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"Here, let me help you." I crouched down on one knee in front of Crystal who was struggling to slide her feet in the boots. With my help, she wore them and stood up to check the fit while I smiled at her, still on my knee.

It was then, when a man with short salt and pepper hair walked by us. "You both look like a lovely couple." He said. "You remind me of my wife and I in our young age. Oh, I miss her so much." He smiled sadly and I looked at Crystal, expecting her to tell him that he was misunderstanding.

But she didn't.

She didn't tell the man that we weren't a couple. That she was married to someone else. Instead, she smiled back at him. That made me wonder about a lot of things.

"Did she not want to admit that Adrien was her husband? Was their marriage still nothing but a contract to her? Was she not happy?

Or did she just not mind if people thought of us as a couple?

That thought caused a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Deep down, that thought made me..... Happy.

I watched Crystal while she shopped for herself and Hannah. I found it so adorable when she fussed about things in confusion. She said that she had barely gone shopping and that she mostly bought things online. Crystal was nothing like the women I had been with. Self-obsessed and greedy. Crystal was humble and dignified and that wasn't it.

When I first saw her, when we danced together at Ethan's wedding, I was mesmerised by her beauty. Her doe eyes, that tiny pointed nose, those plump lips and those fucking dimples. I had drowned in them. Everything about her screamed perfection and simplicity but she had never flaunted it.

I hadn't started liking Crystal when we first met. I wasn't looking forward to meeting her again. I didn't care that she was in trouble and I didn't want to help her. I wasn't disappointed when she had declared her wedding. I wasn't upset when I saw her getting drawn towards her husband. I didn't wish for her to work with me. And I never thought of her as more than a friend.

Now, that's all a big, fat lie. All of it.

But I know my limits. I know that I am supposed to stay only as a friend. That I need to respect her marriage even if it is just for a show. And I know myself. That I would never be able to commit myself to someone. That settling down with someone was out of the question for me. And that I could never be a perfect man to a girl.

But I couldn't stop myself from being drawn to Crystal.

Somewhere between my trail of thoughts, I looked up at the mirror in the clothes section while Crystal looked at a pair of dresses in her hands. Her back faced the mirror and her head tilted towards my side. Our positions were such that in the mirror, it seemed like she had her head leaned on my shoulder. Without thinking, I took my phone and captured a picture of us through the mirror. I put the phone away when Crystal turned around and my sudden reflex made her look at me suspiciously. When she was away I looked back at the picture.

Man, we looked cute.

I drove Crystal back to her house after filling our stomachs at the food court. When I helped her carry a few bags to the penthouse, we were welcomed by an exasperated Adrien who was clearly not pleased by my presence. I had no intention of making things any more awkward than they already were so I decided to leave but Crystal asked me to wait as she had something that she wanted me to give to Hannah. She went inside her room leaving Adrien and I alone.

I looked around his house quietly, chique but too simple for a billionaire like him.

"Thanks for accompanying Crystal." It was him who broke the awkward silence. I looked at him and he clearly didn't mean what he said. He was just being nice so I responded nicely too.

"It's always a pleasure."

"This will not happen again." He pressed his lips together.

"Why not?" I questioned.

"You will not have to take my wife anywhere again." I felt irritation crawl in my at his tone. Sincere but taunting. "I mean, you will not have to go out of your schedule for her. It's my duty, I'm her husband."

"Contractual husband." Those words left my mouth before I even knew. But I didn't regret saying them.

Reality Check, Buddy!

"I am still her husband." Adrien gritted his teeth and walked towards me. We looked dead straight into each other's eyes, our height nearly the same.

"Her lawfully wedded husband." The truth in his statement hit me like an arrow. Before we could bury each other with our eyes, Crystal walked back to us. Letting go of whatever happened, I bid my farewell to Crystal and left their place.

Adrien Russell was officially in the list of people I disliked.

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"Okay, so we have all the ingredients. Let's start." I said and started mixing the flour with milk and eggs. Since it was a weekend, I had decided to bake a cake and since Adrien had no work at hand, he insisted on helping me.

"While I beat this, why don't you slice the strawberries. Do it the way I showed you." I instructed.

