After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage-Chapter 81: Glutton for Punishment

Victor Morgan: "...Alright."

He didn’t object, of course. If Jessie liked it, he was up for anything.

He just hadn’t expected Jessie’s courage to be quite like this. Watching a horror film set at sea while actually *at* sea—most people weren’t such fans of "immersive experiences."

Victor turned on the projector and placed the tablet on the nightstand.

He remembered there were snacks like calamari rings and tempura in the kitchen. Victor decided to go grab them and some drinks, figuring Jessie would probably want some.

But Victor hadn’t expected that after taking just two steps toward the door, Jessie’s voice would call out from behind him—

"Where are you going?!"

Jessie had been keeping a close eye on Victor. The moment she saw him seemingly about to leave the room, she started to panic.

It was a classic case of loving something you’re terrible at, and at this moment, she couldn’t even pretend to be brave.

Jessie clutched the blanket under her, her eyes fixed on Victor, not daring to even blink.

Knowing Victor, Jessie assumed he was probably about to step out to deal with work.

A flicker of surprise crossed Victor’s eyes. He could clearly hear the anxiety in Jessie’s voice but didn’t quite understand the reason for it. "There are some snacks and drinks in the kitchen. I was going to get you some. Don’t you want any?"

Jessie froze. Of course she wanted snacks.

Especially since she had just spent a long time on a strict diet to look her best as a bride. She’d given up everything high in fat and sugar, but who could possibly resist calorie-bombs like sweets and all sorts of fried snacks?

Victor’s words put Jessie in a very conflicted position.

’I want the snacks, but I don’t want him to leave.’

Victor watched as her brow knitted into a deep frown. He was utterly confused.

"You don’t want any?" Victor asked.

Jessie: "...That’s not it."

"Then?"

Jessie thought for a moment. "How about... I go get them?"

Victor gave her a skeptical look, his gaze so intense that it made her squirm.

Then, it dawned on him. Victor suddenly asked, "Are you scared?"

"Of course not!" Jessie shot back defensively the instant the words were out of Victor’s mouth.

Seeing her reaction, what else was there to misunderstand?

He watched Jessie struggle to appear calm, pretending to be so brave, and he had to suppress a laugh.

But laughing out loud right now would be a bad move. He was afraid she would completely lose it, and smoothing her ruffled feathers after that would be no easy task.

"Oh." Victor nodded and turned on his heel.

Jessie wasn’t satisfied. "What’s that ’Oh’ supposed to mean?"

Victor: "...That I understand?"

Jessie: "..."

’Why do I feel like he’s just humoring me? But I don’t have any proof.’

"Aren’t you going to get the snacks anymore?" Jessie couldn’t help but ask, watching Victor sit down on the edge of the bed.

She really did still want them.

Victor fought to keep his lips from curving into a smile. He picked up the landline phone beside the bed. "It’s fine. I just remembered I can call and have them deliver it."

Hearing this, a look of dawning realization spread across Jessie’s face.

’Isn’t this the perfect solution!’

At this thought, Jessie couldn’t help but smile to herself.

She thought no one had noticed her subtle expression, but she had no idea that while Victor was on the phone with the kitchen, his gaze had never truly left her.

How could her little expression of smug delight possibly escape the notice of the man right beside her?

A deep, fond smile touched Victor’s eyes.

Less than two minutes later, the snacks and drinks arrived.

The Western horror movie Jessie had chosen was about a giant cruise ship in the depths of the Pacific Ocean being attacked by a sea monster.

The sea at night looked nothing like the azure blue of the daytime. Especially in the ocean’s depths, thousands or even tens of thousands of meters down, the water was pitch-black.

During a violent storm, waves could swell over ten meters high, crashing against the cabin windows. Even a cruise ship of that size would be violently rocked.

The monster in the movie, with astonishingly powerful jaws and sharp teeth, tore a massive gash into the side of the ship. Even the metal hull was useless against it.

In an instant, many of the crew members on deck were thrown overboard by the impact, plunging straight into the deep sea.

The behemoth was accompanied by a host of smaller sea monsters.

Smelling the aroma of food, these monsters swallowed the fallen crew members in a single gulp. In an instant, the thick stench of blood permeated the surrounding water.

When the movie showed the sea monster leaping from the water, its fanged mouth wide open as it waited for the crew members above to fall in, Jessie let out a scream. "AHH!" She instinctively hugged the throw pillow tighter and burrowed deeper into the blankets.

She completely forgot about the calamari rings beside her, her eyes glued to the screen—too scared to watch, yet desperate to see what happened next.

Victor was leaning against the headboard. There was still about a person’s width of space between him and Jessie.

He had guessed earlier that Jessie was easily frightened, but he hadn’t realized that for someone so timid, her curiosity was overwhelming. She was obviously so scared she looked like she wanted to dive right under the covers, yet her eyes refused to move from the screen.

Watching her clutch the pillow for dear life, Victor found the sight quite amusing.

He slipped off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and closed the person-sized gap between them.

Jessie’s attention was still fixed on the screen. The damaged cruise ship was now taking on water, and the passengers, realizing the gravity of the situation, began to panic.

Even more terrifying, the people who had managed to launch the lifeboats and escape first hadn’t had a chance to flee the floating inferno before the scent of blood attracted a school of man-eating sharks. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The people in the lifeboat were instantly surrounded.

The person at the front wore something like a headlamp, and when its beam illuminated the swarm of sharks surrounding them, the people in the lifeboat let out screams of despair.

And screaming right along with them was Jessie.

Jessie shrieked at the sight of a shark leaping up to bite the shoulder of someone at the edge of the lifeboat. She tried to dive back under the covers, but just then, Victor’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Jessie hadn’t even noticed when Victor had moved next to her, but it was clear that the warmth radiating from him was far more comforting than the cold blankets.

And so, with her eyes still glued to the screen, Jessie’s body reacted honestly. Without a hint of hesitation, she burrowed right into Victor’s arms.