CHAPTER 9

Verania's Point of View

"It's Archer's birthday today, he's our cousin. There's a party at their resort. We're all going, are you coming?" Olivia asked me straightforwardly with her snobbish tone.

"Of course, Vera would join us. She's going to be a part of this family soon, so she should get used to being with us..." Uncle Stanley chimed in, patting me on the shoulder.

I was caught off guard by what I heard and simply smiled faintly.

"Tsk, it's a swimming birthday party, maybe you'd like to bring a swimsuit," Olivia said in a pretentious tone when she mentioned that.

I was about to ignore it when Ares spoke up.

"She won't wear a swimsuit. There will be a lot of people there, she won't like it," Ares stated, causing my eyebrow to raise and I had to suppress my laughter, especially when I exchanged a glance with Uncle Stanley.

He shrugged and got into his car with many bodyguards.

"Ares, don't be like that. Ask Verania what she wants too," Aunt Charlotte said before following Uncle Stan.

"Do you want to wear a swimsuit?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

I might end up swimming while watching over her, no thanks! I'm fine with sitting next to Ares all night. Just kidding, it's hard to resist the call of the sea when it comes to swimming.

"I don't know. I'll just buy one there if I decide to swim," I replied, and Olivia rolled her eyes at me.

She really gets on my nerves... Ares can be nice sometimes. Unlike Olivia who's so hostile when I'm around. I'm not even bothering her.

"Fine. Let's go," Ares said, and we got into his car. It was the one we'd be taking, just the three of us – me, Ares, and Olivia.

It's safe today so we don't need the bodyguards inside. No one would shoot on a high-profile day like this. Besides, they'd be bumping into important people and engaging in bad deeds like killing when there are no witnesses.

"You probably know the resort, right?" Olivia asked snippily from the back seat.

I glanced at her briefly and nodded immediately to respond to her question. I was filled with joy when I noticed that Olivia had put on headphones. It's good she thought of doing that.

"Are you going to swim too—" I was about to ask Ares, but I quickly stopped myself as I remembered various things that happened to him. He turned to me with a raised eyebrow upon hearing what I had almost said.

"It's a good thing you didn't bring Clara along," I began, shifting to a new topic as my gaze remained fixed on the road.

"She's busy with work. She's still a resident doctor and she prefers to avoid taking time off," he mentioned in a casual tone.

"Anyway, are you going to swim?" he asked just as I paused because of a red light at the traffic signal.

"I don't know, maybe I'll just keep an eye on you," I replied, and when I glanced at him, he raised an eyebrow.

"You might not enjoy it..." he said, causing a smirk to appear on my lips, slowly turning into a slight laugh.

"Are you serious? You're telling me this now? I've been at your house for almost two weeks, and now you're saying I might get bored? Whatever, Ares," I said, still slightly amused by his comment.

After nearly two weeks of watching over and trailing him, I've gotten used to it! I could even stare at him all day without getting tired. I've grown accustomed to taking orders at times and zoning out frequently, and now he's saying I might get bored? Ha! I can easily adapt to my surroundings! Of course, why wouldn't I?

Before I started the car again, I briefly glanced at Ares, who was looking at his sister in the rearview mirror, her head sticking out of the window, and I could hear the loud music he was listening to.

"I didn't know you still can't get along until now," Ares commented, causing me to smile slightly.

"It's hard to get along with her. I can tell she doesn't like me," I chuckled a bit as I said that, and I heard Ares chuckling softly too.

"Anyway, I forbid you to wear swimsuits if you decide to swim," he jumped back into that topic.

"You're acting like a spouse. Don't get too excited about marrying me, hehe. You might regret it," I chuckled, remembering that my role also involves being a fake fiancée and, if things go on for a while, a fake wife.

Look at that, it's like a soap opera! They're so into this whole fake thing. I'll have to ask Captain sometime who came up with this setup once the mission is over.

"Tsk, you'll regret it more if you marry me."

