Elijah's POV
After staring at what he was reading for a long time, he blinked multiple times. He glanced at the clock, which was already eleven at night, but he didn't hear anyone trying to open the door. He put down the papers he was holding, as well as his eyeglasses, and stepped out of the room. It was obvious to him that his household staff were already asleep in the house, and the downstairs appeared clean when he peeked.He went to the adjacent room, slowly opening it and peeking inside, but Charlotte wasn't there, nor was she in the third room.Where could she have gone again?He descended the stairs and checked the entire house, but Charlotte was nowhere to be found. He was about to go to the servants' quarters to see if she was there, but he refrained, not wanting to disturb them. Now he stood in the middle of the living room, contemplating, but when his gaze drifted to the row of car keys, one was missing.He approached and looked at the keys. Would Charlotte be capable of driving? It didn't seem likely, based on what he saw whenever she came home, just commuting, so he randomly grabbed a key and hurriedly went outside, but he paused in his steps because the car that was missing the key was still parked inside the yard.He slowly approached the car with a frown on his face. He inspected the front of the car; the engine was running. He quickly stepped closer and tried to peer inside to see Charlotte, but was unable to do so because of the tinted windows and the lack of visibility inside. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.What could this woman be thinking of locking the door while she was inside his yard?He attempted to awaken Charlotte by knocking on the window, but she remained asleep like a log. She didn't even flinch when he knocked on the window. He believed that Charlotte's presence would make his quiet world chaotic.Charlotte couldn't stay inside the car because even with the engine running and the air conditioning on, there was still a risk of the car stalling, especially if it ran out of gas. She might have even set the air conditioning to a high level, which would consume more gas.He left the car and went back inside the house to retrieve the duplicate keys for his car, which he remembered now because he hadn't lost the original keys of his car yet since he was meticulous. He had duplicates made just in case they got lost, and he kept them in a drawer for easy access whenever he needed them in a hurry.He opened the drawer containing all the duplicate keys for his cars, obtained the key for the car where Charlotte was, and returned outside.He quickly unlocked the car door and opened it. Charlotte was fast asleep, not even waking up from the noise he made earlier when knocking on the window. He had intended to wake her up, but his hand clenched into a fist, irritated, as he opened the driver's side door to turn off the engine. He would just carry Charlotte back into the house.As he entered the car again, he struggled to lift Charlotte, so he simply grabbed her hands to make her sit up and lifted her from there.Instead of sleeping at this hour, he went looking for the missing woman.He laid her down on the bed to make her comfortable, but Charlotte insisted on not changing her clothes. He just shook his head as he tucked her in. He would change the sheets and pillowcases tomorrow.He yawned, then lay down on the other side of the bed. He was slowly closing his eyes when he suddenly felt something pressing on his stomach. Irritated, he removed it and looked at Charlotte with annoyance. He wanted to wake her up, but he felt sorry for her, so he just placed a pillow between them when she couldn't move closer.He yawned yet again, feeling very sleepy, so he closed his eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.Elijah was awakened by a scream at four in the morning.He stood up but clung to the bed due to the room's sudden spinning. After everything was back to normal, he gazed at Charlotte, who was still asleep.Did Charlotte let out a scream? Was there someone else?He headed toward Charlotte's side, but she was still asleep. He was about to leave, but she screamed again. He quickly looked at her face, but she was still sleeping with her eyes closed. Charlotte appeared to be having a frightening dream.He went back to bed and tried to sleep again; he had two more hours to rest. His head would hurt if he didn't sleep again. But it seemed like he wouldn't be able to because Charlotte was now thrashing around on the bed."Char, wake up!" He shook her body, but she continued to thrash around as if possessed by some entity. "Wake up... hey... Charlotte!"Her soul seemed to separate from her body when he shook it, but she did not wake up. She may be having a nightmare."Hey!!"He noticed tears streaming down her cheeks, so he continued what he was doing, but he had no choice, he gave Charlotte a strong slap, which immediately woke her up, and looked at him as if frightened, moving away from him."I'm sorry. You wouldn't wake up." She breathed quickly, looking like she had a terrifying dream. "Are you okay now?""Why... am I here?" She looked around the room."I took you from inside the car."He was about to approach Charlotte, but she raised a hand. "Don't come near me!"He sighed and arose; he was unable to sleep anymore, so he wouldn't go back to bed."Just continue sleeping, sorry for what I did, I just woke you up, that's why I slapped you."She took the blanket and wrapped it around herself, seeming to know what she had dreamed about."I'll go out now; you go back to sleep."He turned away and left the room, not walking right away after closing the door. He also heard Charlotte crying inside the room. If she remembered what he did, what would be the consequence for them?To make sure, he would just buy things for Charlotte's room. It seemed like they couldn't sleep side by side or together in one room because he didn't know what was going on in Charlotte's mind. She might even get sick every time they were together in one place that wasn't spacious. He left the front door and went downstairs for coffee, but his head was already hurting because of lack of sleep.Charlotte's POVShe stayed in Elijah's room after he left. She had a terrifying dream where Elijah's actions replayed in her room. It felt like she was back in her room while Elijah was doing something. She was even more scared when she woke up in the position he had left her in earlier while trying to wake her up. Perhaps it was because she was lying next to Elijah and she didn't realize that he had already carried her into the house and placed her inside the car. She glanced at the clock, it was already six in the morning.She stood up and looked at what she was wearing. She hadn't changed clothes, so she wondered why she was still lying in Elijah's bed, especially since he didn't like dirt or changing clothes.Surely, the bedsheet, blanket, and pillowcases would be changed later.She went to the bathroom to look for an unused toothbrush. She opened the cabinet above and found one. She took it out of the plastic wrapping brushed her teeth and washed her face. Then she went out with
Charlotte's POVShe went upstairs to ask Elijah about clothes. She just opened the door without knocking. She didn't see Elijah inside, he seemed to be in the bathroom, so she went to the closet to see if there was anything that would fit her, she would figure out the styling later.She opened two cabinets, but none of them had anything suitable for her. Only the last cabinet was left unopened, maybe there would be something, so she opened it but frowned because all the clothes hanging and folded at the bottom were women's clothes.Why are there women's clothes here?The bathroom door opened, so she looked. She looked away from Elijah because he was only wearing a towel around his lower body."Why are you poking around in that cabinet?""I just wanted to see if any of your clothes would fit me, but in this last cabinet of yours, why are there only women's clothes?"Elijah approached her, so she slightly moved away from the cabinet."These belong to my sister, whenever she stays here."
