The large man standing at a towering 192 centimeters tall with short, lustrous white hair with the bangs pulled back over his forehead and possessed a sharp, frosty pair of silver-blue eyes a shade darker than Alex's own swept his ruthless gaze across the other two inhabitants of the armory before letting it rest on Alex.

'Why is it that I have a very bad feeling all of a sudden? Wasn't everything fine just a few minutes ago?'

[Sigh. Need I remind you every time? The joke is getting old and overused.]

'You're old and overused! Your entire family is old and overused!'

[I don't have a family]

'Serves you right!'

[You, also, don't have a family.]

'Hmph, unlike you, I don't actually care.'

[FY]

'Fuck you, too! And all of your future hosts!'

"Alex Aldebaran," The glacial man standing by the door's deep sonorous voice echoed ominously within the armory that suddenly felt much, much smaller than it actually was.

Of course, by now if Alex couldn't tell that the man blocking the doorway was the one and only male lead Nile Betelgeuse and also her dearest husband that she was just asking for, she'd be courting her own death. He seemed to be furious with her.

'Was it Zero?' She cursed that retarded red ball of fluff inwardly, as she was pretty sure the only thing he excelled in was fanning the flames between her and the man before her.

[Who else could it be? It's not like your husband has clairvoyance yet. He doesn't meet the requirements even after 1000 years.]

'Why didn't you intercept him?'

[Host, Zero is a higher being than us normal systems.]

'You are seriously...so useless.' Alex couldn't keep her eye from twitching.

[K. See you in the void space, host. Best of luck!]

'Wait, wh--'

[System 001 is currently offline. Try again later.]

"Nile~ I was just thinking about how much I missed you~" Please don't kill me.

She knew Nile must have been eating an entire ocean's worth of vinegar at the moment, especially since he was pouting and giving her the silent treatment in addition to the cold glare.

Alex would have been trembling like his and her own companions who had all frozen from the immense pressure (where an extra dose was adhered onto Tyler and Faust) that was exerted upon them, but having known the man for three different lifetimes prior to this one she did not miss the flash of grievance within those glassy orbs of his.

Rising from her seated position on the floor, Alex sidled up to his side and reached out for his left bicep with both hands. Unfortunately, Nile had to be stubborn and deflected her attempt, earning her a disdainful snort from the woman standing less than three feet behind him.

Alex rolled her eyes at both Nile and the female lead before shaking her head helplessly, getting ready to head back to her harem.

I tried, honey. But you just had to OD on vinegar and didn't appreciate my honest efforts. You even brought along a random thot ah. Two can play at that game, but I'm pretty sure we both know who will win this round since one of us is clearly more lovestruck than the other. As they say, those who fall first, always lose.

The moment she turned her body back around to face her two beautiful specimen, Alex was immediately pulled back into a large, sturdy chest much to the surprise of everyone on his side. After all, who didn't know that even towards his fiancée, Nile was indifferent and unfeeling?

Yet, to this woman who he previously brushed away like dirt not even a few minutes ago, he dragged her back into his arms and refused to let her go!

Seriously, though. What is with you and taking me from behind every time? She pondered to herself inwardly.

"You cheated on me." The tone of his voice clearly conveying how hurt he felt.

His teammates felt as if their three world views had been crushed and in desperate need to be repaired. Since when did their boss ever have such an expressive voice?!

Pursing her cherry-red lips, Alex countered, "Says the one who's engaged to that random thot behind you."

Nile felt that an invisible weight in his chest had lifted ever so slightly as he let out a pleased chuckle beside her ear, "Are you jealous?"

This time, his wife didn't lead him on only to ditch him by the side of the road like she did in the first world. Also, he wasn't sure of his place in her heart currently, but if she felt even a little bit of discomfort from seeing him together with the thot even if they truly had nothing to to do with each other, then didn't that mean she had him in there somewhere?

However, Alex crushed his hopes that were just beginning to manifest, "I was justifying my actions. I believe in gender equality. If you can run wild and free with some random thot, then I also have the right to mess around with some delicious eye-candy I deem worthy of my praise." She snorted even more disdainfully than the thot previously did. Yes, she had to make everything a competition. What of it?

