Chapter 6
The mansion where Lily Carter stayed was just one of Julian’s many insignificant properties.
The place I was in now was the closest thing to Julian’s “home.”
A simple apartment building, yet under the watchful eyes of countless bodyguards.
I carried the groceries upstairs alone, then washed vegetables, boiled water, and cooked.
Julian had eaten every delicacy imaginable, so why would he be so fond of my homemade food?
But every time he watched me cook, his gaze would stick to me.
It truly gave the illusion of a wife and husband, making my stomach churn.
This time, I was preparing fish on the cutting board when he suddenly embraced me from behind.
I hadn’t even realized he was there.
“Don’t touch me, I smell fishy.”
“Fishy where?”
He chuckled, brushing my hair aside, playfully toying with my earring.
I turned on the faucet, washing the fish blood from my hands.
“Not cooking anymore? We can do it after, if you want.”
His kisses rained down on my neck. I shifted uncomfortably, half-resisting, half-yielding.
Until my gaze met his eyes—bright, fragmented.
Even his smile was a practiced, dangerously charming thing.
I lowered my eyes, finally pushing him away.
“Are you mad?”
He asked, slightly teasing, pinching my cheek.
“Didn’t give you a birthday, and now you’ve turned into a little pufferfish?”
“Who’s a pufferfish…?”
That was a genuine retort, but he just tapped my nose.
“You, my little pufferfish. All puffed up and prickly, stubborn, and… heartbreaking.”
“…”
The marble countertop was still clean. He lifted me and placed me on it.
He leaned down and kissed me, everything around me spiraling into chaos.
I couldn’t breathe, my fingers digging into his sleeve.
Until he finally pulled back, smiling down at me.
I suddenly realized I was still so young; I didn’t even understand what his smile meant.
“Do you know why I was so injured when I brought Lily Carter back that day?”
“Because she had something interesting.”
He pulled a photo from somewhere, handing it to me.
I smoothed it out, staring at the image.
“Anya, don’t you think this is fascinating?”
He spoke next to my ear, his soft chuckle clearly audible.
“She said she’d seen you. She called you… Officer Miller.”
The photo showed me in a police uniform, posing with children from an orphanage.
He leaned down, kissing the tip of my nose.
“Hm? Sweetheart, care to explain?”
“…”
I looked down, staring at the photo. The tofu soup on the stove was still bubbling softly.
He watched me silently, as if not wanting to miss a single one of my expressions.
After a long moment, I chuckled, lifting my hand to punch his arm gently.
“What’s the meaning of this? Julian, have you forgotten…?”
“I graduated from the police academy, I just got… kicked out later.”
When they first set up my cover, they’d considered the possibility of my police academy past surfacing.
So the department simply gave me the identity of someone permanently expelled from the academy for disciplinary issues.
He looked down at me, his eyes dark. I was pressed tightly against the countertop.
I wondered if this incredibly paranoid lunatic would pick up the knife from the cutting board and stab me.
Until he let out a soft laugh.
He rubbed my waist, not too gently, not too roughly.
“Oh? Really?”
“My apologies, I completely forgot.”
“…”
He released his grip on me, smiling easily.
He even had the leisure to take the ladle from the pot and stir the soup.
“Dinner won’t be long, will it?”
“I’m so hungry, Anya.”
Even as he said it, his gaze was fixed intently on me.
I pressed my lips together, straightened my clothes, and nodded.
As I smoothed my shirt, I understood why he’d rubbed my waist just now.
My back was already drenched in sweat.