Reuben was stumped when he heard her straightforward question and pondered on how to answer it.

'She is right, I do not love her.' He frowned when he thought about what she had just said.

Love for a family member and a friend, love for his job and his projects.

These were the things he was well versed in but looking at the woman sitting before him, he did not have that kind of love in his heart for her.

'I cannot pinpoint what kind of feeling I have for you.' He tried to think of a proper way to explain this to her.

Lina silently sat and watched how his expressions changed every few seconds.

'Just like me, he must have thought that the kiss was amazing and that it meant something special.' She sighed while thinking of her own conflicting feelings.

She was aware of what was most likely going on in his mind.

'Just because we have good chemistry does not mean that we are fated to be.' She pouted her lips and sulked.

She had always thought that the man she would give her first kiss to would be the man she would end up with.

However, this seemed to be a distant dream to her now that she sat before him as he tried to make up his mind.

After a few silent yet torturous minutes, Reuben was ready to give her his answer.

"Kitten, you are right in saying that you shouldn't date a man who doesn't love you." He agreed with her way of thinking.

Lina was a little happy that he was so understanding but at the same time, she was a little sad that her fairytale love story of one man having all her first times would never come true.

"However, I still refuse to give up on you!" His stern and resolute voice shocked Lina and she stared at him with her eyes wide open.

"Wait, you just said that-" She tried to reason with him but froze when he covered her mouth with his palm.

"Umphh…" Her muffled words were the only sound heard in the room.

Reuben was careful not to use too much force and not to block her nose, in order to let her breathe without any difficulty.

"Let me finish and then you can decide what you want to do." He used an authoritative tone to show that he would not take no for an answer.

'What a bossy man!' Lina scrunched her brows up and then nodded her head.

Seeing her nod, Reuben took a deep breath and then began what he wanted to say.

"I know that I had tricked you into saying yes when we were on the dance floor and that was not fair on my part." He revealed and gave her an awkward smile when he saw her eyes widen.

'So he did that on purpose!? He stood so close to me and made me nervous which resulted in me agreeing to his proposal?' She glared at him after she recalled what had happened.

Back then, Reuben had asked her questions to divert her attention and then sneaked in the final question when she was lost in her daze to which she answered with just a nod.

"Hmph… umphh…!" Her furious words were all blocked by his palm which was still clamped over her mouth.

'That was the only way to make you agree!' He defended himself inwardly.

"Kitten, I may not love you now but who knows what the future holds for us?" He rationalized and smiled when he saw her quiet down.

"I like you… a lot!" He declared without an ounce of embarrassment.

Lina's cheeks grew a dark shade of pink when she heard his shameless confession.

"And this is not because you did not fall for me like the others." He denied her earlier claims.

"I like you because you are sweet, kind, funny and you are very very pretty." He nodded his head as though he was pleased with how he had framed his sentence.

He recalled the first time he saw her at the airport, then the mall where he stared at her butt and then the club where he saved her from those gangsters.

Being called pretty by a man who looks like a model from fashion magazines gave Lina a huge confidence boost and her blush deepened.

He thought back on the time where she had kicked him in the balls to save herself and grimaced.

But thinking of the work of beauty she had created for his gaming arena, he smiled once again.

"You are cute and feisty… just like a little kitten. You know what you want and you are absolutely talented in what you do." He chuckled as he slowly let go of his hand that was on her mouth.

Listening to everything that he had spoken about her, Lina blushed and realized that he wasn't just asking to date because they had kissed once.

'So he wasn't insisting on dating me because he felt responsible for taking my first kiss?' She tilted her head and silently observed his face.

"Lina Yang, I know that you are hesitant to date a man who doesn't love you but can you at least give this man a chance to love you?" He gazed into her hazel and golden eyes as he asked her this question.

Lina's heart melted in an instant when she heard his soft pleas.

'No! You cannot melt so easily! Easy come, easy go, Nana!' She chided her heart for pounding so restlessly.

Looking into his eyes, Lina bit her lower lip and then opened her mouth to give her reply.

"Ruby, I like you too… But not in that way." She whispered.

"At least not yet." She completed her sentence when she saw his crestfallen face.

The moment he heard her last statement, his mood which was beginning to plummet, soared once again.

"So you aren't rejecting me?" He questioned with sparkling eyes.

"I am not accepting you either." Lina nodded and then shook her head.

Reuben was ecstatic to hear that she was not completely against his idea.

"Doesn't matter as long as you don't reject me!" He held her cheeks in his palms and rubbed his thumbs over them.

"I won't make you wait for long! I will make you fall for me!" He announced with a confident smirk on his face.

'You need to fall for me first, you doofus.' Lina chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"You can try, Ruby but I won't make it easy for you." She disclosed while smirking back at him.

"I love a tough challenge." To which he readily agreed with a nod.

Lina once again rolled her eyes and shrugged as though she was not bothered about what he did.

"So it is decided then until either one of us falls for the other we will remain friends." She suggested with a raised brow.

Reuben frowned but after a moment's thought, he looked back at her with a smug face.

"I agree but I have a condition as well." He released her cheeks and scooted away from her.

Lina tilted her head and wondered what this condition might be.

Reuben chuckled in a low voice when he saw her confused face and then raised his fingers to rub his chin.

"Since you want to be friends then I propose that we do not kiss anymore." He conveyed his condition and smirked.

He soon burst into laughter when he saw how her jaw dropped the moment he mentioned his condition.

'I know she likes my touches, maybe this way it might help her get closer to me?' He surmised and this was why he put out such a restriction.

'Heh! I can find someone else to kiss if I can't kiss him.' Lina's devious mind was trying to think of ways to overcome the condition he had placed.

Reuben raised his brows when he saw the mischievous smile that appeared on her face.

'Whatever she is thinking right now cannot be good!' He narrowed his eyes and coughed to get her back from her evil thoughts.

"You cannot kiss anyone else as well while I am courting you!" He declared and gritted his teeth when he noticed her glowing face turn gloomy in an instant.

'So my guess was right!' He scoffed in his mind.

"I will try…" She grumbled and then puffed her cheeks up.

"So we have agreed on our plans?" He inquired to make sure that she won't back away once again.

"Yes. You can court me if you want to. Whether or not we fall for each other depends on our fate." She summarized the conversation they just had.

'I will make sure that you fall for me!' He was excited to see what would happen in the future.

Reuben nodded and then stretched his hand out to seal the deal with a handshake.

Lina shrugged and then extended her hand out to him.

Seeing her palm in his hand, he gently tugged on it and this made Lina fall forward.

Reuben quickly held her cheek and tilted her head up towards him.

Bending down, he gave her a quick peck and a soft nibble before letting her go.

'What the hell!? He took advantage of me twice and did not even bother to let me enjoy the kiss!' Lina glared at the man who had already gotten up from his seat.

Reuben dusted his jacket and smiled at his kitten who was baring her teeth at him.

'This way you will remember that my touch is what you like.' He let out a chuckle for breaking his own condition.

"Starting now, I will officially court you and make you mine!" He announced in a confident voice and then headed towards the door.

Lina sat in the same place and glared at the overconfident man who was walking away from her.

'I will take revenge for this, Reuben Ming!' She vowed and got to her feet.

"Come along, Kitten. Before your brothers break the door down." He rolled his eyes and glanced at the shadows that he could see from the gap between the door and the floor.

'These guys!' Lina sighed in exasperation and walked towards the door to open it.