Chapter 442
Kieran continued with his work, and the room was quiet and peaceful. He looked up at the two of them, and a sense of calm and tranquillity settled in the air.
Cole didn’t return until much later. But when he finally did, he walked in with two large bags in his hands. “Ms. Hart,” he called out. “Take these with you.”
Lila arched her brow. “What’s this?”
She reached out to take the bags, but they were so heavy they almost made her fall over. Luckily, Cole grabbed them back before she lost her balance. He glanced cautiously at Kieran and breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed he wasn’t upset.
Cole carefully set the bags down, and Lila, holding her back after nearly twisting her waist, squatted down to see what was inside the two large bags, which were almost as full as half a sack.
When she spotted a 22-pound bag of flour inside, she massaged her temples. The bags contained some food and daily necessities meant for Ash’s family. When she noticed the children’s moisturizer, she froze and then looked up at the still pale-faced man.
Kieran seemed to sense her gaze and turned toward her. “I’ll have Cole drive you back later,” he said softly.
Lila swallowed the lump in her throat and responded calmly, “It’s alright. I borrowed a car from the production team, so I have to return it.”
Kieran didn’t say anything else after that. After Cole packed up, the four of them headed out together.
When it was time to say goodbye, Ash walked over and tugged on Kieran’s shirt. “Mister, don’t forget to visit us when you’re done with your work!”
He was so casual about it, and the best part was that Kieran had actually agreed. On the way back, Lila still couldn’t believe it. But after thinking it over, she figured he probably just agreed to humor the child.
Ash remained curious throughout the ride. It had been a long time since Lila had interacted with a child so young, and she found herself relaxing in the presence of his innocent, charming nature.
“Honestly, after going around with you, I think the outside world isn’t that great. It would be nice to just stay in the village with Grandma,” he said, his words sounding older than his years.
Lila’s calm mood was disrupted by his words. She glanced over and noticed him still staring out the window with longing eyes. Hence, she didn’t respond.
Kids were fickle, after all. Before long, he was talking about something else. By the end of the ride, he had dozed off. Lila first dropped Ash off at his home and returned the car to the film crew.
Meanwhile, Matthew had just wrapped up for the day. “There’s really not much going on here, Lila. Why don’t you head back to Northridge and rest for a bit?”
Technically, there wasn’t much for her to do here. Lila could have left the day after bringing Matthew here. But if she went back to Northridge and had nothing to do, she’d probably start overthinking. Staying here, in a way, felt like an escape.
Lila smiled. “There’s not much for me to do back there either. Things here are still a bit underdeveloped noticed that several villages around here don’t even have an elementary school. If kids want to go to school, they have to travel really far.
“I thought I might stick around and see how things are here, then discuss with the company about possibly getting some sponsorships or using charity channels to build a school here.”
Matthew listened and felt a little moved. “Would the company handle these kinds of things?”
“I’m not sure.”Lila shook her head. “But it’s worth a shot. Who knows what will happen? Besides, the company holds a charity gala every year. the show becomes popular, there’ll be plenty of sponsors and we could use that to help boost local development.
“Though whether it’ll be a hit or not is really down to luck. Right now, applying through the company seems like the easiest way.” Instead of overthinking, it felt better to do something meaningful.
Matthew observed her solemn expression and thought for a moment before asking, “Is there anything I can do to help?”