Chapter 5 5. Handsome Devil

"Let's grab some food first; I'm hungry," Calvin said as they had just entered the mall.

"Okay, let's go!" Emily replied, her beautiful eyes scanning every corner of the crowded mall filled with visitors. It was a typical scene for a Saturday night, as people filled their weekend with friends, lovers, or their beloved families.

In a metropolitan city like Jakarta, malls were one of the entertainment options for the residents. Aside from being a place for young people to gather, malls also served as an alternative place to unwind after a day of work. However, the purpose of the married couple was different. They were not here for a date but to shop for basic household necessities for the home they had just established the day before, and unfortunately, without the foundation of love.

Calvin followed Emily's steps as they headed to the elevator, the fastest way to reach the top floor. Ding... The elevator doors opened simultaneously with a rush of people exiting. After a bit of jostling with other visitors, Emily and Calvin finally managed to get inside the elevator. Emily stood right next to Calvin, her hands holding the strap of the shoulder bag she was carrying. Unbeknownst to Emily, a man was observing her with an unreadable grin. Then the man moved to stand on Emily's right side. Calvin, who had been aware of this, remained motionless, waiting to see what the man would do.

"Miss, may I introduce myself?" the man said, clearly audible to Calvin. Emily turned to the stranger beside her, but without responding, she looked ahead. Not giving up, the man shifted his body slightly to get closer to Emily. Unexpectedly, Calvin pulled Emily's body, exchanging their positions.

"Sorry, don't behave rudely to my wife," Calvin reprimanded, giving the man a stern look. Calvin wasn't jealous, but as a man, he wouldn't stand by if something that belonged to him was being disturbed by someone else. Besides, Emily was his lawful wife, and everything that happened to her was his responsibility.

Emily, now standing with her body held in Calvin's embrace, could only be stunned. She hadn't expected Calvin to publicly acknowledge her as his wife to a stranger. After all, it wouldn't have been difficult for Calvin to introduce her as a friend, sister, or relative, given their contrasting appearances. Calvin always looked neat, well-groomed, and clean, while Emily had a simple teenage appearance, wearing only long jeans with a T-shirt, her shoulder-length hair hanging loose, no makeup, and no high heels like an elegant and classy woman.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know the sweet lady was your wife!" the stranger replied with a forced smile, trying to hold back his embarrassment. Furthermore, the three of them had now become the center of attention for the people in the elevator.

Soon, the elevator doors opened, and they all exited. "Don't flirt!" Calvin whispered in Emily's ear, still embracing her shoulder. Without bothering to respond to Calvin's words, which always managed to provoke her emotions, Emily removed Calvin's hand from her shoulder, looking sharply into his eyes. She then walked quickly towards the food court. "Just go on, you!" Calvin scolded, feeling no guilt whatsoever for his words that had hurt Emily's feelings. He sat comfortably in a chair across from Emily's table.

Emily handed the menu to Calvin. "Sirloin steak and orange juice," Calvin said, then pushed the menu back towards Emily.

"Sirloin steak, two orange juices, and super spicy seafood ramyeon," Emily told the waitress, who had a notebook and pen ready in her hand.

"Alright, please wait a moment," the friendly waitress replied and promptly left.

Their orders arrived shortly. Emily's eyes lit up as she followed the waitress's hand movements, transferring the food from the tray to their table. Meanwhile, Calvin grew increasingly puzzled by the behavior of the girl in front of him, who lacked any sense of grace. Calvin looked at his menu and compared it to Emily's, which he considered super-sized. It was a large bowl of red broth with noodles, eggs, vegetables, and seafood, of course. Suddenly, Calvin's appetite disappeared when he saw Emily's fingers using chopsticks to pick up vegetables and put them into her mouth. Swirl... The sound of Emily slurping the noodle soup instantly made Calvin's stomach feel full, even though he hadn't touched his own meal at all.

Realizing that Calvin was watching her, Emily immediately stopped her activities. "Aren't you eating? You said you were hungry earlier," Emily said as she looked at Calvin's untouched plate.

