Empire of Eternals (Book 1 of The Eternal Series) ✔️

Chapter 18 | Be Selfish For Me

***Dexter Anderson POV***

The car door slammed from behind as Hermione scurried away on the footpath to her house, the bright light of the moon shining down on her as Jenna's house illuminated underneath it, along with the solar lights in the garden.

"Bye!" Hermione shouted, turning around and waving goodbye as her voice echoed in the quiet rows of houses

I heard the front door opening, and a second later, Hermione disappeared into the house Jenna and her shared. I didn't waste another second before putting my foot on the gas, speeding out of her neighbourhood and towards Paige's house.

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking a quick glimpse at my unusually quiet girlfriend

"Yeah." She replied, quietly as she stared out the window, looking over the lines of houses

"I'm just behind on rent."

I kept my eyes fixated on the road, my grip on the steering tightening as I took a left. Paige told me about her rent issue a while ago. She barely got by every month, and I had lent her a little money. But, I think that money ran out. How long were a few thousand dollars meant to last anyway? A couple of weeks, maybe months if you were lucky.

"My mum owned a penthouse in the city. After she died it was given to me." I spoke, a smile at the corner of my lips as I hinted to her

After my mum died, a lot of her property was either given to me or my sister. The Anderson Manor was the most important piece of real estate, it's worth millions, the price increasing every year. Her other properties were either penthouses, safe houses or cottages.

After Paige told me about her issue, I looked into the files and found out that a lot of my mum's properties were sitting empty, not given out for rent or bought. I had dad prepare the documents and put the penthouse in my name so Paige and I could live in it. If everything went according to plan, Paige and I would be living together in a few years.

"The penthouse isn't ready yet. They're still cleaning it up and moving in all the furniture, but once that is done, maybe you could move in with me?" I offered, smiling as I took a glance at her once again

I saw her eyes light up with amusement, her mouth opening to say something but nothing coming out. She nodded her head, forcing a smile on her face as she turned to look at me, her fair hand reaching out for mine, which I grabbed.

"Thank you." She smiled, her cheeks flushing a light pink, the same colour as her lips

"But, that's my parent's house. It's the last thing I have of them. I want to stay there."

I sighed, nodding my head in agreement. She was right. If she didn't pay the rent she would have the house taken from her, and if she moved in with me then she would also have the house taken from her. Paige's landlord wasn't exactly a nice man. He had been wanting to sell the house to someone who could afford it.

"I got you, babe." I comforted her

I gripped her hand in mine, bringing it to my lips where I planted a soft kiss on her knuckles, on her smooth skin as I kept my eyes on the road. I felt her smiling a little, blushing once again as the gesture made her heartbeat quicken.

Even after 2 years of dating, Paige still had the same reaction to when we first held hands. I couldn't complain, I was in the same state. In the beginning, we were a mess, we still are, though not as nervous as before, or worried about messing up our relationship.

I remember asking Paige to be my girlfriend, and she took days to answer. I heard from Ana that Paige was stuttering on her words, her entire face had gone red when she told my sister that I asked her to be my girlfriend. I just remember smiling like an idiot, but I guess love made you an idiot for the person you were going to spend the rest of your life with.