A Secret

Malakai had taken Eve home and for an hour or so, Eve just sat, staring distantly at her palm…sulking. 

It bothered him. 

"How many more hours are you going to sulk?" 

She shot him a glare. 

"I don't think you have friends." 

"I do." 

"Well, then let me tell you something," she began. "I will sulk on this sofa until I feel better. I don't know anyone who would feel good to find out that their best friend of what? Twenty years, secretly hated her, ruined her life and wanted to do so much worse." 

Malakai asked, "Is she worth it?" 

"What?" Her lifted eyebrows nearly kissed her hairline. 

He shrugged, saying, "Move on. Forget people that are not worth it." 

"Easy for you to say Mr. Salvatore." 

"It's Malakai." 

"I know," Eve said. 

"Call me Malakai," he demanded. "Since we are married now, it's best we get familiar with each other. This is a done deal, you're never getting out of it, drop the formality." 

Eve blinked rapidly with a slight frown in between her brows and slowly nodded her head. "Okay, Malakai." 

"Good." 

"That's it?" she asked. 

"Was there supposed to be more?" 

"No…" She shook her head at him. "It's just. You…felt it…right?" 

"That we're mates?" He cocked a brow at her. "I don't have an explanation on how it could be possible. And I don't think you do." 

"No, I don't." 

"And you're the genius here."

She glared at him. "This is beyond me. It's not the kind of information I stack in my head. When you have storage, you put useful things into it, and I never thought that was good enough information to keep in here." 

She tapped her forehead. 

"I never assumed a second mate was possible. I've never heard of such a thing before."

Malakai peered at her with such interest, as though he was watching a creature completely wired differently. "What should we do then?" 

"What do you mean?" she asked. 

"Should I reject you?" 

"Why do I have to answer that question for you? Isn't the choice up to you, Malakai?" 

"It'll hurt, you know that." 

"It won't hurt just me, but it'll also hurt you." 

"Can you endure?" 

"What do you think, Malakai? Two years in an abusive marriage with my life constantly in danger. How do you think I survived till now? I'm never afraid to endure, because my brain is an advantage I have to any situation. I can get myself out of anything, I just have to think."

Malakai's lips slowly curled into an impressed smile and he sank into the love seat, one leg draped over the other. "Okay. You're the smart one here, so tell me what I should do. What would be the better option in this situation?" 

Eve raised a brow at him. She asked, "Do you want to reject me?" 

"No," he responded. "Did I tell the truth or not?" 

She frowned. "You did."

"Explain."

"Your mouth," she said. "Right from the venue, you've been licking your gums, I noticed, which indicates, you have an overwhelming urge to mark me. Even if you can restrict yourself from doing it, you can't reject me, because you want something other than that." 

"Which is?" 

"To keep me." She shrugged. "That is why you made this statement, and I quote; This is a done deal, you're never getting out of it, drop the formality." A smile emerged on her lips. "This deal is temporary, we won't seek revenge forever, so you can get rid of me once you get what you want. But you threw that idea away. Why? If not because you already made up your mind to keep me? Rejection is out of the question." 

Malakai peered at her and suddenly laughed, rapidly nodding his head. "Impressive." He steepled. "Why couldn't you read your best friend like this?"

Eve blinked. "That's—" 

"Or maybe you already knew. Don't fool me, darling." He smirked at her. "You just wouldn't accept it—the fact someone you love hates you." 

"That is not true—" 

"Yes, it is. You didn't seem as shocked or surprised as any normal person would in that situation. It was as if you already knew, and you were rather coming to accept that your brain wasn't lying to you when you figured it all out." 

Eve swallowed shakily, hands balling into fists. 

He stared at her, long and hard before standing up from his seat. Every step he took, she furrowed her brows at him. 

"What?" 

Malakai squatted down in front of her, touching and grabbing her spread thighs to keep her still. And then he peered up at her, able to notice her breath stuck in her throat, her plump lips parting to ask, "W-what are you doing, Malakai?" 

He smiled at her. "Do you know how to keep a secret, Eve?"