Love's perfect match novel (Elspeth and Callum)
Chapter 744 Side Story: Childhood Sweetheart 4

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. After Alice got into high school, she began to understand the differences between males and females. This made her relationship with Damian turn rather awkward. After she started Year 8, she no longer allowed Damian to send or pick her up from school. He wasn't too bothered by this, as he had already completed his university studies by then and was mostly occupied with work. He didn't have much time to spend with her, and they only briefly greeted each other when they happened to bump into each other. He didn't have much influence over her life at that point.

Alice had a piece of bread in her hand and was occupied with her thoughts for a while when she took a glance at the clock on the wall. Only then did she realize that she was about to be late. So, she kept the piece of bread in her mouth as she grabbed her bags and hurried downstairs. She had just left the house when she saw a familiar car outside her front door. It was a black Maybach that looked sleek and luxurious yet not too flashy.

This was different from that crazy guy, Liam Joneson, who preferred to drive his pink, modified Ferrari. Whenever it sped past her, she would replace herself getting covered with dust that was kicked up from the asphalt roads. Right then, a tall figure stepped out of the car. Alice glanced at him and blinked a few times. "Ethan, are you here to pick me up?"

Both Alice and Ethan were from the same school and department and lived relatively close to one another, so it made sense for them to carpool. Furthermore, they were pretty close to each other, so Alice ofter felt like there was someone looking out for her. Ethan beamed and nodded before gesturing for her to get into the car.

Ethan was typically cold and distant toward the rest of his peers, but he seemed to always have a smile on his face when he was around Alice. However, Alice was aware of the fact that Ethan wasn't just fond of her as a junior. He was just like Damian-they were both obsessed with caring for younger girls. Alice grinned and pulled a face at him before she walked over and opened the back door of his car. Unfortunately, her face sank when she saw the person sitting inside. She felt as if her whole face had turned numb.

A pair of long legs was the first thing that caught Alice's eye. The interior of the car was spacious enough, yet it still seemed like there wasn't enough space for the man's long legs. As Alice shifted her gaze up, she found herself looking at a man dressed in a suit. He was in his early twenties, but he looked like he had matured after going through some life experiences. His facial features were a treat to one's eyes, especially since he had been blessed with both Elspeth and Callum's good genes. In Alice's mother's words, he had taken up all the best traits that his parents had in them.

For some reason, Alice felt somewhat embarrassed to confront Damian, especially in a situation like the one she was in. She was too anxious to say anything for a while. Nonetheless, she was still polite enough to greet him—she held her hand out and beamed at him. "Good morning, Damian."

"Get in the car." Ever since Damian grew up, he seemed more mature and refined than before, and he seemed to speak less than he used to. Regardless, his personality hadn't changed all that much. Alice figured that he was simply at an age where he was expected to be more mature. She looked all around the car before she finally shut the back door. "It seems like there isn't much space in the back seat. I think I should sit in front," she offered.

Alice was just about to open the passenger's door when Damian said in a rather stern tone, "Sit over here." Alice couldn't bring herself to go against his orders, so she quietly opened the back door and got into her seat with a glum look. She felt rather stressed out as she sat down beside him. She didn't know where to put her hands, and she remained silent as she felt Damian eyeing her up and down.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked. Alice felt chills running down her spine the moment she heard his words. It was almost as if Damian had completely read her mind-she didn't know what to say in response to his words. "I wasn't avoiding you. You were busy with work. So, we couldn't spend much time together. That's all..." What Alice said was the half-truth, but Damian couldn't seem to entirely disagree with her. So, he stopped talking after that.

"Stop scaring Alice. She's already afraid of you, to begin with, and if this goes on, her memory of that kind, gentle, and bubbly Damian will be utterly destroyed." Ethan, who was in the driver's seat, tried to speak up in the name of justice. Damian shot Alice a glance, and she let out an awkward giggle. "No, of course not. I've always seen Damian as that same boy."

Well, that doesn't sound too convincing, but I'll take it, Damian thought. When he saw the way that Alice sat obediently beside him and the way she spoke in her soft and sweet voice, he felt his anger die down somewhat. Then, he began to ask about her. "How have things been at school? We haven't spoken in nearly two weeks, right?"

"I've been doing well, and I've been studying hard at school. I'm almost always first in my year." Alice seemed to enjoy this topic of conversation. "The person who got second place lost to me by 25 marks, you know."

Damian curled his lips into a rare smile. "That's pretty good."

Alice began to question him as well. "But Damian... Ethan and I are heading to school. Why are you in the car with us?" Is Damian thinking of revisiting his old school to relive some of his high school memories? Alice dismissed this thought nearly after it surfaced. Damian wasn't the sort of person who would do such a thing.

"I'm on the way to work, and it's located close to your school. So, I came in one car with Ethan," Damian explained. Alice felt even more suspicious of him after this. Did he replace a job near the school? She was about to turn around to ask him more questions when she realized he had already closed his eyes. Dark circles were under his eyes, and it seemed like he had stayed up late for a few nights.

Alice turned her head away as she decided that she wouldn't disturb him. The car came to a halt in front of Alice's school. So, she naturally opened the door to let herself out. She was used to receiving odd looks from the people around her by then. Hence, she simply tolerated and ignored them.

The primary reason for everyone's stares was Ethan was simply too popular at school. He was known for being the most athletic, well-educated, and good-looking male student there, so it was only normal for him to be so popular. Furthermore, since Alice had gotten out of his car, those who didn't know them well would probably start making incorrect assumptions. Regardless, it would only take about three days for the students to get answers to their suspicions as per usual-they would soon replace out that she was just his younger sister.

Therefore, she turned and waved goodbye to the people in the car before sighing with relief. Yet, to her surprise, the man in the vehicle also parted his long legs to step out of the car. He even started walking ahead of her. "Come on. Let's go to school." Ethan didn't tell her the full truth-he simply helped to carry her bag as he gestured for her to continue walking.

Alice frowned at the sight of the man's familiar motions. She couldn't entirely explain how she felt at that moment. "Do you usually make Ethan carry your bag for you?" Alice felt shudders running down her spine as she recalled how Damian used to carry her bag when she was in elementary school. "I'll carry it myself!" Alice was frantic at that point. Then, she snatched the bag away from Ethan before running off without saying anything.