I had just finished taking a shower when I heard Sebastian calling my name. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, his half-damp hair messy and tousled. His face, fresh and glowing after his shower, made me fall for him all over again. For a moment, it all felt like a dream—I still couldn’t believe he was officially my husband now.
I suddenly remembered Amelie’s request earlier, asking me to promise I would never leave Sebastian no matter what happened.
I smiled to myself. As if I needed to be asked—I could never walk away from a man like him. Even without Amelie's request, there was no way I would ever leave Sebastian. To me, he was the perfect husband—so kind and full of love.

"What’s up?" I asked, walking over to him while combing through my own hair, which was still slightly damp.

"Come here first. Before we head down for dinner, we need to make sure our story matches—just in case Mom gets curious and asks why we came home so late," Sebastian said, ruffling his hair.

I nodded and sat down next to him.
A soft scent of our shared shampoo and soap wafted from Sebastian's body, making me blush again. It was such a small thing, but it made my heart flutter—sharing the same shampoo and soap now that we lived together.

Sebastian glanced at me with a puzzled look. "What's wrong, El?"

I lowered my head, trying to hide my smile, but quickly looked back at him.
"Nothing! I’m just... happy."

"Happy? About what? Is there something you're not telling me?" he said, half-joking but half-serious.

I waved my hand. "No, it’s nothing serious," I said quickly, shaking my head. "Just something silly that made me really happy."

"What is it?" he asked, drying his hair with the towel still hanging loosely around his neck.

"It's... the scent of the shampoo and soap..." I mumbled, staring down at the floor.
Oh gosh, El, why would you blurt that out so honestly? I scolded myself internally.

"The scent of... soap and shampoo?" Sebastian said, sniffing himself instinctively. "You don’t like it?"

"No! I *do* like it!" I protested. "I said it made me happy, remember?"

"Oh, right," he chuckled. "So, what about it? What’s making you so happy about our soap and shampoo?"

"I thought we were supposed to plan our story! Why are you suddenly so nosy about soap scents?" I grumbled, trying to hide my embarrassment.

Sebastian laughed and said, "I’m not moving on until you explain why this made you so happy."

I sighed. "It's because... the smell is the same for both of us. It means we're sharing everything now, even the little things like soap and shampoo... because we’re living together as husband and wife."

Sebastian let out a soft laugh, clearly amused by my answer.
"Oh, El, my love... I thought it was something serious! Here you are, smiling to yourself over something so cute," he said, pulling me into his arms.
"You’re too adorable," he murmured, planting a soft kiss on my forehead, making my heart pound wildly.

"Come on, let’s not get sidetracked—Mom’s waiting for us," I said, trying to gently push him away.

"But you're just too cute, I can't help it!" he said, lightly pinching my nose.

"Alright, seriously now, what’s our story if Mom asks?" I reminded him.

For the next ten minutes or so, we discussed and rehearsed a believable explanation, trying to come up with something reasonable so Mom wouldn’t get too suspicious or start asking too many questions.
It wasn’t like we wanted to lie to her—we just thought there was no need for Mom or even Amelie to worry about the things we were dealing with at the moment.

"Okay, let’s go have dinner. I can’t wait to choose my present!" Sebastian said excitedly, jumping up and grabbing my hand.

"What? I told you—you’re not getting your present tonight! Later!" I protested.

"No way! After dinner, I’m picking my own gift!" he insisted stubbornly, practically dragging me downstairs alongside him.

***

The alarm on my phone startled me awake.
I had forgotten to turn it off last night—there was no need for it today since it was a holiday and I didn’t have classes.

I turned to look beside me, finding Sebastian still sleeping soundly, his handsome face peaceful and relaxed.
Again, something so simple made me blush—waking up next to the man I loved.

My mind wandered back to last night.
Dinner with Mom had gone smoothly. Just as Sebastian predicted, she had a lot of questions, but thankfully, the answers we prepared satisfied her curiosity.

After dinner, we went back upstairs to rest.
But of course, Sebastian wasn’t done pestering me about the whole “present” thing.
He kept nagging, asking me to let him pick his own gift.

In the end, it turned out Sebastian had *his* own surprise for me.
He handed me a wrapped package.
"I want you to accept this as your surprise gift for me," he said, grinning mischievously.

I frowned in confusion. "Wait, what? Your gift... is for *me*? I don't get it!"

"Just open it, and you’ll see," he said with a half-smirk that made me even more curious.

I carefully tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a medium-sized, ivory-colored box.
What is this? I wondered.

"Come on, open it already! I want you to wear it—for me," Sebastian urged, reading the confusion on my face.

When I finally opened the box, I gasped.
Inside was a beautiful black lingerie set, made of the softest fabric.

"Um... what’s this?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Put it on, please? That’s what I want as my surprise," Sebastian said, winking at me cheekily.

I flushed.
"Do I really have to wear it *now*?"

"No, you can wait until next year if you want..." he pouted playfully, his sexy lips making him look even more irresistible.
I laughed awkwardly.
"Fine, fine... I’ll wear it. Just for you."

And well... let’s just say the night ended on a very sweet and memorable note.
Even now, under the blanket, I could still feel the delicate fabric against my skin, and I blushed remembering everything.
Sebastian had said last night that for him, *I* was the real special surprise.
Such a sweet talker!

I felt Sebastian stirring beside me.
He was groping around, half-asleep, probably looking for me.
Quickly, I closed my eyes, pretending to still be fast asleep.
Once his hand found me, he sighed in contentment, pulling me close again before drifting back to sleep, his soft snores filling the room.

I bit my lip, holding back a giggle.
My heart was bursting with happiness.

---