Right. Riiiight.

I looked at Claire, who was lost somewhere in the depths of her mind. The Counter Girl lowered her gaze, severely limiting my ability to judge what was going on at the moment.

I moved my eyes away from a screen to look at what my special woman was doing.

Bella, still mostly naked, the short and almost see-through silk robe failing its intended job spectacularly, was busy rummaging the shelves searching for something. A few moments later, she completed her quest and went back to the coffee machine, this time with a bottle of brandy in her hands.

"Tian." Claire's voice made me switch my attention back to the video call. "I think it's time for me to go back."

"Is it about being a third wheel again?" I asked, voicing the most likely reason for such an abrupt end to the conversation I could think of.

My words caught the young woman in question off guard.

"Um? Nope." Counter Girl responded with a playful smile, much to my surprise. She continued, "I just would rather not have to ride back in the dark."

Claire turned around, showing the setting sun through the window.

Oh, right, that was a valid reason. 

"Oh. Well, as much as I would love to talk for a bit longer," I replied with a smile, "your safety is more important."

My words made the smile on her cute face widen a bit more. And I didn't even have to lie.

"Don't forget to send me the location and your preferred time; I'll send someone to take care of everything," I continued shortly after.

"Um, right." A shy nod followed her short response. "Cya."

"Take care," I replied in kind, with Bella chorusing along.

I looked at the screen while Claire waved her hand and ended the call. Meanwhile, my dear finally finished her concoction and quickly came back to my side with a cup that should've had more brandy than coffee in it.

If my future knowledge hadn't messed up with me again, of course.

"So," Bella started, putting her drink on the table and dragging another chair next to mine, "should we go out for dinner or order something instead, dear?"

She pointedly ignored the opportunity to ask more questions about my talk with Claire. As I thought about the Counter Girl, my phone instantly buzzed with another message as she sent the information I just asked for.

"Hm, Lyta paid a visit while you were asleep and brought some with her." I gestured toward the side table, where I had put away the rest of the food.

I was a bit busy scrolling through my phone, searching for the contact info of the shadow that played the role of my driver on Friday. Which I hadn't forgotten to save, right, me?

"Dear." Bella broke the silence once again. "What have you done with my assistant?"

Her tone sent a shiver down my spine. Well, not really.

"Nothing?" I shrugged it off. "Yet."

"Yet?" My special woman asked back. 

I shrugged once again.

I stopped my search, which showed me that I overestimated my past self.

Sigh.

Bella was too quiet. With that thought flashing inside my head, I raised my eyes to look at my dear.

My special woman froze mid-bite, a complicated expression painted on her face. She met my gaze and swallowed the food.

"Explain," she demanded in a deceptively level tone.

"I need someone who can stick by your side all the time, so you wouldn't be able to cheat on me," I repeated my earlier words, going straight to the point.

Bella took a moment to think about my words. In the end, she slowly nodded.

"Hm, why her?" inquired my special woman.

Weird. This one should've been pretty obvious.

"All things considered, Lyta is one of—if not the—best options for such a position," I replied, "considering that the girl managed to stick by your side for three whole years, both as your personal assistant and a lover."

"She did?" This wasn't a question I expected.

Huh. Right. Riiiight. Fuck. My future knowledge played me once more.

"Yes." I quickly got myself together.

"This sounds reasonable enough." Bella nodded, accepting my explanation. "Still, that doesn't explain why you are getting yourself involved with someone uninteresting."

My special woman emphasized the last word with air quotes.

How should I explain this? Well, not like my bias towards my dear was some sort of secret. Even for her.

I looked at Bella, who in turn was watching me with a raised eyebrow and a teasing half-smile on her face.

Especially for her, I stood corrected.

"Well, let's just count it as a small gift from me to you." I smiled back. "The future you really liked this girl, so I decided to give this a try. A special treatment for my special woman, so to speak."

"Mmm, I don't think I will get used to your honesty any time soon, dear." Bella replied with a shake of her head. Still, her smile widened noticeably. "Do you think this can possibly work out?"

I mulled this over yet another time.

"Hard to say." I told the truth. "On one hand, my very nature screams at me to chase her away with all I have."

I paused to take a sip of the concoction from Bella's mug.

"And on the other hand?" I could hear the curiosity in her voice.

"And on the other hand, from an objective viewpoint, I can't deny that Lyta is quite attractive. Especially with the change in her attitude." I responded. "I don't know what your suggestion to her was, but, yeah, it's working. At least a bit."

By now, Bella's smile had morphed into a Cheshire grin.

"If you've met him a few times in person, and he still hasn't fucked you, it's hopeless to seduce him. The only way is to be yourself and pray he'll find you interesting," she said. "That's exact words I told her."

It was a bit more nuanced—for the current me, that is—but her words were on the spot.

"Hey, dear, would you mind if I helped her?" A bizarre question followed before I could react. Seeing my, no doubt, bewildered expression, Bella clarified, "In your seduction, I mean."

I shrugged and took another sip from her mug.