Excerpt

"It would be my honor to take you home tonight, my dearest Ercilia."

Ercilia frowns then. Drystan smiles.

In the span of thirteen years that she didn't get to see him, he seems to have gotten quite playful. He has become more roguish, and as though to make up for the trouble it brings to her, he has become more handsome too. She can't believe that she'll start living under the same roof as him from now on.

Both of them are at the airport at the moment.

Ercilia has just arrived with Ethan and Gunther escorting her. Drystan came to pick her up and take her home – 

To his home.

Everyone around them is staring at him, beholding the godly masterpiece that he is. Ladies are captivated by his looks. Men are drawn to his presence. As if catching attention like this isn't enough, he just also had to welcome her the way a lover would, thus making a scene.

He went ahead and swept her off of her feet, pulling out a princess carry.

"So, you're really going to act like we're engaged now?" she rasped dryly.

"That's the agreement," he replied, flashing her a smirk.

"Aren't you embarrassed? The reputable head of Claire de Lune carrying some woman no one had ever seen before. Doesn't it make you feel ashamed?"

"Of you, Ercilia? I can never be."

Now that he said and did the deed, he proceeded to carry her all the way out of the airport, heading to the parking lot where their service is. She remains quiet the whole time, waiting for him to break character and cut the lovey-dovey act. Yet he never did. He continues wearing that soft, gentle smile of his until the end – 

Treating her with warmth, kindness, and care. 

He seems to be serious about this. She may have to resort to her final option.

"Drystan Allaric, I think you're forgetting something."

Ercilia pulls out a revolver from her purse and aims straight at Drystan.

He stops in his tracks just as he realizes that he's being threatened with a gun at point-blank. His bodyguards, who've been following them from behind, have also taken out their firearms as soon as the scene dawns on them. Almost instantly, they encircle them and aim at her, demanding her to put down her weapon.

However, Ercilia isn't fazed at all. Neither is Drystan.

For a fraction of time, the two of them just keep staring at each other – her expression steely yet haughty, his perplexed yet calm. Eventually, she speaks up again and breaks the silence.

"Okay. Forget about being embarrassed or ashamed. But don't forget that I should've been the Viatrix crime family's ringleader. I'm capable of killing you however and whenever I want to," she taunted, not buying his act – not now, not ever, especially after thirteen whole years of waiting in vain.

Little does Ercilia know that Drystan can tell right away.

She is testing him. He can see that she is still doubting his good intentions. 

Skeptic and afraid. It makes sense. 

Even so, he knows that she will not pull the trigger. He's confident that she needs him even if it's not as much as he needs her.

With that in mind, Drystan only smiles again, much to Ercilia's surprise.

"Of course, I will never forget how fearsome and powerful you were back then, my lovely fiancée..." he quipped with a smirk on his face as he put her down and held both of her hands.

"I'm not sure why you're threatening me all of the sudden. But if I did do something wrong and I had to be punished, could you please wait until we're all alone in our room later? I promise I'll lock the door."

He then leans down and kisses the backs of her hands.

She has to take a moment to understand the dirty meaning behind his words. Once it finally registers, she can't help but turn bright red and shout at his face.

"You bloody pervert!"