Chapter 783
Tristan felt that the blessing he received was unique and special, as it was not just any ordinary blessing, but one that came from Sophie.
When he was a child, the anticipation of Christmas filled him with joy and excitement. However, as he grew older, the magic and wonder of Christmas began to diminish, leaving him with a feeling of apathy toward the holiday.
Gathering as a family for a meal and visiting relatives was often seen as an obligation rather than an enjoyable experience.
Sophie didn’t like visiting relatives, so she allowed herself to sleep until past ten o’clock the following morning.
She thought Tristan would’ve left home to visit his relatives by then.
The Lombard family was extremely influential, so many relatives of the family would flock to their home during the holiday season to catch up and to show their respects.
To her surprise, she found Tristan preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Sophie was clad in a thin nightdress. The house was warm, so she still preferred wearing a nightdress, even in winter.
She leaned on the doorframe and watched him quietly.
Sophie was aware of the power of the man’s attractiveness, and it was impossible for her not to take notice of it. She had often lamented why such a handsome man had to exist.
Tristan was extremely alluring. Even when just standing there, he could somehow lead one’s imagination to run amok. Sophie loved his Adam’s apple the most.
She had to admit that his Adam’s apple was extremely sexy, giving her the urge to nibble on it.
“Are you up already? You really should get some more rest. There’s nothing we need to do today, so why don’t you just stay in bed? I’ll bring you breakfast later,” Tristan said affectionately.
“No need. I’m already up and about. I’ve had plenty of rest the past few days. Why didn’t you return to the Lombard residence? There should be many relatives visiting today, right?” Sophie inquired. Despite their personal preferences, as grown-ups, socializing with family was a necessity.
“Why would I return to the Lombard residence? I want to spend the holidays with you. Lincoln’s home, so he’ll deal with those relatives,” Tristan told her. Having an elder brother had its advantages, as it meant that any matters that the younger sibling disliked could be delegated to the elder brother.
“Oh, I see.”
“I’ll keep you company today!” Tristan told her. As they spoke, breakfast was ready.
It was Christmas, so he decided to be generous and let the housekeepers go home for the holiday and only arranged for someone to clean the house.
It didn’t seem right to ask them to work for him during the holiday season.
“Come, breakfast is ready. It’s quite simple,” Tristan beckoned. He had been working on his cooking skills recently in hopes of fattening her up.
When Sophie glimpsed the delicious breakfast he had prepared, her stomach growled in anticipation. They had watched the fireworks and arrived home late last night, so she was famished by now.
Tristan felt a sense of deep contentment as he watched Sophie eagerly devouring her breakfast. In the past, he had been difficult to please, but now it was a joy to see her enjoying her meal.
Sophie gave him a piece of bread.
“You should eat, too. You won’t fill up your stomach by watching me eat,” she joked.
“Mm, yes. Watching you eat won’t fill up my stomach,” Tristan replied as desire burned in his gaze. He had been trying hard to tamp down his desire but eventually, he was no longer able to restrain himself in her presence.
“I want to eat you!”
Sophie was shocked, as she had no idea he’d be so direct.
Her cheeks turned pink. Tristan had been controlling himself even though she wasn’t planning on staying a virgin until their wedding.
Since he insisted on waiting until they got married, she couldn’t stop him, could she?
“Eat your breakfast,” she chided. “Stop flirting with me.”
Recently, she discovered he was getting better at seducing her. It would only take one look from him to make her body go limp.
The cold air seemed to linger in the atmosphere, and now it had started snowing heavily again. This winter season had been particularly wintery, with more snowfall than usual.
The roaring blaze in the fireplace filled the room with a pleasant warmth, and Sophie felt contented as she gazed out the window at the picturesque snowscape.
“Tristan, let’s build a snowman!” she suggested. It had been on her wish list for some time, but she was afraid of the cold.
Tristan reminded her, “You’re afraid of the cold, aren’t you?”
He disagreed with the idea of building a snowman due to her condition as he thought it would be better for them to spend some time together indoors.
“Yeah, but I still want to build a snowman,” Sophie said eagerly.
Tristan couldn’t bring himself to turn her down as she looked really enthusiastic.
“All right. Since you’re dying to do so, let’s head out.” He eventually relented and went upstairs to retrieve her down jacket and scarf. He made sure she was bundled up properly before they left the comfort of the house. There was an open space outside the mansion, and the ground was covered with a thick blanket of snow.
Sophie was brimming with excitement.
Her joy was so contagious that Tristan would have been willing to give up anything in the world just to witness her beaming with such delight.
Working in harmony, Sophie and Tristan quickly built a snowman. As the snowman came together, Sophie took it upon herself to decorate it.
In the end, she even removed her hat to put it on the snowman’s head.
Although the cold winter air made her hands completely numb, so much so that she couldn’t feel a thing while wearing her gloves, she was still filled with joy.
“Aren’t you cold?” Tristan asked in concern.
Sophie nodded. “Yes, I’m freezing.”
Tristan trudged over to her and helped her out of her gloves. He then placed her hands beneath his clothes.
Sophie’s palms came into contact with his flat stomach.
His way of warming her up was surprisingly simple and effective.
“Tristan, you don’t have to do this. We can head into the house and warm up in no time,” she protested, not wanting him to feel cold.
“It’s fine. I don’t feel cold at all!” he assured her.
Tristan’s body was indeed warm, for Sophie’s palms heated up in no time.
“What else do you want to do? I’ll keep you company no matter what you have in mind,” Tristan offered, not wanting to waste their free time.
Sophie replied, “I just want to be with you. There’s no need to do anything special.” They could do anything as long as they were together.
“Okay.”
“Come, let’s head in.”
Tristan swept her off her feet and brought her into the mansion. Inside, he helped her out of her down jacket.
They then went to the fireplace and allowed the heat to thaw their frozen limbs, basking in the comfort of the inviting flames.
“By the way, my family is making ravioli today. Do you want to join them?” Tristan suddenly broke the silence to ask.
He wondered if she wanted to spend some time with family today.
“Sarah and the others are around, right?” Sophie asked. “It only seems right to spend the holiday season with family.”
“Yes, they are around. They just called and asked us to join them,” Tristan said. He was willing to accept whatever she chose to do. If she would rather stay home instead of accompanying him to meet with his family, he was completely okay with it.
“We should join them!” Sophie uttered. “Can I invite Arius? It doesn’t seem right for him to spend Christmas alone.”
Arius didn’t have any living relatives left, so he would always spend his holidays alone.
He never said a word about it, but Sophie would still sympathize with him.
