Billionaire's Hidden Princess by Alegna Ciee (tharntype novel english .TXT) 📕

"N-No... S-Stop it... Livi, I..."

"Hmm? What's that, Eya?" 

"I-I can't... Y-You shouldn't do this..."

"If you don't say it clearly, I won't know."

He scoots closer as he whispers to her ears, voice low and smoky, trapping her small frame between himself and the wall with his arms stretched out on both sides of her face.

Her breath hitches when he leans in all of the sudden, and only then does she realize how he isn't really as unsightly as how he makes himself appear to be in front of everyone.

At this very second, she finally got a clear view of his frame.

Without those thick-lensed eyeglasses in the way, her remaining ounce of self-esteem would probably faint at how breathtakingly striking his profile was all this time. He turns out to have a smoother skin and perhaps, a more beauteous face than hers.

As soon as she spotted not a speck of blemish, that's finally when her eyes bulge in nonplus. She can't help but silently gasp and ponder in astonishment, "Oh gosh... He doesn't even have a single blackhead..."

From that point on, Leticia is slowly starting to zone out and lose sight of reality as she remained helplessly backed into a corner.

"I-I said don't... D-Don't do it..." she stammered out, blood crawling all the way up to her ears.

"Don't do what?" he muttered with a suggestively playful simper.

While she was busy processing all those thoughts, Livius seemed to be having fun pinning her down like this right now.

Even then, they can't possibly continue doing something this shameless in public. She has to grit her teeth and push him away before they can get even more blatantly brazen than they already are.

"I said..." she trailed off, gathering her composure once more and slightly puffing her chest out intrepidly.

"Don't pay for my lunch, Livi! I told you to save your money for later. You already paid for my taxi on the way here either! Now, give me back my wallet!"

Leticia finally snapped.

With such an adorable pout, a pair of furrowed brows, and those beet red cheeks on her display of miff, Livius might as well be seeing the cutest fit of pique he has ever laid eyes on. 

Taken aback by her endearing way of making an outburst, he only falls silent and goes tongue-tied for a second, trying to capture every little detail of this side of her. Yet all the while, he still has her wallet far from her reach, holding it up high enough for her to take a jump just to get it back.

"Ughhh... Oh, come on, Livi, stop messing with my height like this," she grumbled in annoyance while she just went on with her futile attempt to retrieve it, though her hopping and flailing about only did nothing but make her look even more adorable.

Today is supposed to be the day they're going to do the whole make-over project. 

But then, it just happened that they began arguing about this subject right after Livius offered to pay for everything, which appalled Leticia to this extent. Even if she's usually low in her finances, she's still responsible and capable enough to buy for her own basic needs.

With that, they suddenly started a childish banter right in the middle of a crowded clothing store at the mall. That's until it led to the point where he had to corner her like this just to make her snap out of her stubbornness.

No longer able to take too much of this cuteness, Livius seizes hold on both of her cheeks and starts squeezing them gently, an amused, playful smirk splattered on his face all the while.

"Do you really think I can't pay for something like that, Eya? I still have to return the favor, you know," he muttured while she could only huff and narrow her eyes at him.

"Y-Yeah, but...! You can just do it after Ms. Alice finally accepted you...!" she retorted, still frowning.

"Hmmm... Then, does that mean you'll meet up with me again?"

"Well, if you insist to pay me back... But you really don't have to-"

"Okay then. Let's do it."

Three days after meeting Livius, and Leticia still can't read him at all. As he backs away and returns her personal space, grinning knowingly all the while, she only blinks at him in puzzlement, wondering what's running in his mind now. 

"Excuse me, Ma'am. Are you two looking for something?" chimed a sales lady all of the sudden, catching their attention.

Despite her polite approach, they can still make out how she's just forcing herself to stretch a smile - the look of someone who's probably thinking if they're just going to stall around like this all day and buy nothing. She seems to be a little peeved by how they'd been goofing around for a while now.

"Y-Yes, Miss...! A-Actually, we're looking for the men's section..." Leticia blurted out nervously before gesturing to her companion.

"One that has clothes for young adults like him."

But then, as soon as the sales lady turned her attention to Livius, her eyes widen a little in evident surprise. No matter how much she veils her offending reaction, though, both of them see right through it, especially when she only stands still for a second and examines him from head to toe.

The sales lady appears to be somewhat grossed out.

"You know what, let's just go, Livi," Leticia suddenly scoffed in vex, grabbing him by the wrist and ready to storm out.

Livius may be wearing old, cheap clothes and his unkempt hair may be all over the place either, but that doesn't mean she had to react like that in his face. It's also not ethical to judge a potential client in the open. 

"Wait, Eya, we're not leaving," he then cut in all of the sudden, making her halt on her tracks.

"You specifically chose this boutique, right?"

"B-But, Livi..."

"Don't worry. That didn't insult me at all. Let's just continue, okay? Don't mind her."

Since he insisted, she has no choice but to simply nod her head. He then smiles at her reassuringly, but that only makes her feel ever more dismayed.