ARTEMIS' POV:-

　　It was Monday morning. After the college interview, I went back to the penthouse to spend the rest of my day, preparing for my college interviews. I was a little nervous but Elijah had been very supportive towards me. I stepped out of the elevator only to find the whole penthouse trashed. "What the fuck is going on here?" I yelled loudly as I walked into the apartment.

　　The kitchen smelled like sewer. I saw dishes everywhere in the apartment. The floor had crumbs all over. I guess, someone was trying to cook. "I was just cooking Elijah's favourite dish for him. He likes shrimp soup so much." Alisa replied to me in a low tone. She was inside the apartment when Elijah asked her to stay in her apartment.

　　Ever since that day, Elijah asked Alisa to stay away from me. I was not expecting her to be at his apartment. "Then why the hell are you here? You should have just trashed your own place instead of coming here. I am not cleaning this up. You are doing it on your own." I growled at her angrily as I looked around the apartment. It looked like stray dogs were unleashed in the penthouse.

　　I pinched my nose tightly as I walked towards my bedroom. I shut the door and turned on the humidifiers to get rid of that pungent smell out of my bedroom. I could only imagine how angry Elijah would be the moment he would come back home after work.

　　Elijah never let me cook me. I figured that he just didn't want me to worry about anything else. But the gesture of him cooking for me was just so cute. I couldn't help but feel like the queen. Because he treated me like one. After a long warm bath, I stepped out of the bathroom. I stepped out of my bedroom with a bathrobe around my body.

　　I was waiting for my food to arrive. I didn't have the energy to make something for myself. Actually, I didn't have the tolerance to cook something while standing in the kitchen that smelled like sewer. So I ordered food and paid for it online. And I was waiting for my food to arrive.

　　Since I was a painter, Elijah placed a few paintings of mine in his office. Some of his partners asked me to paint something beautiful for their offices as well. And one of them actually placed one of my paintings in an art gallery. Since then, I have been practically earning tons. If I wanted, I could move out of Elijah's apartment. But since I had gotten habitual of Elijah being around me all the time, I preferred to live with him.

　　He never did anything inappropriate. He never touched me without my permission. He always took care of me. And ever since he called me his girlfriend, he started texting me often to ask about my day. And remind me that I was special to him.

　　It was all very much like a fairy tale that I actually never believed. Things that sounded too good to be true, while living with Elijah, they all started to become my reality. I checked my phone for the time and also to check for the notification. To my surprise, there was a delivery notification on my phone. But I hadn't received my food.

　　I was about to call the services to complain. That's when Alisa stepped out of the dining room alone with the bags of the restaurant I ordered the food from. "Oh my God! You have got to be kidding me. Did you eat all my food?" I growled at Alisa angrily while clenching my fists angrily.

　　She looked at the bags in her hands and shrugged her shoulders. "I was hungry. There was nothing in the fridge. Then this arrived. So I ate it. What's the big deal? It was just food. You can order again." Alisa replied to me in a low tone while shrugging her shoulders carelessly. This angered me more than ever. She actually ate my food without paying me.

　　"You are paying me back for the food you just ate. And if you didn't, I will make sure you will never step into this apartment ever again. I can't believe it." I spat those bitter words on her face as I turned around and walked back towards my bedroom. I was starving but I didn't have the strength to wait for food anymore.

　　I was exhausted because I had been preparing for my college interviews all this long. I changed into Elijah's t-shirt and my comfy shorts. I laid down on the bed. Even though my stomach was growling, I still didn't take long to fall asleep. I was just too tired to do anything at all.

　　I opened my eyes again as I heard someone yelling. I was still exhausted. And I didn't want to wake up. But whoever was screaming, was not letting me sleep. I crawled out of the bed, yawning lazily and rubbing my eyes. I wrapped my arms above my chest and stepped out of my bedroom. I was unaware of anything that was actually happening outside of my bedroom.

　　As soon as I stepped out of my bedroom,my nostrils literally burnt with this pungent odour all over the apartment. I had to pinch my nose tightly to protect my lungs. "What is going on? I asked in a lazy tone as I walked towards the spot where Elijah was standing. Elijah looked at me and his angry eyes softened up.

　　He opened one of his arms for me. I approached him and wrapped my arms around his torso. Elijah also wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "Did I wake you up, baby girl?" Elijah asked me in a low tone while he was rubbing his hand gently on my back. He had woken me up. But I just couldn't tell him that.

　　I was not that cruel. I knew that it was supposed to be an extra busy day for him. The exhaustion had wrinkled his face. "Forget about me. What is going on here? What is this smell? It is disgusting." I asked Elijah in a low tone while I buried my face in his chest to fill my lungs with his beautiful masculine scent.

　　"Someone destroyed my whole kitchen. At first, I thought someone dumped a bunch of decomposed bodies inside my apartment. But then I saw my apartment and I realised that someone tried to cook who didn't even know how to boil eggs." Elijah growled angrily at Alisa. He was glaring at Alisa while he was roasting her.

　　It was satisfying to hear Elijah show Alisa her place. And not just that, he was yelling at Alisa. "What are you smiling at? Do you think it's funny? At least I was trying to do something for Elijah. Unlike you, who takes advantage of him." Alisa yelled at me as she might have seen a smile on my face. I had no idea I was smiling until Alisa pointed it at me.

　　I turned my face towards Elijah and was about to explain myself. But my stomach suddenly growled loudly, reminding me of the fact that I hadn't had anything after breakfast. Elijah's eyes widened as he quickly placed his hand on my empty belly. "You are hungry. Shit! I forgot about it. Anyways, let's not waste our time. Go and get ready. I am taking you out." Elijah spoke out loudly for Alisa to hear him loud and clear.

　　Alisa stepped forward. She had a sluty smile on her face. "Why are you going outside, Elijah? I cooked for us both. Let's eat together. Just like the old times. When I used to cook for you." Alisa asked Elijah in a honey sweet tone as she grabbed Elijah's hand. I felt flames of jealousy and rage inside me. I wanted to grab her hand and rip it off of her body. Before I could have reacted, Elijah pulled his hand off of her hold and wrapped that arm around my waist to pull me closer to himself.

　　He was literally showing me off to Alisa. It made me feel so happy. That Elijah was showing me off to Alisa. She literally thought she could have Elijah. Elijah no longer belonged to her. "Clean up this place before we come back home. Artemis keeps this apartment spotless. And I want it the same way when we come back home. And throw that trash you just made. The smell of that food is enough for me to say that it is not edible. And please, next time, trash your own apartment like this." Elijah growled at Alisa in an angry tone. Without waiting for her response, Elijah pulled me towards my bedroom. I was still exhausted but those things he just said to Alisa, made me happy. She was trying to steal my man. And that made me angry. Very angry.