Chapter 76: It was a moment

Selen still did not try to make a move to stop Clancy. Instead, she found herself closing her eyes gently and waiting. Waiting for Clancy’s lips to hit hers.

The sound of footsteps on the dry grass outside broke the silence, instantly cutting through the tension. Selen stepped back, his hand dropping from her face. Clancy cleared his throat and adjusted his shirt, his usual neutral expression snapping right back into place.

"Did you hear that?" Selen asked, her voice dropping to a normal whisper. "l will have a look. It is most likely the guard doing a night watch" Clancy said. He put his glass down on the railing and began to walk back inside.

The mood was entirely gone. Selen tightened the shawl around her shoulders, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I am going to bed," Selen said, causing Clancy to turn back around and face her. "We need to leave early if we want to beat the traffic tomorrow." She added.

Clancy nodded in acknowledgement. "Good night, Selen. See you in the morning." he said to her. Selen went into her room and shut the door, finally letting out her breath. "What was that?" She asked herself as she sunk into the soft sheets of her bed.

Clancy had confirmed that it was the security guard just as he had presumed and went back to his bedroom with a fortitude that he and Selen undeniably had a moment back there on the porch.

"Maybe there was hope after all. And it was closer than I thought or imagined" he thought to himself as he maintained the smile on his lips, even as he drifted to sleep.

***the following morning**

Selen’s phone rang first the following morning, relieving her of the most uncomfortable sleep she had in years. The bed was extremely comfortable, perhaps too comfortable since she began to relate its comfort to how she now felt toward Clancy.

She had spent hours tossing and turning in her bed, trying to push past the constant replaying of last night’s scenes from her head. She scolded herself for even stepping out that night.

The only reason she did- Diana, was even fast asleep and she could barely sleep for three straight hours without waking up and trying to go back to sleep again.

She snatched the phone from the nightstand, checking the screen before the noise could wake anyone else. It was her local traffic alert app, flashing a notification that the main highway below the hills had finally been cleared of the wreckage.

She had installed the app immediately when they got into the villa so that they could be back on the road as soon as the traffic cleared up.

Dressing up quickly in her plain beach clothes from the day before, she checked on Diana one more time. Her daughter was still resting quietly, unaffected by the change in environment.

The day at the beach and the drugs had taken their effect and her body was now trying to regain its strength by a long nap.

She checked the time once again to know when she would wake her up for her medication and then walked away. She then stepped out into the hallway and walked down to the kitchen, needing a cup of coffee to shake off her exhaustion.

The villa was already alive with quiet activity. Elena and another staff member were busy preparing a breakfast spread of fresh fruit, pastries, and eggs. Clancy was already there, sitting at the kitchen island.

He looked perfectly put together in a sharp navy polo, reading through documents on his tablet. There was no trace of the messy-haired man from the balcony last night.

"Good morning," Clancy said, looking up. His voice was completely neutral, the exact same tone he used with his personal assistant.

"Elena just brewed fresh coffee. Help yourself." he said and motioned to the coffee jug sitting on the table before him.

"Morning," Selen replied, keeping her distance as she poured herself a cup. "The highway is clear. I just got an alert." She said to Clancy, still not looking at him. "I saw," Clancy nodded, tapping his screen.

"I already had Patrick look into it. The rock slide is completely gone. If we leave within the hour, we can beat the morning rush and get the kids home without any more delays."

Sarah walked in a moment later, "good morning," she said and sat on the chair at the end of the table, yawned, and immediately reached for the food that was spread on the table. "Miss Selen, please tell me we are leaving soon. I need my regular routine." she said.

"We are leaving in forty-five minutes," Clancy told her, standing up from his chair. He looked back at Selen, his eyes holding her gaze for just a second longer than business required.

"I will wake the boys and you can wake Diana up. Then the staff will get the SUV loaded while Sarah finishes up with the kids." He said and walked away after.

Selen watched him walk out toward the stairs. The strange tension from the night before had not completely disappeared, it had just been packed away behind tight schedules and travel plans. She took a sip of her coffee, ready to get back to reality.

Upstairs, the sound of the boys waking up began to echo through the high ceilings of the villa. Daniel and David, fully recharged from their long sleep, were already racing down the hallway, completely oblivious to the adult drama that had unfolded just hours prior.

Clancy escorted them down, a boy flanking each side, as he directed them straight to the breakfast table. "Eat up, boys," Clancy instructed, his tone warm but firm. "We have a long drive ahead and I want us on the road before the sun gets too high."

Elena moved efficiently around the kitchen, packing a small basket with bottled water, fresh fruit, and wrapped sandwiches for the road. Selen watched her, grateful for the hospitality. She quickly finished her coffee and went back upstairs to wake Diana.