Charlotte 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 a wet face. She couldn't find a towel inside. Didn't Elijah wash his face? Why wasn't there even a tissue?

She went out with her face still wet, thinking it would dry eventually, so why bother looking for a towel?

She went downstairs to the kitchen to make coffee. She paused at the door when she saw Elijah looking at his phone. He glanced at her briefly, then returned his gaze to his phone screen.

She quietly went inside while he was still busy. She even tried to mix the coffee quietly, although it was difficult. She paused. Why was she doing this? Whatever, if Elijah gets annoyed by the sound of a spoon, it'll take a long time.

"You're taking too long to mix your coffee. Is that a whole pitcher? No wonder you're having a hard time mixing it."

She glanced at Elijah, but he wasn't looking at her, he suddenly turned to see what she was doing.

"It's already cold from stirring so much, drink it while it's still hot."

Elijah said so much, but she was the one drinking the coffee, even if it was already cold.

When she finished, she put the spoon she used in the sink and sat opposite Elijah, with a narrow table between them.

"You're leaving now, right?" She nodded. "What time will you be back?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know."

"Give me the exact time you'll be back because I need to go to my company, I have something to check there."

"I don't know."

"You should be back before 5 pm if you don't want to give a time."

She turned her head, her face wrinkled. "I'll be back, even if I don't give a time."

He looked into her eyes. "You don't know what could happen outside, Charlotte. You can't come home late."

"I always come home late even before we got married, at my mom's house."

"In my house, if you're not coming from school, you can't come home late."

"What if my friends and I have plans and it gets late?"

He leaned back in his chair. "I'll pick you up, but don't come home with your friends."

"Why?!" She asked, annoyed.

"Are all your friends female?"

She shook her head. "There are guys too."

"So, just follow what I want so we don't argue. So we can treat each other nicely."

"You're not forbidding me from what I want, are you?"

"As long as you're okay with it and you'll follow what I want, you can do what you want. But just don't come home late, and if you do, I'll just pick you up. But if you're afraid of people finding out you're already married, just tell them that I'm your brother's friend and Christian is busy, so I'm the one picking you up."

She stared at Elijah as he spoke while looking at the screen of his phone. If nothing bad happened, Elijah would be okay to be a friend or even a brother, given their age gap. She was eighteen, while Elijah was 27 years old, the same age as her brother.

She lowered her gaze to his lips, they were red as if he had lip balm with color on them. Her eyes squinted.

"Do you like using lip tint?"

He looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Like... lip balm, lipstick... stuff like that." She said while moving her hands and raising her eyebrows slightly.

She saw his eyes widen. "Are you saying I'm using women's products on my lips?"

"W-Well, I just noticed?"

"Tsk... My lips are naturally red. Why, are yours dark that's why you're admiring mine?"

Her eyes widened, while her mouth hung open. "Hey! My lips aren't dark!"

He stared at her lips for a long time, so she covered them with her hand to remove his gaze from her lips, it was taking too long.

"Okay, it's fine, but because you're drinking coffee, that's why they're not very red."

"You're also drinking coffee."

"I don't know, but maybe even if I drink it, they won't darken."

It's unfair, if you think about it, Elijah's lips are prettier than hers.

He took her half-filled cup of coffee. "You have creamer in your coffee." He drank from her cup, paused, and looked at her.

"Why?"

"The taste of your blend is familiar."

"Huh?"

"Do you prepare it every time the maids give us coffee in your parent's house?"

She nodded. "Yes, it's me, the maids just serve it to you."

"You have a future in coffee blending, the taste never changes no matter how many times you brew it, it's always the same."

"I've estimated the amount to use, that's why."

"You're studying engineering, right?"

"Yes."

"This one's probably cold now, here."

He stared at the cup for a long time, then drank it all and left nothing behind when he placed it in front of her.

She didn't react and just looked at Elijah.

"Sorry, I finished it. My saliva might be in there, maybe you don't want that, it would be a waste if you just throw it away."

"N-No... I'll still drink it even if you drink from the cup."

His eyebrows raised. "Really? Just make a new one if you still want coffee."

"No need, maybe later."

He stood up. "Do you want to come with me? I'll drop you off at your friend's."

"I'll just commute."

"Okay, please just wash my cup, include it with the cups and spoons you'll wash, so the maids won't have to do it." He left while she looked at his cup, Elijah didn't make that cup earlier. Her cup was empty when she arrived in the kitchen.

She stood up and took the two cups to wash, she didn't have clothes either. She might just borrow something from Elijah that fits her.

Charlotte 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."

"Does she sleep here too... besides you?" She glanced at the bed and then at Elijah's face.

"No."

She was a bit confused; there were no beds in the two rooms. Where does his sister sleep?

