MYBWH 64

Chapter 64 …

My Younger Brother, Who Became a Stranger, Is Trying to Become My Husband

Prea’s gaze immediately shifted toward the entrance.

Her eyes met Silver’s.

Prea’s eyes widened noticeably, and the hand mirror she had been holding slipped naturally from her grasp and clattered to the floor.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Cherry.”

Silver smiled gently at the stunned Prea. He calmly took a seat across from her.

The clerk drew the curtain, leaving only Silver and Prea in the enclosed space once more.

This is ridiculous.

Prea couldn’t even find her voice.

Her gaze drifted to his hair.

So that’s why—Silver.

Only then did Prea truly register that Silver’s hair was silver and his eyes a beautiful shade of red.

The man who possessed every color she loved most was the person she knew best of all.

All the conversations she’d thought had flowed so naturally between them flashed through her mind. Those conversations had all been about things they had experienced together.

No wonder it had felt like déjà vu, like their words meshed too perfectly.

Prea trembled, her face stricken with shock.

He picked up the fallen hand mirror and placed it back in front of her, smiling brightly as if nothing were amiss.

His nonchalance left Prea sputtering in disbelief.

“Y-You… you!”

“At last, we finally meet. I’m Millian Taylors—who unintentionally became Erica.”

He spoke cheekily, pointedly referencing the lie he’d told about meeting Erica before coming here.

Silver was Millian.

And she had been completely fooled.

She had agonized over the idea that she might be doing something terrible to Silver.

Betrayal flickered across Prea’s face, soon replaced by a desolate look, as if she had lost the entire world.

Why… why was it always Millian—the one she ended up feeling drawn to?

If it was like this, it would be even harder to push him away. Unless the god of fate was playing tricks on her, this made no sense.

Millian kept intruding into her world. The more she tried to block him out, the larger his presence seemed to grow. It made her uneasy.

Prea forced her voice to sound sharp.

“Why are you here?!”

“Do I displease you? I quite liked you.”

At her outburst, he put on a pitiful expression. Seeing that deliberately sorrowful look, Prea found herself unable to speak.

She’d been had.

Completely and utterly.

Did he think she’d accept him if he looked at her like that?!

The realization that her plan had been in the palm of Millian’s hand from the start made her face burn hot.

Determined not to be swayed by his looks, Prea pressed him in a firm tone.

“Since when did you know?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Stop playing dumb and answer me, Millian!”

The more Prea flared up, the more amused Millian appeared. He dodged her questions with a lazy grin, and her hands began to tremble.

No wonder everything had gone according to plan. Judging by his expression, he must have seen through it from the very beginning.

Where had the information leaked? Only Erica and Gerone knew about this.

…Wait. Gerone?

The employee’s remark about needing magic stones to make the mailbox flashed through her mind. And when it came to magic stones, that meant the Edmore family.

Prea stared at Millian, dumbfounded.

“This doesn’t count.”

She rose from her seat, but Millian stood as well and grabbed her hand.

“You can’t do this. Didn’t we make a promise?”

“What promise?”

She had no recollection of promising him anything. Millian let out a small laugh and explained patiently.

“Wasn’t it you who insisted on a special clause? I heard we’re required to meet three times.”

“Th-That—!”

Only then did Prea remember the clause and cry out, but Millian cut her off firmly.

“A promise exists to be kept.”

His gaze fixed on her persistently.

A moment later, he smiled brightly—an innocent-looking smile, as if it meant nothing. But Prea understood his intention and slumped back into her seat.

It had been her idea to include the clause, afraid that potential suitors might run away because of Millian.

She was doomed.

It felt like taking what she thought was a shortcut only to come face-to-face with a wild beast blocking the path. There was simply no escape.

Defeated by his declaration, Prea stared glumly at the dessert before her.

Even in front of her favorite cake, she only picked at it halfheartedly. Millian speared a bite with his fork and held it out to her.

“Ah.”

“…I can feed myself.”

Prea snatched the fork and put the cake into her mouth. Millian chuckled at her sulky expression.

“That’s the fork I used.”

“…What?”

“You’re eating well.”

Grinning, he took the fork back and casually lifted another bite of cake to his own mouth—

Using the very same fork she had just put in her mouth.

Prea froze stiffly before glaring at him.

“You, you! The first time we met, you got angry because someone gave Cherry a fork they’d used. Why are you like this with me?!”

“Because I didn’t like you then.”

Millian replied without hesitation.

“Of course, now I do. So it doesn’t bother me.”

“You don’t have to spell it out!”

Prea fanned her flushed face irritably. Millian, in a playful tone, asked,

“Oh? Then are you staying quiet even though you know I used that fork because you like me too?”

“I just don’t care about things like that!”

“Then how about starting to care from now on? I’d like you to be conscious of me.”

Millian sipped his tea shamelessly.

Prea quickly ran through her thoughts. It seemed her blatant avoidance of him had hurt him more than she’d realized.

“At the very least, don’t avoid me so openly. It really dries my blood.”

He smiled brightly. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not.

It was a warning.

A warning that her life was practically in his hands now, and she’d better not make things troublesome.

It felt as if his claws were already at her throat.

All right. Let’s think this through.

Facing a wild beast was dangerous—but if the beast was already full, the situation changed. A full beast didn’t hunt.

So which was Millian? A well-fed beast or a starving one?

Watching him leisurely enjoy his tea, he seemed full. But the chill crawling down her spine at the sight of his smile made him seem ravenous.

Desperately searching for a way out, Prea suddenly thought of something.

“You used to avoid me a lot too.”

“Oh? So this is revenge?”

Millian’s eyes curved sharply.

Seeing that eye-smile sent shivers down her spine.

Why on earth are you doing this to me?!

Prea floundered helplessly. If she provoked him further, she’d only end up devoured.

The blind date had already begun, and now that they’d met, the three-meeting clause couldn’t be undone.

The staff had emphasized that point repeatedly when drafting the contract.

Of course, if Gerone had broken their promise and leaked her information to Millian, she didn’t necessarily have to honor her end.

And yet, she found herself leaning toward seeing it through—three meetings. That was simply her nature.

She didn’t want to casually revoke something she had proposed first.

Besides, there was the possibility that Gerone didn’t even know she was meeting her younger brother. If she brought it up carelessly, it would only create a scandal.

“Sorry for avoiding you.”

“Sorry for deceiving you and showing up at the blind date.”

Millian apologized in return. Staring at him, Prea asked in disbelief,

“Did you know it was me from the beginning?”

“Yes. You thought you could go on a blind date behind my back and I’d just sit still?”

“How did you find out? No—since when did you know?”

“Hmm. Since when, indeed?”

He only smiled sweetly instead of answering.

The moment she saw his expression, Prea realized the truth.

He’d known from the very start, that rascal!

She blamed herself for falling right into his scheme.

No wonder everything had gone so smoothly. She’d trusted Gerone’s confidentiality too much. Fool!