NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: Who Says?
Did Starley hear things? Did Raul say that he would also stay at the mansion? Starley gaped, probably looking like a stunned fish with her mouth wide open.
"You can't be serious, right?" Starley asked.
"Why do you think I'm not serious?"
"But you're so busy, why would you stay here?" Starley asked, confused, because she knew Raul didn't have time to stay at her brother Lucian's house.
"I'm here for work," Raul replied. Starley narrowed her eyes at his response.
"You're working at Lucian's house?" Starley asked, still puzzled.
"Yes, I'm your bodyguard," Raul said.
"It can't be like that! I haven't even agreed to it!"
"Nathan agreed," Raul said.
"You offered to pay with my services. That means Nathan agreeing has nothing to do with me, because I haven't agreed to it," Starley said with a fake smile. Raul paused for a few seconds before answering.
"I knew you'd say that, so here, I'm offering a free trial just for you."
Starley stared at Raul with the same stunned expression before asking patiently, "What do you mean, free trial?"
"No need to pay. I'm offering you a free trial for three days. After that, you can decide if you want to continue or not," Raul explained casually.
"No need, I don't want a free trial," Starley responded immediately, without thinking twice.
"But I'm still giving you a free trial," Raul insisted.
"Why are you doing all this, Raul? I don't understand what you're getting out of this," Starley replied.
After Starley asked that, Raul looked more serious. He stepped forward towards Starley, closing the distance between them and leaving them about a meter apart.
"As I've said, I need your skills, Starley," Raul said. Starley felt her heart race as Raul closed the gap between them.
"You've known I could hack for a long time, so why are you only asking for my help now?" Starley asked.
"Hmm, are we going to talk about the past now? Didn't you say you don't like discussing the past, Starley?" Raul said, his voice softer and lower. Starley had said that before, but she had to know why Raul was asking for this now when they were like strangers.
"I just want to know," Starley replied. Raul looked at her for a moment before speaking.
"Isn't it obvious? I never mixed pleasure with my work. Our relationship in the past was purely for pleasure. And back then, whenever I saw you, all I wanted was you in my bed, not thinking about work at all," Raul said honestly. His dark eyes never left Starley.
Starley's throat felt so dry now. Even though she knew Raul was talking about the past, it still brought back memories. She took a deep breath to control herself and not let Raul's words affect her.
So, Raul meant that now, since their past relationship was over and they had moved on, they could work together. Did that mean Raul had truly moved on from their past?
Raul observed Starley's silence, then spoke again. "Think about it during this free trial."
Just as Starley was about to respond, Raul added, "And I think it's better if we head to the dining room now, Selene and Lucian are waiting for you."
Starley almost forgot about dinner. Without realizing it, she and Raul had been talking for several minutes. Starley agreed, and the two of them headed downstairs to the first floor, where the dining room was located.
As they walked toward the dining room, neither of them spoke. Finally, they reached the dining room. Starley saw that Selene and Lucian were already seated at the table.
Lucian sat at the head of the table, at the far end, while Selene sat not far from him.
"Finally, did you get lost, Raul?" Lucian asked, looking annoyed that it had taken them so long.
"I wouldn't have gotten lost if you didn't make this house so huge," Raul replied, not mentioning that he and Starley had been talking for a while. Starley sat next to Selene, while Raul sat across from her. Selene was observing Starley and Raul closely.
"Of course, it has to be big," Lucian said. "Selene told me she wanted a football team. How could my kids live comfortably if this mansion were cramped?"
Selene glared at Lucian and said sharply, "Oh, I'd love to have a football team, but you'd have to give birth to them for me," with a pointed look.
Starley chuckled at that. Afterwards, the servants entered the dining room and began serving their food. Dinner proceeded pleasantly. Selene and Lucian were very welcoming hosts.
As Starley was enjoying Selene's story, she suddenly felt an intense gaze from the corner of her eye. Was Raul staring at her, or was it just her imagination?
Unable to fight her curiosity, Starley glanced at Raul from the corner of her eye. And at that moment, her eyes met Raul's. But even after their eyes locked, Raul didn't look away. He kept staring at Starley, even though she had caught him watching her.
Eventually, Starley was the first to break the eye contact. She turned her attention back to Selene's story but still felt Raul's intense gaze. God, how long is he going to keep staring at me?
Then, Lucian asked, "So, Raul, why did you suddenly want to stay here?" He looked at Starley as if he knew the answer but still wanted to ask.
"Because I'm watching over Starley," Raul said bluntly. His answer came out stiff and formal.
Starley blinked several times when she heard that. Selene now looked very interested, much more than before. Meanwhile, Lucian raised an eyebrow as if waiting for a further explanation.
"For work, Starley's brother asked me," Raul added. Starley sighed.
"Nathan treats me like I'm five years old," Starley grumbled.
"If I had a younger sister like you, I might do the same as Nathan," Lucian said in Nathan's defence.
Selene seemed to realize the conversation could turn uncomfortable, so she quickly changed the subject. Starley was very grateful that Selene did that.
Two hours later, dinner finally came to an end. Starley could feel Raul's gaze on her throughout the meal, making it hard for her to enjoy her dinner fully.
After that, Lucian and Selene headed to their room to rest, while Starley and Raul reluctantly walked toward the eastern wing of the mansion, where the guest rooms were located. As they walked toward their rooms, neither of them spoke.
'Oh, this is really awkward,' Starley thought.
She just wanted to get to her room as quickly as possible. It wasn't long before Starley reached her door. But just as she was about to open it, Raul finally spoke up.
"Starley," Raul called. Starley's hand on the doorknob paused before she turned to look at Raul.
"Yes?"
"Are you rejecting this because of our past?" Raul asked directly.
Raul's question made Starley hold her breath briefly before replying sharply, "Isn't it obvious?"
Raul watched her with a serious look before saying, "What if we make an agreement to help you feel more certain?"
"What kind of agreement?" Starley asked.
"An agreement to never discuss the past again," Raul replied. Starley's eyebrows raised when she heard that.
"What if one of us accidentally brings it up?" Starley asked.
"Intentional or not, there will be consequences," Raul answered.
Starley instinctively swallowed before asking, "What kind of consequences?"
"Whoever breaks the agreement will have to do whatever you or I want," Raul said.
"Anything? Isn't 'anything' a bit too vague?" Starley asked.
"Are you afraid, Starley? Isn't there no reason to be afraid if you don't want to discuss it from the start?" Raul asked, looking like he was challenging her. Starley didn't like losing, and she wasn't about to let herself lose to the man before her.
"Who says I'm afraid? I'm just making sure, because I'm thinking about what kind of consequence I'll give you," Starley replied, giving him a sweet but fake smile.
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