?Lovers?

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Upon their entrance, every customer and employer were left confused by the new arrivals. Even the boutique’s owner took a while to recover before she went up to them with a bright smile.

“Welcome!” she greeted jovially, giving them both a once over.

The man looked wealthy. He was tall and handsome, and had a regal air around him as he escorted the petite woman inside, who looked around the store nervously. She had a tailcoat on, which he assumed to be from her companion’s.

The man then went up behind her to remove the coat. As soon as the coat came off, the owner’s eyes widened, before he narrowed his eyes on the two of them.

She was beautiful, the owner would admit, but she had such ghastly clothes on her! Not appropriate when she’s with such a classy man. But judging by the way the man was looking at her, she would wager a guess that they didn’t have a master-and-maid relationship between them.

‘A mistress would be most likely.’?She thought to herself as she gave them a welcoming smile. She politely conversed with them, sending a smile towards the skittish woman as she continued to assess them.

She knew many noblemen took on mistresses, but for this man to bring her in here, of all places. Wasn’t that just asking for trouble on his part?

She noticed how the woman would scoot away from him, even going as far as shrugging off his touch from her. They must have been at odds with each other for a while now.

It was a scene she’d seen many times. Being a boutique that boasted many things of luxury, it wasn’t uncommon for quarreling lovers to bring their women here to buy them something. It was her job to gauge out her customers in what they could potentially like, and convince the man into buying them for her.

But these two were different, she could tell.

She didn’t even look like she’d like anything in store. She looked around as though she wished she were anywhere else but in her store. She might even be a little bit afraid of her companion. But why would she be afraid?

She’d seen many women who would have given anything to be in a position like her. They would even be willing to sleep with men twice their age just to enjoy luxuries in life.

But it wasn’t her place to pry, even if she’d been itching to ask them a million questions. For now, she will just have to wait for them to pick out what they want, and then help them make a purchase.

Another thing that surprised her from watching them was how incredibly stubborn the woman was! She looked soft, and a pushover, but she was acting very headstrong with the man. Her companion, instead, was the one who kept compromising, giving her suggestions here and there on what would look good on her.

The owner loved meeting people who would obviously bring sales into her business like this man, but the woman’s attitude was a little bit off-putting. Perhaps she should help them make a decision.

Did she want something more expensive? She just has the thing for them!

She made quick work around her store, choosing clothes just around the woman’s size with an expert eye, and picking out some of their most beautiful products that would complement her greatly.

She hoped this would be enough for her. She didn’t know what was wrong between them, but she was certain about one thing.

The man with her was absolutely taken with her. Surely she couldn’t be so blind to see the way he looked at her?

And that made her confident the man would buy her just about anything, no matter the price!

With several items on hand, she approached them once more, politely asking them to try the items out and to not hesitate in asking her for more.

The turquoise coat she got for her looked absolutely good on her!

Matthias made Leyla try them on, the shop owner beaming at her when she got the correct size. Leyla wanted nothing more but to leave the shop, but she reminded herself she needed to do this. Matthias had control over her after all.

She mustn’t deny him what he wants.

The shop owner did a good job in praising Leyla with lines she knew have been used multiple times with other wealthy customers. She led Leyla towards their shoe display, prompting her to choose the one she liked, before making her sit on the sofa nearby.

The other shop attendants came by to assist them, bringing some suggested shoes for Leyla to try on.

Leyla looked lost, not knowing what to do and looked away from their suggestions, staring resolutely on the floor instead.

‘My, what a stubborn woman.’?The store owner pouted to herself. At that moment, the man chuckled, before he approached them. He gave a glance over to the shoes, then back at his woman, before looking back at the owner.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” she apologized, bowing her head at his approach, “These were the only shoes I made that would be a perfect fit for her.” she explained.

With how busy she had gotten lately, she didn’t have the time to make more shoes and clothes that would fit all kinds of customers she got with the highest quality materials. As such, the things she picked out were one of the last in their current stocks.

Matthias hummed, stopping right in front of Leyla, before gesturing at her red-stained shoes. “Aren’t these the ones you were wearing that day?”

