Chapter 28: Gratitude (Alexander's POV)

"And I don't what?" 

"Think I'm attractive?" I smirked. I'm not that modest but it's fun seeing her explain to me that I'm attractive. 

"What kind of question is that?" 

"One in simple English. Do you think I'm attractive?" I repeated. 

"I don't know, that depends. Do you find me attractive?" She arched a brow at me sharply. 

I scanned her face, my eyes locked in my place with hers. She raised her brows at me questioningly. "Very," I nodded. 

She blinked in surprise. 

"I find you very attractive. Too bad you're out for my blood though," I sighed exaggeratedly, my shoulders slumping. 

"I'm not out for your blood, can you stop being so dramatic?" 

"Then? What are you out for?" 

"Revenge. And that's a very dramatic word. But let's be real. I'm not actually going to do anything to traumatize or hurt you." 

"And why not?" 

"Because I can't find it in my heart to actually do something." 

I watched her face for any trace of her words being a lie. But they seemed genuine to me. "Why not?" 

She gave me a small shrug. "I just can't. I don't hate you the way I should." 

"Does that mean you're going to make me fall in love with you? And go that route?" I asked. 

"You can't make people fall in love with you. It just happens if it's meant to," she shrugged. 

"Is it?" I questioned. 

She narrowed her eyes at me, analyzing me. "I don't think you could ever fall in love with me. I don't think we could be more than friends bound in marriage. And I think I was too impulsive when I agreed to marry you. I was blindsided and I wasn't thinking straight. I really should have just moved on and left Azura," she sighed, looking away from me and to the water. 

"If you left Azura you wouldn't be here." 

"Isn't that a good thing? Isn't that the whole point?" 

"No," I shook my head. "Because even if our marriage isn't for romantic purposes, I know I can still trust you and you'll always be loyal to me. You said it yourself. Maybe we're not exactly fond of each other, but we can count on each other. We're partners now. At least for this lifetime." 

"Why are you getting so serious about this?" she asked. "I thought you wouldn't be so invested." 

"I wouldn't be invested in my marriage?" 

"It's a compromise for you, isn't it? You only did it because you had to." 

"I could have said no." 

"You tried to," she scoffed. 

I rolled my eyes, "But I agreed at the end, didn't I? And I don't regret it. In the days before the wedding, we started getting along, didn't we?" 

"So? You still don't like me. It's hard to be tied down to someone for the rest of your life if you don't really like them, Alexander." 

"So?" I shrugged. 

"So?" she scoffed. "So, you-" 

"Who says I don't like you?" 

"Please." She rolled her eyes, looking the other way. 

"Hey!" I pushed myself up on the edge of the pool, keeping my hands on the edge, and held my weight up while standing in front of her, leaning over her legs and getting closer, my face inches away from hers. She blinked, looking at me while her legs were pressed against my chest and torso. "Who says I don't like you?" I repeated my question. 

But she didn't answer, she simply stared at me. 

"Aria. Who says I don't like you?" I asked for the final time. 

"I do," she answered. "Because you don't." 

"And who are you to say that?" I asked, leaning forward. 

"What are you doing?" she asked, putting her hand on my chest, ready to push me back. But she didn't push me away. 

"Reminding you. That I do like you. And I don't hate you. You're the one who came back saying you hated me. Not me." 

"No. You just manhandled me and left me with bruises, remember?" she asked. 

I sighed, getting back into the water. "I'm sorry about that. And thank you for not hating me for that." 

"And this is how you show gratitude?" she asked. 

"Gratitude?" I asked slowly. 

"For not hating you when I clearly should," she responded. 

That's not my fault but all right. I wouldn't wish it any other way. "I am grateful that you don't hate me. But... telling you that isn't enough?" I asked. 

"I don't know, is it?" she smirked. 

"How do I show you then?" I chuckled. 

She shrugged, lowering herself into the pool. "That's your problem. Not mine." She walked around me and started swimming underwater lengths in the pool. 

