“Are you saying you feel everything more than I do?”


    Tyler let out a soft, husky chuckle. His chest vibrated subtly. Rachel could feel the strong beat of his heart through his shirt. The warmth from his body was nearly giving her a burn.


    She rolled her eyes and pinched him again.


    “Tyler, you’re seriously annoying. Why do you always say such things?”


    “Well, you started it.”


    Tyler never lost a fight.


    Rachel was so mad that she almost pped him. She started struggling to push him away, but he didn’t


    budge.


    So, she went straight for his weak spot. She pinched his nipples.


    Hiss.


    Tyler instinctively jerked back. Rachel grinned in triumph, shing him a smug, teasing smile.


    Frowning, Tyler rubbed his chest. “Can you not pinch me like that?”


    Rachel wiggled in satisfaction. She was clearly proud of herself.


    Tyler got up and gave her a light pat on the head.


    “Hey, you said it yourself. We’re a perfect match. I won’t ever consider being with someone who’s not an illegitimate child.” Then he muttered to himself, half–jokingly, “Come to think of it, you might be the only illegitimate child in all of Yurelia City.”


    Rachel narrowed her eyes at his rambling. Why did it feel like she had just been roped into something?


    She opened her mouth to exin, just in case he got too full of himself.


    “I didn’t mean it that way. What I was trying to say is-”


    “Just eat. Then get some rest so you’ll be ready for war tomorrow.”


    Tyler cut her off and gave her head another pat, like she was a puppy.


    Rachel smacked his hand away, annoyed. “Can you not pet me like a dog every time?<b>” </b>


    That only egged him on.


    “Then how should I touch you? Like this-”


    He spread out his palm and gave her head a messy rub.


    “Or like this-”


    He curled his fingers like ws and gave her scalp a scratch, like he wasthering up shampoo.


    Rachel stared at him. He was basically giving her a head massage at this point.


    ‘Getting bitten doesn’t justify biting back.‘


    That was how sheforted herself.


    The next morning, Rachel woke up early and sat at the vanity doing her makeup. For a moment, she


    thought that she shouldn’t go too m. Most of the people she would be meeting today were probably Tyler’s rtives.


    She couldn’t look too shy, either. Otherwise, people would start gossiping that she was trying to climb the socialdder, or that she was just after Tyler’s money.


    Low–key but elegant, that was the goal. Something that wouldn’t embarrass Tyler but also wouldn’t


    outshine the rest of the crowd.


    Rachel opted for light makeup and changed into a green dress. Tyler’s family seemed like the


    conservative kind, after all.


    Having met a boyfriend’s family before, she wasn’t too nervous.


    Still, she couldn’t help but think back tost night.


    She had fallen asleep again without realizing it. The n was to lull Tyler to sleep, yet somehow, he ended up lulling her <i>to </i>sleep instead.


    She had been asking Tyler how he made his fortune. After all, he had built LS from the ground up,


    industry leader. That wasn’t something just anyone could do.


    However, Tyler immediately saw through her motive. She was clearly trying to pick his brain.


    Since she got caught, Rachel didn’t even bother denying it. She admitted it. Honestly, who wouldn’t want


    to strike it rich?


    What did Tyler end up saying?


    “You don’t need to do anything. If you want to get rich, just hold on tight to me.”


    It was an outrageously cocky thing to say, but Rachel knew Tyler could back it up.


    When Tyler woke up and saw Rachel already dressed and made up, he noticed that she looked


    Today, she looked more like the daughter of a refined, schrly family.