Hold Me

Chapter 5

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Ivanov. I know I should have come early but I had an emergency, I'll never repeat it." The girl panted as she apologized continuously.

"It's okay, I cooked breakfast," Jude smiled at the girl who looked slightly older than him.

"I'm so sorry—"

"No no, you don't have to apologize, " He cut her off. "I like cooking," His smile calmed the maid. "I just need some help with cleaning since the house is so big," He chuckled.

"I'll do the cleaning, Sir." She said quickly.

"No, you don't have to do it alone, I'll help. It'll be hard for you to do it alone," The boy was confused why there's only one maid. It'll be hard for a person to clean the whole mansion alone and two of them will not make much difference.

"I just have to dust off every room and organize things that are out of place, Sir. The rest is done by the agency, " The maid placed her bag on a chair.

"Agency? What agency? "

"Cleaning agency, Sir. Mansions like these are cleaned by the agency once or twice a month. They'll send four or five workers here as per our request," She explained to the omega.

"Oh, I didn't know that," He scratched his ear with a sheepish smile.

"That's okay, Sir. Do you need me to cook anything for you? " The girl couldn't help but smile at the adorable omega.

"No need for that, I already cooked breakfast," He walked to the kitchen and took a plate. " Also you can call me Jude," He smiled, turning towards the girl. "What's your name? "

" I'm Cheryl," The girl introduced herself.

"Do you want to try what I cooked, Cheryl?"

"I'll never say no to good food," Cheryl shrugged with a small smile.

"How do you know it's good? You didn't even taste it," The omega laughed.

"The smell tells me everything, Sir."

"Jude. I don't like when people call me Sir, it's awkward."

"Oops! Sorry, Jude. It's my habit," Cheryl apologized with a sheepish grin.

"It's okay, I've never been treated like this before so suddenly everyone around calling me Sir and all makes me kinda umm…. uncomfortable," Jude sighed, giving a plate of mashed potatoes, omelet, and bacon to the maid.

"I understand," Cheryl smiled at the omega. The girl took a bite of mashed potatoes and almost moaned. "Oh my god, this is so amazing! "She said as she mouthed another bite.

Jude blushed, " It's...nothing special… "

"What? Who said that? This is high class sh*t— oh sorry for cursing—but this is really good. I've made mashed potatoes and omelet but it was nowhere near this. What did you do? " She continued to ramble, making the omega smile.

Jude felt relaxed with the girl. She reminded him of his beta friends.

"I really like cooking and I've been doing this since I was a child," He lazily played with the food on his plate. "I have a lot of practice maybe that's why you like it so much,"

"You should be a chef, " Cheryl said seriously. "You'll be so famous,"

Jude chuckled lowly, "I'm a baker," He said, his voice barely above a whisper but Cheryl caught it.

"A baker? " Her eyes widened. "That's amazing! I've always liked baking, I hope you can teach me some good sweet recipes!" The maid beamed.

"Really? Don't worry, I'll teach you." The omega said, his eyes disappearing as he smiled wide.

Cheryl let a small smile play on her lips. She managed to see the sudden glow in Jude's face as he talked about baking. The boy really seems to love baking more than she thought.

*

"Thanks for the breakfast, I'll start cleaning and cook lunch after," Cheryl washed the dishes as she talked.

"I'll join you after some time. I have to make a phone call,"

"You don't have to," The maid refused. "Take rest, I'll do it."

"No no, I'll get bored, if I stay alone so I'll help you." Jude's only escape from loneliness was the gardener and the maid. When they leave he'll have to go back to being a ghost in this big house.

*

The omega nervously put the phone to his ears. Roselyn gave him her number yesterday telling him to call her if he needs anything.

"Hello? "

"H-Hello, it's me…..Jude," The boy stuttered out.

"Oh sweetie, how are you? Is everything alright there? "

"Everything's fine umm…..I just—I just wanted to know what dishes Alexander likes the most…."

There was a light chuckle on the other side of the phone and it made the omega blush.

"Aww….You're so sweet, I'm sorry about not telling you this yesterday. I kinda forgot about it," Roselyn sounded guilty as she spoke.

