“I can’t sleep, even though I’m really tired,” she sighs.
“The moon is gorgeous tonight, it’s really lighting up your room. Maybe it would be better if you closed the blinds? The light wouldn’t disturb you?” I suggest sitting on the edge of her bed.
She shifts over, and I jump at the invitation, climbing onto her bed and leaning against the headrest next to her.
“I’m surprised the moon is still so bright. It’s almost five in the morning already,” she huffs.
“Have you slept at all?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
“I told you, I could have helped with that. I could’ve made your body shake and sing, and you’d be sleeping peacefully now,” I flirt.
“My head is so…busy,” she tries to explain. I imagine the jumbled images of what she saw today are too fresh in her memory.
“Have you ever seen…”
She shakes her head. “Never. I’ve never seen anything like that,” she sighs.
“Well, I think Benedikt had the right solution to distract you from your own thoughts,” I smirk. “Do you need a distraction now?”
“What do you mean, to distract me?” she stammers, her eyes growing wider in the moonlight.
I scoff. “Please, don’t be shy about it. You looked like you were having fun,” I tease her.
Even in the soft light, I can see her cheeks glow red.
I shift closer to her and brush my hand over her thigh. She watches me, narrowing her eyes.
“You’re a beautiful girl, Maria, any man would leap at the chance to help you blow off some steam,” I murmur, my voice low.
She tuts and shakes her head, causing me to hesitate. My usual charm is not working on her.
“Do you know you use flirting as a defense mechanism?” she says, blatantly calling me out.
“I, uh, I…” I stammer.
She giggles. “It’s true. You flirt when you want to avoid conversations or when you want to protect yourself. Like it’s a safe wall you can hide behind to not let anyone get too close to you,” she continues, hitting far too close to home for me.
I chuckle nervously, shifting on her bed and pushing my hand through my hair.
“Okay, smartass. Fair enough. But there’s nothing wrong with having walls up. Sometimes it’s not good to let people get too close,” I argue.
“But then you’ll never know what it feels like to fall in love,” she blurts out.
I scoff. “Love isn’t real, baby bird. It’s a thing made up in movies and books. The world isn’t that pretty.”
She scoffs right back. “It is very real. I haven’t experienced it yet, but I know it’s real. It has to be. Otherwise, what’s the point of anything?”
“To have fun, obviously,” I laugh.
“So you’ll never fall in love?” she challenges me.
I shake my head. “No, I’m shocked I even agreed to this marriage alliance thing. I always said I’d never commit. It’s too permanent.”
“Real love is permanent,” she giggles.
I sigh and shrug. “Commitment, falling in love, things like that…it’s for the weak. You can’t show weakness in my world.”