"Yes, Chef!" Adrien dramatically bowed and did as I said.

I was shifting the mix in a cake pan when I felt a pair of strong arms snaking around my waist. He pressed his chest against my back and rested his chin on my shoulder. "What do I do next?" He whispered in my ear, making the tiny hair on my body stand.

"Wait for the cake to bake." I said, gulping hard. After settling the batter in the pan, I put it in the oven for baking, trying to ignore the ticklish feeling of his fingers brushing on my neck while playing with my hair.

"Now let us make the frosting." I pushed him aside and gathered the ingredients for it. I opened a cabinet above my head and tiptoed to take more powdered sugar but it was out of my reach. Suddenly, I was trapped between the counter and Adrien's huge body radiating warmth. His clothed torso rubbed against my back making me gasp.

Adrien picked the jar for me and placed it on the counter before trapping me in his arms once again. My legs felt like jellies as he nuzzled his nose in the crook of my neck. He inhaled deeply and his proximity made me feel buzzed.

I didn't stop him. But neither did I stop my work. I finished whipping the frosting and was about to put it in the fridge when Adrien tried to put his finger in the bowl and I slapped his hand.

"Ow!" He pulled himself back and I turned around to glare at him. He narrowed his eyes on me and slowly moved forward.

"Firstly, you don't pay heed to my attempts of gaining your attention and now you are being sulky?" His voice was dangerously low as he held the edge of the counter trapping me in between.

My eyes refused to turn away from his mesmerising ones and I forgot to notice the mischievous smirk playing on his lips. "Not fair." He said and I came back to reality when something fluffy and creamy was brushed on my nose.

My eyes widened as I touched the frosting on my nose while Adrien laughed like a maniac holding his stomach.

"What the hell Adrien!" I yelled at him but he was too busy laughing which only increased my anger.I wiped my nose with a tissue and took a large spoon of the frosting to spread it on my fingers. I stood in front of him and lightly slapped him on the cheek. His laughter immediately died and he looked at me with wide eyes.

"You did not!" He shut his eyes and clenched his jaw looking a little angry but it did not scare me. After all, he started it.

"Yes. I did." I said sassily and smirked. I turned around but was yanked back by my elbow making me crash into his stone-hard torso. His hold on me was tight enough to prevent me from moving but it didn't hurt me. The way I fit perfectly in his arms, like they were made to embrace me.

He slowly dipped his head towards mine and my hands automatically fisted his shirt. Different from what I expected, he leaned further towards my ear and glided his cheek against mine and all the cream on his face was now on mine.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him back making him chuckle. "Stop playing around." I said and took another tissue to wipe my face as he did the same.

Waiting for the cake, I leaned on the counter, ignoring his continuous gaze on me. I took a strawberry from the box beside and kept it between my teeth when suddenly Adrien hovered over me and I flinched. His eyes looked a shade darker as he pushed my hand aside. With a smirk, he leaned forward and sucked on the strawberry that was between my teeth before biting it.

I plopped the other half in my mouth and slowly chewed it. His eyes switched from my eyes to my lips and within a blink his lips were on mine.

His hands went from my neck to my hair and sucked on my lower lip. I had no clue when the fruit in my mouth was swallowed and I was reciprocating his kiss. Our lips slowly but passionately moved in sync. I could respond to him with ease at this pace and it gave me intense pleasure. He wrapped my hands around his neck and bent a little to pick me up and place me on the counter. The sudden action made me gasp and taking it as his chance, Adrien plunged his tongue in my mouth making me moan against his lips. We had already kissed a number of times but it still felt new. Like I could never get over his sinful lips. My hands travelled to his hair and I tugged them gently causing him to release a low grunt.

We were pulled out of our euphoria by a loud ding that announced that the cake was ready. Leaving each other's lips, we rested our foreheads together, trying to catch our breath. My eyes were still closed and heat in the atmosphere was killing me.

"You just need a chance, don't you." I taunted him playfully. He chuckled and I pushed him gently, knowing exactly what he meant and climbed down the counter, hiding my blush.

"Now let's focus back on the cake, shall we?"

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