Alex could imagine the standing ovation she was receiving from the onlookers in and out of the screen. She had read way too many novels whose cold and indifferent male leads chained their "beloved" wives to themselves not allowing them the right to see even their own blood-related brothers! While those male chauvinists were free to be all cozy with the skanks around them, claiming that it was okay because they had nothing going on between them. Well screw them and their nine familial generations! If Alex were one of those female leads, she'd castrate the untrusting male lead and let him know what "we have nothing going on between us" truly meant!

One could only have nothing between another if there really was no longer anything "in between" ah.

But she digressed. As a strong, independent woman who took no shit from anyone--not even her own husband--that kind of BS logic of "wife, you can't do that but I can because I trust myself" did not have a place in her book.

"You're mine," Nile growled into her ear, losing his patience. He had never been the type to share, and once he invested in something, he liked to extort its full worth before discarding it, not leaving even a single drop for anyone else to scavenge.

If Alex heard his thoughts she'd tell him, "I'm pretty sure that ain't love, hon'."

Then again, it wasn't like she, herself, knew what it meant exactly, to love someone.

She could, however, guess pretty much what he was thinking but it didn't matter what he thought to her as long as they continued their fair "give-and-take" transaction. Of course, to ensure her survival in this world she wouldn't voice out something as tactless as that, so Alex decided she had to resolve the misunderstandings plaguing the man's heart, "First of all, how much do you even know?"

Arching her right brow, she turned her head slightly to face him.

Nile's countenance instantly turned solemn as he started listing her crimes from day one, "First and most importantly, Zero told me that you denied your marital status proclaiming yourself to be single and ready to mingle. Also, how those two assholes back there got you lovestruck and ready to fu--"

"Okay, okay. Let's stop right there, en?" Alex's faced had multiple black lines running down her face. Zero was too much of a golden finger! She spoke those exact words to 001 in her own head! Key words being, in. her. head!

After mulling over her misfortune, she assured the clingy man who still had yet to let her go, "Although I said those things, I still call you hubby in my heart, mind, and soul! Also, I just wanted to say something that was catchy and rhymed; those words really suited the situation! What else are you eating vinegar over?" Alex pat the immensely taller man on his shoulder twice before telling him to continue his rant.

Instead of speaking, Nile directed his peeved and wronged gaze towards the two other men in the expansive room full of weaponry and equipment. Alex followed his gaze over to the and understood immediately.

"Hey, hey! We did not have eight whole hours of sex! Even though I personally feel that such an experience would have been great to add to my resume, it didn't happen," She felt no need to tell him about the Drops of Spring since he probably already knew about it from Zero.

Yet, Nile still seemed unconvinced as his scowl did not lighten up even the slightest bit. He couldn't be blamed, since her explanation was truly lacking. If he didn't know about the Drops of Spring, it would have been more than reasonable to assume that sure, she didn't have eight whole hours of threesome sex with the two other men but hell, one minute was plenty enough to make him want to rip their guts right out from their stomachs!

Nevertheless, he still had one last thing among many, many others that truly irked him to no end.

Like he did before, instead of directly telling Alex what sins she had committed against him, Nile started to fondle her body that was distinctly defined through the skin-tight combat suit. His large, calloused hand caressed her abdomen slowly, moving lower...and lower, while his other hand's long slender fingers sensuously traced her attractive collarbone down to her voluptuous mounds, trying to find the peak hidden snuggly beneath the confounds of the suit.

Just as Alex was starting to lose control of her sanity due to the combined efforts of both the man behind her who was blatantly molesting her in front of a crowd and his own fiancée, all whilst puffing out deep, scorching hot breaths into the crook of her neck and ears as well as the need to procreate as instilled deep into her instincts by the alien Queen, he let her go. Nile's hands dropped leisurely back down to his sides as if the hands that were bringing her up to cloud nine were not his just then.

"Do you understand?" His voice was now husky and slightly hoarse with lust as he tried to restrain it.

"Are you seriously telling me that I'm the only one who got to enjoy some tofu?" Alex didn't realize that the man's "love" for her had become so serious to the point that he didn't even dare to touch another woman even in a fit of jealousy.

It was extremely hard to believe mainly because she knew that he was the type of man who willingly submerged himself in pleasure, uncaring of any repercussions as long as he enjoyed it and took away some of his boredom.

As if he had read her mind, Nile stared intently into her pale blue eyes, his own dark with desire but also full of solemnity, "Was. I was that type of man. But then I met you."

Nile Betelgeuse