"Well, you're right, having a girlfriend, it's not nice to have another relationship while being married," I laughed, and a few minutes passed after I said that, and he didn't respond anymore.

He seems really serious about the topic of marriage, and that's not surprising. He knows the reality of what will happen, so it's natural for him to take it seriously.

"Verania, what kind of guy do you like?" he suddenly asked, catching me off guard and almost causing me to hit the brakes in surprise due to his question.

"W-Why? Are you planning to court me? Ha! I won't allow it!" I quickly concluded from his question, but he just laughed.

"Tss, who said anything about courting? Are you crazy? You’re on another level of being delusional... I'm interested in someone else, so why would I court you?" he said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes when he said that to me. Me? A delusional? Is he imagining things? Well, anyway, he might really think that of me, since he thought I wanted to marry him. 

"Well, if that's the case, why did you ask that question?" I replied, a bit annoyed, and then focused my gaze back on the road.

"Nothing, I was just curious. Since we've been friends, you've never had a boyfriend. I was thinking maybe you're not really into it or you're just not compatible," he paused, his face becoming serious.

"Compatible with what," he added, and my stomach muscles tensed.

I didn't expect him to add that, so I nearly freaked out when I heard it. Not because I was flustered, but because I was surprised. Seriously, it's a good thing I didn't have a heart failure; otherwise, I might have died from shock.

"Oh come on, Ares, you're starting to talk a lot again," I said, and I immediately heard his laughter.

"Oh, my joke didn't work, I thought you'd be swooning over my line," he said, laughing.

"Come on, your lines are worthless. What's that? A child's play? Geez, if you want some good lines, learn from a pro! Like me, if I were to hit you with a line, you'd be all bones," I said with a smirk, glancing at him, and he furrowed his brows, stopping his laughter from earlier.

Now it was my turn to laugh.

"You're talking about a different kind of 'line,' Verania," he said, making me shrug.

"Anyway, let's go back to what you asked earlier. You wanted to know what kind of guys I like, right? Well, first of all, definitely not someone clumsy! I don't like that, I might end up being stronger than him, that won't do, I’m tired of being strong, I want to be a damsel in distress as well. Of course, I also prefer someone who is patient. I don't like people who are always in a rush, they irritate me. They'd be acting so fast, but in the end they’ll be regretting their actions, hmp! And, of course, I want someone with good manners and naturally, someone who is loyal and trusting. Lastly, I prefer someone whose life isn't full of controversy," I said, my words trailing off as I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, seems like it's hard to find someone like that."

"Well, that's just my type, it's not like I'm actively searching for that person. Actually, I'm not looking for him at all, I'm just waiting for him to come. I know that the right person will come to me naturally, so what's the point of looking for him?" I said, turning off the car's engine as I parked.

We had arrived at the Montero resort, and I found out that we would be staying in the hotel for today. I'm not sure if we'll be here for 2 days and 2 nights or what the exact plan is. But we might go back home eventually because I didn't bring any clothes.

"Just wait here," I reminded Ares as I got out of the car and went over to his side to help him out.

I had his wheelchair with me, and as I was walking, I was startled by the sudden slamming of the door behind the car. Olivia had gotten out, and I just noticed that she had a backpack with her.

When I opened the passenger-side door, I assisted Ares, and once he was seated in the wheelchair, he spoke up immediately.

"Take my bag on the back seat," he instructed, so I didn't ask any questions and followed his command.

After retrieving his bag, I put it on and pushed his wheelchair.

"Does this mean we're not going home later?" I asked, realizing that I seemed to be the only one without any belongings.

"Yeah, didn't Dad tell you?" he asked, and I instinctively scratched my head.

"He only mentioned that it's Archer's birthday at the resort, and that's why I didn't bring anything because he didn't specify..." I said, slightly frustrated.

"Dad and Mom are going home tomorrow morning. Both of us will stay until the day after tomorrow. Archer told us it's a two-day party," he explained.

"So, your sister will be with us too?" I asked, and he nodded, causing me to feel a bit disappointed.

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