The moment the door shut behind Conrad’s family, a heavy silence filled the room.
Eurydice, still standing close to him, stared up at him with a slow, knowing smirk.
Conrad rubbed his temple. “Don’t.”
She beamed. “Don’t what, fiancé?”
He exhaled sharply. “Don’t make this a thing.”
Eurydice placed a hand over her heart. “Oh, but it is a thing, Montague. A huge thing. You kissed me.”
“I was proving a point.”
“Sure.” She nodded dramatically. “And the way you did it? Wow. So convincing.”
Conrad shot her a warning look. “Santiago.”
Eurydice took a step closer, tilting her head.
“You know,” she mused, “if you needed an excuse to kiss me, you really didn’t have to involve your whole family.”
Conrad’s jaw clenched.
Eurydice was enjoying this way too much.
By the time they retreated to their shared bedroom, the atmosphere was thick with something unspoken.
Eurydice immediately flopped onto the bed, her back to Conrad, determined not to think about what happened.
Conrad, meanwhile, loosened his tie, watching her carefully.
“…You’re quiet,” he noted.
Eurydice let out a dramatic sigh. “I’m processing, Montague.”
Conrad smirked, removing his cufflinks. “Processing the kiss?”
She rolled over onto her side, facing him with a teasing smile.
“No, no, of course not. I’m just in awe at your dedication.” She propped her chin on her palm. “Who knew you had such passion buried underneath that broody exterior?”
Conrad rolled his eyes, climbing into bed beside her.
“I was making it convincing,” he said flatly.
Eurydice’s smirk widened. “Oh? And here I thought you enjoyed it.”
Conrad simply gave her a long, unreadable look.
Then—
He turned off the bedside lamp.
“Goodnight, Santiago.”
Eurydice narrowed her eyes in the dark.
That was too easy.
Too calm.
Too… controlled.
And that annoyed her.
So, naturally, she poked him.
Literally.
With her finger.
Right on his arm.
“…What are you doing?” Conrad muttered, voice half-sleepy, half-exasperated.
“Trying to see if you’re actually human,” she said, poking him again. “Because no normal man can kiss like that and then just go to sleep like nothing happened.”
Conrad sighed deeply.
“Santiago.”
“Yes, fiancé?”
“…Go to sleep before I make you.”
Eurydice grinned. “Ohoho, is that a threat?”
Conrad turned over, grabbing her wrist, voice low and tired.
“It’s a promise.”
…Oh.
That was… unnecessarily attractive.
Eurydice swallowed.
Her heartbeat stumbled for half a second.
Then she yanked her hand back, rolled onto her side, and aggressively pulled the blanket over herself.
“…Goodnight.”
Conrad smirked into his pillow. “Sweet dreams.”
Eurydice glared at the ceiling.
She was in danger.
Eurydice woke up warm.
Too warm.
And way too comfortable.
It took her a second to realize why.
Her head? Resting against Conrad’s shoulder.
His arm? Draped loosely around her waist.
Their legs? Tangled.
…Oh.
Oh no.
Her brain short-circuited.
Because not only had she woken up wrapped around Conrad Montague—
But he was already awake.
And smirking.
“Good morning,” he said, voice rough with sleep.
Eurydice’s entire soul left her body.
She jerked away instantly, pushing against his chest.
“You—! I—! This—!”
Conrad exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple as she scrambled to sit up.
“Santiago, it’s too early for dramatics.”
Eurydice pointed at him accusingly. “You cuddled me!”
Conrad, still half-asleep, gave her a lazy look.
“I didn’t cuddle you.”
She gasped. “Oh, really? Then what do you call this?”
She gestured wildly between them.
Conrad sighed, sitting up fully.
“It was cold,” he said simply. “You were warm.”
Eurydice gawked. “That is not an excuse!”
Conrad stretched his arms, completely unfazed. “You’re the one who fell asleep on me first.”
Eurydice froze.
Wait.
Was that… true?
Had she… actually… curled into him first?
…Oh, hell no.
Conrad smirked at her silence. “That’s what I thought.”
Eurydice grabbed a pillow and smacked him with it.
By the time Conrad left for work, Eurydice was still aggressively stirring her coffee at the breakfast table, overthinking everything.
She needed a distraction.
Something—anything—to keep her mind off Conrad and his stupidly smug face.
As if answering her silent prayers, her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
It was her boss from the gallery.
Raising an eyebrow, she answered.
“Morning, Eurydice,” her boss greeted. “Are you still on leave, or are you up for some extra work?”
Eurydice perked up. “Depends. What’s the job?”
“A client reached out looking for an artist to do a mural for their baby’s room in their house. They specifically requested something soft, whimsical, dreamlike.”
A mural?
She hadn’t done a full-scale project in a while.
And honestly?
She needed something to focus on.
Something not Conrad.
Eurydice leaned back, twirling a spoon between her fingers.
“When’s the deadline?”
“The sooner, the better.”
She smiled.
“Alright,” she said. “Tell me where and when.”
Because right now?
She needed art.
She needed space.
She needed something to clear her mind before it drifted back to a certain frustrating, attractive businessman.
After taking the call and agreeing to the mural job, she paused for a moment before typing out a text to Conrad.
Eurydice: Got a job—doing a mural for a baby’s room. Don’t worry, I’m not running away from our fake engagement. Just figured I’d let you know.
She stared at the screen, then added—
Eurydice: Also, if you bring up the cuddle incident again, I WILL put salt in your coffee.
Conrad was in the middle of a board meeting when his phone vibrated.
Glancing down at the screen, he saw her name.
He opened the message—then sighed, running a hand over his face.
Eurydice was doing a mural.
Which meant…
She wouldn’t be around the house much.
Conrad ignored the strange annoyance that came with that realization.
Instead, he typed back—
Conrad: Noted. Try not to paint yourself into a corner.
And then, after a pause—
Conrad: And for the record, you were the one clinging to me.
He smirked, set his phone down, and returned to his meeting.
Because if he was going to suffer thinking about that damn kiss, then so was she.