"That's okay, you can tell me now… "

"Uhh yes, he likes shrimp, meat, and chicken dishes. He's not a big fan of seafood other than shrimp and lobsters. He really likes chicken so try making chicken dishes often, if you want to impress him, " Roselyn laughed. "Oh and also don't give him any strawberries, he's allergic."

"Oh okay, I'll be careful of it."

"OK then bye sweetie, your father-in-law is calling me, " Jude heard her sigh.

He smiled, "Bye, talk to you later, "

He put the phone down with a sigh. The boy paced around the room thinking what chicken dish to cook. He knew so many dishes but what would his mate like?

The omega grabbed a handful of his blonde hair, frustration clear on his face. He didn't know anything about Alexander and there's no way Alexander would tell him anything about himself from how things are going.

*

*

*

"Are you sure you want me to leave? I can help you with dinner, my work time isn't over yet." Cheryl said to the omega.

"It's okay, " Jude smiled. " You helped me with cleaning and lunch, I can manage dinner. It's just for two people, "

Cheryl sighed before a small smile formed on her lips. "Thank you, because of you I can pick my son from his school. It's his birthday today and he was sad I couldn't spend time with him. He'll be happy now... " Cheryl hugged the omega suddenly, making him blush.

"I-I didn't know you had a son," He breathed out surprised.

"Oh I didn't want to bore you talking about my family, that's why I didn't tell you," Cheryl chuckled, "He just turned eight,"

"Tell him I wished him a happy birthday and oh wait—" Jude stopped and ran to his room leaving the maid confused. After a minute he came with some money. "Buy something and give it to him for me," He panted, taking Cheryl's hand and placing the money in it.

"Oh no, you don't need to. This is—"

"Keep it, I'm not taking it back," He cut her off, crossing his arms.

"Now, go and take your son to shopping, "

"Thank you," Cheryl hugged the smiling omega, her eyes watering slightly. Jude smiled as the girl gave him a small wave and walked off.

*

*

*

The omega paced around the front hall, occasionally looking out to see if his mate came.

He made chicken pot pie. It took him some time but it was worth it. The omega tried to make it extra delicious for his mate but still…. confidence was wavering.

This rarely happened to Jude. He was always proud and confident in his culinary skills but now he felt extremely nervous.

Hours passed, the omega tried watching TV, called Nancy and Evan in hope to get his mind free from the unsettling feeling. But nothing helped.

He flopped himself on a chair, resting his head on the dining table. Alexander wasn't still home. The food is cold now…...but it's okay, he can heat it.

What his main concern was if his mate is okay or not. All kinds of thoughts passed through the boy's mind as he waited for the alpha. He cursed himself for being a wimp and not asking Alexander's number.

If he had it, he could have called….

*

A thud sound made the omega open his eyes. The alpha's musky scent filled the room, making Jude wake up quickly. He stood up smiling excitedly when he saw the alpha, "You're back! I was waiting for you. I cooked dinner, let me heat it." He rushed to the kitchen.

"I don't want it, " Alexander said with a stoic face.

Jude stopped on his track. "Huh? W-Why? I made it s-specially for you… and you haven't eaten anything als—"

"I ate," The alpha loosened his tie.

"W-What? "

"I said I ate, it's 2 am. What did you want me to do? "

"Oh," Jude looked at the clock. "Sorry, I didn't know it was this late. I fell asleep while I was waiting for you," He gave a sheepish grin to the alpha.

Alexander clicked his tongue, "Drop your caring housewife act, okay? It's irritating me, " He sneered, making the omega flinch.

Jude's smile faltered as he looked down. "I-I just wanted to make sure you ate—"

"I know how to look after myself. I don't need an omega's help for it," The alpha snapped before walking upstairs.

Jude stood there frozen in his spot. He didn't want to lose hope. He still believed the alpha will change one day but it was getting hard for him to hold on to that belief.

He slowly wiped his tears with a small smile. Walking into the kitchen, the omega took the chicken pot pie he made for the alpha and put it in the fridge.

What if Alexander wants it tomorrow?