Flash Marriage: In His Eyes-Chapter 245: Captivated by Her

–Alyssa–

The whole night.

I stayed in Lore’s bedroom while he slept.

I was careful—really careful—placing sticker bedazzles all over his phone. The thing was stuck and at least twice as big as my phone. I hummed softly, and when Lore shifted, I gently patted his back like he was a baby.

"Aly," Lore muttered.

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"Why are you still here?" he mumbled sleepily, not even turning toward me.

"I’m arranging your table, remember?"

"Hmm."

"Just sleep." I patted his back again.

I continued with my art and finally placed the phone back on its wireless charger. I smirked and stood—then froze as the door slowly opened.

Mom peeked inside. She squinted, then pointed outside.

I gathered my materials fast, leaving no trace, and slipped out. Mom closed the door gently behind us and hissed at me.

"What are you doing in Lore’s room?" She grabbed my elbow and started dragging me toward my room.

"I was just pranking him!" I pulled out my phone and showed her my masterpiece. "He has a Jurassic phone." I scrolled through the photos. "I spent hours on that."

"Oh." She tilted her head. "It’s nice. But bedazzling doesn’t suit Lore." She crossed her arms.

I smirked.

"But it’s payback for all the hard stuff he makes me do. It’s like he’s sending me to the military," I sighed.

"Alright. Go back to your room. You need to sleep." She pushed me gently as I pouted.

I noticed earlier that his phone vibrated a lot but never lit up with notifications. What a weird phone.

Anyway, I crawled back into bed, put away my bedazzles, and lay down like a princess, smiling.

Imagining Lore waking up to a phone covered in pink, purple, and gold made me laugh. But I needed to see his reaction. Tomorrow.

Beauty sleeps.

I woke up—probably my body clock—only to wince as a plastic foam floater hit my forehead.

"Ow!"

He hit me again.

"Good morning, Princess. Get your ass out of bed."

I frowned, sat up, and smacked him with my pillow. I lazily slid off the bed, pouting.

He raised his phone and glared at me.

"You will receive intensive training." He announced in a crisp commanding voice.

"No!" I shouted.

He lifted the phone higher.

"I can’t remove this! You did this instead of organizing my table and shelves."

"But it has your initials on it!" I pouted, stepping closer and pointing at the bling. "Look—it glows when it rings."

He frowned harder.

"I didn’t set this to light up with notifications." His voice sharpened. "What is this?" He stared at it. "Is this connected to my phone?"

He sounded seriously angry. Is it wrong?

Then he ripped it off.

My lips pressed together. I didn’t know Lore could be like this. His eyes were cold, furious, stripped of every trace of humor, the kind of anger that didn’t shout but promised consequences. He looked frighteningly calm, and that somehow made it worse. I sniffled, quickly wiping my tears.

"Why are you crying?" he asked—insensitive as hell.

"I set that up for your phone!" I shouted.

He frowned.

"Did you snoop through my phone?" His tone turned interrogative.

"No! I just put blings on it!" I covered my face, embarrassed and upset. "Why would I snoop? It doesn’t even light up!"

"Oh." He exhaled. "I’m sorry. I lashed out." His voice softened as he patted my head. "It’s just... this phone is very important. A lot of people’s lives depend on it."

"I didn’t do anything else. I swear." I wiped my tears and covered my mouth to stop myself from sobbing.

"Alright. I’m sorry." He sighed, pulling me into a hug and patting the back of my head.

I froze.

What—

He smells nice.

"But I can’t have anything blinking on it," he murmured. "It could intercept my data."

"It was just a prank," I mumbled. "I really didn’t do anything else."

"Yeah. Now get ready. We’re running around the acres of land in your mansion."

I shoved him and frowned. He just smirked and casually walked out of my room.

I can’t believe him.

From sweet to harsh—just like that. Is he bipolar or something? That asshole!

–Lore–

I checked through my data logs and the small camera in my room. There was no way she could hack my phone. No chance.

She was snickering while happily decorating it. Honestly? It didn’t look bad. Just... too girly. But I was too lazy to remove it anyway. I think she used some kind of mighty bond because it was stubborn as hell.

I got ready and went downstairs to prepare the smoothie Alyssa desperately needed—and one for myself. I poured them into tumblers and turned around just in time to see David walking toward me. Shirtless.

