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Chapter 817  Tampering With Time

"I'm hungry. How about we go make lunch," he suggested, wanting to distract her so she wouldn't know what time it was until it would be too late for her to go home.

"I'm not hungry yet. Besides the movie has not ended yet. What time is it?" Jade asked and before she could glance at the clock, Harry kissed her.

"We can continue the movie while we eat. You know, I read somewhere that cooking together is one of the best ways for couples to bond," Harry said distracting her from her question.

"I see you've been doing your research on how couples bond. Are you trying to say you want to bond deeper with me?" Jade asked with a teasing smile, and Harry nodded.

"You caught me. Let's go bond over lunch," Harry said as he rose from the bed and pulled her up with him.

"I need to ease myself first. I've been holding it in because I didn't want to pause the movie," Jade said as she hurried to the bathroom, and immediately she left, Harry took down the wall clock and reset time.

Done with that, he picked up her phone and placed it inside the drawer with his own, before going to the living room to also reset the wall clock there.

He knew he could easily ask her to stay,  and she would love to stay, but knowing her, he knew very well that even though she would want to stay, she would be reluctant to do so because she wouldn't want it to seem like she was not actively trying to work on her supposed clinginess, and then she would worry about what Andy and Candace might think when they come back to see her in the house after she had said she would be leaving.

He would prefer to act like the clingy one who tricked her into staying than make her worry about not actively working on giving him space— space that he didn't even ask for or need.

As Jade walked out of the bathroom, she glanced at the clock in his bedroom and she frowned when she saw it was past one.

Did the clock stop working? She mused and then her lips twitched in amusement when it occurred to her that it didn't make sense that the clock stopped walking. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The last time she checked the time it had been past two, so why would it be past one now? Was the clock working backwards? She mused in amusement as she walked over to the bed to pick up her phone.

When she didn't find her phone, she narrowed her eyes as she looked at the door. Did Harry hide her phone? She mused as she walked over to the drawer and opened it.

She grinned when she saw both their phones in the drawer. She checked the time and when she saw that it was past almost 4 PM, it occurred to her that Harry didn't want her to leave hence he had adjusted the clock and hid her phone.

Jade giggled as she shut the drawer. Why didn't he just say he didn't want her to leave instead of going through all that stress? Wasn't he the one that talked about proper communication earlier? She mused as she headed for the living room.

As she walked into the living room, she could hear Harry moving around in the kitchen, so she decided to first check the clock in the living room to see if he had tampered with it too before joining him in the kitchen.

She shook her head in amusement when she saw that he had also adjusted it as he had done the one in the bedroom.

As she headed for the kitchen, she decided that she was just going to act like she didn't know what he was doing, and play along with him so she could see how far he was willing to go just to keep her there with him.

Jade leaned against the doorway, watching Harry bustling around the kitchen, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What are we making, Jonas?" she asked, her tone teasing.

Harry turned to her with a grin, holding up a couple of recipe books. "Just a simple pasta dish with a secret ingredient," he winked, then added a dramatic flourish, "Love!"

Jade giggled, "Pasta, huh? Sounds… adventurous." Her voice dripped with mock seriousness.

Harry cleared his throat, "Hey! Sometimes simple works."

"We don't have all day, Jonas. Why don't we just order takeout instead?" She asked and Harry looked at her with disapproval.

"Take-out?" He repeated as if the concept was foreign to him, "Where is the fun in that? Cooking together is part of the experience. Plus, we can't bond over takeouts. But hey, if that's what you're craving, I'm all for it," Harry said, feigning nonchalance.

Jade couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "Alright. Let's bond over your secret ingredient pasta creation. What's the time anyway?" She asked, wanting to see if he would lie to her.

Harry glanced at his wristwatch, "It's lunch o'clock. Time to cook," he said with a grin and Jade burst into laughter, delighted by his response.

"You can chop the vegetables and I'll handle the pasta," Harry said and she readily agreed, her amusement bubbling beneath the surface.

Soon they both fell into a comfortable rhythm of chopping, stirring, and laughing. As they worked, Harry subtly glanced at his wristwatch and saw that it was almost 5 PM.

He knew he couldn't keep the charade up forever but now he was content to enjoy yhis stolen time with her even if it meant resorting to such silly tactics.

Once they were done preparing the meal and sat down to eat at the dining, Jade arched a brow, "So, what other bonding experiences do you have planned for us, Mr. 'Cooking-is-the-new-romance'?" Jade asked as they ate.

Harry chuckled, "I have some games in mind. But first, let's eat," he said, and Jade frowned.

"What's the time?" She asked, and Harry glanced at his watch.

"Why do you keep checking the time as though you're in a hurry to leave me? It's time to eat. Focus on your meal," he said with a grin as he raised a forkful of pasta to her lips and she giggled as she ate.

