MasukElijah's POV
He was standing in front of his house, waiting for Charlotte, it was already five o'clock, and she still hadn't arrived. On the first day of their agreement, it seemed like she was already breaking it.When six o'clock struck, he decided to go and pick her up. He knew where Charlotte's friend's house was because he had followed the tricycle she rode earlier before finally leaving the area.He stood outside, arms crossed, as he watched the gate. SuddenlyElisse approached and sat beside her. She didn’t sit on the bed, but on the chair next to it.“What are we going to talk about?”She squinted and leaned back, pouting slightly as she looked at Charlotte.“I’ve noticed something about you two in the past few days, even if I wasn’t around to see you.”Charlotte tilted her head in confusion. How could she notice, even without seeing them?“Don’t go home, Charlotte! I hid my third eye in your bag to figure out how you two treat each other when I can’t see you in person.”Elisse really was strange.“Anyway, back to what I noticed. Are you okay now… do you love him?”Charlotte’s eyes widened. No beating around the bush—she asked it directly. She didn’t answer immediately.“Tsk… tsk… it’s hard. Let it out, Charlotte, because keeping it inside is bad for your health. It even gives you headaches whenever you plan to say something but hesitate.”She sighed. “You know Luis, right?”“Which one? Your classmate who got drunk at the bar?”“Yes.”“Ok
Charlotte froze at what Elijah said. Surely, he didn’t mean for those words to slip out… right?Elijah gently moved her back and stared into her face. “Maybe it’s time everyone knew, Charlotte. I’ll protect you, no matter what happens.”She quickly shook her head. “No, Elijah. I need to graduate without anyone finding out I’m already married.”She saw the emotion flicker across Elijah’s face—sadness.“Are you still scared of what people will say?”“No. I’m more scared that it might spread and affect you.”His brows knitted. “What do you mean?”“The special girl… remember?”Elijah closed his eyes and massaged his temples. “Why are you still thinking about that?”She fell silent. Maybe it was also time to admit what she felt… feelings she knew weren’t ordinary. It was hard to confess to someone who was so difficult to read.“What? Why, Charlotte?” he asked.She avoided his gaze. “I—I don’t know,” she whispered. It wasn’t the right time yet.“Tsk. You won’t have a choice once I start ent
Charlotte closed her eyes and clutched the blanket beside her.“I—I feel dizzy.”“What?! Why didn’t you tell me right away?”She opened her eyes and looked at Elijah. Their faces were only a hand’s span apart.“This is your fault! Why did you kiss me while you were sick?! Now I probably caught whatever virus you have!”His brows knitted. “What are you talking about?”Her eyes widened. Don’t tell her Elijah doesn’t remember everything he did last night.“You don’t remember? You were acting like a crazy person!”He shook his head, genuine confusion on his face. Her lips parted in disbelief.“Tell me you’re joking. Tell me you do remember.”“I really don’t know what happened last night.”She bit her lip. Was that even possible—to forget everything once the fever went down?“But are you okay? Can you handle the dizziness? Do you want to go to the hospital? I can tell Elisse we need to leave right now.”She shook her head. It would probably pass. Maybe she was just hungry, or maybe she did
Charlotte had been awake for a while now—or more accurately, it felt like she hadn’t slept at all. Something inside her felt uneasy, restless, though she couldn’t explain what it was.She wanted so badly to sleep straight through,but her body refused. Even when she managed to fall asleep, it lasted only a few moments—minutes, maybe. She doubted she got even one full hour of rest.Elijah was no longer beside her. He must have left the room and gone to the dining area. Was he really well enough to be up and about?She decided to get up, but her eyes shut automatically when the world suddenly spun around her.What’s happening?Still, because she wanted to go outside, she forced herself to walk in a straight line, even though her steps felt slow and heavy, until she finally made it down the stairs.No one was in the living room, so she headed to the dining area instead.At just one glance, she saw Elisse already eating, while Elijah sat across from her, arms crossed, watching his sister
While Charlotte was still replaying Elisse’s words in her head, an arm suddenly wrapped around her again.“Go to sleep, Elijah. Do you want to take medicine?”He shook his head while clinging to her. She sighed and tried to gently pull his arm away from her waist.“Sorry.”Her grip tightened on Elijah’s arm.Sorry? For what? For not picking her up earlier?“I know you’re upset about what happened during breakfast. I didn’t even give you the lunch I prepared.”She couldn’t help but smile. She wasn’t really angry anymore. Maybe it was just her pregnancy hormones making her extra dramatic.“It’s okay, Elijah. But next time, please just tell me what you want to say so things don’t escalate like this.”He lifted his head and looked up at her. Then he stood, eyes fixed on her face—until her eyes widened in alarm when he began leaning in.She immediately placed her hand on his face to block him. “L-Let’s just sleep, Elijah!”He kept trying to remove her hand, and she kept walking backward to
Elisse raised a brow at her. “Do I look like I’m joking, Charlotte? Of course it’s true! That’s why I never want to be stuck in the same room with him again. And the worst part—he even kisses people. Good thing I still had some self-control back then, or else your Elijah would’ve been crippled. He doesn’t recognize anyone when he has a fever.”Charlotte grimaced. She was struggling in her current position. She was lying on top of Elijah, and that wasn’t good—her stomach was getting squeezed.“Help me get out of here, Elisse. M-My stomach’s being squished!”Elisse immediately rushed to her side and tried to pry off the arm wrapped tightly around her. But Elijah only tightened his hold.“Can you behave, Elijah?! You’re squeezing your child!”Without warning, Elisse smacked Elijah hard on the head. His eyes snapped open, burning with irritation.“What the hell?!!!”“Let go of your wife first! Can’t you see she’s struggling? You’re squeezing her even tighter. Did you forget she’s carrying







