Chapter 46
June was a month when the midday heat drove people indoors.
Naturally, tea parties filled the afternoons, while dances were held in the evenings. The opera house, too, was always packed with couples on dates.
Pushing through the crowd, I arrived at our private box and looked at the two men seated on either side of me.
On my right sat Adrian. On my left sat Alperen.
Both of them stubbornly avoided each other’s eyes, staring only at me. The weight of their gazes was unbearable.
“Deli, here’s a blanket.”
Adrian placed one over my lap. Immediately, Alperen lifted a glass of lemonade to my lips.
“Thirsty?”
Just as I opened my mouth to drink, Adrian pushed it away and finally spoke.
“Hey, you already drank from that.”
“So what? We’re lovers.”
“Lov—…”
Adrian couldn’t finish the word. His lips trembled, and his jaw tightened. For a long moment, he just stared at me, then snapped,
“…Deli, don’t drink that. Take this one.”
He thrust his own lemonade at me, clearly refusing to engage with Alperen any further.
Thankfully, since we were in public, neither of them raised their voices.
The problem was me, caught between them, being squashed by the tension.
“That’s… gross.”
He said it right in front of Alperen.
If I drank Adrian’s, Alperen would sulk. If I drank Alperen’s, my precious brother would pout.
‘No choice, then.’
With a determined face, I leaned forward, put both straws into my mouth, and drank from them at the same time.
“Mmm, delicious!”
“…”
“…”
Both Adrian and Alperen froze, completely disarmed by the unexpected move.
Truthfully, tonight’s outing was meant to patch things up between these two, who had been on the verge of cutting ties.
I had assumed that if they were forced to sit together, they’d naturally make up.
But the way they refused to even look at each other—worse than strangers—was discouraging.
‘Adrian hasn’t even been showing up at the Zenos Club lately…’
After I had publicly announced my “relationship,” he stopped going altogether.
“Deli, I won’t interfere with your romance. But you must be home before nine. I won’t compromise on that.”
He’d imposed a curfew that hadn’t even existed when I was a child. Now, after work, he simply came straight home and waited for me.
Naturally, his absence from social events led to rumors: was someone in the Ferris family sick?
After all, one of the most eligible bachelors of the season had suddenly gone into hiding. Of course, people were curious.
Deciding this couldn’t go on, I had bought opera tickets for Adrian and Alperen’s favorite playwright. Their tastes were so alike, they were practically soulmates.
Of course, I hadn’t told Adrian that Alperen would also be there.
The recommendation had come from Alperen in the first place.
‘Deli, why the hell is he here?’
Adrian had realized too late that he’d walked into a trap. With a forced smile, he turned to leave, but I barely managed to stop him and drag him into his seat.
Even so, the air between them was still thick and hostile.
‘Seriously, they’re grown men, not children!’
At last, the opera began, cutting off all conversation.
The synopsis was simple:
The heroine, bound by an arranged engagement, falls in love with another man—leading to a heated love triangle.
It was the kind of staple romance plot everyone enjoyed.
I was engrossed in the story when suddenly, a heavy hand slipped over mine.
Startled, I turned to see Alperen watching me, fingers twining firmly with mine.
But why? This was a fake relationship. There was no need to hold hands in secret, away from the public eye.
I glanced at Adrian—luckily, he was completely absorbed in the play, oblivious to us.
Still, if he noticed, he’d cause a scene right here in the theater. I tried tugging my hand away, but Alperen didn’t budge. His grip only tightened, his chin jerking toward the stage as if to say, Focus on the show.
‘Is he seriously being childish?’
Was he upset that I’d brought Adrian along? Maybe he wanted to remind me that we were supposed to be a couple.
‘But he’s the one who told me about this play in the first place, and I was the one who invited Adrian!’
His intentions were impossible to read. But struggling further risked drawing Adrian’s attention, so I surrendered and let him hold my hand.
Onstage, the story was reaching its climax—the two men’s duel was about to begin.
Then a warm breath grazed my ear.
“Enjoying yourself?”
A low whisper, so close that my skin prickled.
Not just his breath—his lips brushed against my ear each time he spoke, leaving a feather-light sensation that sent a shiver down my spine.
I quickly raised a hand to cover my ear, but when I turned, I met Alperen’s piercing blue gaze.
If I hadn’t leaned back, his lips might have touched mine.
The distance between us was dangerously close.
My heart pounded wildly. His half-lidded eyes glimmered with something that looked almost… seductive.
Like he was silently urging me to look at him for once.
“…”
I was caught in his gaze, unable to look away, when—
Cha-aang!
“Juliena!”
The shout of the male actors rang out.
The heroine had stepped between them and been struck by the blade.
“Don’t fight over me…”
Her dying words echoed as the curtain fell.
With the end of Act I, the theater went dark, then the lights rose again.
Adrian’s face was flushed with excitement as he exclaimed,
“Wow, they ended it there?! She’s the heroine, so she won’t really die, right? Or maybe they’ll revive her like in his last play? Alperen, what do you think—”
Mid-sentence, Adrian’s voice faltered.
He’d forgotten, for a moment, that he was supposed to be angry with Alperen. Realization dawned, leaving him looking awkward and stiff.
Meanwhile, I—distracted for a completely different reason—leapt to my feet.
“I—I’m going to the bathroom!”
Without glancing at Alperen, I rushed out, terrified they might see how red my face was.
***
Damn it.
I touched my burning ear, staring at my reflection in the mirror.
As expected, my face was scarlet, my heart hammering like crazy.
‘His lips…’
That low voice whispering against my ear.
The ghost of his lips brushing my skin.
And when the lights went out, I swore I felt them graze the bridge of my nose.
If things had gone a little further, it might have been a kiss.
My chest thudded violently at the memory.
“W-what the hell is wrong with him?!”
This couldn’t go on.
It was already hard enough resisting his looks. At this rate, when the fake dating ended, I’d end up feeling like a woman freshly heartbroken.
‘No. I need to set boundaries.’
I reminded myself: I was only paving the way for Summer, who would appear a month later.
I needed to draw a clear line—at least enough to survive this act without losing myself.
I was still trying to steady myself when I stepped back into the corridor… and froze.
Someone was standing there.
The moment I recognized him, my face soured.
‘Ugh. What the hell is he doing here? Is he… following me?’
The unwelcome guest was none other than Cesare Barnard.
Ever since our “accidental” encounter at Winif’s café, he’d been popping up everywhere I went.
Just recently, at a charity gala, he had made a grand return by donating a fortune. And guess who had been forced to hand him the appreciation plaque? Me.
So walking past him here was out of the question.
“Hello. Funny seeing you here again.”
Cesare waved with a bright smile, pretending it was a coincidence.
But gone was the polite, butter-smooth gentleman from our first meeting. His tone now dripped with arrogance.
“You know who I am now, so let’s drop the formalities, shall we?”
It wasn’t a question. His attitude, full of casual entitlement, was pure royalty.
