Theo's Explanations

Aubrianne Ivanov

Hunger started to become known, and Aubrianne realized she had not eaten since earlier in the day before unpacking and getting her mother's antique box. That was breakfast.

In between Theo's explanations, she had said out of nowhere, "I am hungry."

"Oh, darn it, sweetie, I bought dinner for us. It must be cold by now. Let me take care of it." Theo had said, getting up and retrieving a fancy brown paper bag filled with food boxes from the entrance table.

He had totally long forgotten about the food, so caught up with his daughter.

"Oh, thanks, dad. What is it?" Aubrianne asked eagerly, following him into the kitchen, when suddenly her stomach growled.

Theo and Aubrianne chuckled. "Oh my goodness, I told you I was hungry now, didn't I?" Aubrianne said, feeling slightly embarrassed, but it quickly went away at her father's reaction.

When she quickly realized she had nothing to be embarrassed about.

He was so carefree about it, like it happens all the time and was not a big deal, and it was ok, "Don't worry about it, sweetie, now let's see what we have here."

Looking into the bag, he started naming the dishes as he pulled them out, "Ok, we have... stir-fried noodles, meat rice, wontons, shrimp dumplings, chicken dumplings, and for the meats, we have shrimp, hot pepper beef, sweet and sour pork, and spicy chicken."

"Wow, yumz, I love chinese-style food," Aubrianne said. "I know," her dad responded.

When Aubrianne looked up at him in surprise and question, he said casually, "I had my men follow you during the day, and they would make sure you got in safely. They mentioned that you picked up an order from Barnabelle's on more than a few occasions."

"Yes, my favorite restaurant." Shaking her head and smiling, she said, "I should have known. Mr. Grey had mentioned something to that extent earlier today."

While Theo had dished out the meal, he also explained why he was not there when she arrived. He simply wanted to let her settle in without attacking her with the news.

He knew if he had been physically there, he might not have had the will to continue to stay away. He had to plan a business trip around her arrival. That he admitted was cowardly of him.

He even shyly admitted to trying to surprise her at the Dealership, that he still couldn't contain himself from thousands of miles away.

Sitting by the dining table now, enjoying their chinese style food, they continued chatting. Aubrianne had requested a little of everything. But by the end, her plate was actually full to the brim.

Anything else added, and it would tumble down. The food was piled on pretty good.

Aubrianne had explained how she could not understand how, after leaving Mr. Grey and almost wanting to return everything, "Why would you do that? After knowing how I felt?"

"See, that's the thing, sweetie. I had not spoken to Ivan then; he had called me as soon as you left, but then his next meeting was about to start, and it was a conference call. I spoke to him a few hours later."

"By then, it was too late, and I realized my error. I felt really horrible. I was convinced I scared you off for good," Theo had admitted.

Aubrianne had laughed at her father but admitted, "I don't know, I was pretty confused, like, was this man insane? Then they both laughed.

"Honestly... I... was like... who are... these... people?" Aubrianne had said between laughter.

The sound of their nonstop laughter resounded through the space.

Coming down from their fit of laughter, Aubrianne suddenly wondered where Daniel or Jada was? Surprised that no one disturbed them. Didn't they need to pee? Or want a drink of water or anything?

Then she recalls the amenities in the backyard.

Or aren't they hungry like she was?

Nevertheless, she was grateful for this quiet and private time with just her and her father, with no wife or siblings around right now. And in truth, she was happy that no one had disturbed them.

She figured her father had something to do with that, but she did not mind.

It was just the two of them for hours.

They enjoyed each other's company, having father-daughter conversations and shenanigans. Even as they were now enjoying a meal together.

Wrapping up her meal, it was now probably after midnight. Jada and Daniel were somewhere, maybe outside the house, and her dad, oh my goodness!

Yes, her dad looked so tired, she could feel it, but she also felt how he fought it and braved through it all with her, not in any rush to leave her side, and that was everything to Aubrianne.

Now she wanted to let him know it was ok and he could get some rest, "Dad?" she whispered.

"Yes, sweetie," yes, that name kept rolling off Theo's tongue as if it was meant to be. It is precisely what he would have been calling her had she been with him all her life.

Why not start right away? Why waste another minute? 'We have so much time to make up for,' he told her earlier.

"I am a bit tired now," she yawned and stretched like a kitten. "It has been a long and interesting day."

Yea, she decided to say that she was tired when, in truth, she was wired and fully charged with excitement about the time shared with Mr. Thornton, her idol, the Legend of Accounting, who turned out to be her father.

Aubrianne could not even begin to wrap her mind around it, and their special father-daughter time was everything she had imagined and so much more.

She never had in a million years imagined that things would have gone down so smoothly, so effortlessly, as if they had been chatting on just another Wednesday evening, no biggie.

But indeed, it was a biggie, a hugie, if you will.

However, she somehow knew he might have insisted on staying longer even if he was tired and exhausted, and she knew her dad needed his rest. He must be jet-lagged as well.

"Oh, ok, sweetie, well, I will hold on with you until Daniel and Jada get back," Theo said.

"Jada and Daniel? Get back? Where did they go?" Aubrianne asked and queried.

"Daniel had taken Jada to his family home to meet his sister as a way to kill some time while we get to talk," Theo confirms, pointing between the two of them.

Jada Wilson

Daniel had taken Jada to the back of Aubrianne's flat by the poolside. They had sat on a pair of lounging chairs and chatted, getting to know each other while they waited.

They were both rocked back on the chair. One of Daniel's knees was up, and Jada's feet were crossed at the ankle.

Both heads were comfortably rested on the headrest.

Daniel and Jada both had a mutual understanding within. And that was the fact that they would both be in Aubrianne's life.

And because they love her, they would try to get to know one another.

Jada had already known bits and pieces of Daniel's life from what Aubrianne would have told her that day on the phone, but Daniel had filled in the blanks.

In return, she decided to open up to him while at the same time protecting Aubrianne. Besides, that was not her secret to tell.

Jada told Daniel that she was a stripper and she came from the Wilson Witch Bloodline. She graduated with full honors and a bachelor's in business management. And is now considering her next moves.

Yes, Jada had graduated from college three years before Aubrianne. She had taken time to save for her 'One Stop Beauty Boutique!'

She confided that what she felt with Aubrianne was an instant connection the night she came in with a group of college students.

Jada was careful not to say friends because anyone who knew Aubrianne on a personal level would understand that she did not have friends. She was a loner.

So Jada took care to say a group of college students rather than a group of friends because Daniel would immediately know that was a lie, even if she was skilled at masking her emotions.

He would find it difficult to tell if Jada was lying simply by her speaking. However, saying that, would have been a dead giveaway. Knowing Aubrianne and how taken she seemed with Daniel, he probably knows her life story already.

Jada had shaken her head at the thought and had decided to be precautious.

Nevertheless, she had explained that even though Aubrianne's wolf and magical elements were suppressed, she still felt a sort of protectiveness towards her. Only to find out she was her destined witch protector.

She felt the connection as strong as ever in the house. Still feel it buzzing now. "We imprinted." Jada finished.

"As have we," Daniel had admitted, almost prideful.