Cyrus Valentino sat in his office chair, his eyes closed and his fingers drumming against the armrest of his boss's chair.
His thoughts spiraled like smoke from a dying fire as he tried to figure out the girl in his bedroom.
She was unpredictable, a creature he loathed remarkably, not because she was ugly or unkind, but because she came with a sense of uncertainty, something he never fancied.
Everything he read about her so far from the document provided to him by his trusted resources spoke about all the things that she didn't appear.
According to the reports, Amelia was born a prodigy to healers. Her sharp mind was why she skipped class and studied in the same class as her sister, even when she was seventeen.
Her decoctions were praised by healers of the West and taken to the national level under Hannah's name because she was the eldest.
However, this was her only good quality. Apart from this, she was a childish brat known for making multiple mistakes.
Her love for Alpha Killian was known to almost everyone in their community. After all, she did some not-so-proud things for him, even kneeling before his pack on his birthday so he would accept her baked cake.
Even recently, she proposed to him on her knees after school ended with a banner that screamed her love for him.
If that girl was so much in love with that man, why did she agree to marry him? Was it just for her sister, or was she hiding another ulterior motive?
Cyrus took a deep breath as he remembered the message he read on her phone when she was sleeping.
It was from her sister. There were two messages.
"Lia, I am so sorry. Something popped up in Killian's pack, and he had to leave immediately. I know I promised I would rescue you today, but we won't be able to make it. Please bear with it for a few days,"
"I know the man you married is a monster. If you can't bear it, make a run as soon as possible. I will cover up for you. Don't worry. Killian will be happy. I don't know if he will accept you after you spend some nights with that monster. You will have to think of something. I love you. Best of luck,"
These were the two messages he read on Amelia's phone, and he couldn't help but scoff at them.
For someone planning something as atrocious as that, she had the nerve not to have a lock on her phone.
The occasional sound of his chair creaking echoed in the silent room.
Cyrus didn't even know how long he sat there, thinking about the unpredictable situation.
After thinking a lot, he pressed the button to call Fabian to his office.
"Yes, sir. You called for me," Fabian asked as soon as he entered the office.
"Loosen the security tonight," Cyrus said meaningfully.
Fabian thought he heard his king wrong.
Since he got married and his wife would be in danger from the people who would want to attack him, shouldn't he be asking to tighten the security rather than loosen it?
"Pardon, sir?" he asked.
Cyrus stopped drumming his fingers and opened his eyes before taking a deep breath.
"Loosen the security. Enough to help someone escape," Cyrus stood from his seat and walked to the balcony, his gaze lingering on his bedroom balcony.
"Would it be feasible for someone to jump one floor?" He asked.
Fabian furrowed his brows.
Why was his king asking about all the weird things?
"It's easy for our soldiers, sir," Fabian answered nonetheless.
"Hmm, keep the doors open then," Cyrus said after some time.
The kind of figure Amelia had, she looked too petite to be able to jump from the first floor and run away without breaking a couple of bones.
Cyrus smirked.
He wasn't aiding the girl in running away. Instead, he was giving her the leverage to run to catch her later and use her escape against the healers.
Then, he would wait and see what those cunning healers would do to protect their name and dignity.
After doing some paperwork, Cyrus walked out of his office and looked at Miss Quinn with raised brows.
"Has the girl eaten?" He asked.
"Madam hasn't come out of the room since earlier, sir. That was why I was here. I wanted to know if I should ask the chef to prepare something particular," The head maid, Miss Quinn, asked.
Hasn't come out of the room since earlier?
Cyrus repeated the words in his head.
It looks like the girl made her move already.
"No need. You can go and rest," Cyrus walked away.
Miss Quinn looked at the King's back with a complicated expression.
No need? That girl was so skinny. Even if they couldn't see her face, they saw her tiny legs, and she even heard her frail voice.
How could he let his wife sleep on an empty stomach the first night? Miss Quinn shook her head and descended the stairs to the kitchen, where she asked the chef to prepare something light.
Cyrus, on the other hand, too tired, opened the door of his room, ready to see an empty bed. His hand paused on the doorknob when he saw a sprawled brown-haired girl on his bed, sleeping like there was no tomorrow.
Her long hair spread on more than half of the bed while her legs and hands spread like a star covered the remaining half.
She wasn't even sleeping straight!!
What the–? Wasn't she supposed to run away because she feared him and didn't want to get rejected by that Killian guy?
Cyrus clenched his jaws.
Wait. Could she be so busy sleeping that she forgot about her running away plan?
That could be the case. Cyrus nodded to himself before walking to the bed's right side.
He leaned forward, placing his hand on the edge of the bed.
"Don't you want to run away from the monster?" He whispered into her ears, hoping the words would reach her subconscious mind and she would be reminded of her task.
The girl didn't budge.
He whispered again but received no reaction.
Taking a deep breath to control his annoyance, Cyrus patted the girl's cheeks.
"Don't you have to make a run from the monster? Wake up," He said.
At this point, he didn't even know if he was calling himself the monster or urging the girl to run away from someone else.
His actions finally got him a reaction this time.
However, he didn't expect the girl to swat his hand away.
"Go away. I have run enough. Let me sleep," The girl said before she turned on her left side and hugged the pillow close to her chest, throwing her leg on his side of the bed.
The way she slept, her dress rose to her calves, and Cyrus's gaze darkened.
"You!" He started.
Ahh, he finally understood what she was trying to do.
She must have realized that he had read her messages and knew she would be caught if she tried now, so she chose another method to irritate him.
By taking his bed!!
How dare she!!
Cyrus gritted his teeth as he looked at his large bed, which looked tiny and had no space for him, as this girl sprawled like a hooligan.
She was definitely not ladylike!
'What ulterior motives does she have? Was it a trap?' Cyrus wondered as he grabbed a pillow and lay on the couch, thinking deeply.
He tried relaxing his mind, but to no avail did he relax. With his legs dangling like that, he could not catch any sleep.
With a heavy groan, he sat and looked at the girl who was sound asleep, his hands itching to strangle her.
"I will avenge this," Cyrus promised himself before walking to the bed and staring at her with a dejected sigh.
He grabbed her hand and evened her position, so she slept straight before getting into the bed with her.
As soon as Cyrus closed his eyes, he felt something heavy landing on his abdomen, and his senses were alerted immediately.
He opened his eyes to see the girl sprawled on him, and his gaze darkened further.
He was finally getting a hold of her.
She was trying to snatch things away from him, and she had already started her game by snatching his bed. He scoffed.
As if he would allow that.
He pushed the girl away gently before turning to his side, but like a parasite, she returned, throwing her hand heavier this time.
When he couldn't get her off himself even after two tries, he shook hands with his destiny for the night and closed his eyes, reminding himself to make her pay for this.