Lucia tussled with him all night and was barely able to sleep at dawn. By the time she woke up, it was already daylight.
She was against his new way. His tenaciousness was inexplicable and sheâd already given up on explaining his endurance.
Lucia continuously thought about getting up from bed, but her body did not listen to her. She had such a hard workout for two consecutive days in a month so her body felt languid.
She fell into shallow sleep and upon woke up, she felt a soft touch on her hair and opened her eyes. She didnât know when heâd come in but he was sitting on the bed, his finger running through her hair.
She was sleepy-eyed and watched him with an empty gaze. Their eyes met and he lowered his head, lightly kissing her lips.
âI was worried since you havenât gotten up yet. Are you okay?â
The soft touch on her lips told her this was real. Last night, she hated him a little but seeing him now, the hatred vanished into thin air.
ââŠat least you have a conscience.â
She bluntly blamed him, closed her eyes again and heard him laugh a little.
Hugoâs fingers ran through her hair, sweeping through it like a comb. It felt good and a little ticklish.
âIsnât my hair is completely disheveled?â
As the thought came to her mind, her sleepiness deserted her and she raised the blanket over her
head.
âWhatâs wrong?â (Hugo)
ââŠmy headâŠâ
âDoes it hurt? The doctorâŠâ
âNo, itâs not that.â
She lowered the blanket a little, her eyes peeking at him.
âYesterdayâŠI didnât dry my hair properly. Itâs probably a mess.â
It was the heart of a woman who wanted to show only a pretty figure in front of the man she loved. He could not understand her words, and tilting his head to the side, ripped the blanket off her. She let out a short scream and he kissed her lightly on her lips.
âWhat of it? You look pretty.â
Lucia stared at him, her gaze full of intent.
ââŠFlirt.â
ââŠWhat?â
âNothing.â
He felt wronged. If sheâd said that in the past, he would honestly have nothing to say. But not now.
âVivian, did I do something wrong?â
âArenât you busy?â
âDonât change the topic. I know your list defines me that way, but why are you saying this now, all of a sudden?â
âWhat list?â
âI know you have a list of all the things Iâve done wrong in your head.â
âWhat?â
Lucia was dumbfounded and burst into laughter.
âThereâs a list in my head?â (Lucia)
âWerenât you steadily adding one at a time?â
Lucia started laughing again. He sourly looked on as she began to laugh. He couldnât see why she was laughing so much about what he said and couldnât understand her laughter.
âThen, when did I make this list?â (Lucia)
âWhy are you asking me that? You know better than I do.â
Lucia shrugged and once again burst into
into laughter. The thought that he also wonders what other people are thinking was very amusing and interesting.
âThings Iâve done wrong.â
Through those words, he admitted to her that heâd done a lot of things wrong. She thought he was someone that was very unlikely to admit it even if he made a mistake.
âThere is no such list. I canât put up with something so complicated.â
âThen what was the word that popped up before?â
Lucia shyly pursed her lips.
âBecause you said that all of a sudden.â
âWhat did I say?â
ââŠlookâŠpretty.â
Lucia felt a bit embarra.s.sed to say it herself and her words werenât clear. Sheâd heard herself being called gentle or cute but she didnât think the word âprettyâ matched her appearance.
âIs it wrong to just say what I feel?â
Lucia stared at him blankly. He was flirtatious yes, but he wasnât the type to whisper sweet nothings into a womanâs ear so his words came off a bit unfriendly.
He was someone who had a lot and as such, was the flirt that women loved to cling to. Lucia reached out and rubbed her head.
As expected, just by touching her hair, she could feel it was untidy. Even without looking at a mirror, it was obvious it was a mess.
âPretty? This look?â
âI donât know whatâs wrong with it, you look pretty.â
His expression did not change at all. It was as though he was looking at a tree and saying
and saying it was a tree. As Lucia kept staring into his eyes doubtfully, his expression grew increasingly awkward.
âIs it that you donât like that way of expression? Then, your beauty is so bright that it seems blindingâŠâ
âAre you making fun of me?â
Lucia replied sullenly. Hugo sighed and placing one hand on his forehead.
âTell me what you want me to do.â
ââŠPretty? Me?â
âYouâre pretty.â
She didnât know what he was thinking, but she decided not to think more complicatedly about it. It was good even if it was empty words.
She felt pleased, happy, ticklish inside, and when she looked at him, she couldnât help but chuckle.
His expression became somewhat twisted and he spoke.
âDonât laugh like that. It makes me want to eat (you).â
Lucia laughed even louder and looking at her, Hugo burst into laughter too. It was hard to pinpoint it but anyhow, it was nice to see her feeling comfortable.
After admitting to herself that she loved him, Luciaâs heart was more at peace and the mood around her grew relaxed.
When Hugo was away from Roam, Lucia was always on his mind. Although theyâd reconciled before he left, heâd felt like it was somewhat insufficient and was uncomfortable with it.
It seemed like they werenât putting out the fire but simply covering it up so they couldnât see it. He was worried that when he came back to Roam, she would turn away from him as the issueas the issue wasnât fully settled.
Contrary to his worries, she was doing very well. Rather, she became even brighter than before.
The thought that even without him, she would be completely fine, made his heart feel cold.
âI want herâ
He wanted to have all of her body and mind.
But how could he have a woman that had declared that she would never love him. It was the biggest challenge in his life.
Heâd never properly fallen in love before. The brother he loved, said he loved him but chose death in the end.
She was going to be his first love. However, it was a tragedy that heâd experienced too much physical love before he knew of emotional love.
At times, love was so simple that an honest word of confession could be the key but he didnât know that.
âIs it okay for you keep staying here? You arenât busy?â (Lucia)
Hugo could sense that her voice was much clearer than before.
âShe likes being called pretty.â
Now, he began making a list in his head.
âBusy or not busy, for me, thereâs no end to work so I can rest for as long as I donât do it.â
âSo youâre not working?â
âItâs not like that, I mean you donât have to fret over it. Is it troublesome if I donât work?â
ââŠIt would be.â
âWhy?â
âThe husband has to feed his wife. And to do that, you have to make money.â