chapter 7

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

Once ... Ruther squeezed the newspaper he was holding. His shoulders rose slightly.

He glanced at me sharply over the newspaper. His forehead was slightly furrowed.

"Who said that?" he asked.

"Gabby ..." I answered quickly. I immediately reciprocated his sticky stare.

Ruther shook the newspaper he was holding. He refocused his gaze on the news he was reading. "That's nonsense, your highness ..." he said calmly. "I don't know Gabby."

I firmly dropped my back on the backrest of the dining chair. I shook my head before rubbing my forehead.

Guys really, will make everyone just look macho! Ruther even invented Gaby supposedly! Why can't they just be honest when they feel vulnerable? It's normal to have a phobia, ah!

But, to my recollection, yesterday, Ruther was a lousy actor. So, how does her body language show that she is telling the truth, that she knows nothing about Gabby?

Don't tell me ... did I just dream, last night?

NO! Of course, no! I was wide awake and my eyebags serve as my evidence!

But, uggh! Ruther's headache! Why is he like this? Why is he a freaking walking contradiction!

First, he broke down last night because I turned off the light but, he denies it, now. Secondly, he introduced himself to my Gabby but, he doesn't seem to know anyone with that name! Third, he kept me awake, until sunrise, because he didn't want to let go so I could turn on the light even though he was so scared of the dark. Finally, he stayed up as late as I did but, there was no trace of any trace of tiredness in his posture.

I laid my arms together on the table. I pressed my forehead heavily on top of it and closed my eyes.

"Consort, are you doing drugs or something? Why are you so wide awake?" my tired voice trailed.

"What ?! What drugs are you talking about? I'm awake because I had a good night sleep," Ruther said. The newspaper he was holding crackled for a moment before the cup he was lifting from the saucer clinked. "But, my shoulders are really sore. Maybe it was because I was carrying you, last night."

My head quickly shot up from my arms and I glared at him. "Are you saying I'm heavy ?!" my defiant threat.

"Geez, woman! I didn't say anything like that," she replied quickly. Ruther sipped hot coffee before shaking his cup back into the saucer. "Chill, your highness. I'm just saying that's the only reason I can think of why my shoulder is shaking. I didn't exercise hard yesterday and I didn't stay up last night either ..."

"Yes, you did!" I hate the promise. I dropped my head on my arm again. "You even sympathize with me for your nonsense!"

Ruther did not rebuke my resentment. He picked up the second cup of coffee I ignored and moved it across from me.

"Here ... Have coffee. You're probably cranky because you're tired," he said. He opened the newspaper again. "Your wedding gown weighed like ... what ... a ton? And, you wore it almost the entire day. No wonder at nine o'clock you're still asleep. Most likely, you're exhausted."

I glanced at the coffee lovingly tempting my sense of smell. I freely inhaled its waking aroma. I stared at the dark liquid for a few seconds. Soon, my chin fell on my arm.

"I don't like coffee. I'm a tea person ..." I sniffed. "I want jasmine tea."

Ruther sighed. "Then, as you wish, your majesty. I'll go get you your tea." he says.

Ruther dropped his unfolded newspaper on the glass table. He loudly pulled back his chair so, my withered head ached again.

Ruther stood tall in his plain white T-shirt. You hugged his molded body loosely. He paired it with blue checkered pajama pants. And, a pair of fluffy white slippers donned his feet.

Fine ... I'll admit it. He's looks gorgeously casual. I wonder how many people have just seen him look like this?

Ruther went to the landline phone that sat on top of the bedside table. He quickly called someone to bring us tea.

Ruther really is good at pampering people. He is a suitable prince for a princess like Maya. But, could an incident like last night prompt him to leave her? Did she hate how childish he could suddenly get whenever there was a sudden power outage?

"Your tea should be here shortly, your highness. So, you can stop grumbling." suddenly Ruther said behind me. He put a light object on top of my head before he returned to his seat, earlier.

"Yay!" diwang ko. I winked at Ruther with a smirk.

Ruther momentarily stared before he laughed at the nose and lifted a corner of his mouth. He picked up his newspaper again and went back to reading.

I sniffed again. I suddenly missed his cute version that looked like a lizard when it clung to my neck. If it was just "Gabby" maybe, most likely, I would have been rewarded with a huge innocent grin. He'd be as excited as me.

The paper that Ruther had placed on my head slowly slipped through my hair. So, I caught it quickly. I found that my messy hair was still tied up and decorated with scattered pearls. I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t washed off my make-up yet.

"What is this?" I asked while examining the folded paper. I straightened up and leaned on the backrest of the chair. "Is this some sort of a contract?"

"Huh? Why would I give you a contract?" he asked with an eyebrow. He elegantly lifted the cup, without taking his eyes off his newspaper. "Those are the only things we need to plan for. Since I agreed to this, what we say about our 'past' should be consistent ... Those are the things that, I think, I should know about the woman I have been with for many years. And, since you're a storyteller, I'll leave that to you. "

"K." I have no appetite for answers. I let go of the paper on the table and for a moment you slipped on the glass tabletop. "But, that's later. I'll go back to sleep first to refresh my brain. Plus I need to fix myself. I can't get pimples. I'm still shooting."