"Oh, right." Calvin quickly picked up his fork and knife to cut the steak and took a bite. The tender meat that should have been delicious suddenly tasted bland on his tongue. Calvin's appetite seemed to evaporate along with the air, leaving nothing behind. Emily, who was watching Calvin eat, continued with her remaining ramyeon.

"Full." Emily said as she patted her now full stomach. Unable to contain it, a burp escaped from Emily's lips. "Sorry, I overdid it." Emily closed her mouth with a wry smile. Her image in front of the handsome doctor took a nosedive. Calvin immediately put down his fork and knife next to his plate, concluding that it was the worst dinner he had ever had.

Without a word, Calvin took a sip of his drink and then promptly got up to pay their bill. As he returned to where Emily was sitting, the bespectacled man observed her appearance, which was more suited to a high school girl than an adult woman.

"Give me strength, Lord, to deal with this immature girl," Calvin muttered with a mixed feeling. How could his parents choose a life partner for him like the girl in front of him? Emily didn't possess any of the criteria that Calvin had for an ideal woman.

Emily greeted Calvin with a beaming smile as she stood up, and they walked together towards the elevator to do their grocery shopping.

Three trolleys filled with their shopping spoils. Calvin didn't want to make things complicated, so he completed all their daily necessities that night, despite Emily's non-stop complaints about their total spending, which had reached 5 million rupiahs, echoing in their footsteps.

"Wow, you're loaded! With this much shopping, you could have just swiped your card," Emily exclaimed when they were already inside the car.

"Your name should be Bee, not Emily," Calvin retorted, instantly sealing Emily's lips tight. It wasn't that she was offended by Calvin's words; she actually felt that the name her parents had given her was bad. Emily remembered clearly her first meeting with Calvin, during which he had also mentioned her name.

"Don't be like that; my parents didn't give me this name arbitrarily. Emily means a hard worker in IndonesRyan, and in Arabic, it means a woman with character. How could you say it's an ugly name when it means something beautiful? It suits the owner. Both are beautiful," Emily protested with a pout, successfully making Calvin slam the steering wheel of his car quite hard, causing Emily to scream in surprise. Emily didn't expect that Calvin would get so angry with her over just her name.

"Forgive me, Lord, this might be your way of punishing me for neglecting my duties," Calvin's heart whispered as he tried to calm his emotions that had flared up once again because of the girl sitting next to him. If it weren't for his sense of sin and humanity, Calvin would have probably dropped her off at the side of the road by now.

"Oh my goodness, Emily, that's not what I meant," Calvin exclaimed. "Do you know what Bee means?" Calvin asked, to which Emily just shook her head. Calvin took a deep breath and held it in his chest for a moment before letting it out slowly before continuing. "Bee means a bee. Remember, bee!" Emily nodded as she listened to her husband's explanation. "Well, your chattering is just like a bee, it keeps buzzing. Eventually, it could make me go deaf." Calvin rubbed his ears, which felt hot. It felt like after this, he would be the one with a permanent spot at the Medica Center Hospital with a history of heart problems if he had to be around that girl continuously. It felt like he had spent an eternity with Emily last night, even though it had only been one night.

It seemed that the offer to be friends with Emily would never work. Initially, Calvin wanted to get to know the girl he had just married the day before better. Emily immediately closed her lips tightly, while Calvin ruffled his hair in frustration. Then, he focused on the road ahead, which was moving at a snail's pace. It seemed that Calvin wanted to escape to the Arctic, live in a polar bear's habitat; it seemed more enjoyable than being with a girl who claimed to be an elementary school teacher but had a low IQ.

Realizing that Calvin's emotions were about to explode, Emily shifted her position, sitting slightly askew and gazing out the window with a meaningful smile. The city lights sparkled and were more beautiful than looking at a handsome devilish man by her side. Unfortunately, even though he was devilish, he remained handsome in her eyes.

"So, the doctor says I'm like a bee? That's good then; bees are very beneficial. Just like you, doctor, who is incredibly beneficial to me. Besides being able to increase my vitamin A, B, C, and D intake, you also keep my heart healthy," Emily's inner thoughts echoed as she stifled her laughter to prevent Calvin, the handsome doctor next to her, from going berserk.

Emily continued her silent musings, "How does it work, anyway? How can a devil get possessed?" while biting her lower lip to suppress her laughter.