Eurydice stared at Conrad, her expression frozen in a mix of shock and barely contained rage.
Lana beamed, absolutely delighted. “Oh, this is amazing! You never told me you were engaged!”
Ethan smirked. “Didn’t take you for the Montague type, but hey, respect.”
Eurydice’s eye twitched.
Conrad, standing there in his paint-streaked dress shirt, looking far too pleased with himself, simply shrugged.
“What can I say?” he said smoothly. “She’s full of surprises.”
Oh, I’ll show you a surprise, Eurydice thought darkly.
She grabbed Conrad’s wrist—a little too tightly—and yanked him toward the hallway.
“Excuse us for a second,” she said, voice way too sweet.
Lana giggled. “Take your time!”
Eurydice marched Conrad out of the nursery and down the hall, ignoring his lazy resistance.
The moment they turned the corner, out of sight—
She whirled around.
“What the hell was that?”
Conrad barely blinked. “What was what?”
She threw her hands in the air. “You know what! Why did you introduce yourself as my fiancé?! This is not a Montague family event! These people don’t care if we’re engaged or not!”
Conrad shrugged, leaning against the wall.
“You were about to be bombarded with questions anyway,” he said casually. “I saved you the trouble.”
Eurydice let out a deep, frustrated groan.
“Saved me?! Do you have any idea what you just did? Lana is a romantic! She’s going to ask me so many questions! Now I have to lie even more because you decided to—”
She paused, narrowing her eyes.
“…Wait.”
She took a step closer, studying him.
Conrad didn’t move.
Didn’t flinch.
Didn’t even blink.
Eurydice folded her arms.
“You enjoyed that.”
A slow smirk curled on Conrad’s lips. “Maybe.”
She gasped. “Oh my God! You absolutely did! You love messing with me!”
Conrad tilted his head slightly, as if considering. “It’s a… mild source of entertainment.”
Eurydice slapped his arm.
“Mild?! You just hijacked my client meeting for your own amusement!”
Conrad chuckled, looking far too smug.
“You handled it fine.”
“I dragged you out here to scream at you!”
“And yet,” Conrad gestured to the door, “they still think we’re a perfectly happy couple.”
Eurydice clenched her fists. She really want to punch that handsome face of this guy in front of her.
He was impossible.
Smug, irritating, and frustratingly good at this game.
She stepped even closer, jabbing a finger at his chest.
“You listen to me, Montague,” she hissed. “If you pull that kind of stunt again, I will make your life hell.”
Conrad grinned. “You already do.”
Eurydice threw her hands up.
“There is something wrong with you!”
Conrad chuckled, crossing his arms.
“Come on, Santiago,” he said smoothly. “Admit it. You like having me around.”
Eurydice froze.
The nerve of this guy really is something, she thought to herself.
Her stomach did a weird little flip, and she hated it.
Her mouth opened.
Then closed.
Then—
She growled, grabbing him by the sleeve.
“We’re going back in there, and you are keeping your mouth shut, if not I'm really gonna punch you on the face. You try me Montague” she muttered, dragging him back toward the nursery.
Conrad let himself be pulled along, amused as hell. Where there is also a small smile on his face as Eurydice drag him inside again.
“You know, for someone who claims to hate me, you sure hold onto me a lot,” he mused.
Eurydice slammed the door open.
Lana and Ethan turned, blinking at them.
Lana gasped, clapping her hands together.
“You guys are adorable.”
Eurydice forced a smile.
“Yep. Adorable.”
Conrad just smirked, slipping his arm around her waist.
She stiffened.
Lana squealed.
Oh.
She was going to kill him.
The car ride home was silent.
Eurydice sat with her arms crossed, glaring out the window like the world had personally betrayed her.
Conrad, driving with one hand, barely glanced at her.
It was amusing at first.
But now?
Now it was getting too quiet.
And Conrad Montague didn’t like silence.
“…Still mad?” he asked casually.
Eurydice didn’t answer.
Not even a glare.
Impressive.
He smirked. “You know, holding in your anger isn’t healthy.”
Nothing.
Conrad glanced at her again.
She was really committed to this.
“…What if I said you were right?” he tried.
Silence.
“…What if I said I regretted it?”
Silence.
Conrad sighed.
He wasn’t used to this. People argued with him, challenged him, even yelled at him.
But this?
This was worse.