Evelyn furrowed her brows at him.
"No…"
"But you had a boyfriend." Zayne tilted his head, genuinely bemused.
She raised a brow at him. "I did. But, so what?"
"You never kissed him?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I want my first kiss to be perfect." Her eyes went dreamy at the thought, he could literally see angel wings at her back. "I've only dated him for three months. And I'm not naive if you think I am. I kind of figured out he didn't really like me like he said he did. But he's the first man I've ever dated, so I didn't want to…you know…"
"I see," Zayne hummed, lips curling slightly.
"What are you smiling for? It's not funny."
"I didn't say it was." He left the bed, standing on his feet. He rolled his shoulder, gauging the wound. It still ached, but not as bad as it was the night before. "Aren't you going to go home?"
"I will," Evelyn responded, tensing. "But…"
"But what?"
"Could I…" She cleared her throat, blinking her eyes around the room. "Could I…stay with you for a few days?"
He turned to look at her immediately, brows shot up. Then his head cocked to the side, tone flat. "No."
"Heh?"
Evelyn blanked.
"Seriously? No? I thought you cared for my safety?"
Zayne looked into her eyes and his grin expanded. "Because I took a bullet for you?"
She blinked at him frantically.
He rolled his shoulders and took steps towards her on his bare foot till he stood, towering over her with body hunched to meet her height. "I'm not your bodyguard, baby girl."
Her throat worked in a swallow.
"I never signed up to be one." His thumb caressed her under-eye, and he slipped her hair behind her ear. "What kind of a man would I be if I can't even protect my betrothed?"
Evelyn scrunched her brows, ignoring his fingers all over her face. "You say that and yet you won't even let me stay in your house for a few days? I'm not asking you to protect me, I just want to stay, because, what if there are still a few of them out there? They could kill me the very moment I leave this place. So for my own safety, I'm asking you to let me stay."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you refuse to marry me even though you're betrothed to me."
"This again?" Her response was with haste. "Why must I marry you? We don't even know each other much."
Zayne smiled. "I'm not forcing you. You're free to say no. But surely you don't expect me to bother when you have absolutely nothing to do with me, do you?"
Evelyn stared at him, her brows creasing.
"So, let me get this straight," she said. "Unless I marry you, my safety is none of your concern?"
"Yes." He turned away from her and walked over to sit at the edge of the bed. "It's like you said, we don't know each other that much. I have no reason to care when you have nothing to do with me."
She turned to face him.
"Then are you saying that if I marry you, I'll become your responsibility?"
"Yes."
"You would protect me and make sure that I don't die?"
"Yes." Zayne picked at the bandage, trying to untie it.
Her hands balled into fists. "Can you really…and I mean really protect me?"
He met her eyes and then looked at his wound. Then, looked back at her. "What do you think?"
Evelyn glanced at the wound.
A conflicted expression was on her face. It would be impulsive to marry a man she didn't even know that much, not to mention never even dated.
One should date first before marriage, shouldn't they? Then again, this was more of a contract marriage. Still…this wasn't what she wanted, none of what she dreamed of.
Date, fall in love, get married, and have a nice family—that was the perfect life she envisioned. Not getting involved with a man her father betrothed her to without her knowledge.
Sighing, she began to pace the room.
Zayne looked at her and furrowed his brows, watching her every step as she moved back and forth in the room.
"What are you thinking?"
He ripped off the bandage, lowering his gaze to the wound. It'd begun healing.
Evelyn came to a stop suddenly, frowning when he suddenly covered his wound with his palm as if he were hiding something.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing." Then he asked, "What are you thinking?"
She suspiciously narrowed her eyes at him. But shrugged it off. "I've come up with an idea."
"An idea?"
"Yes."
"Which is…?"
She grinned at him, very thoughtfully. "I'd like us to make a deal."
"A deal?"
Something about her smirk made his eyes crinkle with amusement.
"Yes." She popped out two fingers. "If you can survive me while we live together in the period of two months, I'll marry you after without objection. But that means you'll have no problem with whatever I do because I'll do just about anything to see that you grow tired of me and change your mind."
She added, "It also means that you'll protect me during those times because we can say I'm now involved with you, right? Plus, all you have to do is tolerate me for two months and see if you still wish to marry me after. And if you no longer wish to marry me, you won't be withdrawing from TDG. That is all."
"Sweet deal, isn't it?" Her lips stretched wider, smile touching her eyes. "What do you say, Mr. Mancini? Are you in?"