Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Starting Over, One Bite at a Time

Just as Clarissa reached out to take his hand, Elian let go of the hug.

The air felt a bit tense, so she spoke up first, "Which room do I stay in?"

Hearing that, Elian's dark eyes locked onto her with a look she couldn't quite read. His fingers twirled a strand of her hair, like he was playing with a kitten, and reminded her with a hint of teasing, "Mrs. Langley, did you already forget what I said?"

Clarissa blinked, her throat tightening slightly as she remembered what he'd told her earlier:

"I married you because I want a real partner-a shared bed, a shared life."

So yeah, that meant the master bedroom.

She muttered to herself, "Got it."

Anyway, he'd said she had a week to adjust.

Dragging her suitcase along, she walked into the master bedroom. Elian noticed she went to the right room and curved his lips into a subtle smile before turning back toward the kitchen.

Once she was alone in the bedroom, Clarissa finally took out her phone. It had been buzzing like crazy in the car earlier. A quick glance at her messages showed a long stream from Natalie.

There was that photo Natalie sent - still unanswered - and then a barrage of rants.

[Still can't let go?]

[I honestly wanna crack your head open and see if it's just Sebastian in there.]

[Back then, sure, he was great. But ever since Aria showed up, the man changed! How do you still not get that?]

[Are you stupid or what?]

[Still ignoring me? Thinking of doing something dumb?]

[If you seriously go off the rails over him, I swear-when I bury you, the glow from his cheating ass will light up the entire damn country.]

[They booked a hotel room! Do you get what that means?]

...

The rants went on, with the most recent one being from about half an hour ago.

[Ughhhh Clarissa baby, should I just fly back to be with you?]

Clarissa sighed. Typical Natalie - sharp tongue, but always shows up when it counts.

She typed several simple words: [I'm fine.]

Compared to Natalie's passionate paragraphs, her reply looked ice-cold.

The next second her phone lit up - Natalie was calling.

"Babe! Finally! I was this close to heading to the airport."

Face in her hand, Clarissa let out a small sigh. She wasn't sure why-maybe it was Elian being around-but she didn't feel as awful now.

"I'm okay," she said.

"No way you're okay. Wait, you didn't go to the Marriage Registration Center looking for him, did you?"

Of course she guessed it right.

"I did, but Natalie, we broke up. Deleted everything - no contact."

"Huh?" There was a pause on the line, then Natalie's voice shot up a notch.

"Whoa, hold on, how'd you come around? When he flew abroad you never even flinched!"

Clarissa gave a small laugh, asking back, "You don't think I did the right thing?"

"Are you kidding? I'm about to light fireworks on this side of the ocean. Hope the bangs echo into your dreams."

Clarissa chuckled out loud, then added, "Hey, do you remember Elian?"

"Elian? Of course! The guy's living the dream now, all over the international business news. Dunno if he even remembers us old classmates."

Old classmates...

Yeah, to him, maybe that's all she was - just someone from the past.

"Why'd you suddenly bring him up?"

Natalie was curious now. She could sense there was more to it.

"I married him." As she said it, she sent over a photo of their marriage certificate.

Natalie was quiet for a few minutes on the phone. She was probably zooming in on the marriage certificate, trying to figure out if it was photoshopped-or maybe just mentally calculating how much it'd cost if ZephyrTech actually sued her for defamation.

A few minutes later, her voice echoed loudly through the room.

"Clarissa, how did your taste level up this hard after breaking up with Sebastian? Back in school, I totally didn't realize Elian was this hot!"

"Level up," huh?

Clarissa glanced at the marriage certificate again. In the photo, Elian no longer had that wild, rebellious look from his teen days.

Less reckless now, more composed.

But under that calm surface, the rebellious streak was still there. And that smug attitude-definitely still alive and well.

She didn't even notice the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Natalie asked again, "So, Clarissa, did you marry him just to make Sebastian jealous?"

"No," Clarissa replied. That idea had flashed through her mind for about two seconds. Mostly, she just felt that Elian... seemed reliable.

"Natalie, marrying Elian wasn't for show. I actually see a future with him."

Natalie asked, "Do you like him?"

"Not quite there yet, but I don't dislike him. And he's... good."

Natalie chuckled softly, her voice calm. "Then I hope you'll fall for him soon."

Clarissa let out a soft "mm." Before hanging up, she reminded Natalie not to tell anyone yet. She'd go public when the time felt right.

*****

After hanging up, it suddenly hit her-why didn't Natalie wish for Elian to fall for her too?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, someone knocked on the door.

She opened it to find Elian standing there, the savory, spicy scent of her favorite boiled fish wafting through the air.

She brushed past him and practically jogged to the dining table, her eyes wide-not with shock, but surprise and delight.

"You made this? For real? You're amazing!"

Elian opened his mouth to reply, but Clarissa had already tossed him a "Don't just stand there, come eat!"

She rushed into her seat and, without waiting for him, picked up a piece of fish soaked in red chili oil and popped it in her mouth.

A numbing heat spread across her tongue.

"This-this is exactly the flavor I love!"

Elian didn't say anything, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

Just as he reached out to grab some food, Clarissa blocked his fork.

"I cooked this, and I don't get to eat any?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Still chewing, Clarissa blinked at him and replied slowly, "I heard that nine out of ten CEOs have stomach problems. You sure your stomach can handle this level of spice?"

Elian sighed, put down his fork, and rubbed his eyebrows. "Where do you even hear this stuff? I'm perfectly healthy. Not a single issue."

Clarissa narrowed her eyes. "Swear it?"

"If I wasn't, how could I have made all this and not dropped dead?" he deadpanned.

She thought about it. Come to think of it, out of the four dishes, three were spicy...

Weirdly, they were exactly what she liked. And... turns out, his tastes matched hers to a T.

If meals like this were part of the deal, maybe "settling down" with him wasn't so bad after all.

Elian noticed her zoning out. He tapped her lightly on the head with his fork.

"Stop absorbing trashy internet nonsense. Do you want a violin room? If you do, I'll get someone to set it up."

Of course she wanted one...

After her parents passed, she'd moved in with her grandpa. She never played the violin at home, worried it would bother him.

Quietly, she said, "Yeah... I'd like that. Go ahead and arrange it."

Sensing her mood shift, Elian smoothly changed the topic. "Wanna head out for a bit this afternoon?"

She shook her head. "I'd rather rest."

He didn't press.

After they finished eating, Clarissa cleared the table and went back to her room.

Elian lounged on the couch, phone in hand, scrolling through his gallery.

He picked out two photos-one of their marriage certificate, the other of their fingers laced together.

He added a caption:

[From promises to paper to forever.]