章 42: Someone Like Me...

For a long while, the stylish girls were left awed by the effortless display of suaveness by a young man who looked like he was preparing to take the lead role in a movie. Bella noticed this out of the corner of her eye, as she was always stealing glances at her man, but this only served to further solidify her goal to murder all the bitches who even so much as looked his way.

Yet, there was also a part of her that was slightly astounded by the speed his hands flashed through the bookstore aisles.

'Has Cass already begun nearing the C-Rank in terms of speed?? But it has only been, at most, four weeks since his seal started to weaken…! If he keeps progressing at this rate, then even I might encounter some trouble when he turns 18!!'

Bella was seriously debating whether she should abandon the original plan and take him away by force right here and now. However, that was when she remembered that run-down father of hers.

'My old man may be a pushover among the high nobility of Nightingale, but he is still a Duke-level vampire. As long as my hubby doesn't exceed the limits of this world by the time he turns 18, I can just have that old codger help me take him away by force!'

As if she had figured it all out, Bella snorted proudly and placed an especially ostentatious book on the top shelf of one of the many shelves in the large bookstore. After sorting through a few more, she shot a glance toward where Cassius just was, only to find that his cart was empty, with him now pushing it and a few other carts back to the front desk.

Knowing that those carts were the last of the major workload for the day made Bella's expression sour ever so slightly.

Even though she knew it was inevitable that they had to part ways for now, it still greatly annoyed her to know that her hubby had become a delectable slab of steak to all of the blood-bag whores of this world. She wanted to kill everything again… but she found herself achieving higher and higher levels of restraint.

Bella was not usually one who knew when to take a step back, but for the sake of her happily-ever-after, she was willing to hold herself back. The last thing she wanted was her hubby's ire and hate, which would naturally materialize if she killed all the bitches before they could be bonded by a blood contract. Yet none of that would matter after the blood contract, because a deep connection would be formed between both relevant parties.

And once her hubby saw her immense love for him, he would certainly overlook the murder sprees she would dish out!

Although Bella was expectant of the future, she still wore a barely visible expression of extreme sadness when she saw Cassius clock out for the day. That was when she remembered her having the same hours as he did.

Not willing to waste even a single second of her potential time with him, she pulled upon a gust of wind from a nearby window.

"Woah!"

"What's up with the wind in here!?"

"I can't see my goddess!"

"Where did that handsome actor go!?"

The intentional gust of wind temporarily obscured the vision of everyone in the bookstore, and in the same instant that the store doorbell rang with Cassius's departure, Bella flashed from her spot. She moved so fast that not even a full afterimage could be produced in her wake.

When she finally settled down, her elegant profile was already on the first floor, with the rest of her designated books somehow miraculously put in their correct places on the second floor.

Bella's tremendous speed far surpassed that of even A-Rank Hunters, yet not a single person was able to determine that she moved at all.

When her devout fans saw their goddess briefly passing on the baton to the ones taking the next shift, they widened their eyes in bewilderment. They were put in even more of a stun lock when they saw that very same goddess race out the front door and catch up to the handsome bastard from before.

For once, both the girls and the guys felt the same about this matter, as they seethed in frustration, envy, and jealousy…

—---------

Meanwhile, a few dozen steps outside Bookworm's Haven.

"Hmm?" Cassius's senses perked up, prompting him to turn his head behind him, only to see the stunning profile of his coworker. "What are you doing out here?"

"What? Am I not allowed to leave my shift as well?" Bella coldly sniffed, then adjusted her pace to his, with them both walking side by side.

They received many stares due to their unnatural beauty, but neither paid any heed to the attention. Rather, they were too caught up in mulling over what the other was thinking to care about things like the ogling gawks of passersby.

Answering her, Cassius shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant… I am just puzzled as to why you are following me."

"Following you??" Bella snorted in displeasure. "You must really believe yourself to be quite the hotshot. Why would I purposefully follow you home? We are simply going in the same direction, as I have some business to attend to in C-block."

Cassius nearly believed what she was saying, at least until she mentioned the name of his neighborhood. "How did you know that I lived in C-block?"

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, finding something especially off about the starry-eyed beauty.

Bella's eyelids nervously twitched, but she concealed it with an apathetic harrumph. "I just happened to see your address on your application paper when you came in at the same time as me for your interview…! Do you honestly think that I would have any reason to follow someone like you??"

"Someone like me…" Cassius's keen gleam quickly dimmed, instead replaced with a bit of glumness. "I guess someone like me would indeed not receive such treatment."