Chapter 65: The One Who Drives Me Crazy

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: The One Who Drives Me Crazy

"Alright, pretty," Elisha agreed with a tender smile.

Then a thought crossed his mind, and he paused with his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Will you be inviting Eloise?"

Henry looked at him and answered honestly. "I’ll be honest with you, Elisha. I really want to invite her. She’d genuinely be happy to be there and celebrate with us."

Elisha’s expression tightened slightly. "What if I said no? What if I don’t want her there?"

Henry didn’t argue. He held Elisha’s gaze for a moment before answering. "If you really don’t want her there, I’ll respect that. I won’t invite her. I’ll explain it to her, and I know she’ll understand."

Elisha relaxed a little and sighed. "Then you should invite her. She’s a nice person. But let me ask you something honestly. If we hadn’t ended up together, would you have been with her instead?"

Henry let out a quiet laugh. "You know, Eloise actually asked me that same question once. But since you’re asking, I’ll give you the honest answer."

He leaned back slightly, thinking for a moment.

"If things hadn’t worked out between us, I probably would have gone for her. I’m sure we could have been happy together. Eloise is genuinely wonderful—she’s calm and sweet, even though she can be a little obsessed and hopelessly clingy sometimes. But she has a good heart. She’s stubborn as an ox, but she always listens to me. And on top of all that, she’s drop-dead gorgeous—"

"Alright, that’s enough," Elisha interrupted, dropping his fork onto his plate with a sharp clatter. He crossed his arms and frowned at Henry. "If she’s so beautiful, calm, stubborn, and good at listening to you, why don’t you just marry her instead?"

Henry’s lips curled into a teasing smile. "Can I really marry her, then?"

Elisha’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you serious? So you really want her that much? And you know all these things about her? You’ve never even given me this many compliments before."

Henry blinked at him before bursting into laughter. "Are you seriously getting jealous of Eloise right now?"

"I’m not jealous," Elisha scoffed, refusing to look at him. "I just lost my appetite. I’m not eating another bite."

Henry’s laughter softened into an amused smile. He set his food aside and moved closer to Elisha.

"Oh, come on, heartbeat," he said, gently stroking Elisha’s arm. "Are you really sulking over a hypothetical question you asked me yourself?"

"I’m fine," Elisha muttered, turning his head away.

"Elisha. Babe. My love," Henry whispered, moving closer until his chest brushed against Elisha’s shoulder. He gently ran his fingers through Elisha’s hair before cupping his jaw and turning his face toward him. "Look at me."

Elisha finally looked at him, his eyes still showing a hint of mock annoyance.

Henry smiled and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Elisha’s lips. "You asked me a question, and I gave you an honest answer. But do you want to know the truth?"

Elisha said nothing, but his tense posture relaxed slightly under Henry’s touch.

"Eloise is great," Henry said softly, brushing his thumb over Elisha’s cheek. "She really is. But she isn’t you. None of those things matter because I didn’t end up with anyone else. I chose you. I’m marrying you. I don’t want anyone else, Elisha—not her, not anyone. You’re the only one who drives me crazy, and you’re the only one I want."

The tension in Elisha’s eyes slowly faded, replaced by a smile.

"You play dirty," Elisha muttered, though his hands immediately slipped around Henry’s waist and pulled him closer.

"Only when I have to," Henry said with a grin, pressing another kiss to his lips. "Now, pick up your fork and finish your food. My husband-to-be isn’t allowed to starve just because he’s jealous."

"You should pick yours up, too," Elisha replied, a warm smile spreading across his face as he reached for his fork.

"Okay, baby," Henry agreed.

They picked up their forks and continued eating, but before long, they started feeding each other instead of eating from their own containers. Each bite was followed by a soft kiss, and they smiled and laughed together as the last of the tension between them faded away.

"Just relax here for a little while, Henry," he said gently. "Let me finish up the rest of my work, then we can head home."

"Alright," Henry replied, leaning back comfortably in his seat.

