So now, Luke didn’t want to be like Dave, but that didn’t an he wouldn’t play so sches to get closer to Hera. He knew the others would.
He knew that Zhane hadn’t asked for equal chances for everyone out of fairness; he did it because he feared soone might monopolize Hera’s attention, leaving the rest without a chance. As soone as busy as Zhane, he was already at a disadvantage, whereas soone like Dave, with plenty of free ti, had a clear advantage.
By asking for an equal chance, Zhane was giving himself a breather, preventing himself from feeling flustered. It was only Dave who grew impatient and flustered, knowing he had no inherent advantage over the others.
Luke stood beside Hera, helping her fold her long sleeves before they began washing the dishes together. His forearms lightly brushed against hers as he asked, "Do you have any plans after this?"
Hera felt a tingle where his skin touched hers, but she pretended not to notice and continued washing the dishes after folding her long sleeves. "Yes, I need to go to school since it’s the first day and there’s a welcoming ceremony for the freshn," she answered matter-of-factly. Luke smiled at her, clearly pleased.
"Can I take you there?" His voice was gentle, making it difficult for Hera to turn him down. His considerate tone, combined with his cautious smile, as if he were afraid of annoying her, made it even harder to refuse.
Hera stopped what she was doing and looked Luke straight in the eye. She had long noticed the dark circles and red veins in his eyes. If she was not mistaken, Luke had yet to get any sleep. He was probably busy with company matters, yet he still took the ti to cook for her and considerately offered to send her to school.
She gently shook her head, but Luke didn’t feel discouraged. He smiled back, pleasantly surprised when Hera showed concern for him. This unexpected gesture made him happier than if he had sent her to school.
"You should rest first. You’ve already cooked for , and that ans a lot. I really appreciate your consideration, but this is enough for ." With that, Hera ended the conversation, making it clear the topic was not up for further discussion. Luke understood and didn’t bring it up again.
After they finished washing the dishes, Luke and Hera dried their hands with a towel. When she was done, Hera went to her bag, pulled out a small item, and returned to him. "Here," she said, more animated this ti. "I know you haven’t slept yet—I can see your dark circles from miles away. Put this on so your under-eye area. It will help your skin and the dark circles will fade after so sleep and prevent it from looking puffy." She placed the cream in his hand and started to turn away, but Luke gently caught her hand before she could leave.
"Will you help put it on?" Luke asked with a hint of eagerness and expectation, looking almost like a child. Or maybe he had already grasped Hera’s weakness in the short ti she had stayed at his place. That kind of insight was to be expected from the male lead.
Just looking at his face, Hera knew deep inside that she couldn’t resist. ’To hell with handso n,’ she chided herself inwardly, but her expression remained unchanged as she nodded slightly. Luke led her to the couch where her trench coat and bag were. He made Hera sit down, puzzling her about what he was up to. She had expected him to crouch in front of her so she could apply the cream under his eyes, considering he was too tall for her to reach otherwise.
But instead of crouching, Luke lay down on the couch, resting his head on Hera’s lap. His hands were folded over his stomach, and his eyes were closed. A subtle smile played on his lips as he waited for Hera to start applying the cream.
"This..." Hera began to protest but realized she couldn’t think of a better way to apply the cream.
"If I crouched in front of you, we’d end up in a sowhat suggestive position. I can’t have you climbing on a chair to reach , so I figured this would be the most innocent option, don’t you think?" His words made sense, but his tone was anything but innocent, sounding rather suggestive.
Hera decided not to dwell on it any longer, eager to get it over with. ’It was my decision to steal the male leads away from Alice. No pain, no gain,’ she reminded herself. If she truly wanted to steal the male leads, she had to accept that they were all sensual creatures who wouldn’t back down. The only way out would be to step back and give the position back to Alice.
She scooped a small amount of the cream with her index finger and began applying it under his eyes. "You sll nice. I never knew a flowery scent could be this relaxing and enticing at the sa ti," Luke said, his eyes slowly opening. Hera froze midway, eting his gaze up close. His golden orbs glinted with amusent. "Tell , what perfu are you wearing? Hmm?" he asked, reaching out to touch so locks of her hair resting on her shoulders.
"Why, are you planning to use it too?" Hera asked, her eyebrows raised in clear amusent.
Luke chuckled softly, his deep, magnetic chuckle reverberating in the room. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, his eyes glowing with a hint of amusent.
"No," he said, twirling Hera’s strand of hair gently. "But I’ll buy the entire brand so you can be the only one who uses it. This perfu seems like it was made for you," he added sincerely.
Hera chuckled softly. "What if there is more than one perfu that suits ? Would you still do the sa?" Her tone was playful, not expecting Luke to smile and nod in response.
"Why not? I have the ans to make it happen. It would bother to sll the sa perfu on another woman, knowing it wouldn’t be as perfect as it is on you. It would feel a bit offensive," Luke replied with a smile.
"Why would that be offensive? It’s just a perfu." Hera absentmindedly flicked Luke’s forehead, montarily forgetting that he was one of the male leads. It was a habit she picked up from Athena whenever she spoke in such a manner, and her hand moved quicker than her thoughts, catching Luke off guard.
But Luke like this kind of intimacy with Hera, his gaze shifted a little more intensely at her. Hera has gotten a little familiar with that kind of gaze that was similar to how Leo looked at her when he was drugged, it was a little lighter than Leo, but it was still full of hunger and amusent.
But Luke resisted acting on it and soon regained his composure, returning to his usual gentle and calm deanor. Hera inwardly sighed with relief as she gathered her things to head to her campus.
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