Jade stole glances at Harry as they ate, her heart filled with warmth and love for him. He might have gone to some absurd lengths to keep her there, but it was the effort and genuine desire for connection that truly touched her.

After eating, they did the dishes together and Jade sighed, "I should go get ready to leave," Jade said as she dried her hands and Harry frowned.

"We didn't finish seeing the movie earlier, did we? Let's go complete it before you leave," Harry said, and Jade giggled as he lifted her and took her to the bedroom.

"Have you seen my phone?" Jade asked, pretending to look for it on the bed.

"I'm sure it's around here somewhere. Don't worry, I will help you find it when we are done," Harry said, and Jade giggled as Harry pulled her close so that her head was resting on his shoulder and patted her back as they continued the movie.

As the credits rolled, Jade stretched, her gaze lingering on the screen for a moment before she turned to Harry with a smile. "That was a good movie," she said, and Harry nodded.

"Let's see another movie," Harry suggested and Jade pointed to the wall clock.

"I think there is something wrong with the time. It should be later than that," Jade said wanting to see what Harry would say.

Harry's brows pulled together. "Really?" He asked without meeting her gaze and she grinned.

"I should get going now," she said as she started to rise but Harry pulled her back down.

"The elevator is sort of faulty…."

"No, it's not. You're a terrible liar, Jonas," Jade said a playful smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Alright. Fine. You caught me. The elevator is not faulty. I just don't want you to leave yet," he said, and she raised a brow.

"Yet?"

"Tonight. I don't want you to leave ever. The house is unbearably empty without you," he confessed and she smiled.

"But you won't be alone. Candace and Andy will be here soon," she pointed out.

"They are not you, are they?" He asked and her smile widened.

"So, is that the reason you tampered with the clocks and hid my phone in the drawer?" She asked as her lips curved into a knowing smile.

Harry cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks flush. "How did you know I tampered with the clocks?" Harry asked and Jade giggled.

"Your ears are burning red. Don't you think you're forgetting that your girlfriend is a brilliant lawyer?" Jade asked and Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I didn't forget. I was only hoping you'd be too distracted to notice. If you knew I tampered with the clocks and hid your phone, why didn't you say anything? And why did you keep asking what the time was?" He asked with a scowl and she grinned.

"What fun would it be to know the truth and not tease you?" Jade asked as she kissed the tip of his nose and before Harry could respond the doorbell rang.

"I guess Candace and Andy are back," Jade said as she rose to go say hello to them since she had not seen them all day.

Harry held her hand before she could leave, "You're staying, right?" He asked, and her smile softened.

"Seeing how much effort you put into getting me to stay, it wouldn't be nice of me to leave my clingy boyfriend, would it?" Jade asked with a wink and Harry chuckled.

"What's the time now?" She asked and he glanced at his watch.

"It's past seven," he said and she nodded.

"Fix the clock, Jonas, and don't come out yet. Stay in there and reflect on your behavior," she said with a wink and Harry laughed.

"I want to talk to Candace," she explained before walking out of the room, leaving Harry who was shaking his head at himself stuck somewhere between amusement and embarrassment.

"Hey, Jade! The house smells foody." Andy sniffed the air as they walked in and shut the door behind them.

"Harry and I made pasta. We left some for you both. How was your day?" Jade asked looking from one to the other.

"Candace had dinner with Matt already, so I guess what's left is all mine," Andy said as she kicked off her shoes and followed the foody aroma to the kitchen.

"Mine was good. I'm glad you haven't left yet. I was hoping to talk to you," Candace said as she picked up Andy's shoes.

"I wanted to talk to you too. Do you want to freshen up first and talk later?" Jade asked and Candace shrugged.

"Give me ten minutes to get out of these clothes and join you. Where is Harry?" Candace asked as she headed down to their bedroom.

"He's in the bedroom. I will be waiting at the dining," Jade called after Candace as she went to meet Andy in the kitchen.

Andy who was serving some of the food on to a dish turned when Jade walked in.

"I got an earful from Harry last night. I'm sorry for my unsolicited advise…."

"Don't do that, Andy. I did appreciate it," Jade cut in.

"I'm sure you did. But Harry was also right. All relationships are not the same.  What works for one may not work for the other, and everyone can't be the same either. Advising you to be a certain way is somewhat arrogant if you think about it, cause that's like saying I'm better and know better or my way is better. You should be yourself and not mind people like us," Andy said and Jade frowned.

"Are you upset?"

"No, I'm not. Just being my usual honest self. What do I know to be advising anyone? Do I even know enough to give advise to anyone? My life is pretty messed up and instead of focusing on fixing myself I'm here giving my unsolicited advise to someone who has her life in order," Andy said and Jade shook her head.

"What's wrong? Do you want to talk about it?" She asked and Andy sighed deeply and shook her head.

"No. I'm okay. Nothing to talk about. Just ranting. I'm sorry," Andy said and Jade nodded as Andy walked past her with the plate of food and headed for the bedroom.