SM WAS SILENT while she was watching over the weirdos residing at Knight's, who were now with her while shopping for groceries because there was no longer food in the house. These people just got weirder and weirder every day, and she was getting used to their weirdness.

When in the past, she'd still wonder, now she wouldn't anymore. She got used to Knight. In her lover's weirdness, her tolerance for weirdness became high.

The scene in front of her didn't even count as weird anymore. It was just normal for her now.

Knight, Jacques, and Cloud were in the candy section, arguing what the best was—chocolate, Knight's favorite, obviously; lollipop, Cloud's new favorite; or marshmallows, which somehow got the marquess's attention because of its softness.

"I want this one, and this one and this one..." One after the other, and with multiple variants of chocolates, Knight put them in their pushcart, which garnered some unfavorable gazes from Jacques.

"You do know that I'm paying for this, right?"

Knight nodded as if it were nothing. "And then? I want some chocolate, so buy me some. I brought you steak last night."

The marquess stared in disbelief toward Knight. "So, I owe you now?"

Knight smiled. "Yes. You have any problems?"

"I want these," said Cloud while putting many different types of lollipops in the cart.

Jacques looked flatly at Knight and Cloud. "We're here to buy some food! Meats and all that shit, not to buy sweets!" he said irritably as he put wiggles—a chocolate-coated marshmallow— into the pushcart. "I want this one." Then he looked at her. "How about you, milady?"

Knight's face soured immediately. "Don't talk to my baby. Only I get to ask her what she wants!"

She smiled at Jacques while ignoring Knight. "I don't want anything. If I see any, I'll just put it into the cart."

The three nodded as they pushed the cart away from the candies section as if it were so heavy that three people were needed for it to be moved.

And of course, Knight and Jacques were arguing again.

"Stop talking to my baby!" said Knight, scowling at Jacques.

"She's milady!" answered Jacques.

"I don't care. Don't talk to her. I get jealous."

Jacques grunted in so much frustration.

She just shook her head while following the three.

"Stop," Knight demanded when they arrived at the noodles section. "Fuck! So many instant noodles! This is heaven. So many flavors too! I want them all—beef, pork, and seafood." Knight included almost all of them in the pushcart until something caught his attention. He pointed toward it while looking at her. "Baby, what's this?"

Three sets of eyes were now eyeing the thing Knight pointed.

"It's like..." Jacques wrinkled his forehead. "Small instant noodles. So weird."

She sighed deeply and sharply exhaled before smiling. "That is pancit bihon. It's a known dish here in the country."

Knight faced her. "I want to taste it. Cook it for me, baby."

She smiled then placed two packs of pancit bihon into the pushcart. "Sure."

Jacques grunted. "When it's milady's cooking, you don't share."

Knight looked at him piercingly. "Of course, it's my baby."

Jacques's face soured even more. "I'm paying for this, remember?"

"And then?" asked Knight nonchalantly. "You live in my house. That makes us even."

Jacques looked pissed. Knight really had a talent for pissing people off.

"You're an ass," Jacques said irritably toward Knight.

And Knight just slapped his own ass as he smirked. "Yep, I have a perfect round ass, Marquess."

Jacques simply went past Knight in frustration then pushed the pushcart. He flinched as he went beside Knight.

"Stop pissing him off," she told Knight.

He held her as he kissed the side of her head. "He gets irritated so easily, and his reactions are so funny."

She shook her head. "He's paying for the groceries," she reminded Knight.

"It's for his board and lodging," Knight proudly said. "Baby, my house is a mansion. Rent isn't cheap."

She growled, "Might be a mansion, but it has no food."

Knight immediately pressed against his heart. "Ouch... it hurts."

She pinched him in his side. "Don't I speak the truth?"

Knight chuckled before kissing her temple again. "I'll work hard to provide for you."

She looked at him. "I know you're working hard. Don't you have a salary for your work?"

He shook his head. "Our services are for free, especially the Bosses and the Archontes. All are from rich families."

She stared at her lover. "So, basically, you're a hero who doesn't get paid and no thank yous either?"

Knight chuckled. "I'm far from being a hero, baby. In my opinion, it's more like we're the lesser evil."

SM tiptoed to kiss Knight on the cheeks. "Thank you for sacrificing yourself to make the world a better place to live in."

