I am the Queen

Inside Eric's unit, the first thing Asher notice was . . . how barren it was. Not much could be said about the place except it was near empty with only the necessary appliances and furniture. And for the life of him, he didn't know how his cousin, Evangeline, could stand living in here? Sure it was clean, but it certainly smelt cheap and old, which was Evangeline's mortal enemy.

The moment Asher thought how much Evangeline fell hard for Eric, the more he wanted to commit murder.

"Make yourself comfortable," Eric said, removing his coat and casually hang it in the foyer. He searched his shoe rack and placed a clean sleeper for Asher to wear before he changed to his sleeper and led the pets inside the dining and kitchen area to fed them water. And partly because he knew Asher had something to say to Evangeline. Probably to convince her to stay away from him. Good luck with that.

The moment Eric was gone, Asher faced Evangeline. "Eva, are you really okay with a guy like that?! Look at how poor he is. That guy couldn't possibly take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I can take care of myself. And besides, I have enough money for us to live a comfortable life." Evangeline scoffed, hang her coat, and changed to her sleeper before sauntering towards where Eric was to get a glass of water.

She took a step before throwing Asher a glance. "Don't step your dirty shoes inside."

Asher quickly removed his shoes and wore the sleeper and chased after her, convincing her to change her mind. "And that's the problem. A guy should always be the one to take care of their woman and not the other way around."

Evangeline paused, laughing a bit. "Eric is doing a perfect job in that department, don't you worry. He might be poor, but he is taking care of me like a Queen."

Asher's palms brushed his face in frustration. If he was going to break them up, he had to change his argument from another angle.

"Eva, you can't live here with him." For starters, he would try to convince her to move out of the guy's apartment.

Rolling her eyes, Evangeline sauntered inside the kitchen/living area. "Is there any law prohibiting a couple of legal age not to live together?"

"That's not the problem. What would people say that you're living together with a man and you're not even married? Can't you see? He should have stopped you if he is concerned about your reputation, but he didn't. And he is a jerk and an asshole for letting you live with him!" Asher argued, chasing Evangeline all around.

At the side, Eric pretended he couldn't hear anything as he stood there like a decoration while he watched the two argued. What Asher said was right. But Evangeline could think for herself, and even he tried to reason with her, she would only have excuses to stay with him. And he knew that at the end of the day, he would still give in to her plea.

"Oh, please." Evangeline crossed her arms in front of her chest after he drank a glass of water. "What age is this? Are we still in the middle era? We are in an age where it is completely normal for couples who are of legal age to live together."

"Normal?" Asher wanted to pull his hair out. "It's wrong! Couples shouldn't be living together, not until they are married. This kind of thing shouldn't be normal from the start."

Evangeline laughed. "I didn't expect that you of all people would say that to me. I didn't know you have this moral righteousness in you." Raising a brow, she met Asher's eyes in a challenge. "I wonder if that woman, what's her name? Oh, right, Satele Risova. What if she wanted to move in with you, will you chase her away?"

Asher couldn't reply. His tongue stopped moving inside her parted lips. For a moment, he did imagine Satele living together with him, and he would, one hundred percent sure, take her in. He couldn't wait for them to live together like a couple.

Shaking his head, Asher bellowed, a little defensive, "Don't change the topic. We are talking about you and him!"

Evangeline snickered. Part of her was enjoying how Asher was all flustered in convincing her while another part of her wanted to slam her sleeper on his face.

"My decision is final," she said. "I will live together with Eric, and that's it. End of conversation. There's nothing you can do to convince me otherwise."

Asher's fingers combed his hair back, tilting his head up, sighing in exasperation. He knew with Evangeline's look and tone of voice there was nothing more he could do to change her mind. The only thing left was to lay his final card.

"If you're going to stay here, then I will also stay here."

Eric, who was minding his own business of being a statue at the side, almost spat the water he was drinking.

