"I've told you several times that I'm not marrying Charlotte!" Florence shouted as he slammed his headset on his desk. "I don't care if her father's business is getting bankrupt or if they're close to our family. Not a single bone nor nerve in my body finds her attractive."

His elder brother, Adrian, sighed and leaned his back against the doorframe. "You've told me that already, but I can't do anything about it yet," he said.

"Make up some dumb excuse. Like "Oh, Florence is so busy with college and his modeling career that he doesn't have time yet to have a proper fiancée~"," Florence said, mimicking Adrian's tone when he's talking to their parents.

"I've already tried that line. It won't work a second time," Adrian said. "She doesn't mean any harm, Florence. Mother only wants to see you happy with someone, nothing more."

Florence averted his eyes to the ground as Adrian's words replayed in his head. He snapped his fingers when he came up with an idea and looked at Adrian. "She only wants to see me happy with a partner right?" he asked.

Adrian nodded as he raised his eyebrow at Florence's smirk. "Yes, why?"

"What if I already have a boyfriend?" Florence grinned and tapped his head. "I don't have to worry about the next heir since I'm not taking over the company and mom wants me to have a partner, right?"

"That's… true," he mumbled. "But do you have someone in mind to fill that place?"

"I do and he's supposed to be here soon," he said and heard the doorbell ring. "He's here. And you-" He pointed at Adrian. "Don't follow me."

"What kind of shit- no I need to know who this guy is!" Adrian shouted while Florence was running quickly to the front door. "Florence!"

Florence pulled the front door open and his glare softened when he saw Claude smiling at him. "I'm sorry, but can you come sometime later? You can leave your luggage out here," he whispered, glancing back inside.

"Why? Did something happen?" Claude asked, frowning at his uneasiness.

"It's nothing. I'll explain it to you-"

Adrian popped up behind him. "Oh? And who may this be?" he asked as Florence glared at him. The man scanned Claude and Raoul from head to toe and put his hand on his chin. "These two aren't models I recognize… Are these people from your university?"

Florence turned to Adrian and clasped himself to Claude’s arm. "He's my boyfriend," he said and stood on his toes to kiss Claude’s cheek.

Adrian hummed at Claude's and Raoul's confused faces. "So he meant this guy…" he thought. "Oh really? Why don't you come inside for a chat?" he asked.

Claude flinched at Adrian's cold eyes and cleared his throat. "Sure…" He turned his head to Raoul. "I'll talk to you later, dude."

Raoul put his hand on Claude’s shoulder and pulled his face closer to his ear. "Call me if some weird shit happens, alright?" he whispered.

Claude nodded. "Yeah, see you." After one last look at them, Raoul left Claude with the two brothers. "Alright, why don't we put my luggage inside first? We don't want to disturb the neighbors now, do we?" he smiled.

With the help of Florence and Adrian, they put Claude’s luggage in the living room as Florence talked to Claude about the upcoming game update. Claude chuckled at his excitement as he eyed Adrian who kept staring at him.

"I see," Adrian spoke and crossed his arms. "Where did you two meet? What are you studying? What do your parents do?"

"Adrian," Florence said, putting his hand on his hip. "Leave him alone. He just arrived."

"Sorry, I'm just curious," he sighed. "I'm Adrian Carter, Florence's older brother."

"I'm Claude," he nodded and smiled at Florence. "And I don't mind. If I stay here, he can know a few things about me."

Florence shot a glare at his brother. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," he said.

Claude chuckled at his "threatening" glare. "Cute." He frowned at the thought and shrugged. "Well, we both met from an online game, but I've seen him around campus. I'm in my third year of studying engineering and my parents own a restaurant in Manhattan. Any other questions?"

"Yes. What are your thoughts on dating Florence?" he asked.

"...Dating Florence?" Claude repeated, frowning at the thought. "Why?"

Adrian explained the situation to him as Florence sat on the edge of the couch, turning his phone on to start the game on his second account.

"And that's why I'm asking you to be his pretend boyfriend until the matter settles," Adrian said. "You don't have to pay rent if you accept the offer. The only thing you need to do is look pretty in front of our parents and on social media."

Claude glanced at Florence looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Fine," he said as Florence felt relieved that he didn't refuse them. "But before you make it public, I have something to take care of."

"Hm? What is it?" Florence asked, but remembered that Claude mentioned that his girlfriend kicked him out. "Are you going to break up with your girlfriend because of this?"

"I was already planning to," he replied, calming Florence's guilty feeling. "My friend talked to me about it and I decided that it's for the best, so you don't have any influence on my decision."

"Alright," Florence said. "When are you breaking up with her?"

"Tomorrow after my classes. Don't worry, I'll be home early to take care of you," Claude smiled as Florence tried to fight his embarrassment away.

Adrian glanced between them. "You two seem like a good couple," he smiled as his smile became menacing towards Claude. "But don't get too comfortable now. If I hear anything bad about you from Florence, I'll send someone to deal with you."

"Adrian!" He dropped his smile and looked at Florence. "Don't say that! If you do anything to him, I'll never talk to you again!"

"I was just making a joke," Adrian chuckled and felt his phone vibrating. He looked at the screen and his face hardened when he saw the caller ID. "Excuse me, I have to take this call."

As he walked to Florence's room, Claude noticed Florence fiddling with his fingers. "I like this side of yours more, it's cuter," he grinned.

Florence's cheeks flushed pink and lowered his head to make it less obvious. "I… I have to keep a persona up for the public. Adrian told me that the more aloof and nice type gets more recognition with the media, so I've tried to keep it up since I was 15."

"Isn't it tiring to keep it up all the time?"

Florence nodded. "Yes, but I got used to it," he replied.

"You don't have to keep it up in front of me. I want to get to know the real you, if that's alright with you," Claude said and chuckled when Florence covered his face as his face grew redder. "So cute."