Knight looked at her as he noticed her eyes tearing up a bit before smiling. "That's the first thank you I received since I became part of the organization."

She smiled at him before barraging him with kisses on his cheek. "You're amazing, don't forget that."

Knight nodded as he smiled. He then gestured her to follow Cloud and Jacques, who were in the fruit section, bickering with each other.

"What's the problem if I want to buy a whole fucking box of apples and grapes and mangoes?"

"There's no more room," Cloud said irritably. "With the amount of meat in the cart, you think there'd be enough room in the fridge? Use your fucking brain, Marquess."

The marquess placed his hand on his hip. "Then let's buy a new fridge. Problem solved!"

SM sighed. Rich people.

"Buy a big one," Knight said, joining them. "One where you'll fit, Marquess. That's where I'll put you when I feel you're getting close to my Sweet Monday."

Jacques ignored Knight as he bought a carton each of apples, oranges, mangoes, grapes, and avocados. He also bought so many ice cream tubs with different flavors. But when they passed by the vegetable section, Jacques did not stop.

"We need this," Cloud pleaded with Jacques.

"Hell no!" the marquess hissed. "Those are grass! I'm not eating that, asshole."

Cloud just sighed heavily. "Did I say you were going to eat them? How about me who likes vegetables, huh?"

Jacques immediately returned to the vegetable section and looked at Cloud. "Fine. Put some grass in the pushcart."

Cloud immediately placed some. While they were wandering around the supermarket, their single pushcart became two heaping mounds. One for Cloud, another for Jacques.

And since Jacques's cart had fewer items, Knight rode atop it.

SM face-palmed. Knight and his weirdness.

"Baby!" Knight yelled as he grinned at her. "Look! It's like a small open car. Marquess, push me! Come on! Push the cart."

The marquess's eyes were piercing as he saw what Knight did. "Get off!" he said angrily.

"Don't want to," Knight defended.

People around were looking at them as she winced. She was the one embarrassed for her crazy companions.

Knight was acting like a kid again, and the marquess was very pissed at Knight. Again.

Cloud was pretending that he didn't know the other two. He plainly pushed his cart toward her. "Come on, Lady SM. We don't know those two weirdos. Embarrassing. Especially my lord."

She chuckled as she did the opposite of Cloud's suggestion. She went toward Knight who was still riding on the marquess's cart. It was true that what he was doing was embarrassing, but she wasn't at all embarrassed. He was a good man, just misunderstood most of the time of how weird he was.

"What the hell is your problem, Count?!" Jacques asked, pissed.

Knight crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Push the cart."

"I don't want to!" Jacques was getting angrier every passing second. "What are you, a kid?"

Knight peered toward Jacques. "I hate you."

"Same to you, asshole," Jacques replied with a grim expression on his face. "Get off the cart! Now!"

SM felt bad for laughing inwardly at Jaques anger.

Knight crossed his arms. "I want to, but I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Jacques asked Knight, amused and pissed at the same time. "Move your ass, dammit!"

"I said I can't." Knight pursed his lips and averted his gaze. "It's too tight. I can't move. And if I move, the cart will move as well. I'll fall."

Jacques looked at Knight flatly. "And who the fuck asked you to ride that motherfucking cart, huh? And now that you're having a problem getting off, you want me to fucking help?"

"Hold it so I can get out," said Knight, who was trying to stand up. "Marquess! Hold it! I'm falling!"

"Fuck you, Count! Fuck you!" the marquess hissed before holding the cart.

She hurriedly went to Knight and held his hand to prevent him from being out of balance until he managed to get off the cart.

"Whew!" Knight was grinning from ear to ear. "Another experience for my Book of life."

SM shook her head and looked at Knight. "Don't do it again or I will really pretend like I don't know you."

The idiot snickered then hugged her. "Thank you for not pretending that you don't know me."

She shook her head then look toward Jacques with a confused expression.

"Sorry," she mouthed at him.

"He's a kid," the Marquess angrily answered her. "Don't you get pissed at him?"

"He's my baby," she predictably said.

Knight stuck out his tongue at the marquess. "Hear that? I'm her baby."

The marquess shook his head. "Weirdo," he said before pushing the cart toward the aisle of canned goods.

She pinched Knight's sides. "Why do you always tease Jacques?"

Knight looked at the back of the marquess. "I have trust issues, baby. And this is my defense mechanism kicking in."

