Chapter 3 An Helpless Father

"Young miss, master gave us only two hours, if you aren't down in two hours, I'll come up there to get you." Rocco informed her as he opened the door for Elena who nodded in understanding while resisting the urge to just roll her eyes at him as she ran to the library.

While he had promised to let her come here yesterday, they hadn't expected that Luigi would send information late last night that the burial was today and James definitely needed Rocco with him.

For Elena, despite how fast technology was growing, she still preferred to use the library to get her books because she liked the idea of having a time to return it and also having somewhere she could go to clear her head. Today, she just wanted to get as many books as she could while getting enough time to herself.

Today was Lukas Santoro's funeral and she was sure that her papa would want her safe at home before going. And with that thought, she ran quickly through into the library and to her favorite section.

Unfortunately, she had only just started reading the blurb of a book when she heard a child's cry from somewhere in the library. She frowned in dissatisfaction. Who would bring a child into a library? Although it was still early and the library was basically empty, there was no reason to make such a mistake.

She tried hard to focus on her blurb to decide if she wanted to loan that book but the baby's cries only increased making her drop the book and storm over to where the cry was coming from.

"How dumb could you be by bringing a child into the library!?" She scolded the moment she saw a man backing her and trying to pacify the crying baby. She loved kids usually especially since she wasn't lucky enough to have a younger sibling but to disturb her limited time in the library? She definitely couldn't take that.

"I'm sorry. We will be on our way soon." the man said, turning around and Elena felt her breath hitch up the moment he turned. He looked like a character stepping out of her favorite book. Not only was he tall, he was well built and ripped that even beneath that black shirt that was hugging his body snugly, she could see his bulging biceps.

However, his body wasn't the main catch. She had seen too many built men in the world she lived in that she considered it normal. His face however? That was definitely not something she saw every day.

He had the most beautiful eyes that they seemed to draw her in and his full lips were set in a pout that her literary mind couldn't help but imagine what those lips could do to her in that split moment.

She would have remained transfixed if the baby hadn't broken into another bout of tears that made her snap out of her daydream, Elena didn't doubt that she could have been there the whole afternoon.

Growing up, Elena had always avoided taking long glances at men or boys. She was very clear on the fact that her father had full control over her marriage and was saving herself some heartache.

This man however made her feel like she deserved a right to be with someone she loved. Unfortunately, he was married with a child already. "Okay. Next time you can leave her outside" she said before another wail broke out making her look down to see another baby, a similar copy to the one he was carrying and she resisted the urge to laugh at him.

Although she had come there angry and willing to chase them out. His helpless expression while he tried to pacify the girl and the boy who was clutching at his feet crying made all the anger vanish as she bent down making sure she was eye level to the little boy and reached out for him.

"What's wrong little prince?" She asked with a smile, her eyes lighting up at how attractive the kids were. They had blue eyes, similar to their father's eyes. Santi looked at Elena, his guard loosened with her attractive features and kind smile.

Without any thought, he stretched his hands out to her, passing across the message that he wanted to be carried. Elena chuckled as she carried the little boy and was surprised at how light he was.

"I guess he just wanted to be carried." She said to the man with a shrug and a little bit of gloating. He signaled at the girl that was still crying even though she was being carried. His clueless expression on that cold face made her feel like the child was probably just crying at his lack of warmth. To prove her thoughts, she went closer to him and patted the girl's hair.

"Principessa, you shouldn't be crying." She whispered as she used the back of her hand to wipe the tears that had stained her attractive face. Her soft voice made Gia stop crying as she looked at her with curiosity. Seeing her brother with the girl made her relax even further as she stretched her hand to Elena.

Without wasting any moment, Luigi moved Gia to the girl's second arm while staring at his niece and nephew in surprise. They had cried all night making him rush out early to get them some more coloring books and play books from the bookstore section of the library since he felt they had all the toys in the world already.

It had been a good idea since they had kept quiet the whole ride here. Unfortunately, the moment they got to the task of selecting the books, all hell broke loose with Gia and then Santi. What he hadn't expected however, was then keeping quiet the moment they saw this girl.

One glance at her face was all he needed to know that she was a young girl. An attractive one however, since despite how many women he had seen, he couldn't recall one that had looked this attractive while being plain faced.

He watched as she whispered from one twin to the other and the giggles from Gia made him feel like he was in a dream. "Please would you mind helping me with them while I pick out some books for them?" He asked hesitantly.

After all, he had seen how angry she was when she stormed over. However, Elena who was already taken by the two kids nodded immediately without another thought, that she had been given just two hours to spend in the library already at the back of her mind.