Chapter 7

• Callahan could sense how unbothered Celine sometimes appeared. She sometimes appears so cold and less interested. His hand was resting on the sides of her waist, and he could feel how small it was as his mind started remembering the moment he saw her on vacation in her bikini.
• That moment when she left without even asking his name or giving signals that she was attracted to him, he could really tell how she wasn’t that interested in him, so he immediately aborted his mission to try whatever was circulating in his mind at that moment.
• But he wouldn’t lie to himself and say that he really found her attractive. She’s hot and beautiful. She looked so feminine, and her alluring beauty told him that she had rejected a lot of men who’d been trying their luck on her. Because no man would not consider her.
• Callahan tilted his head to see Celine’s reaction. It was her usual cold expression, her less interested face that seemed too mysterious and he was wondering what was on her mind because she was too unreadable.
• As soon as they got into the house, Celine told Janna what happened. Janna panicked and got a medicine kit to treat Callahan’s scrape when Celine volunteered to do it.
• “Are you sure?” Janna asked, a bit hesitant to see that Celine was doing things that she shouldn’t be.
• Callahan was looking at them. He’s amazed by how Janna seems respectful to Celine as if she doesn’t want her daughter to lift her hand and that she is willing to do anything for her.
• Celine nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I can do it,” she said, opening the medicine kit.
• Luckily, she knows the basics of treating a wound, as she was trained for emergencies, knowing that she sometimes likes to be alone which is why she wanted to at least know how to take care of herself.
• Callahan was silently watching Celine who was serious about treating the scrape on his hand with a lot of gentleness. His eyes don’t leave her face. She has siren eyes that add to her coldness, and her amber eyes seem too mysterious but at the same time, they are glowing.
• Celine noticed his stares and she looked at him too. Callahan smirked a bit.
• “What?” she asked, her brows knitting.
• “I’m just amazed by your gentleness,” he smiled.
• Celine looked at the stretching of his lips, then went back to treating his wound. The truth is, it was her first time treating someone else’s wound that wasn’t blood-related to her. She tried it once with his hardheaded brother which she was just practicing, and now she was actually doing it with Callahan.
• “First time?” he asked, a bit curious.
• Celine shook her head. “No. I’ve done it once to a friend,” she said, clearing her throat as she just revealed herself to be an only child, and yet saying she has a brother would contradict things.
• “Hmm… friend? A boy?” Callahan looked at her carefully; his eyes were reading her with the gaze he was giving her.
• Celine looked at her for a bit, furrowed her brows, then slowly nodded. Callahan’s brow lifted.
• “Oh,” his voice trailed while he nodded slowly.
• Celine didn’t give it too much meaning. She doesn’t want to overthink things that Callahan does as she doesn’t want to complicate them in her mind.
• “What’s his name?” Callahan conversed, as he seemed so curious that a girl like Celine actually had a friend.
• “Chance,” she blurted out the name of her brother.
• Janna heard it while she was busy cleaning the kitchen area. She was a bit worried but at the same time, she wanted Celine to handle those things.
• “Hmm… Chance. How old is he?”
• Celine’s brows knitted as she was now putting a bandage on his hand. Why is he so curious? Is it because I don’t open any topics that he’s making this long? Is he digging nonsense things?
• “Five years older than me,” she said.
• She saw how Callahan looked so shocked. “A friend who’s… five years older than you. He must be working by now.”
• Celine nodded. “Yes.”
• Callahan looked at her deeply. Celine could sense there was something going on inside his mind that he didn’t want to blurt out.
• “Does he have a girlfriend?”
• Celine shook her head, just wanting to feed his curiosity until he stopped. But it seems like Callahan is so invested in her friend, who was his real brother, that he’s asking even the most trivial thing.
• “So he’s single?” Callahan probed.
• Celine shrugged. “He’s a playboy.” Like you, perhaps.
• She wanted to add it, but she didn’t want to start a topic that seemed to open so much conversation that she wasn’t ready to talk about.
• Celine looked at his other hand which had a scratch as well, and it was even bleeding a bit. Callahan gave his other hand as Celine started treating it again while Callahan seemed invested in continuing the topic.
• “Hmm, a playboy which means a bad influence…”
• “And what would I learn from him?” she asked, going with the flow of the topic.
• “Like, you’d become a playgirl too?” He said it in a playful tone, as the smile could be seen stretching on his lips but he was stifling it.
• “I’m too busy with my studies to have any men. I don’t need that.”
• Callahan arched his brow while Celine was serious about treating his wound while catering to his questions.
• “You don’t need too much. One is enough.” He tilted his head more as he wanted to tease her just to see humor in her cold expression.
• “What’s the use of having a boyfriend anyway?” She asked.
• Callahan was kind of shocked that Celine fired it fearlessly. Most women don’t really talk stuff about boys in front of boys because they are too shy to open up about it, but Celine seems to be the kind of girl who isn’t intimidated by anyone as she doesn’t mind asking things or talking about girly stuff with Callahan.
• “Well, having a boyfriend means…” He stopped his words as soon as he couldn’t name a few reasons why girls want to have a boyfriend too.
• Celine arched her brow, waiting for his answer.
• “I think girls love to have a boyfriend especially when they’re attracted to someone. Or…when boys were attracted to them and they fired some shots by courting the girl to show them that they’re serious,” Callahan explained seriously.
• “Then that’s it? That’s the purpose of having a boyfriend?”
• Callahan somehow understands why she has no idea how relationships work, knowing that she’s young and that she seems less interested in relationships. It was plainly because, for Callahan, she was the kind of woman who is independent and who doesn’t need someone in her life she could lean on because she knows how to take care of herself.
• “Some girls love having a boyfriend to inspire them. To drive them motivated. And sometimes, they’re just attracted to them.” He shrugged.
• “And you have a girlfriend?”
• Callahan couldn’t answer it. “I’m single at the moment.”
• Celine could feel the boundary he was setting as if he didn’t want to talk too much about his personal life. So she nodded and let it slip as her curiosity ended quickly.
• “And you are single at the moment too, right?” He asked.
• Celine looked at him again. The main reason why relationships don’t interest her is because she thinks the family she’s in isn’t the typical type. She cannot choose the man so clumsily because Gaile would dig deeper and study them like a project, trying to find some fault. It was also her lack of interest in relationships as she was more invested in molding her personal development.
• “I will only consider it after school when I’m done with my studies.”
• “Really?” Callahan looked at her meaningfully, as if there was something going on in his mind and it reflected in the way his eyes flickered.
• Celine nodded. “Yes. I don’t mind getting married right then.” She shrugged.
• Callahan laughed. “Oh, you are that easy to please, then?”
• Celine shrugged again. “I’d be very busy with work at that moment. At least I’m already married which means I am close to learning how to live a life?”
• Callahan laughed more. “Silly girl. You are treating marriage like a business proposal; you only needed to distract yourself.”
• Celine could imagine Callahan as someone’s boyfriend because he meets all the standards for being a good boyfriend despite his dangerous demeanor.
• But then Callahan licked his lips as he smiled at her. It seemed like it meant something, and at the same time, it meant that he was just being goofy with their topic.
• And Celine was a bit annoyed that she really found him attractive—not just physically, but even in the way he talks and the way he moves.