Her forehead wrinkled. "What defense mechanism?" She raised her brow. "Knight, I know you're pissing him off for a reason. Don't lie to me. It's not amusing."

Knight scratched the back of his neck. "I want to know him for my trust issues to go away."

"You're pretending to piss him off to get to know him?" she asked in disbelief. "Well, there's no other way to truly get to know someone unless you piss them off. But don't push him too hard, baby. Jacques is a nice person. Stop manipulating his emotions."

Knight was stopped in his walking and stared at her. "You knew I was manipulating his emotions?"

"I noticed."

"Sorry." He grimaced. "But I probably won't stop annoying him until I'm sure. Angry people tend to do stupid things. I wanna see him do that."

"You're testing him." She noticed. "What if he does nothing even if he gets angry?"

"Then I'll accept him as your butler."

She smiled. "I'm comfortable with Jacques."

Knight's face went sour. "I'm getting jealous. You keep praising Jacques. I'm getting hurt, SM."

She laughed. "You purposefully angered him, but he still helped you out of the pushcart. If it were me and I was that mad, I'd have pushed you away."

Knight looked at her in surprise. "Do you really treasure me like you said? Why can't I feel it?"

SM just laughed before placing a kiss on Knight's chin. "Hmm... I can feel your whiskers. Shave it off."

"Yes, Boss." Knight saluted.

She shook her head and ran toward Jacques. "You okay?"

Jacques just grunted.

She smiled. "Do you want me to cook for you? What's your favorite?"

Finally, Jacques smiled. "Really? Milady, will you cook for me?"

She nodded and whispered, "Knight won't share the pancit bihon that I'll cook. He's selfish when it comes to me, so... I'll just cook for you."

Jacques turned toward Knight, whose eyes were deathly staring at the two of them. "He's glaring at me."

"Leave him to me," she said while smiling as she returned to Knight, kissing him on the cheek. "Don't be mad."

Knight's expression immediately softened. He then kissed her on the forehead.

Finally, after roaming around the supermarket, they were now at the cashier with three full large pushcarts.

"Sixty-nine thousand pesos," said the cashier.

Jacques handed a black card immediately without a fuss while SM's jaw fell. Sixty-nine thousand and Jacques didn't even blink.

Rich people.

She peered toward what they bought, looking for what made it so expensive. Multiple sacks of rice, large amounts of meat, ice cream, fruits, and vegetables. Numerous chocolates, lollipops, marshmallows, and many more foods that were considered "instant."

She caught Cloud's eye. "What is this? Panic-buying?"

"Nope." Cloud smiled. "It's free, so grab the opportunity."

Knight raised his thumbs up toward Cloud. "Good thinking."

Cloud slightly bowed at Knight. "Thank you, my lord."

SM blew a loud breath. Weird people.

When they got out of the supermarket, she was about to call the staff to help carry the groceries toward their car, but Cloud, Jacques, and Knight went off and carried them first. They effortlessly lifted the cartons and carried them with their arms as they walked toward where they parked their car.

The three went back and forth multiple times until Knight was the only one left to return and carried her as if she was a sack of rice over his shoulder.

"Knight! Put me down! People are staring!"

"Let them stare," Knight remarked. "So, they'll know that you're mine."

She just kept quiet instead of causing a scene.

When they were near their car, it was only then that she was let down. The door's car was opened for her.

"Ladies first, mi reina," he said while bowing.

She nervously laughed as she got in the pick-up truck owned by Knight. The lovers sat at the back, while Jacques occupied the passenger seat. Cloud was the designated driver.

"Where to?" Cloud asked Jacques.

"To the mall."

Knight's face immediately frowned. "Cloud, may I remind you that I'm your boss. You should ask me. Quickly."

Cloud sighed before looking back at Knight. "Where to, my lord?"

Knight smiled smugly. "To the mall."

Jacques looked at Knight grimly. "You're annoying."

Knight just smiled. "Thank you very much for the compliment, Marquess."

Jacques tsked before murmuring, "I can't believe I was scared of this weirdo."

Knight's face turned serious, emotionless, with a chilling gaze and voice. "You should be, Marquess. After all, you know I can destroy you, regardless of your rank."

Jacques went silent and quietly whispered, "I know."

"Good."

SM could feel the tension. No wonder Knight was always fooling around with the marquess. Because if he became this serious, it would be scary.

