Eva meekly followed Alexander to his apartment, but her mind was in a state of turmoil, fighting and contradicting his statement. If she were that precious to him, why couldn’t he accept her in his life in place of Beatrix? Why couldn’t he love her instead? She had never hidden her feelings from him, but what was the use, even if he didn’t return them at all?
“I won’t stay here for free,” she grumbled and Alexander sighed, giving up.
“Pay me some rent if you insist, but only the amount I specify.”
“I have one more condition,” said Eva, turning to face him. Alexander rolled his eyes and waited patiently for her to spell it out.
“Tell me.” Eva hesitated and looked away, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
“You’re engaged and therefore it will be better if you didn’t kiss me. We will stay away from any physical proximity. If you agree, I’ll stay or I’ll move into Alyssa’s place.”
Strangely, Alexander stared hard at her, not committing anything. He couldn’t control his urge to kiss her. He might be engaged to a woman he hated, but he needed Eva like he needed oxygen to breathe. How could he commit to something he couldn’t uphold? “I can’t promise, but I’ll try my best to stay away from you.”
“Fine. I’ll try my best to stay with you,” she said, but couldn’t stop the chuckle from breaking free at seeing the amused look on his face. Despite the condition, Alexander relaxed a lot, satisfied that he could bring her home with him. The stress he had been going through ever since she left his home decreased and he felt happy for a change.
“I’m not giving you a choice. If you stay here in this building, Lisa will spend her free time with you instead of going to Hayley’s house. With Nicholas living nearby, I don’t want her to plan her night stays there. My penthouse is big enough and you can have all the space you want.” Eva frowned at his strange logic while he strode into his study to get ready for the board meeting tomorrow. With Eva by his side, he didn’t care anymore. He could face anything they decided at the meeting.
The next morning he woke up after a very relaxing sleep and jumped at seeing the time. How had he overslept? It shocked him since he was always an early riser! Now he had only an hour at hand to get ready and reach the conference room. Taking a quick shower, he reached the kitchen to see Eva struggling with the coffeemaker.
“God! I forgot to get a new one. That’s not working!” he groaned, looking lost. He couldn’t face anyone without coffee! He surely could have it at his restaurant, but today he needed Eva’s coffee!
“Should I get you coffee from Alyssa’s place?” asked Eva, knowing how grumpy he was without his morning coffee.
“Can you hurry? I have an important meeting in forty-five minutes,” he said, rushing to the study to get his laptop. “The keys are in the dish in the foyer.” Eva picked them up and hurried down to Alyssa’s apartment, only to find that she still hadn’t returned from Hayley’s house.
Eva was about to pour the coffee when Alyssa unlocked her door and entered the apartment. She knew Alyssa would feel shocked to see her here. How would she explain her presence? Alyssa walked into the kitchen just in time to see Eva pouring coffee into two mugs.
“Eva? When did you come in? Where did you get the keys to the apartment?” she asked with astonishment, while Eva blushed a little.
“I was fast asleep when Alexander arrived and brought me here against my will. He sort of abducted me,” she said apologetically, making Alyssa’s jaws drop to the floor.
“He did what? Wait, are you telling me we’ll be living together again?” she asked with disbelief, but Eva shook her head, looking embarrassed.
“No, he wants me to live in his apartment and pay him rent.” Alyssa slumped onto the bar stool in shock.
“What? He’s ready to share his precious apartment with you?” she gasped in shock. What was wrong with Alexander? Was he sick or something? The first time he shared his apartment with Eva was because she was away in California, but now? Now she was here and willing to live with her best friend. Then why did he have to bring Eva back and force her to live with him? He never agreed to share his apartment with her, his sister, in his entire lifetime! “Are you sure there’s no catch? As far as I know him, he’s the meanest guy on earth!”
Eva shrugged, unable to tell her the real reason Alexander wanted her to stay with him. She herself didn’t know the guy and the workings of his brain! “I don’t know if there’s a catch. I’m sure he’ll tell me if there is.”
“Why have you made two mugs of coffee? Did you know I was coming?” asked Alyssa, looking clueless. Eva looked uncomfortable and shook her head.
“No, it’s for Alexander. His coffee maker isn’t working, and he wanted me to make him some coffee.” Alyssa gaped at her as her head reeled with the information. Since when did Alexander need to use her coffee maker when he had a chef of his own to do his bidding? He usually had his coffee at his restaurant whenever his chef took leave!
“Umm, this is unbelievable! Anyway, why don’t you give him his coffee and come back here? We have so much to catch up on,” she said and Eva nodded and walked towards the door carrying the coffee mugs on a tray. Alyssa rolled her eyes at her friend. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she get over her crush on her brother? Despite his rudeness, Eva was too sweet to bear any grudge against him.
However, just as Eva opened the door to her apartment, she gasped at seeing Alexander there. “What took you so long? I need to go to work. I can’t wait for my coffee all morning!” he told her gruffly, while Eva looked apologetic. She had been so happy to see her best friend, she completely forgot that he was in a hurry to get to work!
“I’m sorry,” mumbled Eva. Alyssa walked out of her kitchen to face her brother. How could he take advantage of a kind soul like Eva’s and play with her innocence?
“My friend isn’t your slave, Alex. She doesn’t need to make your coffee and do your bidding. You have your team of chefs to do that.” Alexander looked up at her with surprise, obviously not expecting to see her at all. His jaws clenched angrily, and he glared at his sister.
“So you finally found the time to return home? I think I specifically asked you not to have anything to do with Nicholas. Yet you had to visit his house and spend twenty minutes with him. Can you explain that to me?” he growled angrily. Alyssa, too, argued furiously, accusing him of stalking her. With both refusing to back down, Eva felt agitated, like a deer caught in the headlights. To ease the atmosphere, she handed Alexander his coffee and poured hers into two cups. She handed one to Alyssa and sat down to sip her own, not involving herself in their argument.
“I know what this is all about. I’m not going to your dad’s office if that’s what you’re getting at.” Alyssa joined Eva and sipped her coffee in peace, refusing to get worked up by her arrogant brother. Alexander placed his coffee on a cabinet nearby and stormed out of her apartment angrily, without even taking a sip. Eva’s face fell at seeing all her efforts going to waste and she reluctantly got up to get the coffee.
“You knew he would do that. Why can’t you get over him, Eva? He’s not worth your time.” Eva didn’t reply and sat down with her, sipping her coffee in silence. “You don’t need to stay with him. Stay with me like you used to. I’m sure he wouldn’t care whether you live with him or with me.”
“I can’t. He’ll be furious with me. This isn’t about caring. He wants me to stay here so that you stop going to Hayley’s house and spend time with me instead. I wanted a place of my own, so he offered to rent me a portion of the penthouse.” Alyssa rolled her eyes and looked annoyed by her stubbornness.
“When is he not angry?” She scoffed with displeasure. “Are you really buying those excuses? Can you afford his posh penthouse? I can give you in writing that he would never accept money from you. He is whipped with you, but too proud to accept it. He’s an as*hole.”
“I don’t know. Maybe if you listen to him for once, he will calm down. Why don’t you consider his suggestion and think about what you want to do with your life, Alyssa? Look for a job that you want to do. You don’t need to take over your stepdad’s business right away. I’m sure there’ll be other alternatives,” said Eva.
“Yeah, I’ll look for a job.” Alyssa sighed.
Alexander stormed into the conference room angrily, having forgotten to even take a sip of Eva’s delicious coffee. The collision with his sister made him forget everything, and now it was too late to order coffee. To his dismay, all the board members were seated and waiting for him while Beatrix glared at him angrily.