I went and stood at one end, waiting for her to pop up. 

She did, caught her breath, and went swimming again but I grabbed her wrist. "What?" she asked, pushing her hair out of her face. 

"I'll race you," I nodded. 

"If you win, I'll give you anything you want. If I win, you'll do the same. And then by winning, you can also find out just how grateful I am, hmm?" I smirked. 

She eyed me warily. "Fine. But underwater only." 

"You're unbelievably good at underwater, how is that fair?" I reasoned. 

"It's not. But neither is life. Underwater or nothing. Are you in?" she asked, biting back a smile. 

"Fine," I sighed. 

"Ready?" she asked, leaning against the wall. "Three, two, one, go," she laughed. 

I took a breath and both of us dunked under the water, pushing ourselves off the wall. I let out the breath I had been holding when I reached the wall, coming up while wiping my eyes. 

But she was already there. She was leaning against the wall, smiling. "I win, now what?" she nodded. 

I huffed, wiping the water from my eyes with one hand before pushing my hair back. "Fine, you win. Tell me, what can I give?" I asked, both of us taking a deep breath in sync. 

"A... puppy," she grinned. 

"Dogs aren't allowed in the palace, last I checked. Sorry," I chuckled. 

She huffed, falling into thought. "I don't know. What can you give me?" She turned to me. "I don't like materialistic stuff." 

"I can give you..." I racked my brain for any ideas but it came up with nothing. Maybe I am hollow up there. 

"It better be something really, really good." 

I shrugged. "I can't think of anything but a kiss." 

She snorted, looking the other way. "And what makes you think you're such an excellent kisser?" 

"I know I am," I replied. "It's just a feeling." 

"Have you asked anybody that you've kissed? What do they think about your skills?" She narrowed her eyes at me. 

"What's there to ask about? I know I'm a fantastic kisser." 

"And if I tell you that you're not? You kissed me at the wedding, I know what you kiss like." 

"Which, you're welcome for, by the way. You told me you always wondered what that would feel like," I smirked. 

"When did I say that?" she sputtered. 

"When you got drunk at the engagement party." 

She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. I won't say you're a bad kisser, but you're not as good as you think either." 

"Liar," I chortled. "You kissed me back." 

"Was I not supposed to? At our wedding? At the altar? In front of everyone?" 

"Still." I turned to her. "You liked it. Your face said it all." 

"What does it say now? Does it look like I'm lying?" 

"Yes," I nodded. 

"Well, I'm not. You're not such a fantastic kisser, sorry," she laughed, shrugging softly. "I'm sorry to pop your bubble." 

"Your lies aren't convincing enough." 

"Your kiss wasn't convincing enough," she retorted. "From what I've experienced, your kiss wasn't extraordinary. I've had my fair share of kisses. Yours was not anything special." 

"And if I can prove you wrong?" 

She arched a brow at me. 

"What happens then?" 

"Then I'll take it back. And I'll admit that you're a fantastic kisser. Hmm? Enough for your ego?" she smirked. 

"I suppose so," I shrugged. "But I won't do it now." 

"And why not?" she asked. 

"Because you'd have expected it. I should catch you off guard. That will make it even better." 

"Is that so?" she chuckled. 

"It is. And you know it." I looked over at her. 

"All right," she sighed. "While you wait for that moment, I will continue swimming. You can continue thinking." She took another breath and then disappeared under the water, appearing at the other end. She caught her breath and then repeated the same process over and over again. 

After at least an hour and a half in the pool, we both got out, wrapped ourselves up. She put her clothes back on, much to my dismay. She looked extremely attractive in the bikini. She looked hot, I can't help it. And then we headed back up to our room. 

"I'm showering first," I said. 

"Fine, I have to wash my hair so I'll take longer anyway," she shrugged, squeezing her ponytail with the towel. 

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Chapter 28

I'm going to start and finish my prep sheet in one night

adios my loves

maybe I'll update again at like four in the morning

next chapter: checkmate