive our cars than a big limo cruising the streets. But to have additional protection we have security guards driving right behind us.

"I was thinking once we pick up both kids we could go pumpkin picking...it is October after all. Plus it would be a fun activity for them and we can get cute pictures for Insta." Mika disclosed.

"That's a good idea, that reminded me...are we trick or treating this year? I haven't since I was a youngster but I wouldn't mind taking the ankle biters." I say.

"Of course! I already have a group costume for us and I'm considering inviting Phoenix and Lana! It will be perfect since we will all be dressed up so no one will recognize us!" Mika explains.

Mika's childlike nature lives off the holiday season...it's like she has numerous birthdays.

"What's the costume?" I ask.

"Wizard of Oz!"

"Explain." I say.

"I attempted to match the characters to us as a group! I'm not the wisest but I have a heart of gold so I'm Scarecrow! You are very logical and emotions aren't your strong suit...so you're Tinman! Atticus is super smart and has a pure heart but when push comes to shove he can get a little sensitive so he's the Lion! Addi is a precious little girl who was thrown into a whole new setting and is adjusting while making new friends so she is Dorothy! I didn't think of Phoenix and Lana till the last minute so Phoenix is Glinda aka The Good Witch since she emits good light, her life mission is protecting others, and...the red hair duh! While Lana is the wicked witch of the west since that's the only option haha plus she looks amazing in black." Mika explains.

"You really thought about this...also am I that bad at the feelings stuff?" I ask.

Mika's POV

I giggle at Bose's semi-worried tone while unbuckling my seatbelt.

"Not with me but with others...you become sort of standoffish." I say.

Bose unbuckles his seatbelt while running his hands through his hair.

"Yea you would assume as a Prince I would have better people-pleasing skills haha." He jokes.

We exit the car while having a good laugh and then enter the daycare catching sight of Addi's group watching Monsters Inc.

"We're here to pick up Addi." I say to the female at the desk.

The employee goes up to Addi, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. After a simple chat, the employee picks up Addi, grabs her jacket, and brings her over to us.

"Hey, kid." Bose says while carrying Addi in his arms.

"Hi!" Addi greets.

Bose sets Addi down to put on her coat while I sign her out. We walk out of the daycare, fasten Addi into her car seat, and then start heading to Atticus' school which was merely down the street.

"How was daycare Addi, was it good?" I ask.

"It was super duper good!" Addi assured.

I smile at the enthusiasm from Addi...it looks like she's getting used to daycare. We pull into the guardian's pick-up line seeing all the teachers lined up with their classes behind them. I see Atticus' ginger curls peeking out through his class to see our car, he spots it in seconds so he alerts his teacher so he can leave.

"I'm getting out to help him get buckled in his seat." Bose announced.

Bose gets out of the car as Atticus made his way over to us.

"Hey, buddy." Bose greets.

"Mr.Bose!"

Atticus latches onto Bose giving him a massive hug like he does every day. After Atti ultimately lets Bose go, he gets into the car making sure to embrace me and his sister before getting fastened in his seat.

"Hi, Atti!" Addi greets.

"Hi sweetheart, how was school?" I ask.

Bose buckles Atticus in, gets in the car, and starts driving to the pumpkin patch.

"It was so fun! Today we made paper plate pumpkins!"

Atticus opened his bag with bouncing legs and animated movements to show me his handcrafted plate pumpkin which was covered in glitter glue, tissue paper, and orange marker which explains the orange marks on his face and arms.

"Well, how would you feel if we got real pumpkins and carved them?" I ask.

"Ooh, can we take pictures with them on our heads?"

"Sure Atticus...not what I was thinking when I mentioned getting pics for Instagram but those pictures should be super cute!" I assure.

"Yay!" Atticus cheers.

"Pumpkinheads!" Addi cheers.

Let's hope pumpkin picking gets on smoothly.