So, SM broke the ice. "So..." she trailed off while smiling. "Are we going to buy a fridge? If so, what kind?"

Jacques answered, "The most expensive one."

She smiled apprehensively. Why was she not surprised?

Cloud then broke the silence. "Marquess, why are you wearing expensive clothes again? You might get kidnapped because of what you're wearing. Stick-ups here are a common thing. You might get stripped and appear on TV."

The marquess looked down on his clothes. "What's wrong with my clothes? It's just a shirt and a pair of jeans."

Knight answered, "Really? Just a shirt and jeans? Marquess, that shirt is worth four hundred thousand dollars, and the jeans are Gucci. Not to mention your expensive Gucci sandals."

She entered the chat. "Let Jacques be. Besides, the thieves here mostly steal bags, wallets, and cellphones. I haven't seen a thief that held someone up because of T-shirts, jeans, or even sandals."

"Thank you, milady," said Jacques before narrowing his eyes on Knight. "You're one to talk. You're wearing Gucci from head to toe."

Knight rested on her shoulder. "I bought this at Divisoria."

Jacques stared in amazement toward Knight. "Is that a high-end boutique here in the Philippines?"

Knight smiled wickedly. "Very high-end. Lots of designer products too."

Jacques quickly turned toward Cloud. "Bring me there tomorrow. I wanna buy some clothes."

Cloud sighed. "Okay." He decided not to argue.

She turned. What would be Jacques's reaction tomorrow when Cloud brings him to Divisoria, a bustling market district in Manila? She couldn't help laughing even though it hadn't happened yet.

She simply pinched Knight's ear. "Oh, you."

"What?" He chuckled the question. "You can't feel like you're in the Philippines if you haven't experienced Divisoria, especially the foreigners." He pointed at Jacques using his lips.

"And you aren't one?" Her brow raised toward Knight. "Oh, wait, you aren't a foreigner. You're abnormal."

Knight looked at her dimly. "I thought you treasure me?"

"Of course, I do." She smiled sweetly at him. "But I only speak the truth. You should be grateful that I accept your abnormalities. Even if you're an idiot, I'm still here."

Knight smiled. "Thank you, baby."

SM laughed. "So you admit that you're abnormal and an idiot?"

"Abnormal? Hell no! An idiot? Slightly?"

She laughed loudly. "What do you mean slightly? Your friends will disagree."

"Of course, they will. They're all assholes and motherfuckers."

SM carried her belly in laughter, already tearing up. Knight just stared at her. "Someone's happy."

Even after arriving at the mall, she was still laughing.

"Baby, you might get gassy, I don't want to smell bombs later."

She stopped laughing with her brows raised toward Knight. "What do you mean bombs? My farts are fragrant."

"Baby, studies show that women's fart is more deadly than men," Knight argued. "But when I do feel like farting, I still go to the washroom. But you? You don't do that."

She jeered at her lover. "And then? Are you going to sniff it, or we break up?"

Knight's shoulders fell. "I'll just sniff it."

This time, Cloud was the one laughing. "My lord, please don't complain. You're only sniffing it."

She raised two thumbs up toward Cloud. "I'll bake you a cake, Cloud."

Cloud smiled. "Thank you, Lady SM."

Jacques had to ask the most random question. "Milady, you own this mall? It says SM on the outside of the building."

"Uhm..." She blinked toward Jacques. Her mind was actually processing his question. "I'm pretty sure this building is not mine."

"But it says SM," insisted Jacques.

"Jacq," she said before she blew a loud breath. "My SM stands for Sweet Monday. This SM stands for shoe mart. See the big difference?"

"Oh" was all Jacques said. "We do have Dulce el Lunes in Spain."

"That's right," Knight interrupted as he looked at her. "It's one of the biggest shopping malls in Spain. Lots of branches too. There's one in Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, and other cities."

Cloud nodded. "Dulce el Lunes means Sweet Monday in English."

She spaced out as the three men were intently staring at her. "And you think I own that?"

"Your family does," Jacques replied.

She was silent for a whole minute before she walked past the three. "Let's go find that effing fridge."

She went in the escalator first, mind-blown by what Jacques had said. Her family owned a shopping mall? That must be a joke. But... a marquess became her butler. That was not a joke.

I really need to talk to Dad to clarify things with him. She couldn't just ignore what she heard from Jacques.

