24 JUST THE TWO OF THEM III

Belle checked the time and found that it was getting late but her brother and Eli's mom hadn't returned yet. She was getting worried and couldn't stop herself from looking at the door from time to time.

"You seemed restless," Eli commented while putting some vegetables and meat on Belle's plate. "Are you waiting for Neon to return home?"

"Y-yeah."

"I think I told you that they're not coming home tonight or did I not?"

Belle stiffened in her seat from hearing these words coming from him. She didn't hear him say these words earlier. She didn't hear anything about them not coming home tonight.

"So, it's just you and me in this house tonight?"

"Uh-huh."

(Uh huh? What uh huh? Isn't he bothered at all?!)

[What's there to feel bothered? It's not like he's planning to do anything with you.]

Belle almost choked on her saliva with Ceres' retort. She wasn't expecting anything, alright? She just felt that he should at least think about how inappropriate the situation was.

[Technically, you are his girlfriend so his parents might have thought it is okay to leave you both alone here.]

(Do you remember the number of locks on our door?)

[You're crazy.] Ceres responded and retreated to the deepest part of her subconsciousness. She didn't want to converse with her anymore.

"Here. Eat up. You need to recover, at least, your physical strength since you will be working for me soon. Let's review a little after dinner."

"Am I really working for you starting tomorrow?"

"Well, you agreed to work for me. Don't worry. I won't let you start right off the bat tomorrow. I will let train you a little each day to make it easier for you."

"O-okay."

Belle was really reluctant to start working for Eli because of her feelings. She just gave up on him and it would be really shameless of her if she falls in love again. She didn't want to fall in love again.

"By the way, are you planning to find your godmother on your own? How about we ask for help from the police? They have connections to officers in other places and they might be able to help you in locating her."

[I'm afraid of them.] Ceres blurted out in all honesty because officers were her natural nemesis.

(I can handle that.) Belle reassured her while nodding her head at the same time to agree with Eli's suggestion. "I'd like to find her as soon as possible. She needed to pay for what she has done to Neon. If I let her loose, my brother would think I never really cared about him. He might think I still care for that woman."

"When are you going to find her? If you can wait until my next day off, I'd be able to help you."

"I'm fine. I can do it on my own. I only need to talk to the police and they'll do the rest. You don't have to waste your time on me."

"How is it wasting my time when I'm with you?"

"Uh..." Belle was beyond speechless by his words. She wasn't sure if he was even aware of what he was saying or not. She just knew that she didn't have any answer to that. Blinking her eyes and avoiding his gaze, she drank a mouthful of water to soothe her throat which suddenly turned dry.

The two of them continued to eat their food while chatting about her godmother and her future work as his assistant. It finally made her wonder why Eli never hired one in the past and decided to hire her now when she couldn't even 'remember' much. Still, she didn't ask. She decided to just go along with the plan that Ceres laid out to make sure that they will make things work to their advantage.

"I'll wash the dishes." Eli volunteered since he didn't really do much during their meal. Most of the time, it was Belle who put meat, veggies, and other edible items into the pot. He was afraid he would put them in the wrong order. "You can get the book inside my room. I left it unlocked and you will be able to find it right on top of my desk. There were four of them."

(What the heck?! Four?!)

As if he was reading her mind, Eli raised his head and grinned. "Don't curse me yet. I only want you to get one of the books. The one at the bottom."

"I didn't say anything." Belle denied flatly as she turned around to leave the kitchen.

Watching her back, Eli chuckled while bringing the utensils to the sink. He thought Belle was really fun to tease when it comes to her work. [Hmm. There's something different about her today. Her eyes seemed darker and more expressive. Have they been always like that?]