He used to be so romantic.
The thought crossed Althea's mind for a fleeting moment, as did a thousand matching others in the short while since she and Isagi had arrived at Bonnie's cafe for their date. She cupped her half-empty porcelain coffee mug, letting the warmth heat her freezing hands as a rather loud sigh escaped from her red painted lips. Then she glanced at Isagi, hoping for any sign that he finally noticed her disdain; only to bite her bottom lip in frustration.
Of course, he wasn't aware of her annoyance, or rather, he was too busy to notice.
Maybe it would've made a difference if he'd been working, checking the news—or even cheating, for goodness' sake. But NO, Althea knew Isagi was doing anything but, which coaxed another exaggerated sigh from her as she raised her mug and took a hearty sip. As expected, the hot liquid seeped into her bones, chasing away the cold and sending a warmth slithering up her spine that made her groan in pleasure.
Still nothing.
Making a mental note to snatch his phone if he ignored her this time, Althea reached for her fur scarf the color of snow coating the roads outside, and tossed it vigorously over the flushed skin of her neck. A pang of acidic annoyance squeezed something inside her at the momentary relief that coursed through her body when finally, Isagi snapped from whatever online fantasy conspiracy thread he was reading and sheepishly glanced at her.
He locked his device, placed it on the table, and offered a half smile that looked more like a guilty grimace. It didn't stop her.
"Your coffee is getting cold," she announced, the bite in her tone unmistakable.
A whiff of chocolate filled her nostrils, its sweetness accentuated by the sudden giggle from the couple to their right, their cute whispered conversations a stark contrast to Althea's sour date which made her wish they had watched a rom-com at home instead. As if in alignment with her thoughts, the sweet aroma was suddenly replaced by a rich, woody cologne that reminded her so much of fall, though Althea couldn't help but grimace. She'd always had a sensitive nose, but this particular scent was exceptionally strong, almost as if it had been directly sprayed into her nostrils.
To his credit, Isagi pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her, his brown almond eyes crinkling on the edges. "Still don't like the smell of strong perfumes I see," he grinned, pearly white teeth coming out in the show.
"Wow, such a groundbreaking discovery after seven years of dating the girl you grew up with at an orphanage. You should be given the boyfriend of the year award," Althea replied in a sarcastic tone, reaching for her coffee and covering her nose at the same time since the woody scent seemed to intensify with each passing second.
"Aww come on babe, I didn't mean to ignore you. It's just that—"
"You found new posts about beast attacks and suddenly decided that was more important than the date you claim you planned for two fucking months?" Althea snapped.
Isagi winced.
She soon understood why as the couples surrounding them turned their heads in their direction—even the cute whispery duo from before. But Althea didn't care. She was already annoyed by her boyfriend's lack of festive romance, what weight did a few stares from strangers carry?
"Okay listen," Isagi began after whispering apologies to their table mates, "I'm sorry that I was too focused on my phone and not our date, but I just can't help myself when people who have the same hazy trauma as me pop up online. But," he added after Althea scowled at him, "I will stop since you're right. Today is our day. I should be focusing on us."
Only for today.
Althea could almost hear him utter the words, but instead, Isagi flashed a grin that she was all too familiar with now. A grin that, back in the day, used to make her giddy and skittish. She couldn't help but notice how lately, that same smile made her feel nothing notable. A little restless, yes, but she was self-aware enough to know it had nothing to do with Isagi's cute face and tanned muscles, but rather, with the fact that their all-ages appropriate romance seemed to be dying. Daily.
They had barely progressed past the kissing phase for fucks sake, but oddly enough, she was okay with that; just as she was sure Isagi was too. And maybe that was the problem: the lack of intimacy, or them being okay with it.
"Earth to Althea," Isagi wrapped his big calloused hands around hers now that she was done covering her nose. The cologne had disappeared, probably because its wearer had left. After stroking the back of her hand twice, he added, "Your nails are pretty."
Finally. Finally.
He was acting like a real boyfriend. Just like he did when he told her they were visiting the famous Bonnie's cafe for their Christmas date that morning. The same Bonnies that the filthy rich in New York frequented. The same Bonnie's that required seat reservations a few weeks, if not months, before seasonal events like Christmas given its popularity, and the same Bonnie's that people in her caliber of wealth only visited during special days like this.
All hail holiday discounts.
Althea wasn't surprised when Isagi revealed he had saved up the money for a good two months just to secure the table, or when she looked at the menu card and discovered the food cost twice the price of what she was used to buying despite the discounts—though the taste did surpass what she perceived as normal. And then there was the elegant service style, and the way Bonnie's interior looked like something straight out of a Bridgerton movie scene.
The regal cream and brown comfortable chairs they were seated on, the matching tables with intricate flowery shapes up their legs cased in gold that Althea knew could pay for her life insurance and leave bits of change, the heaters that sent a delicious warmth sizzling around the edifice, and the waiters dressed like nineteenth-century butlers.
Everything was perfect.
So perfect Althea had decided the moment she stepped into the cafe that she would try and let Isagi off the hook at times during their date. Only, no sooner had they sat down did his phone chime and he was already in a trance trying to find evidence of the otherworldly evil that ruined his life and made him an orphan, leaving Althea to fend for herself in a room full of lovers swooning over each other.
As if he was following her train of thought, Isagi raised her hands and planted a warm kiss there and purred, "Aww come on Althea, I said I was going to stop looking at my phone." Another rub and kiss before he added, "Tell you what, I will switch it off now and we can-"
He didn't get to finish before a phone call interrupted him, shattering whatever spell he had almost woven into Althea's mind. She watched as his brows shot up a little when he noticed the caller ID. Then, to her horror, his fingers moved from her hands up to his collar where his late father's scout badge rested, and he started stroking it gently.
