“What do you mean? Didn’t you see who shot you?”
“I probably did, but I don’t remember it,” he shrugged. “On top of the wound, I was bedridden for three months, and forgot almost everything about the previous eighteen years of my life. I only remember fragments. My father’s harsh mental and physical training, growing up in his house among the other possible heirs... I remember some things so precisely it’s striking, and some parts are completely blank.”
Eden was shocked. She wouldn’t want to lose her memories, no matter how hard it was. She would still cry sometimes, thinking about how she had been separated from her mother, about her happy childhood in the Core, but those were things Eden wanted to remember. She used the pain to grow stronger...
“So that’s why you have those... headaches?”
Dante slowly nodded.
“Ever since then, I get them from time to time... There’s nothing that can be done about it, medically. That’s the thing about having a Part in your head, replacing your eyes, skull, and a part of your frontal lobe... The original body doesn’t like strangers.”
Eden grimaced. Given how much she had suffered after she had lost her legs, she couldn’t even begin to imagine the nightmare of it being in his head... At least he had gotten a much better device than what was usually found on the market. Even the surgery itself ought to have cost millions. In her eyes, the previous Tiger was an idiot. He could have saved his money and his son, but instead, he had left it up to fate and ended up losing tons of money and feeding a filial grudge...
“Can I rinse my head now?” Dante asked with a little smile. “I’m not taking a cold shower.”
Eden let Dante finish his shower alone, just in case he’d get any more ideas from the proximity of their naked bodies together... She escaped the bathtub and grabbed one of those fancy bathrobes he had. This place really felt more like a hotel than a home. It was too clean, too neat, and everything was like it was on display. It was pretty but cold, just like the marble floor under her feet. Eden walked up to the wardrobe, knowing she’d find some women’s clothing like last time. She tried not to think about why Dante had them in there... Did they get this prepared for her? Was it for any of his women? Or was it perhaps just some weird instruction given to whomever prepared this room? Eden couldn’t tell, and she didn’t want to waste her time thinking about it. She was just glad most of it was her size.
She was actually more concerned with how she should dress herself for a meeting between the Zodiacs... She ignored all the flashy and sexy dresses to look through the piles of more casual clothes. She ought to find something she could easily move in or get rid of to use her legs... Eventually, Eden picked a black jacket to pair with a pale gray shirt, and some flared black pants. After finding some brand-new black underwear, she slowly dressed until Dante walked in, drying his hair with a towel. As soon as the Tiger’s eyes gazed upon her choice of clothes, he frowned.
“...What’s that?”
“You’ve never seen pants before?” responded Eden, buttoning her pants.
“I like you in a dress better.”
“I’m going as your bodyguard, Dante. Not your hoe,” she retorted.
“You can be a sexy bodyguard. That shirt is horrible.”
He walked to the wardrobe and took out some backless top with pink strass that immediately reminded Eden of her outfits at the bar.
“This is more what I like,” he said with a sardonic smile.
“You can wear it, then.”
“I’d like it better on you.”
Eden decided not to answer to his whim. Still, was the shirt really that bad? She glanced in the mirror, and the fitting really was worse than she imagined. It made her look somewhat sick, with her complexion. She sighed and took off her jacket and shirt. Walking up to Dante, she went to grab the top he was insisting on, but he suddenly lifted it out of her reach. She glared at him.
“Are you done playing yet?”
“...How about you go like this?” he asked with a smile.
Eden looked down. She was only wearing the pants and the black bra... Dante had his eyes on her exposed skin. She rolled her eyes and snatched the pink top out of his hands.
“Get ready, or you’ll be the one to go in your underwear.”
Although she wanted to look mad, Eden had a little smile when she turned around to put on the pink top. Dante’s eyes on her and his bantering were merely a game, and after what they’d experienced earlier, she couldn’t help but find it sexy. It was far from what she had imagined. Somehow, Eden would have thought, like most men, he’d have gotten bored and back to his serious self once they were done with the sex. She was completely wrong. Because they had actually done it now, and with quite an enjoyable memory of it too, their chemistry had increased. Not only did his little game excite her, but Eden found that she didn’t just want to give in, she was actually craving more. She was just glad she had enough sense left to be more reasonable...
Ignoring Dante, who was now rummaging through the wardrobe to find his own outfit, she turned to the tall mirror on the wall. To her surprise, that strass pink top didn’t make her look much sexier or anything. It was an old, vintage shade of pink that was rather discreet, and the strass wasn’t too flashy either. She actually looked like a bodyguard, just a female one with a top that’s a tad sexy... Deciding this was good enough, Eden walked back inside the bathroom to dry her hair, but instead, her eyes fell on a mysterious velvet box on the side of the sink... She frowned, as her name was engraved on it in golden letters.
“What is this…?”
She grabbed the box and opened it.
She was almost blinded by the dazzling set of jewelry inside. Eden had rarely gotten a chance to spot some real gems like these... and a chill went down her spine just thinking how much these cost. There were two long earrings, two smaller gold hoop earrings, a bracelet, a necklace, and a ring. The ring was too big for her to dare stare at. The necklace had a thinner design, like little pink petals and a flower on a golden line, but Eden still felt this was too feminine for her to wear... Even the bracelet was simple, just several lines of gold, but this was just too much. She took a deep breath and closed the box. Eden knew this was for her; all the jewelry was beautiful and exquisite. She just felt like she only deserved to wear that fake zircon ensemble in the dressing room of Jack’s bar...
“You don’t like it?”
