Chapter 2
My marriage to Adrian was totally unexpected.
The Creature Management Agency made sure that every hidden creature living among humans got matched with their most compatible partner when they hit 25.
Originally, my match was a young lion, and our compatibility score was a whopping 95%. That was already off the charts in the matching system.
But the day before we were supposed to get our marriage license, I got a call from the Creature Management Agency.
They'd found a merman who was a perfect 100% match for me.
Getting matched with an animal wasn't anything new these days, but a merman? That was a first for me.
The agency said Adrian was a prince of the merman tribe. If it weren't for all the recent tech advances that let us track and register creatures even out at sea, they never would've come ashore to find a match.
The day we got our marriage license, I fell for him at first sight.
He was ridiculously handsome. His blue eyes held a deep, endless beauty, and I couldn't help but get lost in them.
Maybe I was too happy the whole time we were getting our marriage license, so I didn't even notice how cold Adrian was.
It wasn't until our very first night at home, when he asked if we could sleep in separate rooms, that I finally realized he wasn't into me.
He was only with me because the Creature Management Agency forced him to be with his 100% match—me.
For six months after we got married, I was nothing but gentle and caring, but Adrian kept brushing me off, barely acknowledging me.
Finally, after getting the cold shoulder one too many times, I snapped.
Damn, we were already married and he was still turning me down? Guess I'd been way too soft on him.
After that day, our relationship took a turn for the forced love.
And I finally got a taste of what a merman had to offer.
Turns out, the live chat was right. Mermen really did come with a double feature.
But who could've guessed? Just when I thought Adrian would hate me forever, I found out he'd actually liked me from the very beginning.
Turns out he was just stubborn. That wasn't a problem. A few more kisses and he'd melt for sure.
Thinking that, I flashed a big grin and closed my eyes.
The next morning, when I came downstairs, Adrian was sitting on the living room couch, reading the newspaper.
The moment I saw him, I froze for a second.
He was rocking a white shirt and light blue jeans, and with that devilishly handsome face, he looked every bit the campus heartthrob.
I loved seeing him in light colors, especially white. Every time he wore it, I'd shower him with compliments, telling him he was one of a kind. And honestly, my thirst for him kept skyrocketing.
Adrian must've noticed, because less than a month after we got married, his entire wardrobe had switched to light colors.
Was he flirting with me or something?
I noticed him sneaking glances at me from the corner of his eye. He straightened his already straight back even more.
I caught all his little moves.
But I pretended not to see anything and headed straight for the dining table.
The comments started rolling in.
[Game over. White shirt failed. Adrian, your wife is done with you.]
[Adrian's been holding the same page of the newspaper for half an hour. He's reciting it or what?]
[After Emily went back to the bedroom last night, the bathroom light was on for half the night, and when it was finally done, there was water everywhere.]
[Totally get it. After all, the guy's got a double feature to handle.]
After checking out the live chat, I was actually not that perverted after all.