"She stays here at my house all day. She just changes clothes and then stays at a hotel at night."

"Why didn't you put stuff in your two rooms? You're making it difficult for your sister to keep coming back to your house."

He went behind her, probably to get his clothes.

"She rarely comes home here, so I didn't plan on putting anything in the two rooms. Even my friends are not staying here to sleep."

Elijah's logic was unclear, even though no one sleeps here, even his friends. What if it's for an emergency, and there's no choice but to go home? Where would she sleep, on the floor?

"Maybe you have some small clothes, can I borrow some?"

"I don't have any small clothes that would fit you. Just choose from my sister's clothes."

"Is that okay?"

"Yes."

Elijah left with the clothes he would wear to the bathroom.

She held onto clothes, all of them were sexy, there were dresses but still sexy, and there were T-shirts but too tight. Elijah's sister had a sexy body. She was still staring at the clothes hanging when Elijah came out of the bathroom.

"Are you still not done picking clothes?"

"Not yet."

She heard him sigh softly. "I'll choose for you, you'll take forever to find something. Get out of there for now."

She went to the side, and he started rummaging through his sister's clothes, but some fell, so she picked them up. He was too rough with the clothes, not even being careful despite their apparent value.

"You're taking too long."

"Shut up!"

She just glared at him without looking. Even he couldn't pick something that wasn't too sexy.

"I think, this one is okay."

He held up a T-shirt and high-waisted pants. It was a better choice than what she saw earlier.

"Thanks." She took them from Elijah's hand. She checked the waist size, it fit her, she had the same waist size as Elijah's sister.

"Before you shower, tidy this up."

From the look of the inside of the cabinet, it seemed like someone was looking for something important inside, so all the clothes were messy. There were a lot, and some even fell on the floor.

"Okay."

She took all the unorganized clothes and placed them on Elijah's bed, and as she started cleaning up, Elijah just sat on the bed, looking at his phone.

"Aren't you leaving yet?"

He glanced at her briefly. "I will after you."

"Aren't you in a hurry?"

"Would I be sitting here if I were in a hurry? I should have left earlier."

"I'm just asking," she muttered.

"Hurry up so I can leave."

"You go, this will take a while."

Annoyed, he grabbed the pants beside her, and Elijah started folding them. Turns out he knows how, he didn't even help her earlier.

When they finished folding and organizing inside the cabinet, she quickly went into Elijah's bathroom. She showered quickly because it was already late for her meet-up with Mary.

After coming out of the bathroom, she was blow-drying her hair, but Elijah still hadn't left.

"Aren't you planning to leave?"

"I am."

She frowned as she walked towards the bed. "Can I borrow a comb?"

"I don't have a comb."

She looked at Elijah in confusion. "Even guys with short hair still comb their hair, and you don't have one?"

"I just use my hands to fix my hair."

She looked at his hair; it was fine, but it was still better to use a comb. She just used her hands on her long hair, drying it more to prevent dripping.

She stood up and hung Elijah's towel back in the bathroom. "I'm leaving."

"Wait a moment."

She stopped walking. Elijah stepped in front of her. "This is your allowance for today." He handed her some money.

Her eyes widened. Did she leave her family's money in Elijah's room, the money their family gave them pinned in their clothes on their wedding day?"

"Is this the money I separated from our family?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"This is from me, my own money."

She moved his hand holding the money away. "Where's the money? I'll just get my fare from there."

Elijah's gaze locked onto hers, not even blinking or moving his lens. She blinked, so she took the money he was giving her.

"Once I give you something, take it. I'm your husband, so even though we got married under strange circumstances, we're still married. What's mine is yours, from now on. Do you understand, Charlotte?"

She didn't know what to say, so she just nodded.

"I put aside the money you're talking about, so don't worry about where it is."

He stepped closer to her, so she raised her eyebrows slightly. But she was more surprised when he touched her cheeks. "I made you blush, are you okay going out with your cheeks all red?"

Why was he so close?

"I-I'm... I'm fine even if my cheeks are red." Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears.

He nodded and removed his hand from her cheek, then stepped back two steps.

"Let's go, I'll accompany you. I'll drop you off near where you're going, but remember what I said, you're not allowed to come home late if you decide to go home alone."

"Yes."

"Let's go."

Elijah left the room, leaving her standing there, still holding onto her chest, trying to calm her heart before following him. She seemed nervous about Elijah approaching her.

Charlotte 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't respond because she felt guilty; she went there out of anger last night. How did Elijah open the car? The keys were with her.

"How did you open the car?"

"Key."

She sniffed. "The car keys were inside."

"I have a duplicate."

She nodded. Elijah was smart.

"What's your friend's address? We might have passed it."

She gave Mary's address. They were already close, she realized. Good thing Elijah asked.

"Remember our agreement."

