Adeline lowered her gaze to her hands, fidgeting.
"Because...that's the only reason you would ever take interest in me, is it not?" She chuckled cynically, realizing something. "If not for the mate bond, you never would have liked me enough to say a word to me in the first place, right? You never would have looked at me and you never would have noticed me."
Caesar gazed at her for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "You are not entirely wrong. Why? That's because the mate bond was really what drew me to you at first. But liking you had nothing to do with it." He shook his head at her.
But, of course, Adeline was dubious.
Caesar scoffed, amused. "Do you realize that I could have rejected you had I not taken an actual interest in you?"
"Rejected me?" She was a bit lost.
Caesar gave a nod. "My kind could reject a mate if they didn't like him or her enough, and vice versa with you."