A Thief's Kiss

28| Gratitude

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.