Valerie, sitting on Maximus' thigh, gripped his shoulder tight to avoid falling off. And her thoughts drifted, staring into his familiar yet unfamiliar eyes.
Though they hadn't signed the contract, from the moment she took his hand and gave him orders, their lives were already mixed and there was no going back.
But she still couldn't understand something. Yes, he wanted to make her suffer by tying her to himself, but with the amount of hatred he had, how was it that he was able to stand touching her?
Why did he not find it uncomfortable when they were like this?
She used to believe that if you hated someone, even if it was a little bit, you would despise every aspect of them. Just the mention of them would make you frown, make you feel disgusted, and roll your eyes, but yet... She stared at Max... This one was grinning and smirking like he was enjoying every moment of it.
She recalled the statement he made when he said he hated her too much to make her his lover but not so much that he could not stay in the same space with her. So in the end, he asked her to be his wife.
It was too contradictory, honestly. If he hated her that much, he would've made her do something even harder like be his maid, not that she would take it, or something similar, but yet he chose to tie them together in marriage.
So she could not help but feel there was something other than the hate and resentment in his veins.
To have her in mind for all these years... All this time... To even go as far as sabotage her rise to position... Her grip on his shoulder tightened... Was it honestly just resentment?
Well, she was already here. With time, she would find out the exact feelings he held for her and maybe... Find the time to apologize to him.
"What do you want to do now that I'm on your thigh?" She asked staring into his eyes with confidence and he scoffed.
"It's back again." Max said, "Can you not look so confident all the time?"
"Then I wouldn't be Valerie now, would I?" She claimed and Max gave in... This time.
"Sit over there" He instructed and she got up from his thigh and sat on the chair facing his. "Turn around."
Max picked up the towel next to him and started cleaning Valerie's hair.
"If it's just this, I can do it by myself. You don't have to." She claimed but he stayed silent, doing what was on his mind. She also went silent, letting him wipe her hair clean. 'Honestly, this could've been faster with a hairdryer.' she thought but stayed silent.
Max was actually pretty gentle, not missing any strand of her hair. It was like he had been doing this all his life. Well, he had a younger sister so maybe he really did it all his life.
Max suddenly stopped. She thought he was done but he suddenly slid his hand around her and buried his head on her shoulder.
She was dumbstruck, wondering what he was doing but with no words said from him and no action other than the hugging, she stayed still and let him.
'Why do I feel sad?' Valerie thought as Max pressed his head on her shoulder. She honestly didn't know what to think of this and clenched her fists.
After a while, Valerie sneezed, jolting Max out of whatever condition he was in and he lifted his head.
"Did you catch a cold?" He asked but Valerie silently shook her head. "Then why did you sneeze?"
"Probably because, for the last thirty minutes, I have had nothing but a towel on. So I really wonder why I sneezed."
The sarcasm in her words made Max laugh, startling her. She turned her head to see him laughing. Why... And how... How was it that his laughter never changed?
"Good one." He said. "It's my fault, right? Don't worry, I'll make sure to be responsible."
"What are you...?"
He lifted her off the chair and started heading to the bathroom.
"Hey, I just took a bath." She protested and to which he said,
"You're cold, so it's best to wash you down with hot water. We can't afford to let the princess get sick, right?"
"That is crazy. I won't get sick. I'm not that weak."
Even though she strongly protested it, Max still took her to the shower. Not the bathtub, but the shower, and once he got in, he took off his shoes and tossed them aside.
She was wondering what he was planning again, now that he had taken her to the shower. And to her surprise, he got under the shower with her and put on the hot water.
"Your clothes." Valerie pointed out as the water rained down on them, spreading its steam, but he nonchalantly said,
"It's just clothes. They won't get ruined with a bit of hot water."
But that was not the point she was trying to make. Why did he get in the shower with her anyway? Right at that moment, the only saving grace she had was that she was holding on to the towel around her chest.
Just one slip would expose her body and who knew what he'd do after that.
"If you wanted to take a shower that badly, you could've just said so." Valerie said, "I could've given you some space."
"You seem to be mistaking something, Valerie." He said. "I don't want to take a shower." He lowered his head, their faces inches apart. "I want to watch you take a shower."
"Don't take me for a fool." Valerie said, her eyes piercing coldly at him. "If you wanted to 'watch' me, you could've stayed on the side. Why did you get in with me?"
"Just because." He said, swiped her wet hair away from her face and leaned his face closer. "Who knows? I might honestly want to take a bath with you."