Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Jheanne's POV**

I sat beside Ubi while my parents sat across from us.

They couldn't stop staring at him-especially Dad. He looked like he wanted to bite his head off. They were probably thinking something had happened between us, especially with my clothes still scattered across the floor. I hadn't had the chance to pick them up earlier because I'd been too busy bathing him before his smell killed me.

I sighed and snapped my fingers in front of Dad's face because he looked like he was seconds away from strangling the man beside me, who, by the way, looked completely unbothered.

"Dad, stop staring at him like you're going to throw him out the window," I said, shaking my head.

Dad turned to me, looking utterly appalled.

"Because I will if he doesn't marry you, Jheanne!"

I winced.

Seriously? Marriage already? I'd just been left hanging at the altar because of Hugo's betrayal, and now Dad already wanted to marry me off to the random man I'd dragged into my condo?

"Dad-"

"He's marrying you. End of discussion!" Dad insisted.

"That's right, sweetheart. You need to get married. I don't want my grandchild growing up without a father!" Mom Anne cried.

Dear God.

What grandchild? I was still a virgin and somehow we were already discussing grandchildren?

I was about to answer, but then a thought crossed my mind.

What if I just agreed?

What if we only pretended, so I could get back at that bastard Hugo? I could show him I'd replaced him just as quickly as he replaced me.

A grin tugged at my lips.

"Okay! No worries. Ubi and I will talk about it," I said, taking hold of Ubi's arm.

He didn't react at all to my answer. He just sat there blankly, staring off into space like he had his own private world. Fine. I'd talk to him later. It wasn't like I'd be losing anything anyway. He was definitely more handsome than Hugo.

Dad pointed a finger at him.

"You," he barked. "Don't you have anything to say? Does that mean you agree?"

Ubi kept staring ahead, as if he couldn't care less.

"Jheanne, tell me the truth. What did you do to this man? Why is he so blank? Don't tell me you..." Mom said, then covered her mouth.

I rolled my eyes.

"Mom, my head already hurts because of Hugo, so please don't add to it. And no, I haven't lost my mind to the point of doing anything to him," I muttered.

Then I nudged Ubi.

"Say something. They're starting to think you're mute," I told him.

He blinked and looked at me. Then he finally opened his mouth-

And I immediately slapped my hand over it.

His breath was still awful.

"Don't talk. It's okay, I promise!" I said with a grimace.

Then I turned back to my parents.

"Excuse us."

I grabbed Ubi and dragged him into the bathroom.

He still wasn't dressed. I hadn't had time to find him anything to wear before Mom and Dad arrived. They'd sat us down the second they came in. I hadn't even changed out of my own damp clothes yet.

"Your breath smells horrible. Come here so I can scrub your mouth clean!" I said.

I grabbed a brand-new toothbrush, squeezed way too much toothpaste onto it, and held his jaw.

"Open."

He did.

And I wasted no time.

I brushed his teeth myself-scrubbing here, scrubbing there. At that point I might as well have poured the whole tube down his throat and used steel wool on his teeth with how much tartar he had.

Handsome, yes.

But his breath? Deadly.

I slapped a hand over my forehead.

What kind of mess had I gotten myself into? Even I was starting to lose it. Why on earth had I brought a beggar home with me?

When I finished brushing his teeth, I let out a deep breath.

"There. Now you're handsome and your breath smells nice too. I can kiss you now!" I blurted out.

Then I grimaced at my own words.

Why would I kiss him?

Idiot.

Once we were done in the bathroom, I found something for him to wear. Luckily, I had an oversized unisex shirt, so I gave him that. Since I didn't have any shorts big enough to fit him because of how broad and huge he was, I grabbed a clean towel and wrapped it around his waist instead.

Good Lord, I could still see the outline of everything while I was doing it.

Then I changed too.

After that, I led him back into the living room.

Mom and Dad were still there, but now they were standing and looked like they were about to leave.

"Sweetheart, are you sure you'll be okay here? If you want, come home with us to the mansion tonight and just leave Ubi here. At least you'll have company," Mom suggested, though she still looked uneasy every time she glanced at him.

I shook my head.

"No need, Mom. I'm fine here. Don't worry, I'll be okay with Ubi. Please don't worry about me," I said, kissing both of them.

I've always been independent. Whenever problems come my way, I like solving them on my own. I know I can handle myself. I'm close to my parents-I'm their only child-but they never spoiled me. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering, I decided to buy my own condo and live here. It's not that I didn't want to stay with them. I just wanted to be independent.

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Dad asked again.

I nodded quickly.

"Yes, Dad. Don't worry. Ubi's here. He won't let anything happen to me," I said, slipping my hand around Ubi's arm.

Dad finally nodded.

They kissed me goodbye and left.

The second the door shut behind them, I let go of Ubi's arm and started picking up the clothes I'd left scattered across the floor. When I touched the gown I had worn earlier, a bitter smile crossed my face.

I had no reason to keep it anymore.

Every time I saw it, I'd probably just cry.

So I shoved everything straight into the trash.

I even stepped on it to make it fit inside the bin, imagining Hugo's and Jana's faces beneath my feet.

Then I went back to Ubi.

Just like before, he was sitting quietly, looking strangely gentle.

I walked over and sat beside him.

"Ubi, that's your name now, okay?" I said.

He looked at me and nodded.

I smiled.

Then I grabbed the TV remote and turned it on. We were going to watch something together. I also got the cake, some ice cream, and a can of beer from the fridge, then set everything on the table in front of us.

"Come on, let's drink," I said.

He didn't respond.

His eyes were fixed on the TV.

I glanced at the screen.

"The news? Wait, let's switch to N*****x. Let's watch that popular show right now. The one about the psycho killer who stuffs his victims into a blue drum," I said.

I switched it over and found the series I was talking about.

Once it started playing, I sat beside him and opened my beer.

I opened one for him too and handed it over, but he didn't take it. Instead, he picked up a fork and started eating the chocolate cake.

"Is that your favorite or something?" I asked.

He just looked at me and said nothing.

I sighed.

"Fine. You eat that. I'll drink," I said.

"That's not good for your health."

My head whipped toward him so fast it nearly snapped.

He was still eating cake and still looking at the TV.

I moved closer, bringing my face right in front of his so I could study him better.

"Your English is really good, Ubi. What are you, huh?" I asked.

His eyes widened as he stared into mine.

I laughed and leaned back.

"But seriously, Ubi. Your English is amazing. I'm definitely not losing out with you. That bastard Hugo is going to be so jealous when he finds out I already have an instant fiancé," I said with a laugh.

But Ubi didn't answer.

I pouted, then snatched the fork from his hand.

He looked at me, clearly unhappy about that.

"No. You don't get this back until you agree to be my fiancé. Don't worry-if you agree, your place to stay is free, your food is free, and whatever else you want, I'll take care of it. Just say yes," I said.

"Sure," he answered immediately, without hesitation, and took the fork back from me.

Then he went right back to eating cake and ignored me again.

I just laughed at his reaction.

I hadn't even had to work hard to convince him.

Shaking my head, I took another sip of beer, then grabbed my phone and moved closer to him.

"Look, Ubi!"

He turned toward the camera, his mouth still messy with cake icing.

I quickly snapped a photo of us.

And it came out perfect.

I moved away from him, opened one of my social media accounts, and posted the picture with the caption:

My handsome fiancé.