You can have the bed.

Aria went to the bathroom, ruminating vehemently about the man she left in her living room. She questioned her choices of letting the man stay. On the other hand, he seemed like a responsible person who wouldn’t hurt her.

Besides, he just took care of her and promised to help her. Although part of her instincts didn’t trust him and wanted to dismiss him, after all, he was still the reason she didn’t have a job anymore. But she desperately needed the help, so she couldn’t afford to reject his offer to help her by being rude or disrespectful to him.

She had her bath and went to the bedroom to change out of the bath towel that had been hanging millimeters above her chest all the while.

She wore an oversized, baggy, pink t-shirt and cute, black girl shorts.

Her depressed demeanor had changed to a happier one after her bath, and then she returned to the living room.

“So tell me something...” she said, taking a seat on the couch next to Arthur, and folding her legs on it.

“How come you’re the only one that came back to apologise...? If I remember correctly, it was a lady who slapped me.” She said in a livelier tone.

There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Arthur chuckled softly.

“Yes, you remembered correctly. It was a girl.”

“But I honestly doubt if you’ll ever get an apology out of her.”

Confused, Aria asked, “Isn’t she your girlfriend?”

“Well...”

Arthur hesitated, but then he finally spoke.

“She was… but I broke up with her”.

“I couldn’t put up with her anymore. She is so much of a bully.” Arthur explained.

He had never complained about Amelia to anyone before. He endured all of her bullshit all throughout their relationship and was hesitant about wanting to talk about her. But something about Aria just made him relaxed and unbothered, so he confided in her.

“... that’s why I was so furious and finally had the courage to end it with her.” Arthur ended his speech. He explained everything he had gone through while dating Amelia.

Thankfully, Aria was a good listener, and she seemed interested in hearing his story, so he kept talking.

“So I had to get slapped for you to realize she was a bad person?” She asked sarcastically, raising her brow and pursing her lips with her arms akimbo.

“N No–”

“I just… She–”

Arthur stammered, trying to be defensive, but the words refused to form.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just kidding.”

“Well, I guess it all worked out for the better, right?”

“You’re a nice guy, and she doesn’t deserve you. You don’t have to keep on enduring her shenanigans.”

Those words sprang joy in Arthur’s heart. That was what he needed to hear at the moment. He has been having doubts about his action, but now his doubts were cleared.

“Thank you very much.”

“I needed to hear this.”

Arthur blushed and grinned from ear to ear and then asked her, “So, do you have any skills? What can you do for work?”

Amelia was stunned at the way he asked the questions so confidently. He asked it like he had a thousand job opportunities just sitting in his pockets. She knew he was rich based on the car he drove. But how rich, though? Was the question.

Little did she know she was sitting in the same room with the son of one of the most influential men in the country, and the future CEO of Brookland Corporations.

“Well, I don’t know who he is. Who knows if he can get me any job I want? ” She thought in her mind.

“I’m an accountant and I have a master’s degree in accounting.” She said.

Arthur was surprised. Not only was she beautiful, she was smart.

“Wow! I thought–”

“You thought because I was a waiter, I’m uneducated?” Aria interrupted him as he stuttered.

“Um... Not really.”

“You thought what then?” Aria asked, raising a brow.

“Nothing. Nevermind.”

“Well, I think we can get you a job in the accounting department at Brookland Corporations.” Arthur shrugged.

“Really? Do you know somebody there?”

In Arthur’s mind, he thought to answer with, “No bitch, I own everybody there.” But he didn’t want to sound arrogant.

So he said, “Yes. Actually, my dad owns the company.”

Aria was shocked to her bone and marrow. Jacob Miller’s son was in her house.

She wanted to scream, but suppressed the urge and kept her cool.

“Oh, I see” she said.

“Yes, so you can come by the office tomorrow or next. I’ll be there.”

“Thank you so much. I’m so grateful.” Aria’s face turned red as her emotions got the best of her.

She was so happy and was nearly shedding tears of joy.

“It’s the least I can do. And I’m sorry for everything again.”

Arthur looked out the window, and it was pitch black. He enjoyed her company so much; they lost track of time. They didn’t know when it got dark.

He looked at his watch, and it was past 11 pm already.

“Damn it’s late... I forgot to check the time”

Aria picked up her phone and checked the time, too.

“Wow, it’s really late.”

“Um... I don’t think it’s safe for you to go out there this night.” Aria said as she put her phone down.

“Why not?” Arthur asked, squinting slightly in confusion.

“This neighborhood isn’t safe, especially at night.”

“Really?” He asked.

“Yes. You can spend the night here though... If you like.”

“But for safety, I wouldn’t advise you to go out there tonight.”

Arthur stroked his beardless jaw, thinking. He hadn’t spent the night in a stranger’s house before. He also didn’t want to inconvenience her by staying over.

But she doesn’t mind. He thought. Moreover, staying would be better than taking the risk of going out in this dangerous neighborhood by this time of the night.

“Okay. I’ll stay.”

He took out his phone from his pocket to send a text to his mom that he wouldn’t be coming homing tonight.

“You can have the bed.” Aria said, trying to be a hospitable host.

“What? No no no no no... I couldn’t possibly do that. You have the bed and I’ll sleep right here on the couch.”

“Well, I also can’t let you do that. What kind of host lets his guest sleep on the couch?” She retorted.

“Okay... what kind of man would I be if I let a lady sleep on the couch while I lay comfortably on the bed? That’s not very gentlemanly, is it?”

They continued on and on about who gets to sleep on the couch, presenting their various potent reasons.

The debate was very interesting, though.

When it seemed like they had reached an impasse, Arthur suggested, “Okay, fine, here’s a better idea. Why don’t we both share the bed?” Arthur said, taunting her, eagerly waiting for her to decline.

“Okay, fine.” She yelled playfully, putting her arms at akimbo and gave him a look of haughty derision.

Arthur was surprised that she agreed to that.

They both chuckled maniacally and stood up and marched to the bedroom, laughing. Like they had known each other for years.

They both made the bed together like a team.

Then Aria realized that she was hungry. They were having such an engrossing time together. She forgot that she didn't have lunch or dinner.

“Are you hungry?” She asked Arthur.

“A little.” She replied.

Aria went to the kitchen and got some snacks for them.

They finished eating and then went to bed together. They left a wide space in between them and slept on edges of the bed.

As the night went by, the space grew smaller and smaller, and before dawn, the space was inexistent. They basically ended up cuddling.