Ruther nodded. "Okay." he replied. He sipped his coffee for a moment before closing the newspaper he was reading.

Ruther folded the newspaper in half and laid it on the table. Her gold ring shone when she placed her palm on the news headline.

Suddenly I jumped upright so, loudly my chair backed away. I quickly grabbed Ruther's newspaper and opened the front page.

"No ... No, no, no, no, no ..." I whispered shaking. I backed away a little until the back of my leg hit the chair. "The news shouldn't have come out so quickly ... I haven't explained everything to my manager yet!"

Ruther quickly wiped the t-shirt he had spilled with coffee when I swallowed the newspaper. He put his cup on the saucer and stared at me worriedly.

"I thought you already saw it. You were looking at the newspaper while I was reading. So, I thought it was fine because you didn't react ..." he said. He watched me slowly sit up. "Well, your attendance to my wedding, as Maya's guest, was announced ahead of time. Also, there are many politicians and businessmen on my guest list. So, naturally, there is a lot of press there. You should've known mafo-front page ka because of how unexpected our wedding was. "

"I was half-asleep and wasn't really paying attention! But, don't they think of anything else to report? The amount of corruption in the government, am I the one they're talking about ?!" I threw my feet on the marble floor.

"You have a point again. But, superstar Irah unexpectedly getting married IS big news, your highness. And, it's so dang juicy!" he says. He leaned forward. "If I'm a reporter, that's also what I'm going to report for a lot of sales. You, after all, are the hottest celebrity in the country, right now. And, you did something controversial."

I stared at Ruther. I narrowed my eyes at him with my sharp stare.

"Whose side are you on? Ha? Ha !?" asik ko. I stabbed his rocky arm. "Hey! Even though I don't know where I put my wedding ring, I'm still your wife!"

Immediately both of Ruther's palms flew through the air. "I'm just saying!" shrugged his promise. "Also, I resized your ring with my secretary. It should be done in two weeks."

My shoulders slumped heavily and my watery vision blurred. I put both my elbows on the table and buried my face in my palms together.

"I'm really upset, consort. When my manager reads this, I'm sure he'll remember me alive!" my defeated cry. I rubbed my fingers through my tangled hair. "How are my projects? My endorsements ?! My contracts! I have to talk to Madame Joy first so that I can press con to explain what happened !. But, now that the news has preceded me, my fans will feel betrayed and, my career will be over! "

Ruther took a deep breath and dragged his chair close to me. He grabbed me by the chin so I could slowly turn to him.

He leaned closer and sneezed,

"I won't say it will be fine because, I don't know what will happen. But ..," Ruther's free palm slipped on my arm until his firm grip confidently invaded my trembling hand. "You can count on me helping you, like you helped me, yesterday. And, if push comes to shove, I'll make sure your allowance is even bigger than anything you'll earn from your shows, okay?" He smiled a little. The light shone in his unblinking gaze. "But, of course, our first priority is to save your career. So, don't panic, your highness, okay? I'm just here behind you."

I could not answer. I just opened my mouth watching his eyes carefully examining the depths of my soul.

My eyes spontaneously wandered over his lush eyebrows. His jet black brows and midnight hair elegantly accentuates the air of mystery that cloaks him. I noticed he had a small mole below his left eye. Her irises also turn wine-colored whenever they are illuminated by light, at select angles.

I wasn’t the only one who bothered to stare. Ruther's gaze also slipped into various corners of my face.

I swallowed when he looked down at my lips. My palms sweated when he slowly bit his lip.

"C-can I?" he whispered nervously. With his voice so weak, I wouldn't be able to hear him if we weren't so close.

My voice stuck in my throat when his warm breath caressed my long lashes. The pulses explode inside my ear.

For some foreign reason, I nodded weakly. I exhaled slowly as I watched her reddened lips approach.

—DING DONG!

We both jumped back from our seats. Ruther quickly let go of me and sneezed one after another.

I quickly stood up and palm -ironed my shirt. I pinned my runaway hair to my ear and averted my gaze.

"Uhm ... Krystel maybe that's it. I got her, yesterday, the scripts I left at home ..." I stammered.

I immediately turned away when Ruther nodded. I didn’t wait for him to meet my gaze and I quickly went to the door.

My God! What's that?! I firmly caressed my beating heart. Am I attracted to him — my stranger husband?

How many good-looking celebrities and businessmen have shown me a motive that I don't look back on? Don’t tell me, only Maya’s runaway fiancé will break my solely-focused-on-career record?

No ... I can't!

I quickly opened the door to let Krystel open. I didn't even bother to peek at the peep hole because I wanted to immediately escape the strange air inside the hotel suite.

"M-Madame Joy ?!" I stuttered in shock. My knees softened so, I took two steps back.

God be merciful! It's my manager from hell! How did he know I was here? And, why did he himself come here instead of summoning me ?!

I was sharply hinead-to-foot by my manager. He suddenly rubbed his nose as if I was smelling a canal.

"Yes, Irah. It's me. I took your hotel room number from Krystel," she hissed. There was no trace of joy in every word he uttered. "Speed! Let me in. We need to talk!"

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