Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation-Chapter 122: Caught Off Guard

Chapter 122 – Caught Off Guard

He walked up behind her, stopping just close enough for his presence to warm the space between them—but not close enough to touch.

"You didn’t have to heal me," he said.

She exhaled through her nose. "I wanted to."

"And you didn’t have to stay."

"I know."

He leaned a little closer. "You didn’t have to look at me like that."

She stiffened. "I didn’t look at you."

"You did," he said softly. "You still are."

Selena turned slightly, just enough to meet his eyes.

She expected to see the usual smugness. That smirk that always came too easily. The arrogance he wielded like a weapon.

But it wasn’t there.

What she saw was quiet. Real.

And that scared her more.

"You don’t belong here," she said, not with cruelty—just as a truth.

Lux nodded slowly. "I know."

She hesitated. Then added, quieter—almost against her own will—

"But I don’t want you to leave."

A beat.

A breath.

Their eyes stayed locked.

Lux stepped a little closer. His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Then say it."

Selena looked away first.

"I can’t," she said, and her voice cracked just a little. "Not here. Not yet."

His hand lifted—paused in the air near her shoulder.

But he didn’t touch her.

He let the silence hold instead.

"...Okay," he said.

Just that.

No pressure. No demand.

Just... okay.

Selena breathed in slowly.

Then turned toward him again, finally catching the flicker of something deep in his eyes. Something that matched the storm inside her chest.

"I should send the report," she said.

Lux nodded. "We should."

They stood in the stillness, the runes around them slowly dissolving as the protective barrier began to fade.

But neither moved.

Because for all the things they didn’t say—something had already shifted.

And it wasn’t going back.

Selena exhaled first. Her shoulders finally loosened, just barely. The soft wind picked up again, brushing her hair over one shoulder. She didn’t fix it. Didn’t hide behind it this time. Instead, she looked at him again.

"You know where the exit is, right?" she asked, voice calm again. Composed.

Lux tilted his head slowly. "So you do want to send the report alone."

She nodded once, expression unreadable. "Yes."

"I can accompany you," he offered lightly. "Wouldn’t want Tribunal Archives to get too lonely. I can stare dramatically in the corner while you deliver the divine paperwork."

"No," she said. Firm. Simple. Then quieter. "That’s enough."

He blinked, lips parting slightly.

She turned her body fully toward him now, that signature calm still wrapping around her like armor—but her next words landed harder than he expected.

"You... are enough to mess up my mind today."

Lux froze.

And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t have a comeback ready.

She wasn’t smirking. Wasn’t trying to tease. That wasn’t her usual quip masked in professionalism. That was real. Raw. A verbal stab dressed in velvet.

And did it hit.

He stood there, stunned—like someone had pulled the rug out from under him and gently whispered deal with it.

"I—" he started, but nothing came out that wasn’t air.

Selena didn’t wait.

"Bye now," she said, already turning. And then—

She stepped close.

Too close.

He barely had time to breathe when she leaned in and—

Pressed her lips to his.

Quick.

Warm.

Gentle.

But real.

And then—she vanished. A sudden flash of white aura, like a shimmer pulled through a mirror. No dramatic echo. No sound. Just light folding in on itself as if she had never been there at all.

Lux stood there. Completely frozen.

His hand instinctively came up and touched his lips. Slowly. Like he needed to confirm it happened.

"...Okay," he whispered to himself. "That’s cheating."

[It was.]

[Emotional Status: Bewildered. Ego: Bruised. Libido: Triggered.]

[You have been gently smitten by a Level ??? Goddess. Good luck. <3]

Lux squinted at the air beside him. "Oh, shut up."

[Denial detected. Processing embarrassment.]

"I didn’t expect that," Lux muttered, shaking his head. "I mean—I expected that. Eventually. Maybe. Someday. Not after an interrogation and a scan."

The system purred—yes, purred—in amusement.

[You just got kissed by a divine war tactician with trust issues. Achievement unlocked: ’Caught Off Guard.’]

Lux sighed. "Right. Let’s get out of here before I start talking to birds next."

He pulled his blazer tight around him, brushing the dust off the lapel. The courtyard felt colder now without her. The koi-like sigils still danced in the pond, but they didn’t seem to glow as brightly. The sky above shifted slightly, the protective dome dissolving into the open heavens.

He glanced up once, half-expecting a seraph to float down with a clipboard to reprimand him for excessive flirtation. Nothing.

Just clouds.

Glowing.

Mocking.

The archway was visible now—the one she sealed earlier. The gold light was gone, the runes dispersed like petals in wind. He walked toward it slowly, hands tucked into his pockets, his brain still catching up to what had just happened.

That kiss wasn’t just a moment.

It was confirmation.

Unspoken. Complicated. Maybe dangerous.

But it was real.

And that scared him a little more than he thought it would.

He passed under the arch, into the winding stone hallway that led to the main staircase. Every step echoed a little louder now. The divine architecture here always had that distant choral hum—low harp vibrations mixed with soft whispers of law and oaths. But Lux had never felt more out of place in his life.

"I should be downstairs," he muttered. "Snarking through a Tribunal hearing, arguing with Vizreel, maybe stealing one of those glowing goblets from the lounge..."

He sighed again.

"This was supposed to be my therapy session," he said louder this time. "But here I am. Needing another therapy session because of my therapy session."

His boots clicked against marble steps.

The exit gate shimmered ahead—one of the few rift anchors in the Celestial Realm allowed to open for infernal-blooded visitors. It looked like a glass arch held together by gold wires and infused with cosmic ink. A gate woven from both law and compromise.

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