'No,' Cedrix's expression sank, 'he won't corrupt my little girl, right?'
Even though he knew that his 'little girl' wasn't that little anymore and wasn't the innocent, sweet child he had raised, Cedrix still felt that compared to Alex, she was an angel.
During the few days they had traveled together, he had come to understand a bit about Alex's personality, and what stood out the most was the man's lust.
Except for the first day of their journey, nothing happened between Alex and his wives, much to his disappointment. But it's not because he didn't try.
During the days of their journey, Cedrix also came to understand the true nature of the relationship between Alex and Amelia, and what he discovered shocked him, reinforcing his belief that Alex was truly too lustful.
'If he is promiscuous enough to be intimate with his sister, then there's no way he would settle down with just three women.'
That was Cedrix's thought back then, and judged by the way Alex was gazing at his daughter, he knew that he was right.
He didn't wish that kind of life for his daughter, a life where she'd have to share her husband with other women.
No father would wish something like that for his daughter, and Cedrix was different.
Cedrix reached out in the direction of his daughter, intent on shaking her out of her reverie, but right at this moment, someone held his hand to stop him from touching her.
He glanced at the one who had just stopped him and noticed that it was Anna.
She was gazing at him with a peculiar smile that, if he didn't know better, Cedrix would swear looked quite creepy.
"What's the matter, Cedrix? Is something wrong?" she asked, smiling.
'Why is she asking me that, and why is she holding my hand?' the old man wondered. "Ah, nothing is wrong; you don't have to worry about me," he replied after a few seconds.
Although Anna had intercepted him, preventing him from shaking Anita awake, the sound of his voice still roused her.
"Um, what wa- ah, a-as I was saying, thank you for rescuing me. I-I will be grateful for that my whole life, and if you have anything you want from me, you c-can ask," Anita blurted out with difficulty.
'Why am I stuttering?!' she screamed in her head. 'And was I staring at him so intently? Now he is going to think that I'm some mentally challenged woman!'
"I can ask anything, you say?" Alex asked as he himself snapped out of his daze. But contrary to Anita, he still maintained his calm.
"Yes, you can ask me anything, and I will do my best to comply," Anita nodded, avoiding Alex's gaze, fearful that she might lose herself again if she stared into his captivating gray eyes.
"What is your name?" Alex inquired in a soft tone.
"Anita."
"So, Anita, you said that I can ask anything I want, and you will comply, right?"
Anita nodded firmly, still avoiding his gaze.
"Then what if I said that the thing I want is for you to become my wife?" Alex voiced in a light, playful tone.
What he said was just a joke to lighten the mood as he could see that Anita was quite tense; however, his words had the opposite effect on Anita.
Anita froze, her brain failing to comprehend Alex's words for several seconds. But when she did understand them, it was like an explosion had gone off inside her head.
Anita's already blushing face turned completely crimson, her eyes shone differents shade of blue, and her breath became labored.
Seeing the unexpected yet welcome reaction from Anita, the teasing smile on Alex's face widened. 'She looks cute; it makes me want to tease her more, although...' He glanced over Anita's shoulder and witnessed Cedrix looking towards him with narrowed eyes.
Cedrix's stare made him chuckle and fueled his desire even more to tease the old man's daughter. 'I just enjoy the reactions of both of them.'
Refocusing on Anita, Alex spoke, this time with a hint of sadness in his voice, "you are avoiding my gaze and went quiet all of a sudden, is it that you find me so unattractive that you don't even-"
"No!" Anita unintentionally released a shout, "it's not that."
"Oh, what is it then? Why aren't you answering me? Don't you want to marry me?" Alex inquired, his voice carrying the same undertone of sadness, this time with a touch of disappointment.
The moment the words escaped his lips, Anita's face deepened in a shade of red, a hue Alex didn't think was possible considering how flushed she appeared before. He could almost swear that a hint of smoke was escaping from her ears.
Alex's cheeks puffed as he tried not to burst into laughter, but it was becoming more and more challenging.
At that moment, he heard someone whispering to him, "that's enough teasing for now; you will make the poor girl explode in embarrassment if you continue."
Glancing back at his sister, Alex lingered a little and nodded his head.
"Calm down, Anita, it was a joke-"
Just as he was about to explain to Anita that he was joking, she suddenly stared at him and exclaimed loudly, with her hands balled in fists:
"IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, THEN I AGREE TO MARRY YOU!"
"...."
"...."
"...."
"...."
"accept....marry...you"
Anita's voice resonated so loudly that even several seconds after she finished speaking, her words continued to echo throughout the mountain.
'That was... unexpected,' Alex scratched his head with a funny expression on his face, 'I didn't think she would seriously consider my words, much less that she would actually agree to marry me.'
'Poor girl, she just gave him more material to tease her,' both Amelia and Anna thought as they looked at Anita, who was breathing heavily as if she had run a marathon, with pity.
Meanwhile, Cedrix's eyes went wide the moment Anita spoke, his heart skipping a few beats. 'W-what did I hear?'
'It can't be, right? My daughter would never do something like that, right?' The daughter he knew was someone with a strong character, someone who would send Alex packing while shouting something like 'rescuing me doesn't give you the right to become my husband, hmph!' yet...
'Why is she blushing like that? Why is she fidgeting in her place?' Cedrix wondered, his eyes watering.
"What happened to my little girl..." he murmured under his breath.
Having heard him, Anna shot the old man a sympathetic gaze.
"Alex happened," she said with a faint chuckle.
The old man gazed at her for a moment, then turned back to stare at his daughter, who was busy avoiding Alex's gaze.
He wanted to deny what he had heard, not accept that his daughter agreed to marry Alex. But as if the universe was playing with him, Anita's words continued to echo inside the mountain, each of them like a knife burying itself in the old man's heart.
Thud
Unable to bear it anymore, Cedrix suddenly fell to the ground with foam coming out of his mouth.
The sound of his fall caught the attention of everyone nearby.
"Dad!"
Forgetting her embarrassment temporarily, Anita hurried to her father with a worried expression on her face.
"Ehh, why is he like that?" Alex scratched his head, puzzled.
"Like you don't know," Amelia chuckled and approached the old man.
Crouching down, she placed her hand on him to check his condition. After a moment, she exclaimed with a stunned expression:
"He's having a heart attack!"