Chapter 27
Kaia rolled her eyes. “Whether he’s my type or not is none of your business, right?”
But Tobias suddenly grabbed her wrist. “So you do like him.”
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Kaia had never seen him look like that before. He was usually proud and cold, but now there was anger in his eyes.
She thought she must’ve imagined it. “Mr. Moreno, why are you so worked up? Don’t forget our deal.”
For a second, Tobias looked thrown off, but he quickly recovered. He shot her a glare. “I also told you that you’re my fiancée this month. I expect you to act like it.”
“Fine. I promise I won’t get close to any other guy this month,” Kaia said.
Tobias’s expression darkened, his voice cold. “So after a month, you can just do whatever you want, huh?”
Kaia was irritated. “Are you still half–asleep? After that, you’ll live your life, and I’ll live mine. What I do won’t affect you, so why should you care?” She yanked her hand out of his.
Tobias’s fist tightened for a moment after she pulled away, but only for a moment.
Her words kept replaying in his head, and for some reason, his chest felt tight.
Kaia had already turned her attention elsewhere. She faced Joel. “Come with me. I need to talk to
you.”
Tobias’s face turned dark again. He shot Joel a look, towering over him. There was something unreadable in his eyes. Then, out of nowhere, he said, “Actually, come to my room tonight.”
Kaia blinked, caught off guard. She had no idea he was up to something. “Didn’t we agree on my
room?”
I’ll be waiting at eight,” Tobias said without explaining, then walked away.
As soon as he was gone, Joel leaned in, frowning. “Why are you going to his room? And so late? Do you think he’s gonna hurt you? He looked like he was plotting something just now.”
Kaia didn’t seem worried. “How could he hurt me? We’re meeting at eight because I promised to play chess with him
“Chess?” Joel looked confused.
“Yeah.” Kaia nodded. “He’s King T
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11:50 pm
Chapter 27
Joel’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? I can’t believe a guy like that even has time for chess.”
Kaia narrowed her eyes at him until he started squirming.
She crossed her arms. “So why’d you come here as a bodyguard?”
“To protect you,” Joel said without hesitation.
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Kaia rubbed her forehead like she had a headache. “Aren’t you worried someone will figure out who you really are? What if they start suspecting me?”
“Relax. I’ll be careful this time. No one will know,” Joel said.
“Don’t jinx it,” Kaia muttered with a sigh.
Joel scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. “It won’t happen this time. For sure.”
At eight that night, Kaia stood outside Tobias’s room. She raised her hand to knock, then hesitated.
She thought about what Joel had said earlier. Tobias had been acting strangely today.
Joel was exaggerating, but it was true–Tobias wasn’t exactly easy to get along with. Whenever she was around him, she could feel his sharp, almost predatory presence.
Still, Kaia knew how to fight. It was just a chess game. She thought he probably wouldn’t dare try anything.
She knocked. Tobias’s deep voice came from inside. “Come in.”
As soon as she stepped in, the faint smell of cologne hit her.
Tobias sat in a chair, the chessboard already set. There was even a cup of coffee waiting.
He took a sip. The steam softened the sharpness of his eyes, making him look even more striking.
“The house barista just made this. Try it,” Tobias said.
“Okay Kaia didn’t hesitate, She picked up the cup and took a small sip. “Pacamara coffee. Not bad.
Tobias raised a brow. “You can tell it, huh?”
Pacamara coffee was rare–most people hadn’t even heard of it, let alone recognized it from one sip.
“Is that supposed to be hard?” Kaia replied flatly, setting the cup down.
“Have you had it before?” Tobias asked.
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Chapter 27
“Yeah. I’ve tried all kinds of coffee,” she said slowly.
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Before, Tobias would’ve thought she was bluffing. But now, he wasn’t so sure. For someone her age,
she knew a lot.
“I’m surprised you even know this. Don’t tell me you’re a barista,” he said, refilling her cup.
“Sort of,” Kaia replied with a straight face. “I make better coffee than this.”
Tobias stared at her. Sure, saying she’d tried different coffees wasn’t hard to believe–especially if
one had money.
But claiming she could outdo the professional who made this? That was pushing it.
Making coffee was an art. Even if Kaia had started as a kid, it was hard to believe she’d beat the guy who brewed this.
“The barista here is Erasmus Malcom. If you’re really a barista, you’ve heard of him,” Tobias said.
“Erasmus? Is he working for you now?” Kaia asked, still casual.
Tobias almost thought he had misheard. Erasmus wasn’t just a world champion–he was a top advisor for the World Coffee Art Association.
His skill was legendary. Even with bad beans, he could brew something amazing.
Tobias had paid three million dollars a year to bring him into the Moreno family. Yet Kaia didn’t seem to think much of him.
“Where is he? I haven’t seen him in ages,” Kaia asked.
“He left already, Tobias replied. He didn’t bother calling her out.
Seeing that Kaia looked disappointed, Tobias thought, ‘Is she delusional? She’s always bragging. If someone calls her out, she’s gonna get burned. Maybe I should teach her a lesson now. She should learn to be more humble
With that in mind, he said, “I’ve got some coffee beans here. Since you claim yours is better than Mr. Malcom’s, I want to see if that’s true.”
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