Natalie's room, at dawn.

Devonte stroked his fingers along Natalie's skin as she rested her head on his chest. He had missed her much the previous night that he couldn't help sneaking into her room.

"Don't attempt that again. It's too dangerous." She warned as she pinched his chest, though she couldn't deny that the risk of getting caught made it all the more thrilling.

"Why not? It was fun." He chuckled, to which she glared at him.

"Where did you learn to do that anyway?" She asked, referring to how he had climbed up to the third floor using his bare hands. The thought of it made chills run down her spine. What would have happened if his hands slid or if he missed a step?

He chuckled at her worried tone. "I've performed very many action scenes, my love. Besides, I've been doing such things since I was little." He laughed when he thought back to the time when he saved a girl who was stuck on the rooftop, trying to rescue an injured kitten.

"Do you think you're a superhero, huh?" She tried to pound her fist against his chest but as usual, he caught her hands effortlessly and pinned them at her side. It was impossible to attack him, and the thought of it always made her furious. Couldn't he let her win even once?!

As though he was reading her mind, he laughed at her imagination. He could tell what she was thinking because she had been complaining about it for years.

She slid her fingers between his, resting her head against his chest. "Only a few days left. After that, you will no longer need to hide and climb walls to meet me."

His heart must have skipped a few beats, and she felt it because of how close she was. She pulled away to sit up. "Is something wrong?"

"Why would anything go wrong when you are here with me?" He smiled as though nothing was wrong, pulling her back into his arms. "Come here."

"Something is happening. Your heart clearly skipped a beat when I talked about the Bolar Awards." She resisted his pull. She knew that he didn't like telling her if anything was wrong, so she would not be worried about him. However, she didn't want him to suffer silently if anything went wrong so she pressed for an answer.

He was about to say that his heart always skipped beats in her proximity. While it was true, it was an excuse in this case, which would upset her so he decided to be honest. "It's a small matter, actually. I had a fight with one of the judges."

She was speechless for a moment before the words sunk in. "Devonte, why? Why did you even meet a judge when it's forbidden?" To avoid any possibility of cheating, the judges were forbidden from meeting with any of the contestants or any of the people close to them. If the organizers found out that Devonte had met one of the judges, he would be banned and pulled down from the ranks. It was just four days away…

Devonte was troubled too. "The woman sought me on her own."

"It's Raquelle, isn't it?" She asked. It was obvious, because although there were three male judges and two female ones, the other female didn't seem idle enough to seek contestants in private.

He nodded, confirming her fear. That woman was more complicated than the couples television show she used to host in the past.

"What did she want?" She asked.

He hesitated, but he knew that refusing to tell her would only make her think there was something to hide. "She said that her daughter had always been obsessed with me. She wanted me to date her daughter and in exchange, she would ensure all the judges would vote for me."

"Damn it." She cursed. They had a fight, which meant that he had not agreed to the woman's outrageous request. She didn't know whether it was possible for one judge to sway the others' opinions, but it would be tragic if she could.

The judges' votes amounted to 45% of the total score, which put Devonte at a hot spot if the judges voted against him. Besides, if most or all the judges were against him, it would question the credibility of his fans' votes.

She sighed as she grabbed her phone from the bedside table, and he grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't fail again, because of someone's meddling." Her voice was full of hate. He had failed the last time because he had rejected a judge's advances. How could she let him go through the same pain once again?

He sat up and pulled her into his arms. "You need to clean up after me. Not to mention, there is nothing to clean up." He was no longer the naive young man he was, the one that was bullied repeatedly and snatched off his effort ten years ago. He knew how to handle such matters better now. Besides, "I had a word with Zaria's dad. If her negative vote affects the end result, a journalist will ask about it and tell the truth to everyone."

Natalie didn't think it was impossible. The Bolar Awards only happened once in a year, so they allowed re-runs if there was evidence of anything being against the rules.

"Where did she come to find you? If it's a place with surveillance cameras, I can have Desmond's hacker friend find solid evidence." She promised.

"No need. I already recorded everything." He grinned and played an audio file from his phone. "Nothing good comes out of a judge seeking a contestant in private."

"Good job." She praised him with a peck.

He chuckled. "Don't you think I deserve more than that as praise?" He pinned her down under him, only for a knock to resound on the door.

Natalie froze. "I know this sounds dumb but go behind the curtain."

And he did. There wasn't enough time to think of a better place to hide so he could only dash behind the curtains, and Natalie hurriedly hid his clothes with the comforter before sliding her nightgown on in a flash. She then got off the bed and yawned as she opened the door.

As expected, it was Ava.

"Mother, what do you need so early in the morning?" She yawned.

Ava frowned slightly. There was a scent in her daughter's room that wasn't there every day-a man's scent. That, and the scent of passion. She didn't mean to pry too much but she looked around to see a pair of white knickers sprawled on the floor. It wasn't hard to guess what was going on.

"Whose phone is that?" She asked about the phone on the nightstand, which was certainly not Natalie's.

Natalie tried to block her view. "It's a new phone I bought for a friend. I'm yet to give it to her. Mother, do you need something?" She couldn't be here just to investigate her, right?

"You need to get up soon. Have you forgotten that we are supposed to meet partners today? And who the hell was in your room? Have you forgotten that you are an engaged woman?" She reprimanded in one breath.

Natalie was speechless. Did she seriously ask her that? "Yes, I'm an engaged woman and not a little girl that needs you to watch her every step. If my fiancé and I want to cheat on each other, what's it to you?"

She didn't want to sound rude, she was just embarrassed.

That, and the fact that if it wasn't for her parents' greed, she wouldn't be engaged to Desmond. She wouldn't need to hide behind her friend and hold the title of a cheating fiancée.

Ava was annoyed. "Just get ready. And if I find out who that man is, I'll kill him." She walked away, shaking her head. She no longer wanted to witness the obscenity in her daughter's room.

Natalie sighed tiredly and grabbed clothes to change into, then walked to the curtains. "You can come out now. I'm going to get ready for a meeting with a business partner."

__

"We have to get Natalie and Desmond married as soon as possible." Ava urgently said to her husband when she got downstairs.

"Why would we do that? Aren't they planning their wedding?" The man looked up from his coffee in irritation. Was getting a daughter married this difficult? She was already engaged, but her matters troubled them at every turn.

Ava sat opposite him, her lips twitching as she tried to hold back her anger. "Desmond has been flirting with his damned assistant more openly. They even dared to make out in the elevator where the employees saw them." She huffed. "And Natalie… I think she is seeing someone else. They have been lying to us. Their relationship is fake."

_______

Author Ava: Then leave them alone for the love of God!!

Have you checked out my new book yet?

If you haven't, you are missing out! Reborn As The Daemon's Wife is my first fantasy book and may have many references to The Tyrant's Wife.