Illyia was in her kitchen, preparing breakfast, when a couple of consecutive knocks on her door snapped her attention. Her body stiffened, and her breath hitched. It could be no one but Ronan. And he had been in her thoughts for almost the entire night. With hesitant steps, she approached the door and unbolted it. Indeed, it was Ronan.

"Good morning, Miss Wailey," Ronan greeted her with a warm smile as he stepped inside like he owned the apartment.

"Good morning, Ronan," she responded, closing the door and following behind him.

"Is something the matter?" She questioned, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

Ronan turned around to face her. He took a step forward, his face coming intimately close to hers. She tried to step back, but Ronan wrapped his right arm around her waist and pulled her flush into his embrace.

"Did you miss me yesterday?" He questioned. "Had you been expecting me at night?"

Illyia tried to free herself, but Ronan’s grip was far too strong. His hand had moved from her waist and was roaming her back. His left hand, on the other hand, had somehow found its way inside her clothes and it was caressing her stomach and the underside of her boobs.

And though she did not wish to admit it, she too wanted to melt into his arms. She could not help but recall the feeling when Ronan had ravaged her. And her body almost trembled in the anticipation of that pleasure. It was only the rational part of her mind that was begging her not to repeat the mistake she had already made once.

"Ronan!" She stammered in a trembling voice. "This is not right. We should not be doing this."

Ronan did not respond immediately. He kept her pressed against him for a few seconds before letting her go. But not entirely. He only released her enough to create a slight distance between them so that he could look directly into her eyes.

"Why are you so reluctant, Miss Wailey?" He questioned softly. "You know as well as I do what your heart wants. Why are you trying to stifle your desires? Just embrace it."

"It is not as if you are committing any crime or treachery," he added. "You should get over your past and restart your life.

"Ronan!" She responded, but Ronan raised his hand and cut her off.

"Relax," he said with a low chuckle. "I have not come here to do anything to you."

"But I suggest that you take your time and let go of this reluctance," he continued. "I am just here to inform you of something."

"What?" She asked, genuinely relieved that the topic was being shifted.

"I will not be returning tonight," he said. "I thought that I should inform you, otherwise you might have worried about me."

"Why?" She questioned.

"I resigned from my previous job and have started a new one," he answered. "And it will involve night shifts."

"Night shifts?" she asked with furrowed brows. "But will that not affect your studies?"

"You do care about me," he remarked, and her face almost instantly reddened.

"It will, but I will not have a night shift every single night," he reassured her. "I may have one every two or three days. And the job itself is not very taxing. And this also leaves me with enough free time in the day to cover a lot of things."

"What kind of job is it?" She questioned.

"You can think of it as some kind of internship," he answered smoothly. "I have gotten a job at a research lab. Mostly, I just have to record and organize data from experiments."

"Good for you," she said with a genuine, soft smile.

"Hmm," he nodded. "See you tomorrow."

Illyia expected another hug and Ronan would have given her one, but he wanted her to come out of her dilemma and accept her feelings on her own. She could not continue to remain in this state of confusion forever.

"Bye," he said before turning and walking away.

"Bye," Illyia mumbled, but Ronan had already walked out of her apartment by that time.

Her expression flickered for a moment. She wondered if Ronan was disappointed. But more than this, she wondered and contemplated what Ronan had asked of her. To accept her feelings. To discard what her rationality was demanding of her and drown in her desire.

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Ronan emerged from the building and was on his way. But today, his destination was not his college. He was going to miss another day of classes. He was going to a broker. A real estate broker.

He had realized yesterday that he could not keep vanishing from his current apartment. If his relationship with Illyia deepened, keeping his secrets would become incredibly difficult. He needed a separate house, a secret place, to execute his plans.

Ronan spent the entire day with the broker, searching for houses. Not apartments, but entire houses.

And since he did not really have a budget restraint, the broker was all too happy to show him all kinds of properties. A little later in the afternoon, Ronan finally selected a fully furnished house that was ready to move into.

The rent for the place was twenty-five thousand Dunts. It was ten times the rent he was currently paying to Illyia. But the house was exceptional, and Ronan was fully satisfied with it.

The property was located in Block 32, a thirty minute walk from his own apartment. It was a single-story building and was furnished with every amenity. Overall, it was a luxurious house. At least, compared to the current standard in which Ronan was living.

But the biggest reason Ronan had chosen this particular house was because it was located in an isolated area. There were only a few other residential houses nearby, and the overall ambiance of the surroundings was peaceful and calm. The agreement was signed, the rent and the brokerage was paid and the keys of the house were in his possession by evening. And it was now time to prepare for his next trip to the world of Acrolius. But before that he needed to decide what were the items he was going to bring to Acrolius this time.

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