Dirty mind

Arthur didn't find Livy when he woke up the second time. His vision slowly changed and he didn't see the dark anymore, although it didn't recover completely like it used to, but at least it was getting better.

The maid told him that Livy left early in the morning for the university and before leaving she made breakfast for Arthur.

"What time does her class start?" Arthur asked over the phone to Evander.

"Amara said she has two classes in the afternoon and evening," Evander answered.

'She avoiding me, eh?'

Arthur shook his head with a faint smile. He exchanged pleasantries briefly with Evander before hanging up. It was then that his eyes fell on a small note stuck to one of the bowls of porridge.

[Finish this porridge and don't forget to take your meds! :)]

The note was purposely written in large and bold, probably so Arthur could read it. Arthur saw this as Livy's way of being cute and he was in love with his little wife.

Now that he had finally declared that Livy was his real wife, he wanted to know how Livy would view him. In fact the girl deliberately avoided him by leaving too early even though there was no class. Didn't Livy want to take care of him?

What a cute and adorable girl.

Like twelve years ago.

Arthur didn't really want to rush into confessing his feelings, but he really couldn't hold it in any longer. In fact, he had prepared a lot of excuses if Livy asked him. As Arthur waited for her, Livy didn't say anything.

After finishing breakfast, Arthur went to the study and made a call.

"You pay off Travis Hare's debt, and find him a decent job." Arthur said coldly. "After that come and meet Camile for a deal. Make sure she and her daughter don't bother Livy again."

While hearing the answer on the other side, Arthur massaged the bridge of his nose. Trying to clear his eyes though it was futile.

"Do as I ask. I don't tolerate any mistakes."

After the call was ended Arthur picked up the recorder and listened to the voice on the other end. It looked like Livy's class has started because all he heard was the voice of a lecturer.

Arthur was idle, he picked up his work tablet and found that he couldn't read anything on the screen. In the end, he really hadn't recovered yet.

Maybe Dave was right, even though therapy could restore his eyesight a little, it couldn't be one hundred percent. The only way is to have surgery. The biggest problem that had put him off in the past was his family, he still had to watch over them, but now the problem that was putting him off was Livy.

Surgery can only be carried out abroad, Arthur cannot leave Livy alone here.

He had indeed almost resolved his problems with Livy's uncle and aunt. Only, he was sure that Brenda would again bother Livy like yesterday. The girl is very stubborn.

Feeling tired, Arthur didn't think about it anymore, he closed his eyes and fell asleep on the table.

***

"WHAT? A CONTRACT MARRIAGE?"

"Psst! Lower your voice, Sarah!"

Livy covered Sarah's mouth and looked around. After her first class was finally over, she went to Sarah to confess about her marriage. She did this because she didn't want to keep lying to Sarah and also Arthur had said that there was no contract between them anymore, so she wanted to share this happy news.

Sarah pulled her hand roughly. "Hold on! Be clear and detailed about this. What do you mean by contract marriage? You and Arthur weren't married for real? He was playing you?"

"It's not like that. You listen to me first, then comment," Livy said in a pressing tone.

This time Sarah was completely silent because she wanted to know the truth.

Livy slowly told everything clearly and in detail. She didn't skimp on any of the most important parts. Almost everything she experienced, was summarized in a complete and factual story. Even about Brenda wanting to embarrass Livy in front of Arthur's family was also told to Sarah. During this time Sarah's expression varied, but she mostly frowned.

It came to the part Arthur confessed his love to her, Sarah was taken aback.

"So, at first the marriage was just a contract and now Arthur is finally in love with you?"

That was the conclusion Sarah had come to.

Livy sighed. "Yeah. Kind of. But I'm not sure."

"Not sure? Why?"

There were many reasons that make Livy doubt this statement. Moreover, Arthur has not explained the events that actually happened before the arranged marriage began and how Arthur finally chose her to be his wife. Have they known each other before?

Livy had no memory of ever knowing him.

"I don't know," Livy replied wearily.

"You didn't ask him about that?"

Livy shook her head innocently.

Sarah clicked her tongue. "How is he going to explain it if you don't ask? So after he confessed his love, what did you do?

"I'm ... just speechless." Livy rectified immediately. "That time my mind was so blank. I couldn't even clear my head. I was just so excited that I forgot everything."

Sarah tilted her head and regretted her best friend's innocence. "You should be more observant. You should ask, what, why, how did he fall in love with you. And how did he find you in the first place to ask you to marry. You have to get a clear reason!"

"But falling in love sometimes doesn't need a reason, right?"

"Yes, that's what ended up making you doubt and confused now," she snorted. "This is what I mean, at least if you ask, he will say more about his feelings and you can find out why he married you. You said, you also fell in love with him, right? Then what reason will you give him, if he asks what is the reason behind your feelings for him?"

Livy simply replied, "Arthur is a kind man. He is so sincere in arranging all my needs even though we just met each other. His attitude is so gentle and caring. Even though he is cold, his heart is warm, his body language is so warm. I like him subconsciously."

"Super!"

"What?"

"That's the reason! Love doesn't need a reason, it's bullshit, ok! Deep inside your heart, there must be something that moves you to love him, not just that you just like him. Get it?"

