''What the heck are you talking about?!" Archer wondered if it would be fine if he ripped open that head of hers and peeked inside to know what was going on there.
''Isn't that what no string relationship is?"
''I was talking about no-string-attached marriage?"
''What's that?" Elvina straightened up. Jokes apart, she was genuinely curious now.
''I needed a wife,'' Archer said.
''And you got me,'' she added with a smile.
''Yes, and now I can't bargain.''
Elvina was having a hard time maintaining that smile. She had lost count of how many times this man has insulted her in a row.
''So whatever I have, it is you. And whatever you have…'' As he noticed her making an 'I don't want to have you' face at him, the corner of his lips twitched, ''…And all you have is my money.''
Elvina nodded.
''So…'' Archer inhaled a deep breath, ''I don't like you. You are annoying…''
''Likewise,'' Elvina chimed in with a smile.
He was a hypocrite and she did not like him since the first day they met and where he was the polar opposite when he was in public and in private.
Both of them nodded.
''Till the situation is calm and we get a divorce, let's stay away from each other. This marriage is just meant for show,'' Archer said.
''Behind the closed doors, we are strangers,'' Elvina added, relieved that he brought up the divorce topic first.
In a few months, her work will be done here, and then she will go back to her world.
To their Kingdom.
To their Lucent Castle where there were memories of her parents.
He expected her to question him about the 'divorce' part but she was surprisingly very accommodating. Archer paused for a moment before he eventually nodded.
''If you hated me that much, why did you marry me?'' she asked when he turned around.
''Keep friends close and enemies closer,'' he looked at her from above his shoulder, ''And initially, I believed you are an enemy.
''Now, you don't think of me as your enemy?"
''For that,'' He turned around, ''I'll watch you.''
She flashed him a beautiful smile, ''I hope you get the best view,'' she struck an elegant pose.
"_"
Archer walked to the other side and opened the car door for her.
Archer was about to close the door but his gaze landed on the trail of her gown which was touching the ground.
He squatted on the road and gathered her dress in his hand before adjusting it in the car.
She looked at his dark hair until he pushed himself to his feet and walked to the other side of the car.
As Archer stepped on the accelerator, the car turned silent again. This time, the silence was peaceful given that both of them reached a conclusion.
They just needed to pretend till this marriage lasts.
During that time, Archer would focus on his work and shift the media's attention away from him. As soon as he got off the limelight and the time was right, they'd get a divorce.
Meanwhile, Elvina would focus on what she was here for. Revenge! As soon as she killed each of those murderers, she would go back to the place she belonged.
Elvina quietly glanced out of the window, looking at the dark road, her gaze unfocused because of the tears in her eyes.
Her eyes started getting heavier and she closed them after a few seconds.
In fact…
She did not lie to Archer.
The first clue that they got was the model of a gun which led them to France. As she told him, she was a fast learner. During their stay there, they continued looking for more clues, and one day, she was separated from Claire and her Aunt.
And then her bracelet broke on the streets.
She gathered the pearls, not realizing when she lost one.
These pearls… they were engraved on her mother's skin. Her father had gifted them to her after a few years of their marriage.
When they were kids, she had pointed at it and her mother understood that she wanted it so she promised her that she will get one for her in the future.
During the time of her death, those bastards stabbed her wrist repeatedly, and peeled her skin, trying to dig out these pearls but they did not separate from her body.
She was standing right outside the cave when she saw the pearls disappearing from her mother's hand and in the next moment, they appeared at her feet.
It was only on that day did she realize why her mother never gave them to her despite promising her about it.
It was because those pearls were precious. A siren's tears don't turn into pearls like a mermaid's.
Mermaids and mermen are non-violent creatures whose existence was created by the gods while them... the sirens and tritons have always been depicted as evil.
But when a siren or a triton falls in love and cries for their love, their tears would turn into pearls with a pink sheen on them.
And that's why it was rare.
Because in their siren clan, there was no such thing as love.
There was only lust.
A siren can have as many human males or tritons as she wanted.
Tritons are the male sirens who mostly serve the females. Very few of them are blessed with exceptional powers, like her father.
Her father had infused his powers in those pearls before her mother engraved them on her wrist.
Looking at those, her mother was able to tell whether a member of their siren clan was in the sea or not.
These pearls were evidence of her mother's and father's true love for each other.
And one of the very last things that she had of them...
After a few minutes, Archer stole a glance at her when he sensed no movements from her side.
But the sight that greeted him was that of her sleeping peacefully with her head tightly pressed against the glass pane.
Archer stepped on the brakes and parked the car on the side.
He got a blanket from the car trunk and got inside the driver's seat before throwing it on her, ''Use this,'' he said.
Just as he was about to step on the accelerator, Elvina threw the blanket aside before she pressed her face on the glass panes tightly.
The corner of his lips twitched.
He turned on the lights in the car and picked up the blanket before draping it on her carefully.
He lowered the passenger seat.
Archer hesitated for a moment as he glanced at her side profile. Her face was covered in her hair.
''The glass panes are real cold right now and in case you die because of pneumonia, I am not taking the blame for it,'' he mumbled.
Inhaling a deep breath, he reached his hand towards her.