Inside the carriage, Seraphina and Lucy sat next to each other and the silver-haired man sat across them. The silver-haired man sat upright with arms folded in his front as he stared at Seraphina who had her face turned and was looking outside the carriage window.
Seraphina knew he was watching her and the urge to turn and dig her nails into his eyes was so great that she clenched her fists tightly on her dress.
Not bothering the brooding look of the silver-haired man, Seraphina continued looking out of the small window of the carriage. She watched as they passed houses and people by the roadside. She had more problems to think of than satisfying the ego of this silver-haired man who looked as if he was challenging and daring her to turn and look at him which she will never do.
Seraphina thought about the job and also about how she was going to escape the damn marriage when she gets the job and starts getting paid so she will be able to pay off her family's debts.
But before that, she had to worry about her parents and what they would do if they found out she went out of the house after being locked inside. She knew that hell will definitely break loose if they found out she went to look for work. Hopefully, they will not be back before she got home. She thought.
Still looking outside the window, Seraphina saw Lucy's house come into view. Her house was among the first in the street before hers that was further into the town.
As soon as they got to Lucy's house, she heard her say, "I'll get down here,"
The silver-haired man pulled the small curtain separating the driver's seat of the coachman from the people sitting inside and ordered, "Stop the carriage."
The coachman immediately pulled the reigns of the carriage attached to the four horses to the side of the road, making the vehicle come to a halt.
Lucy came down from the carriage and bid Seraphina farewell, "Goodbye, Phina. Don't forget to check up on me. I'll see you soon."
"I won't, Lucy. Bye, and take care." Seraphina responded and waved at Lucy. She watched as Lucy walked through her gate before disappearing into her house.
"Close the door, Patrick." Came the voice of the silver-haired man when he ordered the coachman to close the door reminding Seraphina that she was now alone in the carriage with him.
"Yes master," Patrick bowed and shut the carriage's door close before walking to the driver's seat. He slapped the beast's back and turned the carriage, and soon the vehicle started moving in the direction of Seraphina's house.
Seraphina went back to staring outside through the wooden window of the carriage still refusing to look at the silver-haired man and neither did the man let his gaze leave Seraphina whose eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.
The lines on her forehead tightened to show how annoyed she was.
The lips of the silver-haired man pulled up into a smile underneath his silver mask which went unnoticed by Seraphina. He suddenly chuckled and said to Seraphina, "Are you always this grumpy?"
"And are you always this annoying?" Seraphina's retort came at the man immediately without waiting for a second to pass. She still had her face turned outside, without sparing the man a glance.
"Such a feisty and boring lady," The man muttered under his breath which Seraphina clearly heard.
This forced Seraphina to sharply turn to look at the man with a death glare, "What did you just say?" She demanded with gritted teeth. Her hand balled into a fist, holding tightly unto her dress to stop her hands from doing something out of order.
The silver-haired man stared at Seraphina in amusement. He suddenly reached out his right hand and grabbed Seraphina's hand and pulled her toward him.
Horrified, Seraphina shrieked loudly, "What the hell are you doing?! Are you insa…"
Before she could finish her sentence, she was already seated beside him. The man reached out his left hand this time and touched her forehead, smoothening the deep lines that were caused by the constant furrowing of her eyebrows due to anger.
"You should frown a little and smile more," The man said, gently rubbing his thumb on her forehead.
He went on, "Frowning doesn't look good on women, especially one as beautiful as you are."
For a moment, Seraphina felt lost in the sweet sensation of the man's hand on her forehead and his gentle deep, and masculine voice.
At the compliment from the man, the frown on Seraphina's face slowly disappeared and was replaced by a beautiful smile that slowly crept to her face making her all red.
The man's face drew closer to Seraphina's as they stared unblinkingly at each other. His hot breath coupled with the sweet smell of him filled her nostrils for the second time since she met him.
Lost in the man's hypnotizing gaze, time seemed to have frozen on Seraphina's part as if she was held in place by him, and only by his command could she pull herself away.
The carriage shook when the wheels rode over a pothole thus making Seraphina get a hold of herself.
She slapped the man's hand away from her face when as she regained herself. Embarrassed that she had been staring at the man for a long time, Seraphina turned her flushed face away from the man not noticing the smirk on his face that was perfectly hidden behind his mask.
'God Seraphina! What the hell is wrong with you lately? You were shamelessly staring at this man you just met. Have you become crazy or are you turning crazy because of him?' Seraphina internally scolded herself. Even her scolding seemed to be perverted in her mind.
'You are it again, Serah! What is becoming crazy because of him? Can't you think straight? It's not like you haven't seen any handsome man before. In fact, several dozens of them have come to your doorstep knocking on your door for your hand in marriage. So why are you getting flustered when you are near him?!'
Seraphina continued to chide herself. And as she did so, it slowly turned into anger and she furrowed her brows into a frown again.
"Keep your distance, Mister. Men and women should always stay away from each other." She warned and went to sit back in her seat while facing the man with another heart-piercing glare.
"Tsk," The man clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You are at it again. Why do you frown so much? You look so fierce." And like a cute tigress. He added in his mind with a smile.
The fury in Seraphina's brown eyes burned deeper at how the man ignored her words. She bellowed, "I am serious, Mister. Keep your distance!"
"Why?" Was the short and simple question from the man. His eyes bore deep into her brown ones that shone brightly as they fought not to waver under his gaze.
"Because I am a woman and you're a man. Don't you know this simple reason or are trying to tell me that you're a pervert?"
"Being so hotheaded and easily angered like this, I'm starting to think and believe I'm speaking with my equal." The man taunted and saw Seraphina flare up in more rage directed towards him as if she would burn him with just a command from her lips.
"Are you insulting me?!"