At midnight.
Elvina glanced at Gold who was sleeping next to her on her bed.
She poked him twice and the cat stirred a bit before he turned his back on her and continued sleeping.
Apparently, she was the only one who was having a sleepless night here.
Elvina pushed herself to her feet and walked towards the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the opposite wall.
She glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
''I am sure I was born beautiful,'' Elvina leaned closer to the mirror and scrutinized her facial features, ''And I believe he has no issues with his vision.''
She pulled back from the mirror, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Then what exactly did he mean by the sight of her face made him lose his appetite?
Shouldn't he feel privileged that she was so sweet to him?
Elvina walked towards the window and tilted her head to look at the moon.
She changed her target from Emir to Archer because her conscience hurt when she heard Emir talking about love.
Them, the sirens, were not blessed enough to feel anything like that.
Her parents and a few others were exceptions. Love was rare to people like them.
But she did not want to destroy his opportunity of finding his true love.
She married Archer because his thought matched hers.
But it turns out.. the man was just faking it all.
Elvina let out another sigh.
While Emir was waiting for his true love, the woman who would change his life, Archer lost his true love. The man in the hotel room...
Sigh...
The politics in a rich family.
No wonder Archer was ready to marry any random woman as per his parents' wish.
It turns out that he wasn't interested in women at all. He had a man he loved and with whom he shared what humans call a 'love-hate' relationship.
But now he ended up with her.
'It's too late for us to go back to how it was' were the exact words that he said to the man back in the hotel room.
No wonder.
Everything made sense to Elvina now.
It was so tragic.
''The more I think about it, the more I find him pitiful. What do I do?" Elvina pressed her forehead on the glass pane for a few seconds before she walked out of the room.
...
Unaware of the fact that he was labeled as a man with a 'tragic love life', Archer spent two hours in the gym after he left Elvina alone at the dining table.
He vented the whole day's frustration on the punching bag.
His sister and him have not been on talking terms for 3 years when she went against him and the cause of their feud was none other than the person who was once his best friend, Maven Larsen. Seeing him in person today was like a
flashback of what happened before.
And now, this woman... Elvina.
He made sure to draw a line but she kept crossing it, provoking him knowingly or unknowingly.
Archer left the gym while wiping his damp hair with a towel.
He descended the stairs but his footsteps came to a halt when he heard some noises coming from the kitchen.
Archer frowned.
It was past midnight. Was it that fat cat lurking around the house?
He quickly strode towards the opposite wall and checked the aquarium carefully.
One... two... three.. four.... nine.. ten.
Perfect, his babies were safe.
Archer mentally patted his chest as he looked at his goldfishes.
He strode towards the kitchen, ''Why are you lurking...'' his footsteps came to a halt when he saw the woman inside the kitchen.
Elvina took out a bottle of water and closed the refrigerator.
Hearing his voice, she tilted her head to look at him.
Her eyes widened when her gaze landed on him.
Elvina gulped.
Archer was not wearing anything on his upper body and she could see the outlines of his hard muscles.
His abs... her gaze trailed lower... and his V-line.
Elvina could not avert her gaze when she knew she should definitely do it right at that moment.
''Like what you see?"
Her gaze flew to his face. That cocky smile!
She saw his interview earlier this day. That gentle smile when he was talking about 'his wife' who was none other than her, it must have made people believe that he was deeply in love with his wife.
But they should be presented with this cocky smile someday so that they know who he is behind closed doors.
Just a moody, unreasonable, short-tempered jaded jerk!
Plus a tragic love life. That must have made him more of a jerk that he is now.
She tightened her grip on the bottle and walked towards the kitchen entrance without sparing him another glance.
Her footsteps came to a halt when she reached him.
He was standing there with his arms crossed in front of his chest, blocking the path to some extent.
''Excuse me,'' she twisted her body and walked past him.
Archer turned around and looked at her retreating back. She was wearing an ordinary white dress but it hugged her body just in the right places.
'Stop eyeing her like a freaking pervert!' his inner self whispered to which he averted his gaze quickly.
The woman was back on her tracks given how she was ignoring him right now.
Archer's lips curled up. Yes, it was for the best that she was ignoring him.
Unbeknownst to him, an annoyed look flashed on his face.
...
Elvina fanned herself as soon as she was out of his sight.
She pressed the cold water bottle on her face.
Is this how Claire feels whenever she sees a hot man?
But she has never felt this before.
Elvina bit her bottom lips and shook her head hurriedly to shake off the image of him standing half-naked near the door.
A few minutes ago, she decided that she would treat him well no matter how much of a jerk he is but that does not apply to the times when he is roaming shirtless in the house right?
How could she look at him in the eyes when her gaze constantly flew to his body?
So contrary to Archer's assumption, Elvina was not ignoring him. She was just ignoring his body at the moment.