The Gatekeeper
“I’m coming.” Nigel’s voice came from the video intercom.
Anastasia quickly moved to block the camera and crossed her arms as she began to think about how
she was going to explain herself to Nigel. It was frustrating that Elliot consistently put her in such sticky
situations.
There was a beeping sound that came from the door as it unlocked, and Elliot put his hand on the
doorknob. He was just about to go in when he glanced at the woman who had her back turned to him.
With a raised brow, he then asked, “Aren’t you coming in?”
“You go ahead. I need to make a phone call,” said Anastasia as she took out her phone to dial a
number, but he saw through her act and reached out to snatch her phone away.
“Come in with me,” he said in a commanding tone.
“Give me back my phone, Elliot,” she demanded incredulously.
However, he walked into the house with her phone in hand. She tried to make it look as if they had
arrived separately by dawdling on the front step, but seeing as her phone was with him, there was little
to no point in putting up pretenses.
As such, she stormed after him and made her way into the exquisite glass-walled villa.
Nigel had only just put on his clothes, and he was making his way downstairs when he saw the man
and woman in his living room. Astonished, he thought, Elliot? Anastasia? Why are they both here at the
same time?
He recalled only seeing Elliot’s figure in the video intercom just now, though he did see the silhouette of
a woman whose back had been turned to the camera. Nigel had believed her to be Elliot’s assistant or
something, but as it turned out, it was Anastasia all along. Confusion dawned upon him as he blinked
and asked hesitantly, “D-Did you both come here together?”
“Uh… No, we came in separate cars and ran into each other at your front doorstep, so we decided to
come in together. This is all pretty coincidental,” Anastasia explained anxiously.
“Is that it?” Nigel bought it.
“Actually, I went to Miss Tillman’s father’s banquet last night and ended up getting drunk, so I slept over
at her place. I’m just tagging along while she picks up Jared.” All it took was one sentence for Elliot to
reveal the truth, and Anastasia turned a bright shade of red as she quickly shot the man a deadly glare.
He didn’t even think how this might affect me!
Nigel, on the other hand, was stunned for a few seconds. Then, he gaped at Anastasia incredulously.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your father’s banquet? I should have gone and celebrated, too, shouldn’t
I?”
“Well, it was only a small celebration,” she explained as she averted his gaze guiltily.
“Jared is still sleeping, so it might be a while before he wakes up,” Nigel said. Then, he met Elliot’s
eyes, and the both of them were suddenly locked in a wordless battle.
Elliot’s gaze was steady as he said, “Thank you for taking care of Jared last night, Nigel.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Nigel said through gritted teeth. He couldn’t believe that Elliot had dropped Jared off
last night and secretly attended Francis’ celebration. He even got drunk and slept over at Anastasia’s
place. He was starting to look at this cousin of his differently, for only men could understand what other
men were thinking. Elliot set this whole thing up right from the beginning!
“Anastasia, why don’t you go upstairs?” Having said that, Nigel gave Elliot a dark look and said as he
turned to walk toward the balcony, “Elliot, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Elliot fell in step behind him. Anastasia didn’t think too much of this, believing that they really had
something important to discuss.
Over on the balcony, there was a confrontational gleam in Nigel’s eyes as he looked at Elliot. He had
never questioned Elliot quite so seriously as he did at that moment. “Are you serious about Anastasia,
or is she just a new notch in your belt?” he asked.
Elliot’s expression grew somber as he looked at the younger man darkly and said, “Of course, I’m dead
serious about her.”
“Is that so? All of this isn’t just stemming from the gratitude you have toward her mother after she
sacrificed her life to save yours?”
There had been a time when Elliot thought whatever affection and fondness he had for Anastasia was
born out of his gratitude, but after spending all this time with her, he realized that he had a special place
for her in his heart that had nothing to do with her mother’s sacrifice.
“Nigel, I really like her. You have to believe me,” Elliot said softly, but there was no mistaking the steely
edge to his voice.
“In that case, would you be able to accept Jared even though he isn’t your kid? Will you treat him as
your own?” Nigel pressed further as his gaze burned into Elliot’s. He knew he didn’t stand a chance
with Anastasia, but that wouldn’t stop him from being her gatekeeper and evaluating the man who
would eventually spend forever with her.
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