Celine's door was wide open, and Armand saw a scene that shocked him.
Celine, with a face full of tears and wounds on several parts of her body, was arguing with her father, Marco. Their voices were raised, harsh words from her father and full of anger continued to be uttered from his mouth.
“You never understand me! I really need money to pay my outstanding school fees.”
“You're lying! You will definitely spend this much money on shopping or treating your useless friends.”
“No, I will never do that, even though you know all my clothes are faded and torn, I never even bought new ones.”
“Come on, you don't deserve that much money, come give it all to me!”
Armand could no longer stand the sight. He immediately went into the house and pulled Celine away from Marco.
“Enough, Marco! What did you do to your daughter?”
He was silent, his face pale. He did not expect Armand to come and see the incident.
Armand then took Celine to the sofa and hugged her tightly. He could feel her body shaking violently.
“Calm down, I'm here with you.”
He then saw the wounds on her body. He immediately took the medical box and began to treat the wounds carefully.
“Why did your father do this to you?”
She shook her head, her tears still flowing.
“I don't know, I don't understand why father hates me so much.”
Armand sighed. He knew Marco was a harsh, manipulative and temperamental person, but he never thought he would hurt his daughter.
“I'm very disappointed in him, he doesn't deserve to be a father.”
After finishing treating her wound, he decided to take the girl to his house. He didn't want her to continue being in a house full of bad memories.
“You will stay with me for a while, I will take care of you.”
“No I can't do it, I have to go to school and help my father.”
“But he was very mean to you, he doesn't even treat you like his daughter, there is no love or affection for you.”
“I don't want to bother you, This wound is not that bad,”
“It's okay, I want to make sure you're okay. Besides, I don't like seeing you in pain.”
Celine bit her lower lip. She knew Armand insisted, and refusing him would make her feel guilty.
“But, I have to stay here, tomorrow I have to go to school and help my dad again.”
“Okay, if that's what you want, I'll stay here, take care of your wound until it heals, how about it?”
“That's a good idea, if you agree to stay at my house tonight.”
He saw the warmth and happiness from her eyes after he said he was willing to stay in her house. It made him so happy too, and she felt so safe around him.
Throughout the night, he faithfully accompanied her. He cleaned her wound carefully, applied ointment, and changed the bandages.
She felt his gentle touch, soothing her pain. They chatted lightly, shared stories, and laughter was occasionally heard breaking the silence of the night.
The next morning, the aroma of coffee and toast filled her room. He, skillfully, had prepared a simple but warm breakfast.
She smiled, touched by his attention.
“Thank you very much.”
“You're welcome, the most important thing is that you feel better.”
They enjoyed breakfast together, the morning atmosphere was calm and full of affection.
She felt lucky to have him by her side, a friend who cared so much and cared for. The wound on her knee might heal, but the wound in her heart slowly began to heal by Armand's presence.
Celine, sitting at the table, stared at the dish in front of her, a soft omelet with neatly arranged vegetables, whole wheat toast, and fresh fruit that was still dewy.
“This… is wonderful, you are so great like a professional chef, I have never eaten breakfast this delicious.”
He just smiled thinly. “Do you like it?” he asked, his eyes looking nervous. This was the first time she had cooked for someone. Usually, she would just order food or eat out.
“I like it! It’s really delicious!”
“Want me to drive you to school?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind.”
“No problem, I’ll drive you right away.”
He said calmly. He got up from the chair and headed to the garage.
She followed him out. She was amazed to see the luxurious maroon sports car parked there. He opened the car door for her.
“Wow, your car! It’s amazing!”
“Thank you for the compliment, anyway, come on, I’ll drive you.” He got back into the car and drove at a moderate speed to school.
Her voice was like a melodic song, it could melt his heart even though he had a frozen heart.
His eyes followed her tiny body, her long leg was wearing a very short plaid skirt that matched her red sweater.
Her eyes were red, it indicated that she had been crying since last night after the fight with her father even though he had calmed her down.
“H-hi,” Celine greeted him softly while opening his car door.
Armand kept his eyes on her. She was truly beautiful and the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She looked like a princess who deserved to be treated like royalty.
She deserved the whole world, but that was impossible. Because the world would belong to Armand Xavier, the King of darkness.
“Thank you.”
Armand didn't say anything, but he nodded. He could hear her heartbeat that matched his intense heartbeat. He was in heaven just by smelling her perfume and watching her beautiful face.
“Are you going to school?”
“Yes, we are,”
His voice sounded gruff, but Celine didn't mind. She sat on the front passenger seat, put on her seatbelt and held her bag tightly.
Armand was still watching her, his eyes never left her face. He felt his throat tighten because she was too beautiful. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew that it wasn't the right time to do that. So he let him go and started the car.
They drove in silence because Armand couldn't speak. He was afraid that he would hear his voice trembling because he couldn't control his feelings.
After a few minutes driving, Celine gasped and reached into her bag.
“I-I forgot my necklace. It was my mother's gift, but it's okay. I can buy a new one," she said while watching him.
Armand looked at her through the rearview mirror and saw her taking off her necklace.
He was about to say something when he saw her dropping the necklace and picking it up.
Her face was down on her thigh, Armand felt his sensitive part harden when her cheek and hand unexpectedly touched his thigh. He couldn't breathe and felt his heart tightened because of her.
“I-I'm sorry.”