Chapter 4 Pretense Went Well

"Ahhhhh... Oh my god... Bianca help...." Asher pretended to be in great pain. He was sure afraid if he let this situation end this way, he wouldn't have the chance to get a hold of her.

Bianca heard him groaning in pain from her side of the door.

"Did I hit a fatal point on him?" she murmured as she pinned her ear on the leaf of the door.

"Bianca, please...?" Asher was sure she was still next to the door, he heard her step towards it, and a faint shadow could be seen as the sun was up and inside her room was bright, he could see her shadow as he was on the floor almost lying down. He made sure his voice was pitiful to make her come out and hopefully believe him and then help him.

Bianca grabbed her hair in frustration, she didn't want to help, but she could not be sure if he was pretending to be hurt or if he was genuinely injured by her foot flying. She quickly changed into her sweat clothes and checked the mirror if she looked decent before opening her door to see a fainted Asher.

Asher thought Bianca was going to ignore him, so he decided to stay flat on the floor until she came out and saw his pitiful state. He saw her walk away from the door, so he thought his act was a failure, but then he saw her foot walking towards the door again, so he closed his eyes and remained motionless, knowing she was soon to open her door.

"Hey! What?! He fainted?" Bianca couldn't believe her kick could make a man lose his consciousness.

Asher had to hold his laughter as he felt her too close to him. It wasn't easy, but his fear of annoying her and the eagerness to make her pity him was what made him hold his smile through frowning. And when she touched his stomach, checking if she hit him somewhere fatal or maybe checking where he was hurt, Asher had the opportunity to scrunch his face covering his smile. Then he moaned in pain.

"Ahhhh, take it easy," Asher moved to roll over, hiding his smiling face from her worried one. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Which one?" Bianca snorted. "The kick or the help?" She was still annoyed as the memory of him falling above her replayed in her mind.

"Woow wooow.." Asher's hands moved defensively as he saw her annoyed face replace the worried one.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall into you. I was caught off-balance when you suddenly opened the door with force. Are you sure you're a woman?" He kept his pretense about being in pain.

"Can you keep me as your roommate? As you can see, I am in no match with you. I am weak after all," he grunted as if in pain as he held his abdomen. It was indeed painful but actually bearable.

"Do we need to call for help?" Bianca asked as she could see him convincingly in pain. She was also startled by how hard her kick hit him. She doesn't know much about first aid, so she had to ask him if he needed medical attention.

"Can you help me up?" Asher did not look up at her. He could not be confident his face wouldn't betray him if his smile showed.

Bianca had no choice but to grab his right arm and wound it around her shoulders to help him get up from the floor. He was already sitting when Asher asked for her help getting up.

"Where to?" Bianca asked when she made sure he was securely standing up already. Not sure where to guide him to walk.

"To the couch, please," Asher answered. He was too tempted to say, ‘to his bedroom’, but he was sure it would bring forth another misunderstanding or annoyance from her, so he decided to move towards a common area where she wouldn't feel or think negatively of him.

Just as he answered, Bianca, helped him walk to the living room. A distance that could be crossed within a few steps took them double to arrive as they seemed to be waltzing their way to the couch.

Asher now noticed her clothes changed. He held only the end of her sweatshirt to avoid making the impression of him touching her. And he was also afraid of how she would react if she felt harassed in any way. He had a sample of it already, didn't he?

On the other hand, Bianca was getting more and more convinced he was just needing her help. He took the initiative to carefully grab a decent hold on her although their bodies ' sides were brushing to each other.

"I won't have to worry about you being alone here during the weekdays," Asher stated when they got him seated on the couch, still feigning pain as he held his abdomen.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Bianca asked. She sat on a single-seater sofa across and facing Asher.

"I will only be home during the weekends until my current project is done," he answered weakly.

This time Asher was honestly speaking, no playfulness. He was hoping with such arrangements, Bianca would be comfortable and agree with being roommates with him.

"So does it mean my weekends will remain hellishly loud and sleepless?" her face grew dim with annoyance.

Asher could not help laughing at her cute face. She is frowning, but her face is still charming.

"Ohhh, sorry about the past, it won't happen again," Asher wasn't sure why he would say such words. Is he willing to compromise not having sex while Bianca is his roommate? or is he going to have his nasty affairs somewhere else to give his roommate her peaceful rest during the weekends?

"Well, as long as you can keep your words, I will endure my ten months rental contract here," Bianca sighed. "I remember you said you would pay for the rent earlier. Does it mean I only have to prepare a meal for two during weekends?"

"Yeah, and basically keep the place clean," Asher agreed. He would love to come home with delicious food waiting for him and his house neat. He can close his eyes about the rent. He didn't need that amount of money anyway. At least he won't arrive in an empty home when he comes back from a tiring week of work. Anyway, it would only be for ten months.

"Cleaning won't be an issue. I usually relieve stress through it," Bianca stated honestly.

She is a fashion designer, and she is doing her internship at a famous company in the city, but she is not an extrovert person. She enjoys her time being alone creating her own designs. When she feels like needing fresh ideas, she will take her hands off whatever she is doing and do something way far from any nature that involves design. One of them is cleaning and reading. And when she gets back to her work, she can see things with fresh eyes, and new ideas come flowing out of her mind. A reason why she did not notice Nikita being sloppy around. The more the area needs cleaning, the more fun for her. The more she is challenged to tidy things up when they are messed up.

"Are you sure you're human?" Asher chuckled at her statement. She is strong. She relieves her stress through cleaning. What else? "I've never heard anyone say they relieve stress through cleaning their house," Asher clarified.

Bianca smiled. She wasn't surprised to hear him say so. He wasn't the first one to react that way anyway.

"I am weird in my own way. You have to suck it up since you want to be my roommate. But I can assure you I do well with both cooking and cleaning." She was starting to feel comfortable with Asher. She noticed he wasn't as insensible as she thought. Besides, he won't be at home during the weekdays, and her weekends won't be as sleepless as in the past. To top it all, she won't have to worry about spending rent. She could just spend the money on good meals, especially for the weekends.

Asher saw her smile for the first time, and it was enchanting. He can see a different beauty, a more captivating one. He smiled as he realized his pretense worked well. Now they are even talking more than just civil way. They were like roommates for a long time already.

"Oh, right, I have to ask...?" Bianca seemed to have remembered something so important.