Hold Me

Chapter 4

Jude set his coffee mug down before he set off towards the garden. He was extremely bored since Alexander's parents left yesterday after showing him everything in the house. Alexander didn't come out of his study other than to have dinner and sleep. It was very awkward for Jude because his mate kept ignoring him like before.

The omega hoped that the garden could take his mind off of all the things that are happening in his life. He was captivated by the different varieties of flowers there but he didn't have the time to properly explore them yesterday.

The boy took a deep breath as he stepped into the garden. The chilly morning air filled his lungs, giving his body energy the coffee couldn't provide.

It was a beautiful sight and needless to say, Jude was captivated by it again. The garden surrounded the whole mansion and every plant looked unique and well-groomed.

Jude slowly walked, his slippers making a slapping sound on the brick-tiled floor. The tiled floor covered the whole mansion in about a six or eight-meter width but there were plants kept everywhere in different sized clay pots—the majority of them being pink and violet hydrangeas.

Jude stopped where the floor tiles ended. Neat light green grass floor started from that point. The omega took off his slippers and slowly walked on it with a small smile as the grass lightly tickled his foot.

"Good morning, Mr. Ivanov," Somebody suddenly said, making Jude let out an embarrassing squeal while he stumbled back. "Are you okay, Sir? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." The unfamiliar man talked, worried about the shocked omega.

"I-I'm okay, who—who are you? " Jude studied the man. He was thin but not in an unhealthy way. He had chocolate skin and dark hair which had white streaks here and there. It seemed like he was a middle-aged man—probably around 45 to 50.

"I'm your gardener, Sir. My name's Matthew," The gardener smiled as he introduced himself. "I saw you walking around here so I thought I'd introduce myself." He finished, making the omega let out a sigh of relief.

"Hello, Matthew. It's nice to meet you and you can call me Jude instead of Sir. " Jude smiled back at the man.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your alone time—"

"No, that's okay. I was just bored, that's why I came to look around the garden."

Jude cut off Matthew with a small smile.

"If you're bored, you can come with me while I tend the plants. I will tell you about them," He offered kindly.

"That would be great!" Jude beamed drawing a chuckle out of the old man.

They walked a little towards the left side of the mansion before Matthew stopped in front of a plant that had white flowers like hydrangeas but smaller and it covered the whole cascading stems of the plant.

"What's this? It's really eye-catchy, " The omega softly touched the flowers.

"Bridal veil plant," Matthew said. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I'm planning to plant a few more in the front." The gardener took the watering pot that was set a few meters away from the plant. "Bridal veil plants don't really like heat, they need moist soil. Looking after it is great work but I like it because of how beautiful the blooms are."

Jude could see how the gardener loved his job from the way he talked.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to some of my favorite plants," Matthew said as he walked towards a rail that had many plants hanging on pots. "This is a honeysuckle, " He introduced. "It's not something really beautiful but I like it mainly because orange is my favorite color," Matthew said, making Jude smile.

"It's really fragrant and colorful so a lot of hummingbirds love it," He then walked to a place that made the omega gasp. Jude stared at the fully bloomed pink roses in awe. It was shaped like an arc, making it look like an arc of roses.

"This is climbing roses," Matthew grabbed a stem of the rose that was out of place and intertwined it with the others. "These were a mess when I first came here and I had to work for hours to make them look like this." The old man sighed as he looked at the plants. "But they make me proud now, " He smiled.

"It's really beautiful… " Jude couldn't take his eyes off it.

"These are double pink hollyhocks, " Matthew pointed at the plants which had bright pink flowers. They were planted against a small fence around a water fountain.

"I can't choose a favorite," Jude pouted. "Everything is so beautiful… "

The gardener laughed lightly. "Out of all the gardens I looked after, this is my favorite because everything in here is special in some way."

"How long have you been doing this? " Jude questioned while he leaned to look at the water fountain.

"Fifteen years, if I remember correctly," Matthew replied, watering a jasmine shrub that was near.

"That's a lot of experience, " The omega smiled.

"Yes, it is. I was in the military till I was thirty but I had to quit because of a heart problem." He spoke, slowly getting up from his crouched position.

"Are you okay now? " Jude asked, his smile faltering.

"I'm okay," Matthew let out a small chuckle. "I had to get a small surgery and that was it," He sighed. "I had no job after that. The doctors told me not to do any job that requires strength, so my friend suggested that I work in his boss's garden. And that was the start of it….after a month, I fell in love with the plants and flowers. It was so much better than shooting men at the border. " He smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay now, " Jude liked the man. Talking to him made him feel the same warmth he got from Nancy. He didn't know how much time had passed….

The thought of time made the omega's eyes widen. "Oh no, I have to go! Alexander must be up," He said to the old man who turned back to look at him.

"You can go, I'll see you in the evening, " Matthew smiled at the boy.

"See you later and thanks for telling me about these amazing plants!" The omega shouted as he ran to the mansion.

Alexander was sitting at the table, calmly sipping a cup of coffee while reading what seems to be a business magazine when Jude entered the dining room. He was dressed in a black and white suit, his wavy hair slicked back, making Jude stare at his mate like he's some kind of god.

The omega cleared his throat but Alexander didn't even halt. "Y-you must be going to work, I'll get breakfast." He awkwardly stuttered out before striding towards the kitchen.

Jude filled a plate full of mashed potatoes, omelet, and bacon and gave it to his mate with a glass of orange juice. The omega knew his mate would be really hungry because of how much he works out. So he awkwardly stood there and watched the alpha eat in case he wanted something more.

Jude fiddled with his fingers to distract his mind from the pain of how Alexander was full-on ignoring him like he's not even there. He didn't even look at the boy once.

"Umm... How—How was it? I-I cooked it, " The omega asked as Alexander stood up from the table. The alpha stared at Jude with an unimpressed look.

"Nothing special," He breathed out, looking right into the omega's hopeful eyes before he walked out of the room.

Jude stood there for a moment, his head hanging down in disappointment. He mustered up a wavering smile, "Then I'll make something special for you today, " The boy whispered out to no one.