Interrupted Peace. 

Interrupted Peace. 

A sharp breath escaped her lips before she inhaled slowly, forcing herself back to reality.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she hurriedly looked away from him, only to realize how long her gaze had lingered.

Heat immediately crept across her cheeks, much to her embarrassment.

She blinked repeatedly, trying to rid herself of the image of him lingering stubbornly inside her mind.

What was wrong with her?

She gently shook her head, trying to dismiss the unsettling thoughts crowding her mind.

She only wanted him gone.

Yes. That had to be it.

What else could it possibly be?

She just wanted him to leave her alone in peace. But apparently, he had other ideas.

Because despite how direct she had been, he still didn’t move a muscle.

“How about no?” he drawled lazily. “Doesn’t that sound exciting to you?”

The audacity of him to refuse her so casually left her momentarily speechless.

“No. It doesn’t.”

That only earned a low chuckle of amusement from him.

“Little one, I think I have a better idea.” He leaned back slightly, his large obsidian eyes gleaming with unmistakable mirth. “What if I help you with all this, and we have a little chit-chat of our own?” He suggested smoothly.

Her entire body stiffened at the proposal.

The thought alone made her want to flee the room immediately. Somehow, his harmless suggestions never felt truly harmless.

Like she would ever agree to that.

“No,” she answered instantly. Far too quickly.

Why would she even consider it?

“What?” he exclaimed dramatically, pressing a hand to his chest as though genuinely wounded. “Why?”

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.

“Why did you reject the idea so quickly?”

Then, with clear amusement lingering in his voice, he added, “I’m hurt, little one.” His lips curled slightly. 

She remained silent and stared at him in complete disbelief.

“Do you truly wish to break my heart like this?”

Once again, silence answered him.

His teasing nature to this extent was strangely unfamiliar to her. She didn’t know what unsettled her more—the ridiculous question itself or how naturally he said it.

For a moment, she could only stare at him speechlessly. The unfamiliar softness in his tone only confused her further. She hated how his words kept catching her off guard.

She hated how easily he could unsettle her with a few simple words.

She blinked. A couple of times. 

Why was he doing this? Why was he deliberately unsettling her like this? 

He took her silence as his answer before speaking again. 

“Then it’s decided. I shall graciously help you with these.” Gesturing toward the scattered crafts, he nodded confidently.

Her mouth fell slightly open at his sheer audacity. What? 

“Come now, little one. Let’s begin, shall we?” he said, scooting closer to her. “Maa would be delighted to see us getting acquainted, even if only for a little while.”

A wink followed immediately after.

“No!”

“Why not?” he challenged with amusement dancing in his eyes. “Who knows? I may actually be better than you at this.”

“I said no!”

Somehow, her irritation appeared to amuse him endlessly. Unfortunately for her, he looked entirely too comfortable staying exactly where he was.

“And I heard you perfectly,” he replied calmly, reaching for one of the colored papers anyway. “So, where do we begin, chérie?”

His voice—smooth, soft, and unbearably clear—flowed like melted butter, only further exhausting her already fragile patience.

Internally, she nearly cried in defeat, lacking the energy to argue with him anymore. And that evening, more than anything, she desperately wished for time to pass quickly.

She really did! 

Had she known he would spend the entire evening making things harder with his snide remarks, scoffing comments, and endless satirical teasing, she would have much rather curled up beside Shaur and slept the evening away instead. If only she had known about it beforehand.

Her eyes widened instantly.

“Don’t touch that!”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll ruin it.”

A look of mock offense crossed his face.

“You wound me, little one. Have some faith in my artistic abilities.”

As if. He had never been anything but manipulative and cruel toward her.

“You don’t have any artistic abilities.”

“Cruel.” He sighed dramatically before examining the paper in his hand. “And here I was trying to become useful.”

“You being useful is exactly what concerns me.”

That earned a low chuckle from him.

“You’ve become sharper with your words.”

“You’ve become more annoying.”

“Ah, so you have noticed the changes in me.”

The moment the words left his mouth, her expression stiffened faintly.

Had he not pointed it out, she might never have realized it herself. Somehow, despite all her efforts to ignore him, she had ended up arguing with him the entire time.

His smirk deepened instantly.

“Interesting.”

The moment she blinked, she realized with sudden alarm just how close he was to her.

“Why are you sitting so close?”

“Because you sound angry from far away too.”

“W-what?” She stammered softly as a faint blush slowly spread across her round cheeks.

“You blush every time you get irritated.”

“I—I do not.”

“You’re doing it right now.”

The moment she realized he was right, she hurriedly looked away, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.

“You really hate me being here that much?”

The question came quieter this time.

And for some reason, that version of him unsettled her more.

“Why do you keep doing this?” She finally asked softly.

“Doing what exactly?”

“Staying.”

For the first time that evening, his teasing expression faded slightly.

“Because leaving isn’t what I want anymore.” He paused before he added after a while, “Didn't you notice it?”

“You’re impossible,” she muttered under her breath.

His lips curved slightly.

“Yet you’re still talking to me.”

Her fingers paused briefly over the crafts. And annoyingly enough, he was right.

Why was she even talking to him anyway? Then again, not talking to him had never really been an option, had it?

And the silent treatment? In all fairness, that had never really worked on him either, had it?

“You really don’t plan on leaving, do you?” she asked wearily, still holding onto the faint hope that he might finally give her a different answer.

“Not anytime soon,” he answered with far too much ease. The amusement dancing in his eyes was unmistakable.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

“You’re exhausting.”

His chuckle came soft this time.

As though nothing had happened moments ago, he pointed toward the decoration. “That flower is uneven.”

“Don’t touch it.”

“It’s already crooked.”

“It's not!”

And from that moment onward, she was barely left alone for the rest of the evening. The peaceful little solitude she had imagined for herself vanished entirely.

Every bit of quiet time she had hoped for that evening went completely in vain.

Because despite all her protests, he stayed exactly where he was.

Not anytime soon was he planning to leave.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~