Until You

Chapter 12

She was inside the beast's suite at 9:10 in the morning. His dark eyes flared, and his mouth pressed in irritation at her ten-minute delay which she had purposefully planned.

"I would like to order my medical textbooks," she said as they sat for breakfast. "If I'm to stay here longer, I need to prepare for my upcoming exams."

"I'll give you a card you can use to order whatever you want."

"I don't need anything else. I just need my books. I already have clothes and other things."

He didn't respond, and they continued with their breakfast in silence.

Once they were done, he commanded, "Let's go," before walking away.

Glaring at his tall, broad back, she followed him as he went down the stairs. When they neared the ground floor, he slowed down for her to catch up with him.

There was palpable excitement as the staff went about their work pretending not to stare at them. When she felt his hand reaching for hers, she involuntarily yanked it away. He turned to throw her a brief glare before reaching for her hand once again. This time her hand was caught firmly in his large, rough one.

"Sir, would you like Lucifer readied for you?" Jang mi asked.

The beast shook his head. "No. I'm just going on a walk."

Jennie went along with him. She returned Jang mi and the other staff's excited smiles with a small, tentative one. When they went into the gardens, the gardeners recognized her, but didn't smile at her because she was next to their employer. She smiled at them and tried to greet them, but she was dragged along.

"Why do we need to hurry?" she asked, panting slightly as she had to break into a run to catch up with the beast's long, fast stride.

When they were completely alone, he let go of her hand and turned to throw her a cold, furious look. "I asked you to pretend to be falling in love with me, which means you don't jump around when I'm close to you or touch you."

She was pissed at his comment. "I jump around you because you keep glaring and snarling at me, making me nervous. Maybe you should first try not looking at me as though my very presence offends you."

He didn't reply, but the heat of his glare intensified.

"Fine," he said curtly before continuing to walk.

They walked towards the pond. The familiar view relaxed her slightly, and the weather was beautiful that day with light, clear blue sky. The beast sat on a stone bench that overlooked the pond, and she sat next to him.

They sat in silence. Something about his stillness made her turn towards him. The look on his face was so intense she was taken aback.

"Three years," he said with an unreadable emotion. "It's been three years since I came here. I missed this."

Jennie didn't say anything. She knew he was saying those words out loud but not to anyone in particular. She found this version of him, where he wasn't arrogant or impatient or snarling... tolerable.

Maybe the next few weeks pretending to be in love with him wouldn't be that big of a chore.