"You made my sister cry." He crossed his arms, flexing those very respectable pecs.

I stared for a second, then grabbed his arm and turned him around.

"Wow. Do you work out regularly?"

"Yeah," he grinned—then his face hardened again. "Why did you make my sister cry?"

I sighed and explained everything. When I finished, he smacked my chest.

"Do you seriously think my sister would hack your phone?" he frowned. "You made her cry!"

"I apologize," I said quickly, shaking him by the shoulders. "But hey—look on the bright side. I’ll find you a girlfriend."

"Really?" His grin returned instantly.

I still don’t get why he’s single. Women would crawl just to kiss his shoes. Handsome, fit, rich—what more do they want?

"Well, if you can find me someone like Jane, mixed with Livana and Laura," he said smugly, "I’ll let you marry my sister."

I handed him the extra smoothie.

"Nope. I’m too young to marry your sister. Also, we’re completely different," I shut him down. He sneered.

"You should be very grateful that we’re letting you—"

I pressed my finger against his lips.

"Shhh. No. I’m not marrying anyone," I murmured, cheerful and unapologetic.

He jerked his head back and swatted my hand away.

"Pfft," he snorted and took the drink.

"Now I have to train your sister. She’s been lazy."

I notified Alyssa, who had been wasting time on skincare rituals or whatever sorcery she does. My phone beeped—Livana.

I leaned against the counter and checked the messages. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Big Boss: Hi, my sweet genius!

Big Boss: Good luck with next week’s first class.

Big Boss: Eat more, alright? Make sure Aly does too. And I assume she’s prepared.

I sighed. Text bombardment. I replied.

Lore: Yes, boss! I’ll do my best to be a working student, a stalker, a bodyguard... well, a student.

Big Boss: Hahaha. I was teasing. The most important part is protecting Aly and keeping both of you safe.

Lore: Copy that.

"Turn off the alarms!" Alyssa shouted.

Ah. I forgot.

I tapped my phone. She glared at me.

"Did you hack my devices?"

I smiled and patted her head.

"Hey, I made you a smoothie." I handed it to her.

"Answer me."

"I just set your alarms," I said casually, grabbing my bottle. "Let’s go!" I threw an arm around her shoulders. "Now, let’s talk about laps around the acres of land in this compound."

She groaned.

But she needs it. Cardio. Discipline. Muscle memory. She has to learn how to protect herself. I even considered calling new agents to train her—but that would be brutal.

She sipped her smoothie.

"It’s going to be tough today," I warned.

She pouted.

"You keep torturing me."

I chuckled. Cute—but ineffective. This isn’t cruelty. This is survival.

"Do you hate girls?" she asked suddenly. "You’ve never had a girlfriend, right?"

"Ouch." I clutched my chest dramatically. "Yes, I’ve never had a girlfriend. But I’m handsome." I placed a hand over hers.

"You must have a lot of time," she said, patting me. "So much time to torture me instead of dating."

I gasped theatrically.

"Hey, you’re not dating either," I shot back—

—and she caught me off guard. Twisted my arm. Took me down.

I lay flat on the grass, rethinking my life choices.

Then I looked at her.

Instead of scolding her, I laughed and clapped.

"That’s my girl," I said as I stood up.

"I just did what you taught me," she said, flipping her hair. Then she stepped closer. "Tell me... about my sister-in-law. Why she die? I want to know everything."

I patted her head gently.

"Girl, it’s better if you know nothing. She’s protecting you. She’s protecting everyone."

She stared into my eyes.

And somehow—damn it—I found her baby-blue eyes breathtaking. The kind that made you forget what you were saying, like you just wanted to keep looking a second longer than necessary.

I blinked when I realized we were both staring.

"Anyway," I cleared my throat, snapping out of it, "we’ll start with stretching, then running."

"Can we do survival stuff and whatnots?" she asked.

I turned to her so fast my eyes widened. I snapped my fingers, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her lightly.

"You are a genius! Yes—we’re doing that! I know so many places!"

She laughed, light and ridiculously girly, and turned away as I followed.

"Hm. I know I’m a genius," she said smugly.

Yeah. I had to admit it.

Alyssa was... captivating.