Chapter 6

“This will be our house,” Matias said as they entered a large home.

Lirah couldn’t help but marvel as they stepped inside the two-story house. Their mansion in the hacienda was big as well, but it wasn’t as modern as this one. The design here was simple yet elegant in her eyes, with its black and gray color scheme. It was far from her favorite color, yellow, but she found it beautiful nonetheless. The first floor was a studio-type setup. From the living room, one could immediately see the kitchen with a counter blocking the way. In front of it was a long table that could accommodate eight people. On the side of the living room was the only staircase leading to the second floor.

“Can’t I just go back to the hacienda?” Lirah asked. She positioned herself behind the long sofa while Matias sat on one of the chairs by the dining table.

Matias chuckled slightly. “No, you can’t. I hate to admit it, but we’re married now, and we need to live under one roof.”

Lirah sighed. “Okay.” If she had a choice, she’d prefer staying in the hacienda rather than this beautiful house.

“House rules. I don’t care what you do, whether you leave the house in the morning, go ahead. But I want you to come home every night. I want you to be here when I come home.”

Lirah raised an eyebrow and faced Matias. “So, I can go to the hacienda?”

“Yes. Just come home. I don’t want our families to say anything. We need to act like a married couple.”

“Why? You seem to dislike this marriage too. So why did you agree to it?”

Matias avoided eye contact. “It’s none of your business.”

“How rude.” Lirah rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

Matias shook his head. “Our bedrooms are upstairs. The master’s bedroom is mine. Yours is the one across from it.”

“We’ll have separate rooms?”

“Yes. Why?”

Lirah shrugged. “Aren’t married couples supposed to share a room?”

Matias paused for a moment. He was starting to feel a headache from Lirah’s questions. It seemed like she knew nothing about these things or couldn’t understand what he wanted to convey. He grinned and took a step closer to Lirah, stopping behind her. He couldn’t help but compliment her because she smelled nice, like her dama’s scent. It was as if she sensed his presence and suddenly turned to face him. Her eyes widened, and she quickly stepped back. Thankfully, he caught her by the waist before she fell.

“W-What are you doing?” the girl asked, frightened.

Matias grinned even wider. “Do you want to share the same room? I’d be willing to share a bed with you. But are you willing to share yours with me?” he asked meaningfully, glancing at her chest.

Lirah’s eyes widened even more. She gasped in shock and quickly pushed Matias away. “Pervert! Hey! Just because we’re married doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to—” She stopped abruptly, realizing that she had never done that with any man before. She hadn’t even kissed anyone, and yet this man just stole a kiss from her.

Matias grinned even more. “What? Can’t you say it?”

Her face flushed with embarrassment. She was used to discussing these matters with Kiray, but with anyone else, especially a man, she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it.

“Pervert!” Lirah yelled and quickly ran upstairs to the second floor. She saw three rooms there and rushed into the one with a large door close to her. She froze when she saw that the interior was the same black and gray color scheme as the outside. Even the copper bed was in the same gray color. But Lirah didn’t mind. She quickly lay on the bed and covered herself with the blanket.

Matias was left behind, shaking his head in amusement at the girl’s behavior. She acted like an innocent child, unaware of the world around her. But his smile disappeared when he realized he was smiling. He quickly shook his head and walked towards the second floor. He entered his room, the largest among the three, as it was the master’s bedroom. All their belongings were already there, making it easy for him to settle in.

Matias removed his necktie and started undressing. However, he was interrupted when the bed suddenly moved, and Lirah stood up from it. He was stunned as he stared at her.

“What are you doing here?!” they both asked at the same time.

Lirah’s eyes widened, and she immediately averted her gaze from Matias’ body. But when she looked down at his stomach, which had a six-pack, she let out a scream, “Ah! Pervert! Pervert! Pervert!” She quickly covered herself with the blanket, her face turning red with embarrassment.

Matias also looked at his own body and realized he was naked as he was heading to the bathroom. He quickly grabbed his discarded clothes and covered himself.

“What are you doing here? Your room is on the other side!” Lirah exclaimed, trying to control her embarrassment.

Lirah froze, barely able to scream in shame. She prayed that the bed would swallow her up as she lay there.

“I-I didn’t know! But why are you naked?”

“This is my room! What do you expect?!”

“Fine! I’ll leave! But go to the bathroom!” Lirah said, flustered.

Matias sighed in exasperation. He didn’t know what to do with his wife. “Okay. Go out as soon as I enter the bathroom.” He walked towards the bathroom, still covering his body with his clothes. But he stopped near the bathroom when he looked at Lirah. He suddenly grinned broadly.

“A-Are you still there?” Lirah asked.

Matias didn’t answer. Instead, he dropped the clothes covering him and slowly got on the bed.

“Should we share this room instead? After all, we’re married, right?” Matias whispered to Lirah.

Lirah’s entire body went cold when she felt Matias’ warm breath. She quickly removed the blanket from her body. In her hasty movement, she accidentally hit Matias on the cheek. She didn’t respond and quickly ran out of the room, locking the door behind her. She entered the adjacent room and locked it as well. There, she felt like she entered a different world. If the other room was all black and gray, this one was all yellow, her favorite color. She blushed with embarrassment and muttered, “Embarrassing! Annoying!”

In the other room, Matias was left rubbing his nose, which Lirah accidentally hit. He smiled broadly. “What kind of woman is she?” he asked himself in disbelief. Shaking his head, he got off the bed. “This will be fun.”