Bound by Magic, Married by Fate Novel

Chapter 19 Before Lucius could respond, Valerie added, "We have to get married first before we divorce. We need to follow the procedure, after all." "What if we run into that mediator again?" Valerie put on her mask right in front of him. "Then, I'll act like an abused wife even more convincingly." Lucius, who prided himself on knowing how to keep a straight face, couldn't help but laugh. When it came time to pay, everyone realized Lucius had already taken care of the bill. His thoughtful gesture reflected well on Aurelia in front of her peers.

Owen, however, could tell Lucius hadn't done it for Aurelia. He'd done it for Valerie. His gut told him something was going on between them. Valerie considered these people fleeting figures in her life. They were gone from her mind as soon as she left. She had spent the whole night running an experiment, and even after catching up on sleep earlier, she still felt exhausted. After a quick hot shower, she drifted off to sleep. Valerie slept so soundly that when she finally stirred, she found herself curled up in a man's arms.

After opening her eyes, she realized that the man holding her tightly in his sleep was once again Lucius. He looked less imposing when he was asleep. The two of them were wrapped up in each other like a loving couple. The thought of that snapped Valerie out of her daze. She shot up and shook Lucius hard. "Seriously? Are you addicted to sneaking into my bed now?" Roused violently from his dreams, Lucius woke up in a daze. Instinctively, he was ready to defend himself against the "intruder".

The moment Valerie realized what he was going to do and tried to fight back, she lost her balance and fell straight into his arms. Lucius' dangerous presence closed in on her. Valerie tried to kick him off, only to realize how lightly she'd dressed for bed. Her thin camisole nightdress clung to her curves, leaving far too much of her skin exposed. A man's desire was at its peak in the early morning, especially when he was holding such a beautiful woman. Lucius stilled the pounding of his heart and asked, "Why are you in my bed?" Squirming free of his arms, she sneered.

"Why don't you take a good look and see whose bed this is?" Glancing around the room, realization dawned on him. "Did that strange phenomenon happen again?" Since this was the second time around, neither of them was caught off guard. As usual, Valerie pulled up the surveillance footage on her phone. She had gone to bed before 10:00 pm the night before. Everything looked normal for the first half of the night. Then, right after midnight, the screen flickered to static for three seconds before returning to normal. When she looked again, Lucius was sleeping right beside her.

They exchanged a long, knowing look, unable to figure out why this strange phenomenon kept happening to them. All of a sudden, she inquired, "When did you fall asleep last night?" "Around midnight," Lucius answered truthfully. Valerie deduced, "It seems we only end up in the same bed when we both drift off to sleep." "That's not right," he corrected. "I woke up in my own bed yesterday morning." "That's because I stayed up all night the night before." Valerie had assumed it was a one-off accident, but now she realized things were much more complicated.

Lucius fell silent as he considered how to handle the situation. "Are you free to meet someone? He's an old friend of my father's from the mystic arts world."