22 JUST THE TWO OF THEM I

The next day, went out to get money. However, instead of visiting the bank which will probably cause her trouble because she didn't have anything to use for disguise, she decided to transfer the money from Jamie Malvar's account to Belle.

(Are you sure about this?) Belle asked. She was trembling from anxiety, worried that someone would catch her doing this illegal thing and she will be accused of fraud. She didn't want to go to jail and leave her brother alone. (Ceres, let's not do this. We can find another way to earn money.)

[Just leave this to me. I will make sure that you won't have any issues. Just stay still and chill.]

(Chill is something I couldn't do right now.)

Ceres just rolled her eyes before stepping out of the taxi she boarded. She even gave a little extra to the driver who sent her to D City even though she could withdraw funds near Eli's place. The guard of the bank looked at her from a distance and Ceres smiled.

Slowly, she made her way to the bank and got inside after getting through the security check. She found the ATM booth and waited for her turn to come. Many people were watching her and she only smiled faintly at them. [Why are they looking at us?]

(Maybe they find us suspicious.) Belle answered from the depths of her mind. (I can't believe we're doing this.)

[Shut up! If you keep whining, we won't achieve anything.]

Belle sulked and retreated from her consciousness and left Ceres to do everything. If worse comes to worst, she will just let Ceres have her body and let her suffer the consequences.

After ten minutes, it was finally her turn to withdraw money. Ceres pulled out Belle's ATM card from her wallet and placed it in the card reader. She didn't withdraw much. She didn't want to raise any suspicions from the people around her.

[Let's buy groceries and new clothes for Neon.] Belle didn't answer. [You are a coward.] Silence. [Fine. We won't transfer funds from any of those accounts within the next three months. If Jamie won't make a report that she lost money from her accounts, you have to accept the probability that these funds are mine.]

(Deal.) Belle answered after a moment of silence.

As soon as they finished withdrawing the money, Ceres left the bank and boarded a taxi once again. She bought groceries and clothes with the money she got. However, when Eli saw the groceries she bought, his face darkened.

"I didn't tell you to waste your money on these. I can buy them if we ever ran out of food."

Seeing his scary expression, Ceres fled and forcibly brought out Belle to deal with him. She never feared anyone in her past life but ever since she occupied Belle's body, she feared a lot of things. One of these was Eli's treatment. She feared that she would get used to his kindness and that he would push her to the abyss of despair if he started treating him coldly.

Belle stood there in the middle of Eli's spacious living room while holding the bag of groceries and clothes. Her hands were trembling but she didn't cower under his fierce glare.

"I wanted to help a little."

"Then, what about the house you are looking for? If you keep using your money for groceries, when will you find a decent house to live in?"

Belle laughed mentally at his words because she misunderstood him. She thought he was angry because she was spending her money unnecessarily. It turned out, he was angry because she won't be able to move out of his place soon if she continued to spend her money. She was supposed to save to pay for a new place to stay.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders while turning her heels in the direction of the kitchen. "Sorry for not telling you. I'll make sure to save up to find a new house soon."

"No. I mean. Wait. That's not what I mean." Eli retorted while chasing after her. "I am not hurrying you to leave the house. I just want you to save and find a decent home for Neon. You know it won't be cheap."

"I know. I know. I understand. You don't have to explain it to me."

"Good. I just want to make sure that you are not misunderstanding me."

Belle nodded her head but deep inside she already buried all her hope to strengthen her relationship with Eli. (Don't ever do something unnecessary. You can admire him and I won't hinder you from doing that but don't use my body to get so close to him.)

[Cooking for him is fine, right? I mean, when I cook for Neon, I have to cook for him as well. It would be so awkward if Neon gets to eat a proper meal but Eli could not.]

(Alright. I don't mind. If I noticed that you are doing something I do not approve of, I will forcibly pull you out and take over my body again.)

[Got it.]

"Belle?"

Isabelle raised her head and found Eli staring at her. She was shocked when she noticed how close his face was to her and her heart thumped rapidly from the sheer embarrassment. "Do you need anything else from me?"

"No, nothing. I just thought your eyes are peculiar."

She instantly moved away from him and blinked her eyes several times. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes, it seems like it has changed its colors but when I looked closely at it, they're the same dark brown."

"Oh. I never knew of that. You should not stand so close to me next time. It would make others think that we're in a relationship."

"But that is what we agreed on, right?"

"Ah? Yeah. Yeah. I forgot." Her awkward chuckles caused Eli to take a step back from her and smiled faintly. He realized that he might have been so close to her which wasn't really needed when it was just the two of them. "Where's Neon by the way? I got something for him."

"My mom brought him out to play. They'll be home - "

Whatever it was that Eli said after the first statement, nothing registered in Belle's brain anymore. After knowing that it was just the two of them in the house, her soul has jumped out of the window already.