Abi had already changed her clothes when she left the hall. Abi and Kelly kissed each other goodbye before Abi walked over Alex’s car.
She sat in the passenger’s seat and buckled her seatbelt before she looked at Alex.
“Thank you for waiting, Alex.” She smiled at him. She was still wearing her fairy make-up and her beautiful face was still glistening.
As always, Alex didn’t respond. He just started the car and quietly drove away.
“Uhm… Alex, if you don’t want to go, it’s okay.” Abi hesitantly said to him after a long spell of silence. “I will explain to grandma that you are busy.”
Suddenly, Alex pulled the car on the side of the road. His gaze was sharp as he turned to her.
“Come here, Abigail,” he ordered and Abi swallowed before she moved as per his command. He stretched out his hand and held her waist, making her straddle him.
Abi’s knees were on the seat, with him between her legs.
She looked at his glorious face and she felt his intense gaze burning her face.
“Do you want me to go or not?” he asked, surprising Abi. His voice was deep and he didn’t seem to be annoyed. He seemed very serious this time and she noticed that he had been like that since the play started hours ago.
“Of course I would really love it if you came along!” she quickly told him. He didn’t know this but this was one of the items on her wishlist that she had removed because she never thought that Alex would agree to it. She never really planned on introducing Alex to her family because she thought that the man would never want to do that. After all, their relationship was a deal and not something that started from them liking each other. Not only that, she was also afraid that he would find out her secret. Fortunately, Abi had time to speak with her dad before she left the hall a while ago and she begged him to tell her grandparents not to mention anything to do with her illness during dinner.
“Then stop telling me that it’s okay for me not to go,” he uttered as his thumb caressed her lower lip.
Abi just blinked. She thought that Alex was acting a little strange today.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, pulling Abi’s thought back to reality.
“I… I was thinking of something… about you,” she told him the truth and the man’s lips curved up.
“Oh, really? Mind telling me?”
Abi hesitated for a moment. “I was thinking that you seem a little different today…”
“How so?” he narrowed his eyes, intrigued.
“Like… you’re being so nice… I mean,” she subconsciously lifted her hand and touched his face gently. “You’ve been such a good boy today, Alex,” she uttered and it was Alex’s turn to become still. What? What was she saying? Him? Nice? Good boy?
A throaty chuckle left Alex’s mouth. “Good boy… are you sure about that? Huh? Abigail?”
The girl nodded like she was more than certain about it.
“You helped me without complaint, you even volunteered to become a tree and then you spoke with dad nicely… and now, you’re coming to our house for dinner!” Abi listed all the things out and it was then that Alex realized that he did indeed do all those things that she said. Pictures of the things that happened flashed in his head and his eyes slowly narrowed.
“Alex?” Abi called out his name and the man immediately cleared his throat as he looked at her. “What were you thinking?”
Alex’s lips curved up with her question. “I was thinking about what I should demand from you for being a good boy today…” he answered, averting his gaze as he cleared his throat again.
Abi’s eyes just widened as if she just heard something unbelievable.
“Since you said I was a good boy today, you should reward me, Abigail. Otherwise I might not be a good boy anymore.”
This was in fact the very first he had been called a good boy. He never once thought that someone would ever call him nice and good and he found it simply unbelievable. Unfortunately, he wasn’t buying any of it, even if it was his little lamb who was saying it, because he knew more than anyone else that he was the complete opposite of what she was saying and nothing would ever change that.
He didn’t think that what he did today was that amazing that she would actually call him good and nice but he thought that this little lamb was the only one who would ever think this way about him. But then, he wondered if this girl, if this little lamb of his, would show him even a little smile if she knew who he really was.
“R-reward? What kind of reward would you want from me?” she asked him and another smile appeared on Alex’s face.
“Would you give me any reward that I want?”
“As long as it’s not related to money and the impossible, I will do my best to get it and give it to you.”
There was determination in her eyes as she told him those words, causing Alex’s smile to turn even sexier. His hand crawled from her face to the back of her neck, causing tingles and shivers on Abi’s skin. His gaze became scorching and before she knew it, she was swallowed by his deep gaze again.
He pulled her closer to him until her face hovered above his. Their noses touched each other as they looked into each other’s eyes, closer than ever. “Abigail… once you hear what I want you to do, you will never call me ‘nice’ and ‘good’… ever again…”
For a moment, as he whispered those words, Abi saw something in his eyes that broke her heart into pieces. Those eyes of his that had always been encapsulated by thick darkness and coldness, those beautiful yet deadly eyes that she thought would forever be unfathomable, suddenly opened up its rustic door… and for the first time ever, it became transparent, like the clear surface of a lake… but beneath it, she saw nothing but dark, dead emotions and… frozen pain.
She felt like she was staring at a bizarre and disturbing ancient dark themed painting and she felt her heart bleed.
Her hands slowly moved. They made their way around his head and then, the next moment…
Her lips gently landed on his forehead.