SM quickly turned when someone put their arms over her shoulder. It was Knight, who then kissed her temples and quietly walked beside her with the two.

When they arrived at the appliances department, they immediately looked for a fridge, while a salesman hurriedly drew near them.

"What are you looking for, sir, ma'am?" the salesman excitedly asked.

Jacques answered, "A fridge as tall or as long as me."

The salesman quickly smiled. "We have a side-by-side fridge, if you're interested. It's quite tall and wide, and you can put a lot of food inside. It has a large capacity, adjustable slide-out shelves, abundant freezer space, and it's extremely energy-efficient."

"How much is it?" asked Jacques.

The salesman smiled. "It's just three hundred sixty thousand pesos, sir. We also offer payment in installments, if you prefer."

Jacques turned to Knight and asked, "How much is it in Euro?"

Knight answered immediately, "Well, using the currency rate now, I think that would be 6,175.73," he said without even exerting some effort to think.

My baby is a smart man.

"That's cheap." After saying this, he phoned someone.

SM was stunned. When Jacques said it was cheap... she never felt so poor in her life.

"Lyndon," said Jacques to the person on the other side of the line. "Do you remember that expensive fridge made by an Italian company? It's called La Cambusa. How much is it?" Pause. "Oh. Buy it for me and deliver it to the Philippines. You have three days, or I'll be looking for a new assistant. Bye." He finished the call and looked toward the salesman. "We'll take that fridge. Thank you."

"But I thought you asked to buy a fridge from Italy?" she asked.

"We'll use this fridge for the meantime while waiting."

Her brows raised. "You're going to buy a fridge that you'll only use for three days?"

"Yeah... while waiting for the new one."

SM was mind-blown. Rich people—she didn't understand them. But Knight and Cloud seemed to understand the marquess... maybe because they run in the same circle of wealth.

Instead of bringing the fridge with them, Cloud asked it to be delivered to the Bachelor's Village since it was purportedly hassle free.

After shopping for a fridge, the marquess wanted to eat. "To the most expensive restaurant," he said.

She looked at Jacques. "You really have a thing for expensive things."

Jacques smiled. "I grew up always hearing that from my mother. She always buys the most expensive one, and I got that from her."

"Well, not anymore." Smiling, SM added, "I'll introduce you to a cheap but delicious place."

She led the three to a fast-food restaurant. "Here we are."

They sat in the available seats. The three were like on a different planet, often looking at the counter, asking each other what was happening, why there was no waiter going near them, and why people were lining up at the counter.

She shook her head as she held Knight's hand and pulled him toward the counter.

"Another Book of your Life experience, baby," she told Knight.

And Knight got so excited. "What am I supposed to do?" Knight asked, already in front of her.

She pointed toward the list of food items that were in front of them. "Choose from these. Any will do."

Knight followed her instructions until the girl behind the counter started asking. "And drinks, iced tea, coke, or pineapple? Large or regular? How about fries, large or regular or jumbo? We have a float, just add a few more pesos to upgrade your drinks if you want, sir."

Knight looked back at her. "Baby, nine-one-one. She talks so fast."

She chuckled then took over the conversation with the girl behind the counter.

At last, they were able to finish ordering, and they managed to return to where Cloud and Jacques were waiting.

"Whew!" Knight wiped off an imaginary sweat on his forehead. "I panicked. That was scary. She talked too fast. I only heard large and jumbo from her."

She chuckled again then distributed the food to her companions and handed the tray to the staff who was passing by.

"Okay... let's eat," she said with a sweet smile on her lips.

SM was gleaming as they were eating. Jacques kept on glaring at Knight, who was stealing his fries, while Cloud kept on giving his fries to Jacques. When Knight finished his sundae, he got Jacques's and mixed it with fries.

Knight grinned. "Yum!"

"Stop stealing my food!" Jacques angrily said to Knight, who just smirked at him.

Cloud sighed deeply and gave his untouched sundae to Jacques.

That was how their late lunch went—Knight stealing food from Jacques and Cloud giving his food to Jacques. SM just watched the three interact with one another, smiling, sometimes chuckling.

These were the three crazy weird-ass people who were becoming an important part of her life. Seriously, she didn't even know what she'd do if one of them got hurt.

I'll definitely go Black Widow on their asses. She wouldn't let anyone harm these three crazy weird-ass people in her life.

Over her dead body.