Aria
Throughout the journey, I couldn't calm down. Anxiously, I looked out the window, trying to find clues as to where Caleb was taking me. However, I couldn't find any information because there were only pine trees as far as the eye could see.
Small drops of rain began to fall on the car, making me even more anxious. The atmosphere added to the tension, and I thought that if Caleb was planning to kill me, then this was the right moment.
As my head was filled with these terrible thoughts, Caleb's car turned towards a luxurious villa hidden in the area.
"Aria? Why are you so pale?" When Caleb turned to ask me to get out of the car, he finally noticed the strange look on my face.
"What?" I blinked several times as I looked out the car window, and that's when I realized we had arrived.
Caleb said nothing but took a jacket from the back seat and threw it at me, "Put that on and come with me."
I looked back and forth between the jacket in my hand and Caleb, who had already walked out of the car.
"Oh my God! Why is he so fast?" I turned to get out of the car, but again I was surprised by Caleb's unexpected actions.
Caleb knocked on the car door next to me, then opened it for me. In fact, Caleb reached out his hand to help me get out of the car.
That's when I realized that Caleb was holding an umbrella and making sure that I didn't get wet at all.
I was so shocked by Caleb's attentive behavior towards me that I unconsciously moved away from him. But Caleb's hand quickly pulled my waist so close that I could feel the warmth of his body.
"What are you doing?" I turned to Caleb in surprise, not expecting him to do that.
"Your face will turn even paler if you get cold from the rain," Caleb replied, rolling his eyes lazily.
As if the question I asked him was really stupid. I reflexively held my face with my hands, not realizing that my face was very pale at that moment.
It seemed that my negative thoughts about Caleb were unfounded, and I felt a little guilty for suspecting him. Thoughts of how Arden had wanted to kill me at that time still haunted me.
I had become too cautious, thinking that other people had the same intentions as Arden. Without realizing it, I sighed softly, trying to get rid of those negative thoughts.
Caleb finally released his embrace around my waist when we were inside the villa. I quickly moved away from him, rubbing my hands together occasionally, now feeling really cold.
"Come with me, I'm sure Grandma has prepared something warm for us." Caleb took my hand and led me to the living room of the luxurious villa.
"Huh? Grandma?" I could only frown in confusion when I heard Caleb's words.
I really didn't know why Caleb brought me to this villa, until the end, he didn't say anything to me about this visit.
When I stepped into the living room of the villa, I saw an older woman get up from the sofa with a warm smile on her face when she saw us coming.
"Finally, you're here. Sit down, I've told the maid to prepare hot chocolate for you." The old grandmother pulled my hand to sit on the sofa next to her.
I could only smile back and glance at Caleb to ask him what this was all about.
"Drink this to warm yourself up. I'm sorry you had to come all this way because of me," said the grandmother, still looking at me.
"Ah, it's okay, Grandma. But are you Caleb's grandmother?" I had no choice but to ask her this question.
"Didn't you tell her anything, Caleb?" Grandma turned to Caleb and shook her head.
"Didn't you tell me yourself that I didn't need to tell Aria anything?" Caleb shrugged indifferently, looking unfazed.
"Oh my, this kid is really annoying. I hope you can forgive him, Aria." Grandma rubbed my hand warmly, then continued, "I'm Martha Reed, Caleb's grandmother. You can call me Grandma Martha. I deliberately asked Caleb to bring you here because there's something I want to talk to you about.
The corners of my lips twitched awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to Grandma Martha's words. My eyes unconsciously glanced at Caleb, who was staring at me.
At first, I was surprised, but I quickly signaled him to help me in this situation. Surprisingly, Caleb's reaction was to grin slightly, then shrug his shoulders.
"You naughty boy, go help Uncle Jack in the back. Aria won't feel comfortable talking to me if you're here," replied Grandma Martha as she shooed Caleb away.
Caleb sighed softly, "Okay." Then, he got up from his position and walked away.
However, before he had gone far, Caleb stopped and turned to look at me, "Call me if you need my help." Caleb didn't forget to glance at Grandma Martha.
"Go," said Grandma Martha, waving her hand to shoo Caleb away.
Without realizing it, a smile appeared on my face when I saw their interaction. From that, Caleb was very close to Grandma Martha.
When Caleb's back disappeared behind the wall, I heard Grandma Martha start talking to me, which made me turn my face towards her.
"I heard that you have returned to your family, so I asked Caleb to bring you here," said Grandma Martha, her voice now sounding more serious than before.
"Yes, a week ago I returned to the Lennox family," I replied, lowering my head, the feeling of guilt resurfacing in my heart.
"I hope you still remember what you did to our family three years ago." I heard Grandma Martha tapping her fingers as she spoke.
My body tensed up when I heard Grandma Martha's words, and my breath caught in my throat because of this feeling of guilt.
"I don't dare to forget it. I realize what I did to Caleb and the Reed family was very bad. I sincerely apologize for my mistake," I replied, still bowing my head, not daring to look Grandma Martha directly in the eye.
"Considering you were still young at the time, I don't blame you for your choice. This time, I didn't call you here to accept your apology, but to warn you." Grandma Martha stared straight at me as I looked up in surprise at her words.
I froze in place, my tongue tied, unable to utter a sound.
"If you approach Caleb again just to toy with him, you'd better stop right now," Grandma Martha continued firmly, her voice sounding calm but making my heart uneasy.