Chapter 174 Keeping Up With The Charade

Zephyr pulled away from her the moment the door closed behind them. It was enough to agree with her actions to escape the others, but to follow through with it was a whole different ball game.

"I appreciate you standing up for me." He began slowly, unsure of how he would continue.

Rumi nodded her head to his statement, hoping he had finally gotten her motive.

"But... I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say," he paused, unsure of how she might react.

"I am not..."

"Shh!" She hushed, secretly nodding in the direction of the top right corner of the ceiling.

Zephyr's lips sealed shut at her warning. Secretly playing along as he looked up, seeing a glint of light from the upturned bulbs reflect.

'A security camera? How the heck is this world advanced?' He looked around him, realizing how true his words it was.

"Rumi, what's going on–"

He let out a gasp in fear at the glare she flashed in his direction, her sclera all covered in black.

"Follow me..." She said, pulling on his wrist against his will.

This didn't settle well in his mind. If they were heading towards 'their' room, that could spell doom for his virgin self.

'I am not who you think I am, nor have I ever had proper interaction with anyone, unlike Nix!'

He had always found some sort of comfort with his friend, loyalty was the driving force for both of them. Nix was good with the ladies and the embodiment of charisma.

At one point in his life, he had felt unworthy of such friendship, watching how far he had gone with his artworks. This had been the beginning of their discord.

As he was dragged towards the unknown, he wished he had learned a few things from Nix at the time before their separation.

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As soon as they got to their doorpost,

"Open!" Rumi's angelic voice called out.

Click!

The door flung open, as well as Zephyr's lips.

'Even I don't have access to this form of technology back home. What sort of place did I transmigrate to?'

His thoughts were cut short with the pull on his wrist again. Rumi had a devilish smirk at finally being alone with him.

Deactivating her ability, she let out a giggle.

Zephyr's heart continuously pounded in his chest, wondering what she might do with him in his vulnerable and confused state.

His body stiffened the moment he felt her hand snake its way under his shirt.

Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth, pissed about the fact that this body seemed to have a mind of its own.

'They surely had something more than friends.' He made a mental note, wondering how he would escape from this.

Forcing him up against the wall, he let out a gasp in shock at how strong she was.

The newfound pleasure was on the verge of engulfing him. "Rumi, I'm not Zephyr."

He had managed to dodge a kiss his way, as much as he wanted to go through with this as a first trial, she needed to know who she was dealing with.

Not paying attention to his words, she needed him to remember, thinking that only the option of reliving their first night could bring back some of the precious memories they both shared.

"Rumi, stop this madness. Right now!" Zephyr yelled in desperation when he realized she had intentionally not listened to him.

Rumi paused her attention on him, waiting for him to continue. Her eyes looked ever so eager at him.

"I don't know how far-fetched this must be to you, but I'm known as Drui in my world." He placed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back.

"That... That can't be." She shook her head, believing what he was currently going through was a dissociative disorder.

"Let's go along with Drui then if that's how you want it," Rumi said with an eye shut smile, hiding the hurt in her heart when he had pushed her away.

While they were together, there was never a time when he had tried to deliberately hurt her both physically and mentally.

"No!" He reputed her words, panic-stricken by the thought of Nix being in this world. He had a change of outlook and voice, that was enough to go undercover and not be noticed so easily.

How Rumi looked at him spelled danger, she had her eyes narrowed and from what he was seeing, her sclera was slowly covering once more.

'Is this some sort of power?' He did a quick rethink of what he had said.

Believing that he was different was a threat that needed to be eliminated. Given her strength, he could only guess she was planning to attack him.

Holding his head, he rubbed his temples, a flash of thought of the original host crossed his mind.

~You're the darkness to my light, Rumi.

His brows twitched continuously at how cheesy those words were, it didn't reflect anything good in a sense, and wondered how she had taken this weird reference.

The only thing that he could see as a reference was her eyes, but even that wasn't enough for him to refer to her if he was the original host.

Exhaling, he was at the least grateful for this opportunity that this memory had given him.

The right one he needed to escape this danger that was looming.

"Rumi, my darkness and embodied beauty." He said, looking into her eyes without flinching.

Rumi's brows were upturned and her once fully black covered eyes subsided greatly and brimmed with tears.

"Zephyr, is that you?" She covered her mouth, slowly walking close to him.

'Keep up the charade if you don't want to jump from frypan to fire.' He cautioned himself, careful of what he would say or do around her.

If the original host could love such an unpredictable person, it would only mean there was something worth loving.

All he needed was to find out what that thing was.

"Although my memory isn't that good anymore, I remember saying similar words to you." He exaggerated, hopeful in his heart that she would buy such a silly excuse.