"Yes, I won't forget."

She got out of the car and closed it. She stood on the side, waiting for Elijah to leave first. When the car started moving away, she rode a tricycle to Mary's house.

When the tricycle stopped in front of Mary's house, she noticed the cars of her friends Angelo, Jenny, and Luis parked outside. She paid the tricycle driver and walked towards Mary's house. She rang the doorbell, and it opened after a moment.

"Oh, it's you, Ma'am Charlotte. Your friend and Ma'am Marry have been waiting for you inside."

"I took a bit long. Where are they?"

"They're in Ma'am Mary's room."

"Okay, thank you. I'll go there."

She entered the house and walked straight to Mary's room. When she opened the door, a noisy and messy room greeted her, with pillows being thrown around, and the bed was messed up, with the blanket on the floor. She picked it up and placed it back on the bed.

"Can you guys stop? You're making a mess."

They stopped. "Charlotte's here. Let's start," Mary said, looking at Angelo.

"What are we starting?" she asked.

Mary looked at Angelo. "We're going to drink until we get drunk."

"We have class tomorrow, and you just decided to drink now?"

"It's because of Jenny; she couldn't yesterday, so we're doing it now."

She couldn't yesterday either because of her marriage with Elijah.

"You guys go ahead. I'll pass for now."

"Okay, but you have to stay here and not go home."

She nodded. She sat on the sofa beside Luis, who had been quietly watching them the whole time.

"You seem spaced out."

"I'm just sleepy. I thought we were meeting for school stuff today, but it turns out it's just for drinking. I woke up early for nothing."

She couldn't help but laugh. Among their friends, Luis was the smartest and always had his nose buried in books. He didn't like being disturbed when studying, but it seemed like the three of them had convinced him to come here somehow.

"What are we going to do here? I don't want to drink alcohol either."

"Let's just eat. We'll have their appetizers; it looks more like a meal than snacks."

Their friends' drinking sessions were always like a feast, with a lot of food on the table while they drank. Even the helpers were still cooking snacks for them. It was fine with their parents for them to drink as long as it was at home and not in bars or outside. It was safer at home; at least if someone got drunk, they could sleep there instead of having to go home. But they never went to her house; her brother's friends were always there. Even her friends hadn't been there yet.

"Hey! You two, sit in front of the table. You're here to eat anyway."

So, she and Luis sat on the floor. The table was low, so they didn't need chairs. While waiting for the snacks Mary's helpers cooked, and they chatted. However, when the helpers brought the food and drinks, they all got busy with their tasks.

Even though it was still early, they started drinking right away. Their alcohol tolerance was high, so even if they drank until night, they would still be alive. She was not good with alcohol. One glass was enough for her, and she just ate what was on the table afterward.

Hours passed, and it was already afternoon. She and Luis were engrossed in playing a scramble game. She didn't notice the time.

"Guys, I'm leaving."

Everyone raised their eyebrows. It was evident that some of them were already drunk; their faces were flushed.

"I'm leaving too; you guys take care of yourselves, you're all grown-ups now," Luis said.

"You two are unfair. Maybe you're just going home to have a date," Jenny teased.

She rolled her eyes at Jenny's comment. "No, I'm going straight home. I don't know about Luis, maybe he has somewhere to go."

"I do. I have to pick up my little sibling from our grandma's house because they have school tomorrow, so I need to leave."

Angelo scratched his head. "You two always leave together with reasons, so because of that, each of you has to drink two glasses of alcohol before going home."

"I have to drive, so I can't," Luis said.

"Nah, this isn't strong enough to get you drunk, so just drink it," Mary insisted.

She took one glass because they couldn't finish if Angelo wasn't satisfied, but when she drank it without stopping, it felt like someone drew a very spicy line in her chest.

"What is this? It feels like rubbing alcohol."

"It's strong liquor, that's why it's strong," Mary said.

She grimaced at the taste, which was spicy, bitter, and cold in her mouth. "Don't let Luis drink this; he might have an accident. It's too strong!"

"Okay, fine, but you're not safe either because you're not driving. Here's another one for you before you go home."

Could she even drink that? She took the glass of alcohol, drank it straight, then grabbed some food and shoved it into her mouth to get rid of the taste.

"You're weak with alcoholic drinks, Charlotte. Be careful on your way home," Jenny reminded her.

They left Luis's room, and she felt like she couldn't even move her face properly.

"Are you okay? Can you still make it home?"

"Yeah."

"Shall I drop you off at your house?"

She shook her head repeatedly. "I can go home by myself. The trip won't take long. Just drop me off at the tricycle stop on the corner so I won't have to walk."

"Okay, let's go."

They just said goodbye to Julie, the helper close to their family who always accompanied them whenever they went to Mary's house. Then, they left Luis's house.