Compromise

"I was going to ask you to eat."

"Oh…" She couldn't help but stare at his firm abs. For some reason, she felt like a pervert. By the way… my stuff is already here, right?"

He nodded in response.

"Alright, I will change my clothes."

"Then… I will wait in the kitchen?"

Sera nodded, and once again ran towards the bathroom. She assumed that there was a walk-in closet in the bathroom and just as she expected….

Wait…

"Hey!" It didn't take her thirty seconds to come back out. Chris was still there, leaning against the door, smiling at her. "Your clothes are in the closet. Is this your room?"

"It's yours, but this is the only one with a walk-in closet. I thought it would be cool to put my clothes in here. Plus, the bathroom is spacious enough for two people."

She squinted. "Then let's move my stuff to the other room."

"You don't want to share a bathroom with me?"

"That is— "

"Don't worry, I don't walk around naked. I mean… I can if you want to. But — "

"I don't want to see you naked!"

"Really?" he cocked an eyebrow and smirked at her.

"Mr. Quinn… I hope you don't mind, but I think we should establish boundaries, for the time being, right?" she said. "It's only fair that we Ummm… avoid walking around shirtless and stop teasing each other." Seeing her frown, he chuckled and shook his head.

"You are difficult."

Her face turned darker.

Then he added, "But I like it." He approached her and used his right hand to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ears. "I always thought that most women would agree to marry me if I use my name. I guess you are not one of them?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "You will stay in this room. With my clothes." Now that wasn't a question. He wasn't asking for permission. He was ordering her.

However, this only made Sera more irritated. "Your clothes will stay. I am leaving." This time it was her turn to show some attitude to the man who only wanted to use her. "Or you can stay in this room. Your choice." The flash of disbelief in his eyes made her smirked. She would call this victory. "And if you want someone that you could order around, please… find someone else. That's not gonna be me."

Most of the time, she would like to stay calm to keep the peace. However, she isn't someone that would just let anyone bully her. "No, you can stay here if you want. I am changing my clothes." With that, she turned her back and walked towards the closet, leaving Chris standing there on his own with a myriad of expressions on his face.

Sera took a few minutes before she found some of her pajamas. After quickly changing into them, she walked out of the bathroom and realized that Chris left. She smiled. She was already expecting to have dinner alone.

Contrary to her expectations, the man was actually waiting for her in the dining room. She didn't say anything as she sat next to him and started eating some native dish In the city. Just like her, the man sitting next to her also didn't say anything.

The thick suffocating silence wrapped around them. Normally, Sera wouldn't care about anything like this. So what if he wasn't planning to speak to her? She could survive without him. In fact, she didn't want him to tag along, and yet he insisted.

Alright, maybe she needed to say something? Maybe had been really harsh? Maybe…. Maybe she hurt the man's feelings? Mr. Quinn should be someone who grew up around the rich, right? This is the only thing that could explain why he is demanding, right?

For a few seconds, she tried to talk herself out of apologizing. But at the end, she looked at him just as he glanced at her.

"Look…."

"Look…."

They stared at each other after saying the same word at the same time.

"You first…"

"You first…"

"Then I will…"

"Then I will…"

She blinked and waited for him to say something.

"I— "

"I—"

"Alright— "

"Alright— "

"I'm sorry for saying something like that."

Sera's jaw dropped when Chris apologized.

"I forgot that you already have someone you liked. I was acting too friendly."

Is this how he treats his friends? But… this is such a weird treatment?

"Say something…."

Did she just saw a flash of fear in his eyes? "It's good. I want to apologize too."

"So… we're good?"

"Yeah… I think we are."

He smiled. The crease in between his brows slowly vanished. "Then about the wedding…"

"Let's just… not talk about any of that now."

After that, Chris started talking about random things like her business and what other stuff she could do. Then, they finished their meal and had some wine while watching the view from the balcony of the master's bedroom.

When it was time to sleep, he insisted that she stay in the master's while he stays in the guest room. Again, the topic of clothes came up, and they decided to just use the same walk-in closet.

Thinking about it now, Sera couldn't believe how she chose to compromise this time. She stared at the ceiling and silently stared at the darkness that surrounded her. The silence would be suffocating to some, but she liked it. The fact that this room is actually soundproof is really making her ecstatic.

Then she thought about showing up in the old man's mansion tomorrow. She wasn't actually planning to ruin any big moments. All she wanted to do is show that video to her grandfather. Then she would ask him about her mother and Chris's claims.

She sighed and thought about the past.

Ah, revenge is just a waste of her time. There is no use thinking about something like that. After a few minutes, she sat back up and opened her laptop, then started writing some programs that she needed to give to Xu Je'er.

This room was the epitome of comfort and luxury, and yet she couldn't sleep. Funny how the most comfortable bed is actually not doing its job to ease her nerves.

After some time, she got out of her room and walked towards her office. However, her footsteps took her towards Chris's office. For a few seconds, she hesitated before she finally knocked on the door. "Hey… are you in?"