Charlotte's POVShe stepped out of the room and walked out of the house. Elijah was already inside the car, waiting for her to get in."Where are you meeting your friends?""At my friend's house."She noticed Elijah's eyes squint slightly. Maybe his vision is getting blurry."Which friend?""Mary."He nodded and started the car. She wondered why, with so many cars, Elijah only used one when going to their house. There were a lot of cars parked inside the yard, why weren't they used?"Do you know how to drive a car?" Elijah asked."No.""But you know how to start it?""I've seen my dad and brother do it.""Did you know what you did last night while you were asleep in the car is dangerous? Even if the car is running, there's a tendency to run out of gas. What if it runs out? The engine will die, and there won't be any air inside. Don't do it again, Charlotte."She didn'
Elijah's POVHe was standing in front of his house, waiting for Charlotte, it was already five o'clock, and she still hadn't arrived. On the first day of their agreement, it seemed like she was already breaking it.When six o'clock struck, he decided to go and pick her up. He knew where Charlotte's friend's house was because he had followed the tricycle she rode earlier before finally leaving the area.He stood outside, arms crossed, as he watched the gate. Suddenly, a woman who seemed intoxicated stumbled into his yard.He quickly walked over to Charlotte. "Good thing you didn't break our agreement right from the start." She didn't respond, just kept her head down, but her stance was unsteady."Charlotte.""Hmmp.."Something was off about her. He lifted her chin to meet her gaze. Her eyes were glassy as she looked at him."Are you drunk?"Charlotte furrowed her brow. "N-No..."He brought his n
Elijah's POVAs he was waiting for his maid to finish cooking, he went into his room to retrieve some medicine. He always kept medicine in his room due to the sudden illnesses that he would often experience as a result of working long hours.After collecting the medicine, he returned to Charlotte's room. She was wide awake and looking around."Take this medicine after you eat." He placed the medicine on the table beside the bed."Where am I?"He raised an eyebrow, noticing her reaction to the room."In your room.""My room?" She looked at him in confusion."Yes, this is your room now.""Meaning, this is the room next to your room?" She nodded. "I thought I'd be sleeping in your room.""I thought you didn't want to be near me? So, why ask?""I mean, didn't you want to make it easier in case our families called?"He sighed. "Perhaps you would prefer to have your room if you do n
Charlotte's POVShe blinked when someone held her hand, slightly turning to Elijah, who was wiping her arm. It made her ponder what he said earlier. Why did she choose marriage over putting Elijah in jail? What exactly crossed her mind when she chose marriage? Was it just a sudden decision, or does she not have the heart to put him in jail even though he harmed her? Was it because she was raised by her parents to be good, so she couldn't seek revenge against those who wronged her? Did she let her soft heart prevail, leading her to marry him with no turning back? If she were to be asked, it would be fine if she and Elijah didn't get married, and she wouldn't want to see him in jail either, but her parents didn't want that; she was touched, so they said Elijah had to take responsibility for her.She gazed at Elijah's face as he reached out to wipe one of her arms. Even without a smile, he was quite handsome, with a smooth complexion and no visible blemishes. However,
Elijah's POVElijah and Charlotte left the house separately after breakfast. Though he intended to drop her off at the tricycle station, Charlotte turned down his offer to drive to the bus stop with him.His security guard was waiting for him at the entrance as he reached the building where he had parked his car. After giving the keys to the security guard, he entered the company. He glanced at his watch and realized he wasn't quite late."Give me the important papers that I will sign today," he instructed his secretary without stopping as he walked into the office.His secretary came in as he was sitting down, bringing paperwork he needed to sign, including a few of his papers from the previous day due to his busy schedule with work and his upcoming wedding to Charlotte."Thank you."He began looking at the files once his secretary left. Two hours later, the pressure from bending his head caused him to lean back in his chair. He knew that if he didn't straighten his head, he might de
Charlotte's POVShe was coldly sweating as she sat in the classroom. She thought she was fine when she left the house with Elijah, but it all came back. She's just grateful she finished presenting her project before she felt her body break down.She was seated close to Mary, so her friend approached her while the other students were presenting their projects. Their teacher sat in front of the students's seats. "Are you okay? It's cold in the classroom, but you're sweating." "I'm feeling a bit unwell."Mary frowned. She placed her palm on her forehead and neck. "You have a fever. Why did you still come to school?""I did not have this when I left home; it came back after I presented." "Why don't you go home right now? Your part is already finished." She grinned and said, "I'll go home during lunchtime." "Alright, but can you manage it? If not, I'll tell our teacher to send you home since you have a fever." "I can manage." "Alright, I'll listen first; I'm next anyway."She nodded