Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

I immediately turned off the ringtone and waited until the call stopped. Then I quickly activated the silent mode on my phone.

“I forgot he knew your house.”

“Yes, he helped my mom carry things from the bazaar earlier.”

“Now he’s openly chasing you.” Laird snorted.

“Fenella! I know you’re inside! I brought a Christmas gift!” Alan’s voice was loud outside.

My mouth fell open. “How dare he shout outside?” I protested in a low whisper.

“I can’t believe it,” Laird shook his head.

“What should we do?” I frowned, weighing whether to let him in or not.

“Let’s pretend we’re not home and hide.” Laird pulled me by the waist back to the bed to lie down. “Good thing you turned off the lights earlier.”

“But-”

“No buts. Remember, he mustn’t know we’ve made up, or he’ll become suspicious of you later.” Laird warned me in a low whisper.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” I then followed his advice.

Outside, Alan still seemed to be trying to get attention and continued calling me. He also kept sending messages, but I ignored them.

I took my place next to Laird, and we embraced, with Laird’s arm as my pillow. I sharpened my hearing and noticed that there was no more commotion outside. My phone also stopped ringing.

In my heart, I felt sorry for him again. While I was comfortably asleep in the arms of my beloved, he was out there alone battling the cold weather. From the corner of my eye, I could see light from between the curtain slats.

Snow fell in slow motion.

***

I woke up early. Laird was still fast asleep beside me, but I could no longer keep my eyes shut. I reached for my sweater and long pajama pants. I got out of bed and peeked out the window. The cold air was still imprinted on the windowpane of my room, wet from the snowfall.

I glanced briefly at the street below. The road appeared drenched with small piles of snow, but not thick enough to make a snowman. Drawn by a delicious aroma, I eventually went downstairs.

“Hey, Mom.”

My mom looked up as she took a casserole out of the oven. “Hey, dear.”

“When did you have time to make that?” I asked, nodding towards the casserole.Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.

“It’s nothing. It only took two hours to make everything.”

“Weren’t you home late last night? Did you get any sleep?” I furrowed my brow with my mouth agape.

“Don’t worry. I’m used to sleeping only a few hours, and I can still nap in the afternoon.” My mom chuckled slightly while I stared at her, lost in thought.

“Is that vegetarian?”

“No. Men need protein. I made a vegetarian quiche for you instead.” My mom pulled out the casserole on a beautiful ceramic serving plate to the table.

“Does this mean the casserole is for Laird?” I asked, clearing my throat awkwardly.

“Yes, and also for Lloyd and Mr. Evans,” my mom replied as she began carefully cutting and dividing the casserole into another beautiful ceramic dish.

“Do you often share Christmas food with the neighbors?” I then sat at the dining table, running my fingers through my hair.

“Not always. Just a few. This year happens to be special, so I’m only cooking for the Evans family this time.”

“Why?” I frowned upon hearing this.

“Because you’re officially dating. I need to start building a better relationship with Lloyd and Mr. Evans so they’ll accept you in open arms later.”

“Oh,” my face heated up upon hearing my mom’s intention. “Well, I think it’ll be in vain. I mean, their acceptance of me isn’t determined by how much or how delicious the casserole is.” I shrugged.

“Oh, you’re so silly. It’s true, but at least they’ll get over things they don’t like about you.”

Hearing that, my eyes widened for a moment. A wave of anxiety immediately washed over me. Oh, damn. How could I forget?

Mr. Evans is a cold man who demands a lot of achievements from his sons since they were kids. Even Laird hasn’t fully escaped his father’s grip. Although we’ve been neighbors for a long time, it doesn’t mean he’ll be lenient with me, who doesn’t even have any notable achievements.

I was involved in a scandal with another man and was criticized online. I now practically have no steady job. My savings account is starting to dwindle after I separated the contract money that I need to return to Gene.

“Do they have a lot of bad opinions about me?” I got up awkwardly to grab a full glass of mineral water from the dispenser.

My mom paused for a moment. Her hands even stopped wrapping the casserole dish. Then she hesitated.

“No. Lloyd knows you well. As for Mr. Evans, he has many subjective bad opinions about everything except himself. Don’t worry about it.” My mom went back to wrapping the casserole dish in a bag and tie it neatly.

“Wow. That’s reassuring,” I rolled my eyes.

I sat back down and drank the warm water from the glass. My mom tidied up her bag and put on her coat.

“Are you delivering it now?”

“Of course. It’s for their breakfast.” Then my mom disappeared through the door.

“Uh, Fenella,” my mom came back into the house. “There’s a package outside. I think it’s for you.”

I immediately got up from my seat to the porch. My mom walked across to the Evans’ house, leaving me alone with a large Christmas hamper. It was even too big for an ordinary individual.

“What the hell…?” I whispered softly as I looked at it.

Inside a huge dark wooden basket, various items were wrapped in transparent plastic sprinkled with glitter. Crackers, cheese, biscuits, pretzels, fruits, and even aged wine were neatly packed inside. Is this from Alan? So that’s why he came last night?

“Oh, God’s gracious.” I raked my hair.

“What’s wrong?” Laird came up to me from behind. He was already wearing his sweater and jeans again. He hugged me for a moment, but I quickly pushed him away in a panic.

“What if someone sees?” I hissed at him.

“So what?” he asked with a crooked smile.

“Alan might be watching, your father might be angry because you didn’t come to the party last night, and the neighbors might gossip.” I spoke quickly.

“Oh, hell. Now you’re being paranoid, but okay.” He walked back toward the door.

I bent down and pushed the hamper from my porch inside. “Damn, it’s heavy!”

Laird opened the door wide so I could get inside. Then he bent down as the hamper partially entered the house. With both hands, he lifted it and placed it on the table.

“Easy. You almost pushed the casserole off the table.”

I moved the warm casserole dish away from the Christmas hamper. Laird removed the envelope with the red ribbon attached to the side of the basket. He pulled out a card and read it out loud.

“Merry Christmas, my sweet angel. May the chubby man in red pull a strand of his magical, thick beard to give a gift of your beloved presence in this world. With love, Alan, a. k. a. Clark.”

We fell silent after Laird read the card. Then he snorted and handed the card to me. I read it slowly, and the corner of my eye caught sight of my mom, who had now returned from the Evans’ house.

“Who’s it from?” my mom asked.

“From Fenella’s super fan.” Laird answered quickly.

“No.” I lightly hit Laird’s back, and he just laughed briefly. “Mom, was this here last night?” I asked my mom, who had come home late.

“I just saw it this morning when I left the house. I didn’t even notice it this early while cleaning the porch.” My mom frowned.

“Does this mean the package was just delivered?” I asked, blinking. “Don’t tell me Alan went back and forth to this house.” I bit my lower lip.

“Great. Now he’s officially a stalker.” Laird growled irritably.