Not answering right away, Livy thought seriously about Sarah's words and she felt it was true. Of course there was something about her that attracted Arthur's attention so he decided to marry her. Moreover, Arthur admited that he has loved her for a long time.

"But do you think he was just kidding about the confession?" Livy doubted herself again.

Sarah wanted so badly to smack her slow friend on the head. "That's why you have to find the answer, Sweetheart. Instead of guessing, it's better to ask frankly!"

"Talking is easy. But doing it is so difficult."

Sarah thought it made sense. "That's true. It must be hard to ask that question to the person you like. Especially if you're late asking. If you ask him right when he confesses his love, maybe it won't be like this."

Livy relaxed her head wearily.

"You said Arthur was sick, right? Keep paying attention to him. Maybe that way, he'll confess his feelings again and that's when you ask why he fell in love with you," Sarah said, patting him on the shoulder.

"I will try." Livy steadied herself.

After chatting at length, Sarah was a bit thirsty and she opened the bottle of water she had just bought to drink. Then share with Livy.

"By the way, what happened to him? Was his illness serious?" asked Sarah.

"It's about his eyes. I told you before, didn't I, that he had bad eyesight. He overworked himself and his eyes relapsed then he passed out in his office. But other than that nothing else."

"What happened to his eyes?"

"Dunno. I'm not sure, but it wasn't an accident. Looks like someone poisoned him in the past."

Sarah didn't answer anything. She felt that Arthur was a mysterious, it was only natural for something like this to happen to him. There must be many other things hidden from that man.

"The only way for him to recover is surgery."

"What? Surgery?" Sarah was shocked. "So, his eyes can still be cured?"

Livy nodded.

"Then why didn't he do it?"

This time Livy shook her head.

Sarah sighed. "If you want Arthur to recover, maybe you should have him do the surgery. If that's a good move, why wait, right?"

***

In the afternoon, the driver took Livy back to the house and she was nervous the whole way.

"What did Arthur do all day?" Livy asked her personal driver.

"I happened to come in for lunch and the maid said, Boss is in his study, Miss."

"Study? So he started working again?" Livy was shocked.

Dave had warned her to keep an eye on Arthur, but because of the confession thing, she had forgotten her duty. Now, she missed.

"Can we stop by the convenience store for a bit?"

"Yes, Miss."

When she arrived at the convenience store, Livy didn't waste time and immediately bought several types of fruit. From the notes the maid gave her, it was written that Arthur liked vegetables but didn't really like fruit and that Arthur was also allergic to various kinds of processed nuts. Livy hesitated a bit and thought if she made juice for him would he try it?

At least under these circumstances, he needs vitamin intake which is not only found in vegetables, but fruit too.

Satisfied with her shopping, half an hour later she was back on her way home and finally arrived home. As usual, the maids were busy with their respective jobs and she pulled one of them to ask about Arthur. They all said Arthur was in his study.

"Has he eaten his lunch and taken his meds?"

"Yes, he has, Young Lady."

Livy glanced at the closed study and said again, "Then help me get these into the kitchen and wash them clean. I'll be there to make some juice."

"Understood."

Livy went to her room to put her things before going to the kitchen. There, the fruit was washed clean and she set up a blender. She mixed in the spinach, apple, honey and carrots all at once, not forgetting to add a dash of lime zest.

"Young Lady, how about this remaining juice?" asked the maid innocently while looking at the contents of the blender.

"If you want just eat it. If not, put it in a glass and keep it in the fridge, ok?"

The maid was excited. "Yes."

Livy immediately headed to the study and it was true that Arthur was still there. The door wasn't shut tight, so she entered without knocking and she saw him reading a book.

Livy nervously coughed a bit, diverting Arthur's attention.

"Erm ... I-I brought some juice for you. Y-You might not like fruit, but it's a mix of fruit and vegetables, it tastes good because it's got honey mixed in." Livy said haltingly.

At first, Arthur just stared at the glass, he didn't see a clear color on the glass because his vision was still blurry. Livy thought Arthur didn't like it because he just stared at the glass blankly, but when she was about to pull it back, he suddenly grabbed her hand.

Livy was surprised. Arthur withdrew her hand to drink the juice from there. They held the glass together and Arthur drank quietly.

Arthur's fingers were long and slender, but they were much larger than Livy's and also felt warm. Livy felt her hands sweat with nervousness. Before she knew it, the glass was empty and Arthur stopped drinking. He removed her hand and licked his lips.

"It's delicious. Thanks."

Livy's eyes couldn't leave Arthur's lips and remembered how they had chewed hers and played with her tongue gently. Her face immediately turned red.

"T-T-Then I'll be back."

Livy didn't turn around, but Arthur took her hand again and pulled her forward. Livy, unprepared, immediately let go of the glass she was holding and let it fall on the thick carpet, but it didn't break at all.

Precisely at this moment Livy's heart just broke when she fell right into Arthur's arms.

"Don't go," Arthur said quietly.

As Arthur's breath brushed across her face, Livy pursed her lips, and she felt that the handsomeness of this man who was two inches from her, could really kill.

Livy screamed in her heart. Her dirty mind started to run wild.

... to be continued ...