While He Was Sleeping

It's been a few days and Ivan never left Xylia's side. Aciel was always in a bad mood every time the two would pass by near him. Xylia's friends were not around her either, but she was still surrounded by people—Ivan's friends.

"Aciel, the student council meeting is today at three in the afternoon." Liliana said.

He frowned. He didn't know anything about a meeting and he never wanted to attend one either. He was about to leave when Liliana came running and shouting his name.

"What meeting? I was not informed about this. I need to go home. I'm tired." He answered.

Liliana was panting and took a deep breath first before responding.

"You have to be there. The principal asked everyone to attend the meeting." Liliana said.

"Fine. But if I got bored, I'll leave." He answered.

Liliana told him that the meeting would be held in the music room. He still had an hour to wait so he decided to go there and rest while he waited for the others.

The room had no chairs and only a piano was inside. He walked toward the window and leaned on the wall. He sighed when he realized how empty the room was, but felt so peaceful.

After a few minutes, he decided to sit on the piano bench. He suddenly felt so exhausted and sleepy so he closed the fallboard to rest his head on it. He tried not to fall asleep but his eyes voluntarily shut.

"Xylia! Xylia!" Liliana kept calling her.

Xylia frowned when she saw her friend running in the hallway while shouting her name.

"Liliana, keep your voice down!" She said.

Liliana caught her breath first before saying another word.

"I texted you. Why didn't you answer?" Liliana asked.

Xylia took her phone to check Liliana's message. She glanced at her friend and was confused about her text.

"The principal wanted to see me? B-But I need to—"

"Hey, duty calls." Liliana teased her.

Xylia sighed. Everyone knew that she would never take her duties for granted. Her position was not just a name for her. She loved being the president because she enjoyed assisting the students.

She looked at Ivan and his friends who were standing at the end of the hall. Ivan frowned when she started to back away and turned her back from them.

"Xylia! Where are you going?" Ivan called, but she had no time to respond to him.

Liliana walked closer to Ivan and stopped him from following Xylia.

"Duty calls. The principal called her." She said.

Ivan didn't say a word and just nodded. He then turned around and walked to the exit. Liliana's heart pounded from excitement as she looked at Ivan leaving the school.

She took a deep breath and widely smiled. Then she took her phone and typed some words to send to her friends.

'Stand by. Let's hope everything will be okay.'

The truth was the principal was not calling Xylia. There was no student council meeting. Liliana and the other girls asked Aciel's friends to help them. They wanted Xylia to disagree with her marriage to Ivan and the girls' believed that only Aciel could help Xylia.

Xylia ran toward the music room. She really thought the principal was calling her so she rushed inside only to be surprised that no one was there.

She walked inside when she saw a shadow near the piano. She felt a little stiff when she realized who it was. It was Aciel who was quietly sleeping.

She finally realized that Liliana lied to her. But she was not mad at what her friend did. Xylia knew Liliana and the others were worried about her since she was completely surrounded by Ivan's side.

She was guarded as soon as her soon-to-be husband transferred to Bloomsdale. Her friends could not talk and get close to her because Ivan was always at her side.

She turned around to walk away, but her body would not move even a step. She bit her lip and then turned again to see Aciel. They had not been talking ever since the day on the rooftop.

They were not that close and their relationship was not that deep. She was in love with him and she didn't even know the reason. He hated her and he was too bold to tell her that he only wanted her body, not her heart. She had all the right to despise him, but she could not help it. She still loved him and seeing him from afar made her miserable situation happy.

She walked toward him and gently sat beside him. His head was on the fallboard and he was facing her. She smiled while staring at him.

She put her head on the fallboard like him so she could get a full view of his face. She was not satisfied with just looking at him so she raised her hand to touch him.

Her hand was trembling and she felt her heart pound when she started to stroke his face gently. She started with his forehead and then slowly moved into his temple. She used her middle finger to brush his eyelid and was surprised that his eyelashes were longer than she had expected.

She let out a deep breath when she ran her finger down to his pointed nose and then to his lips. She had been kissed by him and she liked it. But she knew that it would not happen again. She was now owned by Ivan so she was here beside him stealing some moment while he was sleeping.

Her heart suddenly ached to realize that soon, she would live with a man she didn't even like a bit. Her eyes became teary so she gently wiped them before her tears fell.

She stood up then was about to leave, but she decided to do one last thing. She bent over and gently pressed her lips to his.

Aciel frowned when he felt someone's lips on his and then he tasted something salty. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know who it was. He knew that delightful sweet scent—it was Xylia and she was crying.

He opened his eyes and curved his lips to deepen the kiss. Xylia realized he was already awake. She was surprised and was about to stop when Aciel grabbed his waist, pulling her closer.

She sat back down, but pushed him gently to gasp some air.

"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I promise this is the last time." She stuttered and then stood up again to walk away.

Aciel quickly grabbed her hand. She looked at him with a frown face.

"Where do you think you're going?" He said in a sweet voice.