Chapter 4

Julian's grin hung on the corners of his lips, but his mood dipped noticeably—until he caught a glimpse of the girl in his arms. And suddenly, he was amused. She was trembling like a leaf but still trying to act all tough, putting on that pretentious "I'm not scared" face. Bringing someone like her home? He had a feeling life was going to be hilarious from now on. Julian was now even more convinced that he'd made the right call. Somehow, he was starting to look forward to this wild idea. ... Five minutes later, in a quiet corner of the county courthouse plaza. Anna had just steadied herself when she snapped into negotiation mode. The man in front of her was tall—her head barely reached his chest. Just from height alone, she was losing this showdown. She swallowed nervously and asked, "So this so-called revenge plan of yours... is it actually just marrying me to piss those two people off?" It sounded ridiculous, but connecting the dots, that assumption kinda made sense. The man nodded slowly, his tone light and casual. "Exactly. Not bad, right? Since you get it now, let's go get the marriage certificate." What kind of nonsense logic was this?! Anna jumped back, completely flustered. "You can't be serious! We don't even know each other! How can two complete strangers just get married?" He had to be nuts! Maybe the guy had taken some kind of massive emotional blow and snapped. No doubt, the man in front of her was ridiculously good-looking and probably checked off all the boxes on paper too, but come on—that's not a reason to marry someone. "I'm Julian Blake. 29. Born and raised in the capital. Got a decent savings account, run a small company, still got both parents and an older brother. Don't drink, don't smoke, zero bad habits." "Uh... what?" Anna blinked and looked up. The man was leaning lazily against the wall, his eyes full of mischief as he met her gaze—and then he even raised one eyebrow with a smug little smile."No one's born close. Getting familiar takes time," Julian said, his voice casual but his eyes locked on hers. "But trust me—soon enough, I'll know you better than anyone else. Your habits, your thoughts... even your body." As his words trailed off, his gaze dropped slowly, deliberately. There was an unspoken hint in it that made Anna feel as if she were completely exposed under his eyes. She shivered instinctively. "You... you perv..." "Mm-hm..." Before she could finish, his fingers gently caught her chin, and his lips covered hers in a smooth, purposeful motion. Julian kissed like a man who knew exactly what he was doing—confident but restrained, testing the waters between playful and serious. Anna's mind went blank. It wasn't just that she had no experience—it was the way he took over, leaving her no room to think. Her eyes fluttered half-open, her long lashes trembling slightly. A soft pink glow crept up her cheeks, the kind that made her look like she stepped right out of a dream. When the kiss finally ended, Julian let out a small, satisfied chuckle and pulled the dazed girl into his arms. She was practically a puddle by now. He usually wasn't into kissing like this, especially not someone he just met. But somehow, kissing her felt... unexpectedly good. Leaning his forehead lightly against hers, he tilted his head and smiled, those fox-like eyes twinkling in the sunlight. "Anna, when you said ‘perv,' did you mean like this... or maybe like this?" Anna was still floating somewhere between shock and confusion, her eyes wide and a bit unfocused. But when she felt a breeze across her chest, her expression snapped back in place. "Ah! You sicko!" The red returned to her face for a completely different reason now. Without thinking, she swung her hand straight at his ridiculously handsome face. But Julian caught her wrist effortlessly, like she was a kitten pawing at him. His grip was light, but unshakable. "Tsk tsk, not playing nice now," he said, his tone half-mocking. "I'm just doing what you accused me of. Would've been unfair if I didn't show you what real ‘perv' looks like, huh?" He traced a cool fingertip down her cheek, the touch feather-light. It left behind a shiver.