"No, you're not," Evangeline said, enunciating each word with an edge. The smile on her face was gone, and the temperature dropped.

"Yes. I am," Asher answered, not backing from his cousin's scary vibe.

Evangeline pulled her gaze from Asher's and smiled dryly. She fished her phone from her pocket and flashed it on Asher's face.

"Know what this is?" she questioned with twinkling sinister eyes.

Raising a brow, Asher replied, "Your Phone."

"Oh, it's not just a phone." Evangeline grinned. "It's also a recorder." She searched her phone before pressing the play button.

"I like you!"

". . ."

"I like you damn it! And damn you for making me feel like this."

The more Asher heard the recording, the redder his face became.

"Stop it! Stop it!" His arms extended, attempting to snatch Evangeline's phone when the latter quickly pulled it away from his reach, hiding it behind her back.

Evangeline's smile grew extensive at Asher's frantic and embarrassed appearance. "You better get out of here and forget your silly notion of staying, or you'll find yourself the gossips of every media."

"Y-you . . . you wouldn't do that," Asher said, the redness on his face disappearing replaced by paleness.

Evangeline smirked. "Try me."

Oh, dear . . . Eric knew Evangeline meant business this time, and he could no longer be an onlooker anymore. He went to Evangeline's side and placed an arm over her shoulder, gently squeezing it.

"Eve, it's okay if Asher sleeps here."

"Eh?"

Both Asher and Evangeline gaped at him with slack jaws.

Smiling at her, Eric continued, "He is just worried about you. He wanted to see that you're okay."

". . ."

". . ."

Pursing her lips, Evangeline gaze zeroed on Asher. "Only this one night," she said, pointing a finger upwards to indicate the number she was allowing Asher to disturbed her and Eric's alone time. She then flipped her hair and walked towards their bedroom.

. . .

. . .

Silence engulfed the whole area, and neither Asher nor Eric wanted to speak. When Eric was about to close in on Asher, the man pointed a finger on him.

"Stay where you are!"

Asher yelled, veins popping on his forehead while spit flew from his mouth. "Don't even think this changes anything! My anger for you will never cease. You stay ten meters the fuck away from me and don't even dare talk to me or look me in the eye. Got it?"

Asher didn't let Eric reply. He stomped his way to where Evangeline was. His tone and countenance then changed the moment he called Evangeline's name, "Eva . . ."

". . ." Eric was left standing on his spot, a wry smile on his lips. That didn't end well.

Well, at least he tried.

Meow! Meow!

The silence was disturbed upon Fall's constant mewing. Looking at her, Eric found her rubbing herself against his legs.

Meow!

"What's wrong?" he asked, crouching to check on Fall.

Fall let out purring rumbling in her throat, lashing her front paw to his view.

"Oh." Eric didn't know whether to laugh or be angry when he saw the lace on her tiny shoes were coming off. He ignored it and stood. "You are too pampered. I won't tie it. It's time you removed those shoes and got used to my floors. Okay?"

Meow! Fall seemed to understand him when it frantically jumped on his knee, eyes rounder than usual with ears pulling back.

". . ." Eric knew he couldn't possibly stand that look. He squatted once more and tied her lace, sighing exaggeratedly in the air. "This is the last time, okay? You have to get used to my floors. It's not healthy for you to always wear your shoes. You have to extend and flex your claws and scratch fabrics. That's what cats do," Eric lectured, couldn't help his fatherly instinct to kick in.

Meow! Fall lovingly rubbed herself against Eric's legs before she walked to her bed and laid there.

"And it's not healthy for you to coop in your bed. You're getting fat." Honestly, that cat is so pampered. The moment it stepped foot inside his apartment, it wouldn't step on his floor without its shoes. She so spoiled she wouldn't walk with her bare paws on anything but expensive marble tiles and carpeted floors.

Eric shook his head and sauntered to where Evangeline and Asher were, readying himself for another war between the two.