Elisha got up from the seating area and walked back to his desk. He pressed the intercom button and called Sarah into the office to clear away the empty food containers.

A moment later, Sarah entered the office and walked over to the seating area. She gathered the empty containers and cleared everything away before leaving the office.

Elisha settled back into his chair. He went through the remaining documents, signing what needed his attention and organizing the files.

A short while later, he closed the last folder and shut down his laptop. He stood from his desk and walked over to Henry in the seating area.

"Alright, pretty. Let’s go home."

Before they left, Elisha called Sarah back into his office one last time. She already knew what needed to be done in his absence.

Henry and Elisha stepped out of the office side by side, with Sarah following behind them, carrying Elisha’s briefcase and jacket. They walked down the hallway toward the private elevator. As they passed the offices and work areas, a few employees who noticed them greeted them respectfully.

Elisha gave them a brief nod before stepping into the elevator with Henry and Sarah.

A few moments later, the elevator reached the private garage. The doors opened, and they stepped out together with Sarah.

As they approached the sleek luxury car waiting near the exit, the driver quickly stepped out and opened the rear door. Elisha stepped aside and held out his hand, allowing Henry to get into the leather-upholstered back seat first before getting in beside him.

Sarah handed Elisha his briefcase and jacket through the open door before giving him a respectful nod.

"You know what to do, Sarah. Call me if anything comes up, or let Vance know if you need any help," Elisha said.

"Okay, sir," Sarah replied.

The driver closed the door, walked around to the driver’s side, and got behind the wheel. A moment later, he started the engine and pulled out of the parking bay.

As the car left the private garage and headed home, Henry leaned his head against Elisha’s shoulder with a contented sigh, watching the city lights pass by through the window.

Elisha turned slightly and pressed a soft kiss to his hair. "Do you want to stop anywhere or get something to eat before we go home, baby?"

Henry gently shook his head against Elisha’s shoulder. "No, babe. We still have a lot to do tomorrow, pick out our rings and send the invitations out. I think we should just go straight home and rest."

"Alright, babe. Whatever you want," Elisha murmured, wrapping an arm around his waist.

After a brief silence, Elisha spoke again. "You’re still keeping your distance from Vance, aren’t you?"

Elisha scoffed softly. "I’m not keeping my distance. He’s still my manager. I just don’t want him around me or in my office unless I actually need him for something work-related."

Henry smiled and lifted his face to look at him. "Since you’re getting married to a man now, I think you should find a way to reconcile with him. He didn’t really do anything wrong, you know, babe. He told you how he felt and took a chance by trying to kiss you. It’s not like he actually kissed you; he only tried. He was honest about liking you. You kept pushing him away because you insisted you were straight, but now that you’re marrying me, he probably thinks you’re a hypocrite."

"So what if I end up marrying a man?" Elisha muttered, rolling his eyes.

Henry nudged him playfully. "You two should really talk things out."

"Babe, enough." Elisha sighed, his voice firm. "I don’t care what he thinks. Maybe I once said I was straight, and now I’m marrying a man. So what? I just don’t want him around me, and I don’t want to discuss him anymore. He works for me, nothing more."

Henry chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I won’t talk about him again."

He settled his head back against Elisha’s shoulder, and Elisha looked down at him for a moment. To change the subject, he pulled out his phone and held it up, taking a quick selfie of Henry resting comfortably against him.

As soon as Henry noticed the camera, he brightened and struck a playful pose before leaning over to press a quick kiss to Elisha’s cheek. They spent the next few minutes taking more selfies together, laughing quietly in the back seat. Eventually, Henry settled against Elisha’s shoulder again and closed his eyes for a short nap.

A few minutes later, the car arrived at Elisha’s private estate and came to a stop in front of the house.

"Pretty, wake up," Elisha murmured, gently nudging Henry. "We’re home."

Henry slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head from Elisha’s shoulder. At the same time, the driver stepped out and walked around to open the rear door.

Elisha stepped out first, then turned and held out his hand to Henry. Henry took it and stepped out of the car beside him.

Together, they walked into the house...