The memory of Matthias pouring ink on her came to mind. She’d tried to get the stain out, but the red ink he’d poured persistently stayed on her shoes.

Leyla looked up at him meekly, and bit her lip as she avoided his gaze, refusing to answer him. Matthias’ eyes narrowed at her in disappointment. It was the same shoes, although he also distinctly remembered buying her new ones, to replace the ones he ruined.

Why was she still using these?

Sensing his disappointment, Leyla finally gave in and sighed.

“These were new shoes,” she pointed out, “They are stained, but they work perfectly fine. Besides, I had been wearing them when I was home.”

Her toes felt frozen. She should have at least chosen proper shoes before leaving her house! Leyla thought as she berated herself. She didn’t realize how much she’d regret not changing properly to come meet him.

Though if he were a more decent person, he could have pretended to not know, or at least not have pointed it out to everybody!

She hated how he could read her so easily, and how he’d casually reveal a secret or two of her and say it so callously. Although she shouldn’t have expected anything different from a man who made a deal with her just so he could take from her whatever he wanted.

She made a deal with him to be his mistress in exchange for her uncle’s freedom. She’d been able to endure all those weeks of sleeping with him, because at the moment, it was the only stipulation he had of their deal. She doesn’t want to owe him more, especially not priceless things she can’t repay him for.

Because no matter how much he’ll pay for her, she’ll have to keep paying him with her body. He kept coming back for her?dismal?performance, but that wasn’t what made her despair. No, it was because if she did accept his gifts, she might as well just be a prostitute.

Her cheeks flushed with frustration, head bowed resolutely.

Matthias stepped closer to her. She kept acting like he was punishing her.

So Matthias knelt in front of her.

Leyla snapped her eyes up to meet his gaze, while the others gasped softly as they witnessed him kneeling. Matthias seemed indifferent to their audience, his attention solely on Leyla.

Before she could voice out her confusion, Matthias grabbed her by the ankles, gently removing her shoes, and put on the ones he’d chosen would fit her. Leyla soon snapped out of her confusion, the frustrated blush being replaced with a flustered red as she pulled her leg away from him, but he only grabbed it back to secure the shoes on her feet.

Even her feet looked so adorable, Matthias thought to himself with a smile.

Once he had tied the last knot on the shoes, Matthias casually stood up, and looked down on her. Leyla couldn’t help but hold his gaze in a mesmerized way, oblivious to their audience in the form of the store owner and attendants.

But could anyone really blame them?

Leyla couldn’t help but watch as Matthias reached out for her..

‘He’ll just hurt me again.’?Leyla knew. Whenever he’d be this kind to her, he’d just quickly replace it with an equally cruel act afterwards. How could this be any different than those times? She knew him. She knew all his games, and she won’t fall for it again.

Finally, Leyla grew aware of their growing audience before she realized Matthias had been waiting for her to take his hand, so that she could stand up. Embarrassed, she reluctantly took his hand, to which he gave a gentle tug to put his arms around her, wrapping her in a warm one-armed hug.

Upon seeing their interaction, the owner sighed in relief. Her assumptions were wrong after all, she wasn’t a mistress.

They were lovers..

The air might be chilly around them, but the sun surely was shining brightly on them. The boutique owner thought ecstatically as she quickly rang up their purchases when the man told her they’d be buying those things!

By the time they left the shop, Leyla was dressed in her brand new clothes, following him obediently as he led them through the streets. Numerous people kept passing them as they headed for downtown.

Rush hour was just beginning, if the growing crowd was anything to go by.

Eventually they reached the park in the city, and Matthias held out his arm for her to take. Leyla grew flustered at him before she stilled. She thought of the many people around them, before shaking them out of her mind.

With a straight composure, she took it without further thought, and Matthias smiled to himself as she accepted him.

‘I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want this..’?Leyla kept repeating in her head as she drew closer to Matthias’ warmth. He was starting to get on her nerves.

Matthias also grew a little restless at how stiff Leyla was being. He wanted to respect her boundaries, but enough was enough. He removed her hand from his arm, before he firmly, yet gently entwined their fingers together.

