Throughout the journey, Arka stayed silent and stopped paying attention to whatever Nara was doing. He had resigned himself to the situation and just wanted to reach his home as quickly as possible.
Nara didn't ask anything either. She simply focused on watching the scenery change from rice fields and forests into a city filled with skyscrapers lining every street.
Darrel turned into a large apartment building and drove the car into the parking area. "Get out and follow me," he said after sitting in silence for a while.
Nara got out without saying a word. She followed Darrel into the apartment building, unable to hide her awe at the luxurious lobby.
Arka glanced at Nara and sneered inwardly. What a country bumpkin!
Arka headed toward a private elevator separate from the public ones. Nara studied the elevator's lavish interior. Arka pressed the P5 button, and the elevator began to rise.
"Where are we going?" Nara finally asked where they were headed. She knew there had to be a special reason this man was bringing her to a place this luxurious.
"My home," he replied curtly.
Nara's eyes widened, and she crossed both arms over her chest. "What are you planning to do!" the girl cried.
Arka glanced indifferently at the girl beside him, looking her up and down. "As if there's anything worth looking at," he muttered.
Nara heard him and was furious. She dropped her arms from her chest. "Still, people have to be careful around the opposite sex at our age!"
Arka sighed, and then the elevator doors opened. Nara was stunned again when she saw the enormous living room beyond them. The entire city stretched out below them from this height.
"Your room is over here." Arka opened the door to a huge bedroom on the first floor of the penthouse.
"Wait, I'm staying here?" Nara asked in confusion.
"Then where do you want to stay?" Arka asked in a subdued tone. He was already exhausted from dealing with the village girl beside him.
Nara furrowed both brows. "Unmarried men and women aren't allowed to live under the same roof! Don't you know that, sir?"
Arka drew a deep breath and slowly let it out.
"Just stay here for the time being. If this arranged marriage falls through, you can leave. Besides, my bedroom and office are on the second floor. So even though we'll be living in the same house, we won't see each other often."
Nara continued shaking her head. "Can't you just pay for my boardinghouse or rental expenses? We don't have to go as far as living together like this."
Arka chuckled. "Do you think your life will stay the same after our engagement is announced? Remember, you're the fiancée-to-be of the sole heir to the largest law firm in the country—the Wijaya Law Firm."
"So what? I'm not involved in managing your law firm, am I?"
Arka pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hah... I mean, you could become a target for a lot of people, Miss. You need to understand that this line of work can create enemies too. What do you think they'll assume when they see a young woman who's engaged to the sole heir of Wijaya living alone in a tiny boardinghouse without any protection?"
"Isn't that just your own assumption? Like you said, there's nothing anyone could see in me." Nara deliberately brought up what Arka had said in the elevator.
Arka fell silent. "It's not an assumption..." he murmured.
"What? So you mean something like that has happened before?" Nara asked seriously.
Arka's gaze darkened, as though he didn't want to continue the conversation.
"Back to the topic. Just stay here and make yourself comfortable. I already told you that my bedroom and office are on the second floor. So as long as you don't go upstairs, the chances of us running into each other are extremely small."
Noticing the change in Arka's expression, Nara finally nodded. Maybe it was a painful, sensitive subject for him.