“What?! Shopping? Why do you want to take me shopping?” Layla spluttered, staring at Alaric like his skin had turned purple. If it had, it would have been far less surprising than what he had said. Why in the great wide world did he want to take her shopping?“Don’t take it the wrong way, but I noticed your clothes have seen better days.” He pointed out, and the smug smile he wore turned sad.“Oh,” she mumbled, bowing her head in shame as she fiddled with her skirt. He didn’t need to tell her for her to know. She knew all too well the state of her wardrobe. Most of them were almost worn out of existence, patched in a lot of places, and so faded that she had forgotten the original colour.It was another of the reasons she hated going for dinner. Since she couldn’t wear her school uniform, she stuck out like a sore thumb. While the students would be dressed like celebrities, she looked like what crawled out of their gutters. They had noticed it, and it had fuelled their gossiping and je
“I thought we agreed on just a few clothes.” Layla pouted as she and Alaric walked out of the boutique to his car.“When did we make that agreement?” He asked with an ‘innocent’ smile on his lips.“In the car on our way here. We agreed on just a few clothes and two pairs of shoes, and now we have all this.” She huffed, gesturing to the hoard of shopping bags they were carrying.How they had gone from a dress to a multitude of clothes, bags, and shoes she couldn’t understand. It was all blurry to her. One moment, she was picking up a cute dress; the next, two female shop attendants were suggesting what bag would go with it. Before she could blink, they managed to trick her into saying what style she loved, and they created a perfect wardrobe of what she liked, all in her size. And Alaric had paid for everything without a second thought.It wasn’t until Layla stepped out the door that she realised she had enough clothes to start her own boutique.“Um… I remember you saying something li
‘This is bad. This is really, really bad.’ Layla panicked as her heart drummed in her chest and she slowly lifted her head.A figure sat in front of her, dressed in a black hoodie, dark shades, and a face mask.‘How can she see past the spell? It has been working fine since, so how?’“Who are you? Are you from Nox-Luminis?” Layla whispered, though she knew the answer. No one else in the supernatural world knew her identity apart from those in Nox-Luminis, and that only fuelled her anxiety. If someone from the school saw her having fun with Alaric, it would be the end of her. The news would spread around the campus like wildfire before they returned and almost immediately reached the ears of the headmaster. Once it did, it would be only a matter of seconds before Demeter came in her full glory and summoned the both of them.It was going to be a catastrophe. Though Layla had assured herself that they weren’t breaking any rules, facing Demeter was the last thing she wanted to do. Who co
“Thanks for dinner, Alaric. It was the best pasta I have ever eaten.” Layla said as she arranged the clean plates in the cupboard. She wasn’t lying when she said the pasta was the best one she had eaten; it was delicious. She doubted that any chef could ever beat the masterpiece he had made. How had he learnt to cook so well?“You’re welcome, and you didn’t really need to do the dishes.” Alaric replied, from the kitchen island where she had forced him to sit.“Of course I do. I can’t just let you do all the work after everything you’ve done for me. Washing the dishes is the least I can do to show that I’m grateful.” She turned around and walked to him.“You don’t need to show that you’re grateful. I’m not complaining about doing what I did. It’s not like I did anything special.” He shrugged, and she rolled her eyes. Alaric was just too modest. How could he say that letting her stay in his house, taking her shopping, and cooking breakfast and dinner was nothing special? He had even g
“Ugh, why do I feel so distracted?” Layla groaned, shutting the textbook and resting her forehead on it. She knew why. Curiosity was crawling at her gut, begging her to stand up from her chair and search for Alaric. ‘Should I really go and meet him? I haven’t seen him since breakfast, and it’s almost lunch. Maybe I can ask him what we are eating.’ She stood up from her chair, stretching her body that had become stiff from sitting down for hours, and she strolled to her door. ‘The door to my right.’ She walked out of her room and headed to the door that Alaric had told her was his office. She stopped at it, holding her knuckle up to knock, but she froze. ‘What if he’s busy? It would be rude to disturb him while he’s working. He spent the whole day with me yesterday, so maybe he’s trying to cover up. This is a bad idea.’ She dropped her hand and turned to leave. “Come in,” Alaric’s voice came from the side of the door, and she jerked. ‘How did he know? What am I saying? He
“You know, I never did tell you how old I was.” Alaric said as he let go of Layla, and her eyes widened.“It’s true, you didn’t.” She gasped and gave him a playful glare. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on not telling me. No fair.”“I wouldn’t have reminded you if I wasn’t going to tell you.” He laughed, picking up the book from the floor and returning it to its place. “Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and waited to see if you would have remembered to ask me.”“Of course, I would have sooner or later.” She clasped her hands behind her back and gave him an eager smile. “So, how old are you?”“I’m one hundred and sixty-nine years old.” He shrugged as he walked to the door.“You’re one hundred and sixty nine years old! One hundred and sixty-nine!” Layla gawked at him, and he gave her a playful smile. “You’re joking, right? You’re just pulling my legs, right?”“No, I’m not. I’m actually one hundred and sixty-nine. I’ll be one hundred and seventy in some months.” Alaric shrugged and w
“I thought I told you not to get it!” Layla squealed, taking the box from Alaric, and took out the cute pink kitty bracelet. The same on she had seen when they were returning home for their day out the previous day. The same one she had told him not to buy but was in her grasp. “You did, but I didn’t listen.” He grinned, taking the empty box and placing it on the centre table. “It’s so much prettier up close.” She awed as she held it to the light. “How did you get it? We didn’t go past the store again, so—no way! You lied!” “I lied? That’s such a bold accusation.” Alaric retorted, giving her a playful glare. “You did. You said you forgot something at the café, but you didn’t. You went back to get it, didn’t you?” She accused, pointing her finger at him. “Ok, ok. You caught me.” He admitted, holding back his laughter. “Why did you get it when I said you shouldn’t?” She asked, twirling one of the beads between her fingers. “Because you didn’t deserve what happened to your
‘Oh, Zayne is walking Nyssa to class? Why am I not surprised?’ Layla frowned, her eyes trailing Nyssa and Zayne as they walked past the class’s window and stopped at the open door. Nyssa was going on and on about something, and though Zayne tried to look involved, he couldn’t hide how grumpy and gloomy he was.‘Why is he doing that anyway? Does he need to follow her so her powers don’t get out of control? She probably begged him to do so so she could brag about it to her friends. I wonder if he picked her up from her dorm. Did he help her style her hair too?’ She crinkled her face, eyeing Nyssa’s hair that was put in a french braid.‘I doubt that. And there’s no way they would allow him into the female’s dorm. I wonder if they ate together over the weekend. I’m sure they were so glad I wasn’t around. Humph, I’m glad I wasn’t too. How long are they going to talk at the door? Isn’t class supposed to start now? Why—’Zayne turned her way, silencing her thoughts as his green eyes clashed