Julie stood there, looking at Roman, who didn't move or make an effort to move away from where he stood.
Roman stared at Julie from head to toe; she was in a white nightgown, her milky skin showing and glowing under the bulb of the dining room, and her shiny black hair was left loose on her straight back.
"She is indeed beautiful," a voice whispered in Roman's head. Without making an attempt to walk forward or say something, Roman's dangerous eyes kept looking at Julie without revealing any emotions; it was blank, like a deep part of the sea - blank, but sending chills down the spine.
Without knowing why, Roman kept staring and looking at Julie until she walked forward, and he snapped out of his reverie.
Not knowing what to do, Julie walked forward and quickly said, "Welcome back." His looks were scaring her. Without saying a word, Roman walked past her to the dining table and took a seat without even sparing her a glance.
Julie, who had walked some feet away from the rectangular table, watched him as he took a seat, her mouth agape.
"Come here," Roman's voice suddenly rang from the dining table, and Julie quickly walked forward, afraid of offending him, even if it was slight. "Take a seat," he said before she could mutter a thing.
Quickly, Julie pushed the seat backward and sat down on it. As she sat down, Roman reached for the serving spoon to dish them out, which surprised Julie.
Just as he was about to spoon the food, Julie reached for the spoon and held it, earning her a look from Roman.
"I - I will do it, please sit down," Julie quickly said as she stood up and collected the spoon from him.
Roman didn't say anything as he watched her serve him, and after that, Julie took a seat beside him, and they ate quietly; the atmosphere was tense because of Roman's dangerous aura, which made Julie nervous.
"Thank you," Julie said with a quiet yet confident voice. Roman, who was eating peacefully yet uneasily because of the woman beside him, raised his deep sea black eyes to look at Julie, who was looking at him, but their eyes met, and Julie quickly shifted her gaze to her plate.
Looking at her blankly, like a blank piece of paper, Roman asked, "Why?" While hearing his deep voice made Julie gulp, but she mustered her courage and talked as if she was under his mercy.
"Because you took me in," Julie said, raising her beautiful long black eyes to look at him, and when their eyes met, her eyelashes fluttered, and she looked down at her hands on her palm. "Oh my, why am I nervous under his gaze like that?" Julie asked herself in her head.
"There is no need for you to thank me; I have my reasons," Roman said, looking at her without batting an eye.
Julie's ears perked up, hearing him, and she asked, "What reason do you have?" "You want to know," Roman asked, and what was bothering him was telling her to be his wife, whether she would accept it or not; he didn't care.
If she needed money, he would give her as much as she wanted, but all he wanted was a wife right now.
"Please tell me," Julie said, giving the last assurance he needed before saying what was on his mind. "Well, I need a wife," Roman declared, which made Julie look at him with a dropped mouth, but quickly closed it. "God, what is wrong with him?" Can you imagine just a stranger taking you in and telling you he needs a wife?
"Excuse me," Julie said with a weird look on her face. "It's exactly how I told you; I need a wife, and I want that wife to be you. I don't love you, nor do I want anything from you other than being my wife and doing your duties as a wife should toward me and my people," Roman said with a blank face, as if he was making a business deal. Before Roman finished talking, Julie's mouth was hanging open; if you could imagine it, then it would be touching the floor.
Something was seriously wrong with him; else, why would he say he wants her to be his wife? For God's sake, me and him, husband and wife? Fuck it.
"Why do you want me to be your wife?" Julie asked, her voice laced with a mix of confusion and annoyance, her eyebrows furrowed in distaste.
After composing her mind and digesting what he said, she spat out the words, her face twisted in disgust.
"Wife," Julie muttered under her breath.
"I don't want you to be my wife; I just need you to act as my wife in people's eyes and around anyone, and that will be just between me and you; it's alright for you," Roman said, his last words not sounding like he was asking whether she was alright with it, but instead like he was telling her because he had already made the decision no caring about what she feel.
Julie's face turned beet red with rage as she listened to Roman's words. Her eyes blazed with fury, and her lips trembled with anger.
She was furious over what he was saying, her mind reeling with the implications. Roman, on the other hand, was calm, his face a mask of serenity, like he was relaxing and his business was going on the right way.
But unknown to him, Julie was turning into a volcano, her anger simmering just below the surface.
Now, seeing the calmness on his face made the volcano erupt, and she snapped at him, her voice filling the entire mansion. Her eyes flashed with indignation, and her face contorted in outrage.
"It's not alright with me, then you hear me? Don't just think because you took me in at a time when I had no one, you're going to tell me this, or I will pay the favor with myself," Julie said, her voice raised at the top of her lungs, her words tumbling out in a furious rush. Her face was a picture of outrage, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes blazing.
And Roman, who was sitting calmly, was taken aback by how she was raising her voice like a crazy woman. He looked at her, his eyes widening in surprise, as Julie's anger washed over him.
"God, she wasn't like this when I first came in," Roman said in his mind, his thoughts tinged with a hint of unease. But before he could say anything, Julie snapped again at him, her words cutting through the air like a knife.
How is she like then a small pitiful rat huh?
"How dare you? How dare you, Mr. Male Figure, Don't take yourself too high to even request that from me. Just because you buy me clothes and take me in your house, then fine, we'll go our separate ways, and since you want me to pay the favor back don't worry I will pay you back good" Julie said, her voice cracking with emotion, her face twisted in a mixture of anger and hurt. Without taking a breath, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving Roman staring after her, his face a mask of shock and confusion.