I AM TALKING TO YOU, IDIOT!

Gerald's eyes did not leave the precious shining necklace on Theodora's neck, and his hands did not leave her. Theodora must say that he was one gorgeous man, more striking than any of the men she met during the celebrations hosted by her parents' friends.

He was not only handsome but had beautiful big green eyes. Something about his aura tickled her insides. His hard hands were pressed against her skin, and so was his hard chest.

Yet she was the first one to get her senses back first. She realised how intimately they stood with each other in the public place.

She pushed his chest, and Gerald staggered back a little. Glaring at him, she fumed.

"I know men like you very well. A sight of a beautiful woman invokes the animal in you!"

Gerald blinked with a passive face.

"Which beautiful woman you are referring to?" He asked, tilting his head.

His reply only infuriated Theodora more. Her nostrils flared as she jabbed her finger in his chest.

"You are a pervert, an indescent man with no mannerisms and no shame! How dare you touch me like that in the public?"

"So you would not have mind me touching you in private?" Came his befitting reply.

Theodora could not believe that man's audacity. How could someone be so obnoxious? She had met him only five minutes ago, and he had already set her mood on fire.

"SHUT UP!" She screeched in irritation.

Gerald was amused at her reaction. He had seen many women in his life belonging to all shades of life but never had he met someone who was so elegant in her every movement and yet was as feisty as a tigress, ready to pounce on anyone who dared to trouble her.

Her irritation entertained him. He could not hold back the smirk appearing on his face.

Theodora's eyes grew in size as she inhaled a long breath. "You are smiling? What is so funny here?"

"You and your senseless tantrums!" he answered blatantly without missing a beat.

That cut Theodora's last string of patience. Not giving another thought, she raised her hand to give him a tight slap to wipe off that smirk from his face, but her hand paused midway when he held her wrist.

But his attention was not on her. In fact, he looked behind her with wide eyes.

"Hey... you!" he heard that same burly guard calling him with an angry face.

His eyes then shifted to look at the same lady from whom he had just stolen money.

It did not take him long to put one and one together. They knew he was the theif they were looking for.

As he noticed the guard taking long strides in his way, he tightened his hold around Theodora's wrist and broke into a sprint.

She gasped loudly at the sudden pull by him. She found it difficult to cope with his pace as they ran through the crowd.

The guard began chasing them, carrying his protruded belly and huge frame with great effort.

"Stop! Stop!" He called in warning, but Gerald and Theodora had manoeuvred their way through the crowd.

When Gerald thought that they could easily outrun him, his troubles increased when the other guards noticed the incident.

"Fuck!" he cursed loudly, instantly changing the direction.

The frowned upon word caught Theodora's attention and she looked up at him in awe.

"Wh-what did you just say?" She asked stupidly, not realising that she had said it out loud.

"Fuck!" came his nonchalant reply, his eyes trained ahead.

"you... you cannot say that." She said, sounding unsure to herself.

Gerald slowed down at the end of the alley and looked right then at left. Choosing the right path, he again increased their speed. The guards were still on their chase.

"Because... it is something said by the low-class people." She said as if it was a well-known fact.

"Then consider me on the top of that list." Gerald did not care about his impression of her.

That man had no mannerisms on how to speak with a lady!

"Why are you dragging me in your mess? And... why are they chasing after you?" Theodora asked as she tried to free her hand from his, but he only tightened his grip on her wrist.

"Because I have told them that you are my friend and if they cannot catch me which I bet they can never! Then they will definitely come after you. Do you want that miss?" He pulled her to his side while passing through the narrow space between two stalls.

"Stop touching me!" She swatted his chest, and he did not resist.

"Watch out!" Theodora's eyes widened when they saw a man carrying a small cart of ice cream.

The man's eyeballs popped out of their socket at the speed the pair was heading towards him. Freezing on the spot he waited for the crash, but Gerald conveniently let go of Theodora's hand and pushed her to the right to run past the man, and he himself jumped over his cart.

Theodora watched in awe, not slowing down her speed even for a second. And before she knew it, his hand had found hers again.

"Down!" He instructed, and she obediently ducked as they ran from under a ride that was installed at some height with the help of a huge metal stand.

Theodora's heart almost leapt in her chest as she looked up to see people enjoying the ride screaming and hooting in joy.

Passing the ride they again straightened up. Gerald looked behind to see the guards still following them, and more approached them from both sides.

His tricky brain worked fast, and he ran straight into the nearby tent where a magician was showing his magical wonders.

He pulled Theodora down after they reached behind the chairs filled with a large crowd. Hiding their bodies carefully behind the people who were clapping and gaping at the magician's tricks, they watched carefully if any guards followed them in there.

Gerald rolled his eyes at the naive people around who must have paid good money as an entrance fee for this show. They had no idea what the real magic was and if they had, then nobody would have dared to come near the real magician... the witches and the wizards!

Gerald placed his finger on his lips to tell Theodora to keep silent as four guards entered the tent. Their angry eyes roamed all over the tent in search of a theif and his partner.

Gerald looked around for something that could help him in the situation. And as his eyes wandered all over the tent, they met with a pair of curious and innocent ones staring right back at him.

A small girl of perhaps two years stared back at him while playing with her toy. She sat in her mother's lap, moving her small hands randomly.

Gerald smirked as he found a way to distract those guards. He risked exposing himself by sliding out a little from behind the chairs so that the little girl could see him clearly.

Glancing in the guards' way as they discussed something amongst them and the crowd busy watching the show, he knew it was his best chance.

Theodora did not understand what was running in that despicable man's mind as she prayed for her own safety. She did not want her father to know about her little adventure and the ruckus she got herself involved in.

Gerald smiled, looking at the girl attracting all her attention to him. And then he began making scary faces. For a moment, Theodora was taken aback by his nonsense, but she must say that she had never seen anyone make such faces before. Not at least a grown-up adult.

She stifled her laugh by covering her mouth as she found it funny. But her view was not shared by the little girl whose eyes teared up instantly, and the next moment she opened her mouth wide only to let out an ear-piercing cry.

Gerald instantly hide behind the chairs as the girl's cries distracted not only the guards but also the crowd. Even the magician paused for a while, not understanding what happened.

Seeing that nobody was looking at them or would notice them, Gerald again held Theodora's hand and whispered, "Come on."

Taking advantage of the situation, they both escaped from that tent and again ran to the safe place where the various stalls were erected close to each other and where the crowd was enough to not let guards notice them easily.

Panting loudly, they both stopped, looking around cautiously. Gerald found some gunny bags filled with soft toys and some other stuff. He let his body fall on them as he sighed.

Both of their chests heaved up and down and that was when Theodora noticed that he had finally let go of her wrist. She noticed the red marks around her wrist because of his tight hold on it.

"You are such a heartless man!" She glared at him throwing daggers with her eyes.

Gerald had his eyes closed as he lay down comfortably.

Theodora was irritated by his cockiness. Not giving another thought, she kicked his leg to gain his attention.

"I am talking to you, Idiot!"

She watched as his jaw ticked, and then suddenly nervousness washed over her as he slowly opened his big green eyes to look straight at her. The very first look from him told her that she had done a mistake by kicking him.