Her fingers fit perfectly on the gaps between his.

Leyla tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her tightened. She gave it a few more tugs, before giving in to his whims.

‘This is only temporary.’?Leyla thought to herself as she allowed her fingers to rest in his.

The rest of their walk had gone uneventful, before they sat down in front of a cafe’s windows, with a perfect view of the park. Matthias regarded Leyla carefully, knowing by heart she loved to talk. He’d seen her around with other people, yet she refused to grant him the same privilege.

“What’s that bird?” Matthias suddenly asked, making Leyla jolt in surprise, as the cup clanged on the saucer. She nervously looked at where his line of sight was, before seeing a black bird, perched on one of the trees nearby.

“It’s a crow.” she answered after a quick assessment before looking at him suspiciously. Shouldn’t he know what a crow looks like? After all, there were many of them in Arvis, even she knew that as a child.

“How about that?” Matthias asked.

Again and again, he kept asking about the different birds he would spot, and Leyla would answer each one without fail.

Varied tit.

Forest thrush.

Yellow robin.

Those were only some of the birds he pointed out to, but the more he asked the more confused she got. What was he playing at?

Matthias was content to keep asking his questions. He loved the breathy tone around her voice whenever she’d speak their names. They sounded so much like music to his ears.

“How can you memorize all of them?”

“Well” she answered, “Since I am living near a forest.” Leyla bit her lower lip in serious thought.

“So what’s your favorite bird?” Matthias suddenly asked her, shaking her out of her thoughts.

“My favorite?” Leyla looked to the trees, a frown on her face, “I can’t really say. There’s too many to choose from.” She turned to look back at him, “What about you?”

Matthias blinked at her in pleasant surprise. He thought for sure he’d be the one to initiate conversations this whole afternoon.

“What’s your favorite bird?” Leyla parroted back to him, before she narrowed her gaze, “And I don’t mean your favorite bird to hunt.”

He could only chuckle good naturedly at her.

“Ah, then that’s easy.” He hummed, perching his hand up in a way that made him see his perched finger carrying Leyla, “A canary.”

Leyla blinked back in surprise. It wasn’t a bird she thought he would favor.

“You mean those birds that could sing beautifully?” She asked curiously. “Those kinds of canary?” Matthias hummed in agreement, “But why? Don’t men like you usually prefer hawks? Or eagles? Or falcons?”

An awkward silence befell between them. She waited for Matthias to reply, but he was content to see her finally look at him expectantly.

‘If I hold my answer a little longer, will you keep looking at me that way?’?Matthias thought to himself in melancholic wonder.

“Why not?” he asked Leyla, “I think they’re rather beautiful, don’t you?” he finished, looking intensely at Leyla, making heat pool in her gut.

Leyla gulped, before she hurriedly averted her eyes from him to plop more sugar cubes into her cup of tea.

“I think so too, Duke.” she answered quietly, staring resolutely as she swirled the sugar into her well-saturated tea. Some of the crystals refused to dissolve into the tea, before she finally gathered enough courage to look back at him once again.

He was still looking at her, and it made Leyla feel more bothered, but she didn’t know why. Once more she looked outside, just in time to catch sight of a different bird.

“Oh, that one’s a pigeon.” She automatically supplied for him, and Matthias chuckled in amusement at her, making her flush in embarrassment as she saw him grinning at her.

“I know.”

“Oh..” Leyla’s voice trailed off, before feeling foolish at telling him when he hadn’t even asked. But how was she to know he knew?! He asked her about the crows after all! “Well, I see.” She cleared her throat and grabbed her spoon to keep stirring the tea.

A pleasant smile broke out of Matthias lips as he watched her fumble in front of him discreetly. Leyla flinched when she glanced back at him before renewing her attempts at stirring her tea.

Beneath the table, Leyla grew completely oblivious how close their pairs of feet had gotten, only noticing it when she felt a familiar brush of his shoes against her new ones. She glanced up at him, and he shot her another smile, sending tingling feelings in her gut..

Today continued to shape up into a weird, weird day.

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