167 Acting on a Whim 1

One day ago.

After quickly flying to Europe and finishing a small task that had to do with one of her casinos. Keren found herself all alone in a place she had considered home for the past few years.

Ever since her brother had started to recover and go back to being a normal human, her life had started to change.

Now, this place felt foreign and cold.

Sitting on the bed of the sprawling 5 bedroom house that she had gotten built for herself in Europe, Keren put one finger on her chin and tried to decide what to do.

Going back to the Island was out of the question, as by the time she reached there, it would be night, meaning that she would just have to leave again along with Will and Liz.

Going to the polar ice caps, where her parents were supposed to be, was also out of the question, as she didn't exactly part with her mother in the best of terms last time she came to visit.

Turning around to look at herself in the mirror, Keren realized that she looked quite pathetic, even to herself.

She had always been a frivolous person, never letting relationships continue for longer than a week or so because of her own issues that had arisen due to her childhood.

She had never bothered to pause and ask whether what she was doing was right to herself. She had always made it a point to live in the moment, but right now, she realized that this moment wasn't passing.

Suddenly, out of the blue, she realized that living like this, with no thought for the future, was pretty sad.

Will had Liz, and she could tell that that was a relationship that was going to last. What did she have?

Looking down the road, 5 years later, wouldn't she be the same if she didn't pursue change by herself?

Sighing, she realized that although she had never let on about this fact, it was true that seeing what Will and Liz had was making her jealous.

Still, she wasn't the kind to look for just any relationship to try and make it last, just because she was jealous.

"Argh."

Her mind was a mess.

Holding it with her hands, she looked down, closing her eyes while trying to decide what the hell she should do now.

Suddenly, the image of a man lying on a hospital bed appeared in her mind.

More than anything, it was his eyes that stood out to her.

Those eyes belonged to someone who would walk through hell for someone they considered to be their own.

Those eyes…had been so beautiful.

She had to see them again.

Even if those eyes wouldn't look at her with that gaze, she still wanted to witness them, and be transported to a fairyland where everything was possible.

Without hesitation, she got up and called her pilot.

….

"An Island? So they have an actual, honest-to-god island, where Liz was taken to without any prior intimation? Don't you see anything wrong there, Mary?"

Standing in the large kitchen of the Redmayne family, Luke said this while making pancakes for little Derek who was sitting at the kitchen table, holding a fork and a spoon in each hand, drooling due to the amazing smell that was permeating through the house.

Without bothering to reply, Mary turned to look at Luke after putting one hand on her waist, as if she was waiting for a little kid to tell the truth about whether or not his dog had chewed up his homework.

Feeling the stern gaze of a woman who was the closest thing to a mother that Luke had, he looked down awkwardly before finally shrugging and saying, "All right, fine! I can't help it!"

Sighing as she heard him say this, Mary walked up to Luke and patted him on his back.

"Sometimes, love is-"

"PANCAKES ARE READY!"

Shouting like so and hurrying with the pan to Derek whose drool had reached new levels due to the shout, Luke effectively avoided Mary's speech about unrequited love again.

Ever since she had gotten to know about the talk that Luke and Liz had had in the hospital, Mary had been trying to impart her knowledge on the topic to Luke, just like a caring parent, but he had no mood whatsoever to listen to it.

Smiling and shaking her head, Mary took the blueberry syrup bottle to Derek, who opened the cap and dumped the whole thing on the plate, making a soupy mess which he dug into with relish.

Seeing the cute little kid enjoying the food in his own way while getting the syrup on his chubby cheeks, Luke smiled and was about to put the pan back, when he heard the bell ring.

"I'll get it."

Thinking that it might be a postman or someone, Luke walked to the door and opened it.

Bang!

As he saw Keren, who was wearing a ravishing red dress at the door, he dropped the pan he was holding, making a loud noise.

As his eyes widened in shock, he saw Keren have the same reaction.

"Y-you're here!"

"Y-you're here?"

The first sentence was said in a tone of surprise and shock by Keren, while the second was spoken with puzzlement, by Luke.

Both had their own reasons for having their respective reactions, but as one, they looked down, as if not knowing what to say.

Of course, Keren recovered first, as she was more used to being in varied social situations than Luke.

Thankfully, Mary appeared behind Luke to help her out.

"Hi! I just wanted to plan a surprise for Liz when she came back. How have you been, Mary? And where's that little teddy bear? I got some presents for him!"

As if he was a hound that had smelled its favorite food, Derek also appeared at the door due to hearing the word "present".

The blueberry syrup was still on his cheeks, but he didn't seem to care.

Seeing his adorable expression of expectation, Keren chuckled and asked, "Aren't you going to let me in?"

"Luke, get out of the way! What's the matter with you? Come in, Keren! How's Will? I-"

As Mary pushed Luke to the side and took Keren in, she shot a look at the man, who looked like he was trying to make some sort of decision.

Well, things were already not going according to her plan, she thought inwardly, before resolving to use all the tricks in her bag to get what she wanted, as she always did.