Is this destiny?

After dinner they went to the garden. It was a cold evening, but with jackets on, it was not unpleasant. The garden was well lit.

No plants were in bloom. But the evergreen ones were well trimmed and just by glancing at it you can see that it\'s well maintained.

"I\'ve put your favorite flowers in…", Matthew told Ellie, expecting to score some points. "If you come from April to October you can enjoy them."

He was happy to see that Ellie smiled and he hoped that she is smiling because of what he said and not because that fiancé person pulled her closer to him. It was just an inch, but Matthew noticed it.

"Boss is personally taking care of the garden.", Matthew\'s subordinate who followed them closely said.

"That\'s enough, Ian…", Matthew awkwardly said, but he was happy to see that Ellie\'s gave him an approving nod.

After the walk through the garden, they went back into the reception room to warm up with some hot beverages.

Jasper headed to his room first, and Ellie stayed behind.

"What do you think about the garden?", Matthew asked Ellie.

Ellie saw that his eyes are full of expectations, so she nodded in approval. "Very nice."

Ellie glanced around the room and then her sight rested on her father. "I don\'t see women around you. How come?"

"This is a weekend for a father and his daughter.", Matthew responded without explaining further.

"And his daughter\'s fiancée.", Ellie reminded him.

Matthew could not hide his displeasure.

"You can be nicer to Jasper.", Ellie said. She saw that he is not responding, so added: "And you should come to Chicago to meet his parents before the wedding."

Matthew responded with a snort. He thought that Ellie will want to bond with him, but she is only talking about her fiancé.

"I have something for you.", Ellie handed Matthew a USB drive.

"What is it?", Matthew asked while turning the USB drive in his hand. It\'s completely black with a white symbol on it: a circle with eight arrows coming out of it.

Ellie shrugged indicating that she does not know. "A courier dropped it off yesterday. It came with a note to give it to you in person and that Ethan has the instructions how to unlock it. I thought it\'s from your men because the note mentions Ethan and not many people knew that we are coming here."

Ellie went to her room and Matthew headed to his study.

The USB contents were locked, and he contacted Ethan.

Ethan confirmed that he received instructions how to unlock data from an unknown source, but he didn\'t understand what data… now he knows.

Later that evening…

Matthew is sitting in front of the laptop and thinking about the information he received from the USB drive… The Chaos organization wants to cooperate with him. There were not many details on the deal, but they are interested in his assistance in Europe and if he agrees, they will meet next weekend in Chicago to discuss the details.

He heard about the army of Chaos, and he is on top of the information how they are spreading through Los Angeles and California like wildfire. Matthew knows that they refused cooperation with many organizations who approached them so far. It makes him wonder, why him? Having them as allies can\'t hurt but he needs to know what is the price for that alliance.

In the United States he only has limited people with a goal of collecting information on current happenings and of course, to keep Ellie safe. Having an ally there will be a big bonus for him, but so far he didn\'t find anyone trustworthy. Ah, is there anyone you can trust in the underworld?! 

Matthew balled his hands into fists when he realized that this army of Chaos knows that Ellie is his daughter and that she planned to visit him this weekend! Are they sending him a message that they can reach Ellie at any moment? And they also know that Ethan is working for him? On top of that, in order to accept to meet with them he only needs to show up in Chicago and they will find him?! This… complicates things.

No matter how Matthew thinks about it, refusing to meet with the Chaos organization is not a wise choice.

…

Before heading to sleep, Ellie walked through the mansion and observed the surroundings. She was not here for more than fifteen years, but not many things changed.

Ellie wondered, why the maid placed her things into the guest bedroom instead of her old room? Did her father repurpose that room? She went down the familiar hallway and opened the door… The room looks exactly how it did when she was here last time. Her girly poster bed with sheer pink curtains is there, with three oversized plushies on top of it: two bears and one bunny. Ellie remembers that her father won those plushies for her by shooting down prizes on a carnival. She was maybe eight or nine years old. Ellie looked around the room while memories of her childhood flooded her mind… so many happy memories, innocent ones, when she thought that her father is a man devoted to his family... before she moved with her mother to Seattle.

Now that she thinks about it, Ellie wonders since when did her mother know about her father having other women? She shook her head while reminding herself for umpteenth time not to dwell on the past.

Ellie checked the time… it\'s 11:06 PM, but that is only 5:06 PM in Chicago. She is still not sleepy.

Ellie thought if she should go to Jasper\'s room, but knowing that man, if she goes in, he will not let her get out easily. And he is the one who insisted on coming here, so she should punish him even if that means punishing herself in the process. Ellie decided to go to her room. Punishment aside, he is busy lately because the case Sophia prepared for him is in its final stages. Sophia is unable to come to Chicago and handle it personally due to her pregnancy and now the baby, but she is working closely with two lawyers which Jasper hired. If all goes well, within next few weeks, Jasper will get access to his assets which Norman seized several years ago.

Ellie paused when she heard water running in her bathroom.

"My shower gel is here, and I came to get it… but then I thought how towels here are fluffier and I ended up doing my routine in your bathroom.", Jasper cheekily said.

He turned to face Ellie and enjoyed her growing hunger which she was unable to hide while looking at his naked body.

"There are no shower enclosures!", his voice pulled her out of her daze.

Jasper was surprised that the tub has a shower attached to it, and the tub is much smaller than the ones he used in the United States. It is definitely made only for one person. Jasper concluded that Europeans use tub and bathroom for cleaning up only, one person at a time. But then, maybe the master bathroom has more convenient locations for couple\'s activities. This is only a guest bathroom, after all.

Ellie looked at her naked man hungrily while not caring about his made-up reason to show up in her bathroom, but she needs to warn him: "If my dad finds you here, he will kick you out."

"Then, don\'t expose me.", Jasper said with a playful wink and summoned Ellie to join him. "It took forever for hot water to come in."

She knows better than to join him. Her man is full of tricks. But he is naked and looks delicious as always… and she ended up showering with him. They splashed water all around them.

"They will know that you didn\'t use your room based on the mess in here.", Ellie said breathlessly when Jasper carried her out of the tub toward the bed.

"I will make a mess in there before someone checks in the morning.", Jasper has a solution for everything.

Jasper placed Ellie on the bed and was about to kiss her when the knock on the door interrupted them.

"Ellie dear, are you sleeping already?", Matthew\'s voice came from the hallway.

"Almost… I\'m changing into pajamas…", Ellie said while covering Jasper\'s mouth with her hand. He was not talking, but he was nibling on her neck, asking for trouble.

"Can it wait until tomorrow?", Ellie asked.

Her whole body was heating up because Jasper\'s palm was on her hip, and his thumb was rhythmically moving over her skin. Ah! She knows what that means!

"Oh, well…", Matthew sighed heavily. "I guess it can. Good night."

"Good night, dad!", Ellie did her best to keep her voice steady while Jasper moved her legs apart to make space for himself.

She knows that Jasper fears Matthew, but now she also knows that when Jasper needs to pick between the lust and safety, his lust wins.

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