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My eyes widen.

Unlocked.

Damn, but he'd been in such a hurry he'd even left his computer unlocked. It makes me wonder where he needed to go, and to whom.

Fists clenched, I take a deep breath as I make myself focus on the treasure in front of me. Maybe it's notentirelyright for me to snoop, but since I'm technically his prisoner, I think we're past moral dilemmas at this point.

I look around his desktop, noting a multitude of apps all haphazardly scattered around.

Of course he would be messy.

Not recognizing any, I just pull up his browser. Immediately, tens of tabs appear on the screen.

"What?" I narrow my eyes at the various titles.

Women 101.

Ten ideas to court a woman.

Get her heart and keep it.

I keep clicking on tab after tab, all having somewhat the same content.

How to impress your crush.

The man's guide to women.

I can't even keep a straight face as I read through the articles, some of the ideas absolutely ludicrous. Likeplay hard to get.

Wait…

"Surely not." The corners of my mouth pull up as I realize exactly what Vlad's been doing. There are quite a few articlesthat suggest ignoring one's love interest to make them react and chase back. The more I read—including highlighted passages—the more I start chuckling, the irony superb.

"Damn, Vlad." I shake my head at the monitor.

I should have realized that someone with his limited social skills and nonexistent emotional intelligence would not be able to come up withcourtingstrategies on his own. Why, he's been reading up guides on how to impress me.

"Why is this so cute?" I mutter, unable to wipe the grin off of my face.

He's been seriously researching this topic, and when I look further into his history, I see he's even gotten books on the subject.

Just out of curiosity, I open his eBook library, not surprised to find it full of books on dating and women psychology. Even more surprising, though, is how thorough he's been. There are notes to go with each book, and hundreds if notthousandsof passages highlighted.

Including the so-called playing hard to get.

Suddenly, everything makes sense. He's been putting alotof effort in this, misguided as it might be. And I can't help but be impressed and a little flattered.

My mood brightens, and I quickly close the computer, curious to see what else he's hiding in his room.

First, I check the big bags stashed in the corner of his room. Opening one, I note a multitude of boxes, one on top of the other.

Going through some of them, I realize it's gifts he never gave me—shoes and handbags.

Another black bag and I note more fashion items, from clothes, to perfume to everything you could possibly imagine.

"Does he really think these things can buy my forgiveness?" I mutter, shaking my head. While I don't really care for most ofthe things he's bought, I can't help but melt a little—just a little—at the effort he's put in.

When I've snooped in all the bags, I open his wardrobe, curious about what lies inside. A few more clothes than the last time I'd been in here, but other than that…