The Demon’s Bride

This again, thought Esther. Treating her sweetly then pushing her away. Giving gentleness to her, showing only his tender attitude, but when she comes to confront him about his feelings, he refused her coldly.

Angered by his attitude that caused her heart to skip, Esther raised her other hand to slap across his cheeks, thinking it would bring Beelzebub back sober.

But knowing this, Beelzebub caught her hand, placing it over her lips and kissed her knuckles gently. 

"Stop it!" Esther yelled but her words were akin to pouring oil on fire, it seemed she had only fueled for Beelzebub to plant more kisses on her fingers. 

"Beelzebub!" Esther called his name to stop him. 

Beelzebub chuckled, "What is it?" He looked at her with a grin. "Don't call me Beelzebub, it makes me feel like a stranger to you."

"Your name is Beelzebub, isn't it?" Esther asked, she found something strange to the current Beelzebub who seemed to be so needy and clingy to her. There was something odd to him that she couldn't figure out.

"Yes but not as well," Beelzebub stared at her eyes and chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Questioned Esther to see him smiling even wider. 

"It's nothing. It's just that when I look at you, I feel hungry. You appear very delicious to me right now and I can't help but wanting to eat take a bite on you," Beelzebub's words smoothly dropped from his lips.

Esther became more confused but his eyes that looked at her caused her to shudder. She could feel his kindness slithering around her like a snake's body waiting to choke her neck.

Even though Beelzebub acted kinder now, she felt the underlaying menace hidden beneath his smile. Her instinct warned her to run from him but she knew she couldn't leave him be as well. 

"You are not going to let go of my hands?" Esther asked, her eyes narrowing. 

"No. If I do let go of your hands, what will I get? I may consider letting your hands go if your offer suits me," Beelzebub negotiated. Even though this was her hands that shouldn't be negotiated he insisted to hold her. She noticed it wasn't because he found her hand adorable but because he knows doing this would irate Esther.

"I don't have anything to offer," Esther watched the smile on Beelzebub's face widened, "But I would hate it if I have to continue stay here when there's so many things that we have to do at this moment."

Beelzebub's smile slowly fell. His eyebrows knitted together and it only grew tighter as he processed her words.

Casually he dropped her hands, letting it to fall over her side. 

"We should get moving then," his reply was brief and although Esther thought the usual Beelzebub had came back, she noticed that she was wrong as he remain holding her hands as they walked away from the shop.

Away from where Esther and Beelzebub were, Elise looked over the window with a frown. Her hand softly landed on her stomach that had gotten bigger by time. 

Ian softly came behind her and when she noticed his presence, she smiled. "You're back."

Walking closer to her, Ian placed his hand on the back of her head, bringing her forehead for a kiss before bending down to kiss her stomach as his daily routine. 

His smile softened when he gently rubbed her stomach, causing Elise's smile to bloom. 

"I had to come home quickly after all. With my child and you here, I don't want to needlessly go out leaving my precious treasures somewhere far from my sight," Ian pushed himself from the floor by his feet and pulled the chair near him to have Elise sit there. "Also it isn't my business to take care of. I only help as you asked me to."

"You didn't play any mischievous trick to them, did you?" Elise knew what kind of person Ian was. Even if she was the one who had asked him to help her aunt, he was someone who would be bored if he had simply helped them in a normal way and would do something to spices things as he will.

Ian's eyes glimmered and his smirk widened, "Surely not anything dangerous enough for you to be worried of. I simply pour oil into fire."

"Oil into fire?" Elise blinked twice, hoping he would change his answer but he replied by staring back at her with a smile. "Won't that make the problem worse?"

"See, my love. Sometimes when a problem can't be solved, we have to make it worse. So the two sides would have an outburst and for them to finally face their own self and viola, the problem is solved," Ian winked at her and his bright idea.

Elise however begin to hold a second thoughts, "But both aunt Esther and Mr. Beel are stubborn."

"Exactly. Unless they crash on each other, I doubt they would be able to solve anything. Not even if they acquire the second chance of living their lives again," Ian carefully touched her hands, pulling it so her attention would fall only to him. "We shall now stopped talking about them and focus on your day."

"But I can't help to keep thinking about it," sighed Elise. "Do you think they would be alright?"

Ian looked over the sky with his meaningful smile, "I am certain they would be more than perfect."

Back to Esther and Beelzebub; Esther couldn't help but frown as Beelzebub keep holding to her hands without letting it go. 

After some further studies, she realized that it was indeed a different part of Beelzebub that she had met, reminding her that one time in the garden when Beelzebub had treated her so gently and so sweetly before suddenly pushing her away.

Does that mean someone had possessed him? It was highly unlikely, thought Esther. She had left the shop together with Beelzebub and although she had kept her eyes away from him for a few seconds, she had felt his presence that didn't disappear at all. 

Not to mention the possibility of him being kidnapped would be more impossible without any sign of struggle or fight.

This was truly Beelzebub but a different version of him. How?

"Beelzebub, my hands hurt," Esther said, still frowning.

Beelzebub sighed and released her hands.

Seems like that did a work, thought Esther. 

"Your uncle would come tomorrow we should find a place to rest on. Do you know any nearby inn?" She asked. Although confused, she decided to stick more near Beelzebub to really find out what was happening to him and the cause of his sudden change of attitude. 

"No, but we should be able to find a single room that could host both of us," Beelzebub replied casually, making his walk away from her as if to lead her which then Esther quickly stopped him.

"A single room?" Esther shook her head. She had plenty of bad memory being in a single room with Beelzebub and would rather not go the experience again. "I think two is what needed for us. Not a single one."

"We can share. We went through one single night without any trouble," Beelzebub answered as if they had never fought that night in the first place. 

"I don't care if you wish to brush away the fight that we had again or dismiss what happened between us as if it had never been there in the beginning. But if you want to prove that you have no care, concern, or attraction toward me, I wish you will stop. I understand it now that you don't like me. Isn't that enough?"

Beelzebub narrowed his eyes and his head tilted. "No attraction? Did I say that to you?"

"You didn't say it but you made it clear that I am not interesting to you anymore and I—" Esther's words fell short when Beelzebub had pulled her hand and pressed her fingers over his chest. 

Beelzebub's voice fell ice cold, his eyes growing darker in time as his smile stopped appearing. He whispered, "You don't know anything, Esther. When you climb on top of me, straddling over my body. Do you know what I was thinking?" 

Esther felt her breaths hitching. "What?" She asked, more like a taunt rather than a question is she was to be honest.

"If I had the privilege to do it, I would have pushed you on the bed and have my way on you," Beelzebub's eyes flickered as he spoke. "Even if you scream, I would make sure you stay on that bed. But I hate your tears; which why I hadn't done anything to you Esther. Exactly because I don't want to hurt you."