Luana blinked a few times.

She had never slept in a bed this wide and smiling, and last night, she seemed completely lost in dreams.


It felt so good that Luana didn't even realize it was morning. She was used to waking up even before dawn every day. But today, she even continued to sleep when the sun had already risen and shone.

Rubbing her eyes unconsciously, Luana lay down with her eyes opening slowly. When she remembered that she was not alone in that bed, Luana hurriedly turned her head to the side.

Intending to check Rey's whereabouts, but the left side of the bed already looked empty.


Rising slowly to sit on the large bed, Luana realized she was alone again. Rey was no longer in sight, probably gone or maybe taking care of his other business matters.

Stretching her muscles by raising both hands in the air, Luana yawned, feeling pretty good that morning.


"Are you awake?"

But the activity was stopped hastily; at this time, Luana's ears caught a familiar voice.

Without realizing it, Rey had appeared out of nowhere, now standing on the edge of the sofa and looking straight at her. The man's hair still looked wet, and it looked like the man had just finished showering.

A pair of knee-length shorts had been worn by Rey that morning, combined with a soft green t-shirt with abstract patterns on it. The man's hand was holding a medium-sized towel, which was draped over his sturdy shoulders.

Rey's hand moved to wipe his hair, making Luana look like a fool again.

The man walked over to the sofa and sat down on it.

"Get ready," Rey said. His voice echoed throughout the room as he threw the towel to the side. Grabbing the device he had placed on the glass table, Rey was focused on scrolling through the screen now.

"Are you going to work?" Luana asked hesitantly. She had no idea what they would be doing there and how long they would be in the city of Heidelberg.

Rey had yet to look up from his cell phone.

"My work is done," he replied without turning around. "Today and the next few days will just be relaxing until we get home."

Luana didn't know what the word relax meant, which Rey had just said. She was simply not used to being around that man, even though she repeatedly remembered that she was no longer a servant in the Collins family.

She was Luana Lueic, the lawful wife of the handsome nobleman currently stealing her attention.

"Are we leaving?" Luana spoke up again, moving slowly to get off the bed.

Not answering with words, Rey only gave a quiet, deafening nod afterward. The man seemed to have been too focused on what he was observing on the screen, no longer paying attention to Luana, who was now starting to walk toward the bathroom.

The woman didn't want to waste time and didn't want Rey to yell back, thinking she was as slow as a snail.

Closing the bathroom door, Luana had gone inside to quickly clean herself up. She didn't know what they would do, but she hoped she would have enough time to enjoy the city.

***

Luana got ready a few moments later. She was already wearing a soft white knee-length dress with flowers scattered around the shoulders and waist.

Rey was still in his previous position just as she exited the bathroom.

Approaching Rey, still focused on his cell phone, Luana's eyeballs caught the wet towel Rey had used earlier, still beside the man.

Without hesitation, Luana took the towel without saying anything. After turning around, Luana turned out to be walking straight back towards the bathroom.

Surprised by Luana's action, Rey turned his head quickly, observing how she had disappeared behind the bathroom door.

When Luana returned, Rey stood with his phone stuffed in his pants pocket.

"What are you doing?" the man asked, confused, looking straight at Luana, who had stopped strolling.

Luana gasped. She also didn't know why she was doing that, it was just that Luana seemed to be used to tidying up everything that was scattered around.

Including wet towels like earlier, which shouldn't be there.

"What do you mean?" Luana asked back. "I didn't do anything."

Realizing that her actions might arouse suspicion, Luana tried to avoid Rey's gaze which was still directed at her. The man followed where Luana moved, even turning his body to follow Luana's movements, which were now heading toward the dressing table.

Rey really didn't expect Luana to do that, because all he knew was that the servants should do the job.

"You shouldn't have done that," Rey said again, still not taking his eyes off the same object from earlier.

Luana did not return the man's gaze, choosing instead to watch her reflection in the mirror.

"I didn't do anything," Luana said quietly. "It's just that I'm used to tidying things up. It doesn't feel right when something is out of place."

Rey was silent for a few seconds. The corner of his eye noticed how fluid Luana's movements were as the woman applied cream to her face, not overdoing the makeup.

"There will be someone to do that for you," Rey said again. "You don't have to bother with little things like that."

Luana turned her head.

The man always seemed to criticize every single thing she did, but this morning Rey's criticism seemed to be beyond the pale. Luana only did something to ensure the wet towel didn't end up on the couch by day, which was to dry in the bathroom.

She didn't know why Rey made such a big deal from her actions.

"Mr. Rey, I will do what I think I can," Luana said. "It really doesn't make me tired, so you shouldn't criticize me for little things like that."

Rey hardened his jaw.

What Luana said was true because it certainly didn't require extra effort to dry the towel that had been used.

The problem now was that Rey could not hold back the turmoil that had been present in his heart. He even turned his face away from the device displaying the growth graph of their business just because of a small action that Luana did without realizing it.

It was just a towel-drying scene, but Rey felt like lightning struck him right then and there for some reason.

Luana was silent for a few seconds, but it seemed Rey wasn't going to answer yet. So the woman chose to finish her makeup, now rising from the flower-printed chair as she shook out her dress.

Luana only lightly powdered her face, this time letting her wet hair down. She moved to reach for the sling bag on the table, stuffing some of her necessities into it.

A wallet that didn't contain much money, a few bobby pins, a golden-colored hair tie, and a lipgloss in case the sun made her pink lips dry out.

Just as she was about to turn around to get her flat shoes, Rey's voice filled the room again.

"Just don't do it again," he whispered, but it could still be clearly heard.

Luana returned Rey's straight gaze to her, pressing her lips together as he seemed to want to continue.

"Don't act like my wife," the man said. "You should know where you stand, so don't overstep your bounds."

Rey had already turned around, taking a step to move from where he had been standing.

Not giving Luana any room to reply to his last sentence, the man didn't even look back until he had almost reached the doorknob.

Creating a distance that stretched between Luana and himself, Rey was still trying to get a grip on himself.

"Because if you act as my wife, I'm afraid I will act out of my mind," Rey whispered to himself in a very slow voice.