You Are…Quite Straightforward

Baffled, Avelina drew her head back, not sure why he directed the question at her instead of giving her an answer.

Is he trying to test me? Or is he afraid to answer me?… She weighed her reasons.

Her heart raced as she considered her next move. She already has an answer in her mind that she could give him, but what if it messes things up? What if it ends up being the opposite of what he wants to hear?

It was not that she was considering what he wanted to hear, but she was simply afraid of messing things up between them.

Avelina seriously thought it through and quickly came up with an idea.

Be straightforward!

She flashed a grin that she usually reserves for moments when she needs to bet on luck and fate.

Draven raised his brows at her, having not expected such an expression to abruptly appear on her face. "Why are you grinning?"

Avelina cleared her throat and folded her arms before saying,

"I don't believe you did it."

"Why don't you?" Draven asked after some thought.

"I did think the rumors were true at first because you appeared quite scary," Avelina said with a serious expression. "But, after a little bit of thinking, I realized that might not be the case. Think about it, if you really did kill your wife and son in cold blood, why would it be a sensitive topic for you? Shouldn't you care less about it?"

"I understand that you don't know how to express emotions or understand emotions, so that may have been the reason why you held no expression on your face, making it seem as though you killed them in cold blood. It was probably not even you who killed them. It may have been an accident and you were there at the wrong time, or... I don't really know."

Draven stared at her in speechlessness, and a look of surprise spread across his face.

"You have a lot of potential!" he exclaimed.

Quite flattered, Avelina shot him a soft smile, inwardly taking a deep breath of relief afterward.

Draven then affirmed, "You are right, I didn't kill my wife and son. I was there at the wrong time. It's more like... I was framed. Before I could put out the flames that had started unbeknownst to me, it was already beyond me, so I let it keep burning."

"It must be one of the main causes of your revenge, is it not?" Avelina queried. "I'm sure no one likes to be framed." 

Draven contemplated the matter, and realizing that it was somewhat true, he gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Maybe, or maybe not."

He cleared his throat and got up from the couch. Avelina followed suit.

"I believe we have a deal." He stretched out his hand for a handshake.

"We do." Avelina interlocked her fingers with his, sealing the deal.

"I am confused about something, though," she said as she retracted her hand.

"Which is?" Draven asked.

A soft breath fled Avelina's nose, and she reviewed what she had in mind for a few seconds before speaking. "Why are you being so polite with me? You bought me and I suppose I belong to you as you said before. You don't need to go through all these to make me step into your boat and sail with you."

Draven gazed at her for a moment. He said, "I apologize for such words. You are not an object."

"And to answer your question, yes it was necessary to go through all that. Forced loyalty never lasts!" He shrugged. "If genuine loyalty could be obtained by the act of force, I need not go through all these. But then I have to because if I don't, there is bound to be betrayal and a lack of trust between the both of us."

"Your trust in me isn't complete, but I at least know that you trust me a little bit. Why? Because I went through the trouble to marry you and tell you nearly everything about me that only a few people know. I gave you choices, Avelina. So tell me, would you have given me a little bit of your trust and willingly agreed to all these if I had forced you into it?"

"No…" Avelina couldn't help but answer honestly. "I just find it strange that you are being this polite. Quite different from my expectations."

Draven took a deep breath, his arched brows accentuating his pondering.

"People tend to do things in their own way, Avelina. Perhaps it's because I evaluate things quite a lot. I most certainly cannot help it. I can't afford recklessness." 

"I see…" Avelina responded blankly.

She furrowed her brows the moment she saw him begin to flawlessly fold the bloodied and tattered clothes.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her interest immediately piqued. She had recalled Camilla's words concerning his obsession with things being perfectly organized.

Draven straightened up with the folded clothing in his hand and turned to look at her. "You mean this?"

"Yes." Avelina nodded. "Some birdies said that you like your property and everything you lay eyes on to be in perfect order. Is that true?"

"And by birds, do you mean your maids?" Draven's brows raised as he made a quick guess.

"Huh?" appalled, Avelina asked.

"I know that they are the ones who said that to you. They find joy in chattering about a lot of things. Although I am not saying they are wrong. I do love things that are well organized and kept, consequently, I find disorganization very irritating and upsetting," he validated.

Avelina, with her stunning hazel eyes, blinked in shock.

"You are…quite straightforward," she blurted out.

Draven nodded his head, concurring.

"Indeed, I am. I have the tendency to speak without holding back. I cannot lie."

"You don't lie?" Avelina wrinkled her brows. "So what if you are put in the position whereby you have to lie to save someone or yourself, wouldn't you lie?" she asked.

Draven pondered for a few moments before shrugging.

"I honestly don't know," he said and began to walk off to the dressing room, however, seeming to have thought of something, he halted. He turned around and looked at Avelina.

"I just realized something. You seem to have gotten quite comfortable around me. You are now speaking without restraint. You surely weren't like this earlier."

Avelina stared at him and blinked her eyes in realization as well.

"It's not surprising. I thought you were going to kill me then, but now we are in the same boat and I am your wife, so there is really nothing to be afraid of anymore. Getting comfortable around each other is the first step to making great partners, is it not?"

"It is," Draven replied with a soft sigh. "About the mark...how do you want to go about it?"

"I…don't know." Avelina shook her head and cautiously asked, "Does it hurt too much? Am I going to turn into one of your kind?"