CHAPTER 34: Sleep here tonight

"Helios?" I blurted out his name in utter disbelief.

I couldn't believe that the guy who mess with my mind last night was standing right in front of me—right in front of my apartment.

The corner of his lips was tilted upward, carrying an amused glint as he witnessed the sheer confusion etched on my face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, bewildered, my voice sounding rather annoyed. Out of all the things that could ruin my already ruined day, it had to be this bastard who's also a headache.

"Why? Do I no longer have the right to visit my other half?" he replied, giving me a meaningful look.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm not joking around with you, asshole," I hissed at him. "Are you stalking me?" I asked while furrowing my brow.

He ran a hand through his hair, and I didn't know why, but when he did that, I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. Under the moonlight, I saw a strange glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm stalking you," he said, giving me a cheeky grin.

I gritted my teeth and kicked him hard in the knee.

"Ouch!" he groaned.

"That's what you get!" I yelled at him. "Who told you you could stalk me, huh?" I snapped, glaring sharply at him.

He scratched his jaw. "Maybe my guts?" he said, and I couldn't tell if he was joking or just being sarcastic.

I made a move to kick him again, but this time he dodged it. "Woah, sorry Neo..." he apologized, shielding one knee with a hand while holding a plastic bag in the other. "I just miss you."

His words made my blood boil even more, I felt the frustration I had before coming home rush right back. Every single one of them was testing my patience—was there anything worse than this?

I stepped closer to him, keeping my sharp glare fixed on him. "Will you just leave already? Don't go ruining my day any more than it already is," I threatened firmly.

But the corner of his lips only curled up, and he stared at me mischievously. "Sorry, but I can't."

I raised an eyebrow. "And why not?" I gritted out through my teeth.

"I told you I miss you. After waiting here for several hours, I don't think I can just leave, especially now that you're right here in front of me."

I rolled my eyes at what he said. "Who the hell told you to wait for me for hours, huh?!" I lectured him.

"Neo, do you know you're the only thing on my mind these past few days? I keep thinking about your face, and every time I think of you..." He paused, his gaze dropping to the middle of his pants. I couldn't help but follow it.

"Every time I think of you, my cock keeps getting ha—"

I didn't let him finish because I punched him straight in the stomach.

"ARGHH!" he groaned, doubling over while clutching his stomach.

I shoved his shoulder and took a step toward my apartment door. "Don't push my patience, because I might actually kill you. I'm not joking, remember that!" I threatened him.

"Neo, please..." I heard a pleading tone in his voice, as if it came from somewhere deep. "I just really want to talk to you."

I looked back at him with an annoyed expression. "We have nothing to talk about," I said flatly. "So get out of here!" I yelled and wave my hand in a shooing gesture.

But instead of leaving, he simply handed me the white plastic bag he was holding in his left hand. It had something inside, but I couldn't tell what it was.

I raised an eyebrow. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

"These are mangosteens. Thought you might want some?" he offered, giving me a knowing look.

I pressed my lips together while looking at the bag he held out to me, which turned out to be full of mangosteens.

Without thinking, I snatched the bag and peeked inside. Sure enough, it was filled with mangosteens. My eyes immediately lit up when I saw that there wasn’t just one, but a whole bunch of them. The sight of those purple fruits seemed to calm the anger that had been building up inside me.

When I looked up at Helios, I was met with his cheeky smile, looking completely thrilled as if I hadn't just punched him in the stomach.

I arched an eyebrow. "I'll take these, but if you think you can bribe me with this just to talk to you, well, you're wrong," I told him, turning my back on him once again.

But he suddenly grabbed my arm. "Neo, wait a second."

I took a deep breath, trying to remind myself to hold back because otherwise, I really would kill this guy. Besides, no one was around to break us up since it was just the two of us outside my apartment.

"Can I come inside?" he asked, completely shameless.

I pressed my lips together and turned my gaze to him. "I don't even want to talk to you, and now you plan on coming inside my apartment? Where is your brain? Why can't you understand what I'm telling you?" I snapped at him, but based on his expression, he didn't seem shaken at all.

"Please, Neo, I've been freezing out here for a while," he said, giving me pleading eyes as he rubbed his arms.

"Then go home!" I shooed him away.

"I'd love to, but my driver isn't replying anymore. He's probably asleep by now," he reasoned.

I narrowed my eyes at him again, scanning his entire face, judging his whole existence with the way I stared at him.

"Then commute or walk back to whichever corner of the earth you live in," I suggested, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

He looked at the road as if searching for something, then brought his gaze back to me. "But there are no taxis passing by here."

My jaw clenched at his words.

I really didn’t know where this guy got the nerve. He always seemed to find an excuse whenever there was an obvious solution right in front of him.

I just shook my head while looking at him.

"Please, I’m really freezing out here," he said, dramatically rubbing his arms as if he were putting on a whole performance, even though there wasn’t an audience in sight.

I just let out a heavy sigh at this guy. Honestly, I couldn't even bring myself to be mad at this idiot anymore because I was starting to feel exhausted. So much had happened today, and all I wanted was to lie down on my bed, but I couldn't do that because there was a stubborn guy insisting on coming inside my apartment.

"Nice acting. I rate it a 0 out of ten," I remarked sarcastically.

"Neo, I'm not joking," he said with pleading eyes, practically giving me puppy eyes.

Honestly, I preferred him when I first saw him because his eyes were completely emotionless, he didn't look like someone who'd be a hassle in my life. Yet here he was, almost driving me crazy just by looking at him.

I let out a sigh in defeat. "Just so you know, my room is extremely cramped, there's only one bed, and there's no sofa to sit on. Do you get it?"

He smiled at me, seeming to realize that I was giving in. "It's fine, even on the floor is okay with me."

"Wait? I didn't say you were sleeping here tonight."

"I mean, it's fine for me to sit on the floor. I'll leave as soon as my driver replies," he clarified.

I took another deep sigh. Was this really the right decision?

Suddenly, my eyes fell on the bag I was holding, filled with mangosteens...Argh, this is really all because of the mangosteen. How annoying!