[Music Recommendation: "Tiptoe Thru The Tulips" by O'Neill Brothers (instrumental only)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

Soon enough, dinner was over and we said goodbye to Rae. Kaiden drove us back home and we chatted a bit on our way.

"You're looking better than earlier," Kaiden commented. He probably saw me smiling while looking at the scenery outside the car's window.

Looking back at him, my eyes gleamed and my lips stretched into a smile while nodding in agreement.

"Yes! I got really great advice from Rae. And I think she's right. I shouldn't worry too much and just be there for Hora. When it's time, she'll tell me. But for now, I should let her be and just keep on supporting."

"Uhm. Sounds about right. Good thing you met with her today."

"Yeah. And thank you for accompanying me today."

"My pleasure. Though I prefer a kiss than a thank you," he smirked and peeked at me. He probably wanted to see my reaction.

Of course I blushed when he said that. Still so cheeky. Hmf! But then… that didn't sound so bad. It's fine if he wanted t-to… ahm… k-kiss.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! I'm kidding," he said, taking it back after he was satisfied seeing my red face.

"O-Oh, I see. So it's a joke," I stiffened and sighed afterwards.

'Aaaalright. I'm definitely fine with that. Ha-ha. No kisses today. I'm definitely not disappointed. Yup. I'm good.'

Kaiden smirked again. Then, he suddenly pulled the car over a safe space and stopped driving.

"Huh? Why did you suddenly stop?" I asked, confused by his actions. "We're not there yet."

Kaiden turned to face me. He leaned one arm on the steering wheel and tilted his head, looking so mischievous with his smirk.

'Now what? Those eyes… What in the world is he planning?'

"Yes?"

"It seems someone is sulking," he started, still looking so cheeky.

"Huh? Who? Me? No way! I'm not sulking. I just said I'm fine. Plus, I got great advice so… I'm good."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about," he smirked again. "Someone seemed to be disappointed about not getting a kiss. I wonder who."

"A-ack… I w-wonder who indeed."

"There's just the two of us so—"

"Then maybe it's you."

"Me? Hmm… I can survive a day without it just fine."

"Oh, really? I see… Then, all is good, right?"

"Yeah. Though, if someone asks for it, I don't mind giving it."

'This guy… really! He just wants me to ask him to kiss me! So that's why he pulled over. Since when did he become so naughty like this? Is it because of Verrill? That sly fox just slept over for a night and he already turned Kaiden into t-this naughty wolf! You want to play with words, okay. I'll play along. Heh.'

"Wow, Kaiden. I didn't know that you can easily kiss someone—if someone asks for it, you don't mind giving it? I thought you're mysophobic," I teased him.

Kaiden's eyebrows raised. He probably didn't expect that, huh?

Chuckling, he replied, "It seems that someone is pretending not to understand what I meant. Well, if that's the case, then we can just go home. No kiss for today, and tomorrow, until next week. Or maybe until next month. Hmm…"

My eyes widened in shock.

'N-no kiss until next month? Just because I won't admit or ask for it? T-that's so unfair! No kiss until next month… no kiss until next month… Can I survive that? And can HE survive that? He's the one who's always—but then, it's Kaiden we're talking about here. If he says he can do it, he really can do it. And what about me? Well… I survived my past lifetime plus this lifetime not having anyone kiss me. I should be good, right?'

Trying to look confident, I said, "Yeah. That's totally fine. I'm sure that someone wouldn't mind. Even if it's a year or two, or a decade."

'Hmf! Take that!'

Kaiden smirked again. Why was he still so smug? He didn't believe me? Tsk. Just wait and see. I could definitely survive without it. Who's the one who started kissing in the first place? It's not me. Hmf!

And so, Kaiden started the car again and headed back home. Once home, we separated ways and I visited Hora and Crystal in their rooms, bringing food. Yup. I bought some takeout for them. I wanted them to try the delicious dim sums and desserts I got for them. They ate happily and we chatted for hours.

When we're all exhausted, we went back to our rooms, washed up, and slept. Then, came the morning—it was finally Monday again. The morning began as usual. Kaiden still accompanied me to my classroom, except there was no kissing, or even a peck on the cheeks. Okay. That's totally fine. The rest of the day continued as usual as well, until we all went back home, had dinner, and slept.

The next day, Tuesday was the same. Then, Wednesday… Thursday… Friday… Before I knew it, it was already Saturday morning—still no kissing.

"He's a really stubborn guy, isn't he?" I asked myself as soon as I got up from bed, looking all drained out even if I just woke up. "Is he planning on taking that 'one year no kiss' seriously? Not unless I asked for it? He wants me to ask him that badly? Or maybe he's back to being completely mysophobic, even to me? Waaa… No! That's impossible. He's definitely playing with me, enjoying his time torturing me."

Out of my desperation, I quickly got my phone and looked up Verrill's phone number in my contacts.

"This sly fox… He definitely taught him something bad. I'm gonna make sure to have you hear a piece of my mind! Wraaaaaa!"

But then, I stopped. Finally, my rationale was getting back to me.

'No, Sena. Stop that. Don't take it out on another person. Even if Verrill taught him how to be evil, it was still Kaiden's choice if he would do it or not. And ta-dah! He really did it. That just means it's fine for him to torture me like this.'

Then, it finally hit me.

'Wait a minute. Torture? Why do I feel tortured? There's nothing wrong with a couple not kissing for an entire week and probably for the next few months until those months turn into a year. Yeah. Especially since we're still teenagers. We shouldn't be all touchy. Besides, I'm the one who told him it's perfectly fine. So it's not torture at all.'

"Damn it," I murmured and clicked my tongue. "Who am I kidding? I'm definitely NOT OKAY with this. I'm going to Kaiden. Right. I'll admit it and ask him to kiss me. It's fine for a girlfriend to ask that much, right?"

Yeah! But… that's not all.

"He-he-he-he," I laughed evilly and told myself, "Since he tortured me for an entire week, I should torture him as well, right? Ke-ke-ke… It's time for revenge."

Despite the early morning, I got up from my bed and went over the computer to do some research for my revenge. I felt so petty but nevermind that, I want revenge for the torture I experienced this week. Ke-ke-ke.

After a few minutes of research, I managed to form a devious plan. One, I would dress up on that night gown I hated to wear—since I noticed before that he blushed when I wore it. Even if I hated wearing it, I would make a worthy sacrifice in the name of my revenge. Two, I would go to his room and seduce him by kissing him passionately then stop when he's enjoying it. That's what the internet said.

And so, I did everything according to my plan. I washed up and dressed myself, then covered my body tightly with the matching floral robe of the night gown. I also sprayed some light perfume—it was the only degree of smell I could manage without sneezing. I planned on putting on makeup, too, but I didn't know how and I didn't have any so I skipped it.

'Alright. Now that's settled, it's time to go to Kaiden's room.'

Using my phone which now had a picture of a detailed map towards Kaiden's room, I walked my way there. I met a few maids along the way, cleaning and doing their own stuff. When I finally reached Kaiden's room, I didn't bother to knock and instead, sneakily went inside in a tiptoe.

"Hm? That's weird. Where is he?"

I checked the bed, the study, walked past many bookshelves, the game room—he had a dedicated room for gaming—and the balcony, but he wasn't there. So that only left the bathroom and dressing room. Well, I couldn't possibly go to those so I just let myself lie down on his bed. I played with my phone while waiting for him.

Then, I heard the sound of door unlocking and footsteps.

'Finally, he's coming. Ke-ke-ke. I hope you're prepared for my revenge.'