Chapter 4 - I'm afraid of burning the whole kitchen

She had been keeping an eye on this delivery guy. She noticed that he has been looking inside the house and had been acting strangely. He might be planning badly against her! She thought about it.

Her head was in mess and can’t think of any plan on how she can protect herself if ever he will attack her, she panicked when she realized that she was only wearing a thin nightgown.

She was breathing hard, her pulse was beating, and cold perspiration was dripping down her whole body.

As she noticed him taking a step closer to her, she lowered her gaze into her chest and quickly covered it with her arms. She freaked out when she felt an arm on her shoulder. Her heart was beating fast as if she was going to have a heart attack.

She felt him draw her closer to his muscular body. She didn’t know what could happen to her next, but Stephanie Alicia Villamar was swearing to do everything in her power to avoid Caspian Ardiente.

"I want to be free from him and not see him again in my next life," she closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Do you need anything else?" She recognized the voice of the guy who was clutching her. She inspected him cautiously, from his physique to his face. When she realized who it was, her eyes widened.

"Caspian," she said quietly, and she felt safe knowing he was at her side.

"Nothing, sir," she heard the delivery man shyly replies.

Stephanie was intrigued by how he seemed behind her and didn't know he had been instinctively drawing her into the home.

She moves away from him, wondering, "how did you get in?"

"I used the back door." He casually mentioned.

But her facial reaction seemed to indicate that she did not understand what she meant. He grins as he stares at her, stupefied.

"This is our house, remember?"

Stephanie's face brightens and she seems to understand what he meant this time, but her grin fades as she recalls what he did.

"What exactly are you doing here? Didn't you tell me last night that you'd be gone and didn't know when you'd return?"

A smile flashed on his lips and he tilted his head to the other side, "I heard from my cousin that my mom will send someone to look for us this day, and I believe that the delivery man is on the lookout. And you better play it by ear or our parents will find out our deepest secret," he warns her.

"What do you mean? We are inside the house. How will he know?" She wonders.

"He is not a simple delivery man, he is from the intelligent department and we better be careful because all of our movements the whole day will be monitored," he seriously mentioned.

Stephanie drew her brows closer and stepped towards him, raising her head high enough to reach his chin. "Do you mean that man is better than you that you can’t fool him?" She asked with an insulting tone.

He twisted his lips and hesitantly replied, "y-yes."

She turned around and crossed her arms, "I thought he was good, but I guess there is someone who is better than him. All this time, I believed that he's talented," she laughs in a mocking tone.

She was astonished when she felt an arm curled around his waist from behind. She glanced at the arm and realized that he is cuddling her. Her face suddenly heated up and I didn’t know what to do.

Stephanie wanted to protest, but her body was weakened as she felt the scorching skin of him touch her skin.

She tried to look behind him, but his chin was resting on her shoulder, which gave her butterflies.

"Don’t move, they are watching us." He whispered softly.

"I shouldn’t surrender to his game. I must not get affected by his flirtatious actions or I will lose to him forever. Wake up, Stephanie Alicia Villamar," her mind tries to wake her up from her fantasy.

"Stop deceiving me! I know you're flirting with me, but I'm sorry to say that what you said has had no effect on me. If I were you, I would stop fantasizing and wasting my time because I would never fall in love with you." She said it plainly. 

Caspian can't deny that she trampled on his ego and upset him when he discovered that this girl wasn't into him, but he won't stop until she falls deeply for his charm.

Caspian’s mind and heart were at odds. He didn’t want to do it, but he wasn’t happy because she was not charmed by him.

"I’m not trying to do anything, I am just saving our faces from embarrassment."

"What are you trying to say?" She was irritated.

"Raise your head and you will see what I am trying to say."

She quickly followed him, and when she noticed the CCTV in the corner of their house, she covered her lips in surprise."Wh—at can I do now?" He heard her murmur.

"I will stay here the whole day, I want you to be sweet with you and you’ll do the same and with that, our parents will not doubt us," he suggested.

"Now, serve us our breakfast," he orders her as he lets go of her. He was smiling from ear to ear as he walked upstairs, while his wife was shocked because she didn’t know how to cook.

She ran through the stairs but she stopped halfway, asking herself, "wait! Why do I need to follow his orders? As if I’m his maid."

Stephanie sluggishly went down the stairs and came to the bathroom located near their kitchen. She rinsed her face and brushed her teeth, then opened the door, but her husband appeared in front of her as soon as she opened it.

Her jaw dropped when her eyes darted at his tantalizing eyes staring at her. He was wearing a black robe that suited his masculinity, while his shiny black hair was dripping water from it down to his face.

"Where is our breakfast?" He sounded angry with his authoritative voice.

"For your information, I am not your maid," she strongly disagreed as she placed her hands on her waist and stepped out of the bathroom.

"I thought we had already talked about this?"

"Yes but I will not—" her foot had stepped on the ground and she slipped on it, making her lose balance. She screamed and reached out for his clothes to not fall on the ground.

Caspian didn't know what was going on in his head, but his arm felt compelled to hold her and save her from falling. His arm wrapped snugly over her shoulder, and she didn't aware they were both looking at one other's eyes.

Stephanie had the bravery to shift her gaze as he slowly helped her stand and let go of her. "I didn’t dare to cook because I—‘m afraid of burning the whole kitchen," she shyly confessed.

He was quiet and turned around, getting vegetables in the refrigerator and a few pieces of meat, washing it while Stephanie was observing.

"Do you know how to cook?" She didn’t stop her mouth from asking.

"Yes, I was assigned to cook for the officer throughout my training, and I had no option but to learn," he chattered as he turned to face her. "Do you know how to peel and slice?"

"Y-yes," she hesitantly replied.

He handed her the potato, carrot, and celery, "what will I do with it?" She foolishly asked.

"Didn't you say you knew how to peel?" He retorted sarcastically. 

"He's acting like a superior because he knows how to cook!" She received it with a sigh and a roll of the eyes.

"What is so good about cooking?" She murmured.

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