Chapter 81 Chapter 81
When they entered the living room, she spotted the demon immediately, sitting on the sofa with one arm on the backrest while he lazily watched a random movie. His blue eyes were glued to the screen, his snow-white hair standing out even in the dimly lit room. Hope gaped at him, finding him incredibly attractive with the delicate silver chain over his nose. She glanced at Valerie, who didn’t notice her surprise, and gestured for her to sit down on the other sofa.
“Can you at least say hello?” Valerie nagged when she got comfortable next to her friend, who was smitten with the demon, even though he hardly acknowledged her. Only after Valerie complained, he looked at Hope briefly, eyes narrowing a little.
“Are you a witch?” he asked out of the blue, making both women stiff. They exchanged a glance before Hope quickly talked herself out of it.
“No, why would you think that? I just have a talent for using magic,” she smiled nervously.
Yeah, what a talent she had. Valerie rolled her eyes.
“Witches have a certain aura, and it’s just like yours,” he went on suspiciously, scrutinizing her from head to toe, his piercing glare making even Valerie lose her cool.
“My grandma is a witch. Are you happy now?”
He grumbled something under his breath and considered the conversation as finished, ignoring her from then on. His blue eyes were fixed on the tv and he put one leg on the sofa, not caring in the slightest about manners or being polite.
Hope sent him a curious glance, but didn’t bother him anymore. Instead, she focused on her friend, smiling widely. “I’ve read your interview with Jackson, by the way. I’m so jealous, girl.” she gushed. “Was he nice? Did you like him?”
Hope was acting like the biggest fangirl ever, but since Valerie was already used to this kind of behavior, it didn’t surprise her anymore.
“Yes, he was such a gentleman. You really should have met him, too; he’s even nicer than he’s usually portrayed in the media. It’s easy to get along with him. After I talked to him for like ten minutes, it already felt like we’d been friends for a long time. He is special,” Valerie recounted dreamily, giggling when Hope gaped at her, eyes filled with envy.
“Oh, damn, I bet he was so kind to you. Did you flirt?”
“Um, not really? I’m shy when it comes to that,” Valerie admitted bashfully, casting her eyes towards the ground.
“Aww, Valerie. You should have tried harder.” Hope cackles, nudging her with her elbow. Her smile turned conspiratorial as she leaned closer to her friend. “He is single right now. You have the best chances.”
Valerie blushed bright red at the insinuation, not knowing what to answer.
“Did that not convince you?”
“Well, I can’t deny that he is attractive and… um… was very kind to me too. The first time I met him, he showed me pictures of his dog on his phone. That was so cute. Turns out he loves animals,” Valerie recalled with a happy smile, which was mirrored by Hope.
“Oh, does he? Maybe you could meet him again. Your boss surely still has his number?” Hope suggested.
“Thorne probably has it, yeah.”
“Then ask him. The least he could do after your successful work is give you Jackson’s number.” she said before a grin formed on her lips. “And do you know what else I heard? He is supposedly very good in bed.”
Valerie squeaked, blushing even harder, while Hope giggled, seeing her horrified expression. Maxwell sent death glares in their direction, his eyes glowing ruby red. He got up abruptly, catching their attention in a heartbeat.
“What’s wrong?” Valerie asked.
“I’m leaving. You are insufferable.” he hissed. She thought he looked like a pissed-off bristling cat, his tense posture only adding to the sentiment.
“Huh, but why? Where are you going?”
“Hell,” was his terse answer before he opened a portal in front of their very eyes and vanished, leaving a faint smell of ash and smoke behind.
“Did he just open a portal to hell in my LIVING ROOM?” Valerie screeched, jumping to her feet and staring at the spot where it had been a few seconds ago. “How dare he. We talked about this before. This is the most important rule in this house, and he broke it.”
“Aww, did I make him jelly?” Hope smirked evilly, rubbing her hands. “I’m surprised he managed to hold out for so long until he cracked. He’s stubborn, but I’m worse.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?”
“I came here to find out if my suspicion about him was correct or not, and so I tried to see if I could get a reaction from him. Did you think I was talking about Jackson by coincidence?” Hope grinned. She was very pleased with her plan and how it turned out. “I was testing him, and it seems like he got a little riled up. Very interesting.”
“You shouldn’t test a demon, Hope. That could end badly,” Valerie warned her.
“Did you see how jealous he got, though? It was totally worth it,” Hope replied cheekily. “He was fuming.”
“Huh, why would he be jealous?” Valerie asked and raised her eyebrows.
“Are you really this dense, or are you pretending?”
“I’m not dense.”
“Sorry to say this, but you are. Anyway, now that I’ve finally met him, I know one thing for sure. He is grumpy and so rude, what the heck? He didn’t even greet me,” she groaned, to which Valerie could only agree. “How do you put up with his attitude?”
“Well, when he starts nagging, I start nagging too, then he eventually shuts up. We’re getting along.”
“Sounds like you’re on the same wavelength,” Hope laughed. “At least I needn’t worry anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve felt guilty for a long time after finding out about the spell going out of control, since I was worried that he would hurt you like Uriel, but it looks like I worried for nothing. He doesn’t seem to pose a danger to you, he’s just ill-mannered… and judging by the jealousy I saw just now, he has grown to like you,” Hope grinned.