That wasn't a good sign.
Because she knew exactly what was about to happen, Althea stood before Isagi could react and snatched his phone from the table, just when the call ended.
Good.
"You're right. We should switch off your phone before it disturbs us again," she said in a rather sweet voice, flipping it so she could do just that, only to freeze when the caller ID reflected on the screen as another call came through from—
"The Christmas present delivery man?" Althea slowly read the name out loud. After a momentary beat of silence, she glanced at Isagi, arching a perfect brow.
"For the kids," he blurted out, "I hired someone who was going to act as Santa for the kids back home since we weren't going to be with them today, and, well, Gabriela and Melissa must be busy preparing food by now so I wanted to lessen their burden."
The sincerity in his tone was enough to tell Althea he was telling the truth, but her gut still said otherwise. Why was he rubbing his father's badge then when the call had nothing to do with another piece of beast-hunting evidence?
It made no sense.
Then again, nothing about her boyfriend's obsession with beasts made sense. She tolerated it only because it included a sensitive topic for him: his parents' death.
Without further ado, Althea handed Isagi his phone back. "Here, sorry for suddenly lashing out."
"It's okay," he cooed, deliberately stroking her hand as he accepted the device. Again, no sparks flew. Althea wondered, not for the first time, what their sex would be like if touching did nothing to her at all.
All of a sudden, Isagi stood from his seat, making Althea freeze. "Where are you going?" She asked.
"To take the call. I have some set of instructions to give the guy, and well, a present to pick up from a nearby store," Isagi offered, a crimson flush coloring his cheeks.
Oh. Oh.
A burning sensation masked Althea's cheeks and she was sure her face was red from blushing too. Her first reaction to him for the day.
"Don't take too long," she reminded him. And just like that, her Christmas date left, his absence carving a hollow space in the packed cafe.
Thankfully, the love birds were so fixated on each other, they didn't even notice the empty spot. But it was precisely because of their sickening romances that Althea found the room suffocating. So after waiting a few minutes where Isagi didn't show any signs of returning soon, and where some of the couples started to depart, she decided to visit the restroom, if only to find something to keep her busy before her boyfriend's return.
By the time she was done taking selfies and retouching her makeup, Althea was sure Isagi would be waiting for her at their table, so she went back to the cafe—
Only to find it desolate of any human presence, well, except for one. A quick scan of the earthy-themed perimeter had her eyes landing on the back of a stranger sitting alone amidst the empty room, so naturally, she approached him. Not that she had any choice given that he was seated at the very table she had left vacant a while ago.
After weaving through the labyrinth of tables and chairs wondering where everyone had disappeared to, Althea finally arrived at her set destination and winced as a woody cologne punched her in the face.
So it was him.
"Excuse me sir, but these seats are-"
"Last time I checked I paid a hefty sum to have some peace in this cafe without pests bothering me, or did you suddenly change your mind, Manager?" The man, a rather pale, annoyingly good-looking asshole, snapped.
His voice was cold enough to make Althea freeze, but his words thawed the ice in an instant.
Pest?
Surely he didn't just belittle her and expect that she prostrate herself and apologize did he? What, he was in a nineteenth-century themed cafe, dressed in what no doubt was a custom-made designer suit and he suddenly thought he was some sort of unmatched king? Well, he could go fuck himself with his royal scepter for all she cared.
She was done being accommodating to man-children for the day.
Althea was about to open her mouth and tell him exactly what she thought of his snobby personality when a chubby man with a kind-looking face suddenly interrupted her.
"I am sorry for the inconvenience sir. It seems she was in the restroom when the others left a while ago," he apologized in a rushed, soothing tone, to which the snobby asshole regarded without even acknowledging his presence, or better yet, glancing at him and Althea.
Another wave of curses clogged in Althea's throat, ready to land on him like missiles, but the manager clipped her tongue again by flipping around to face her after a low bow at the asshole, then he gently tugged her to the far end of the cafe where the counter was.
"What's going on? Where is everyone?" Althea managed to ask, brushing a strand of long curly auburn hair behind her ear.
The manager simply pulled out his tablet, flicked his finger on the screen a couple of seconds before he asked, "Are you by any chance Mrs Morgan?"
Furrowing her brows, Althea nodded.
"Good, I was beginning to wonder where you had disappeared to. Your husband paid the tab before he left and said to give you this," he added, pulling out an envelope and a wrapped gift from behind the counter and handing them to her.
Ignoring the insinuation that she was married to Isagi since they shared the same last name, Althea accepted the envelope and tucked the gift under her armpit before asking, "He already paid the tab?"
"Yes, everyone did. We were only open for half the day to make time for his arrival," the Manager nodded behind Althea at the lonely snob, making her grimace.
What was the point of booking the entire cafe and ruining Christmas dates just to sit alone—unless he was auditioning to be the Grinch? The crease on Althea's brow intensified as she pulled out the paper inside the envelope and paused.
It was a letter. A very long, messy letter. One that Althea knew wasn't going to be fun reading from how rushed Isagi's handwriting looked.
"Now it would be lovely if you could just please take your belongings and kindly give our client the space he paid for. And to compensate for the inconvenience, we will give you a couple's all-expense-paid coupon that you and your husband can use in the future. How does that sound?"
But Althea wasn't listening to the manager. Nor did she frown as another whiff of the woody cologne masked her nose. For in the letter was the confirmation of the warning her gut had been trying to deliver a moment ago.
And she had been stupid enough to ignore it.