The air became oppressive. It was charged as though the air, too, was holding its breath in nervousness. Only the birds’ chirping outside, as they perched beside the windowpane, stopped the room from being engulfed in total silence.Still, as loud as their chirps was Mimi’s own pounding heart. She stared into Elias, gulping, nervous despite herself. This was the first time she became lucid of how mortified she could be of an answer. The dread was in the possibility of hearing the one she least
The only reason she had not leaped into a flight away from here was that her body was too weak to move. There was a disembodied hand in her chest, clutching on her heart without mercy, causing her entire chest to seethe with pain. She hated how much it ached.She wished she could run away to somewhere Elias could not see. He was the man she had loved for years and years, and it was only natural that her latest fear became breaking down in front of him and losing that last, useless remnant of he
“Elias, you are not me. You have no idea just how much I’ve gone through all these years. You and I are fundamentally different people. You find no problem staying by Jeanette’s side and working tirelessly for her in silence. But you can’t ask the same from me. My heart aches just from seeing you… which is why I want it to stop. And to do that, I have to let go.”She closed her eyes, her voice plunging into abject melancholy. “I’m begging you, Elias. If you don’t love me, let me go. It will set
She was reluctant to face Xavier, but there was no way out of it. He had her secret, and now the only option left was to bargain.The secretary dissembled an unflappable demeanor to belie just how anxious she was. She really dreaded Xavier manufacturing a controversy out of something as trivial as her bracelet.Xavier’s lips broke into a smile as he watched the secretary approaching him, accompanied by the sounds of her heels clicking.“Well, well, well! That’s some punctuality. You really ar
Xavier shrugged. “Okay, okay! I was just fooling around, man. Why so serious? We’re gonna be buddies for a pretty long time, and I don’t think our relationship should be rocky from the get-go.”The secretary’s eyebrows creased as new trepidation shadowed her mien. She caught the most illuminating key in Xavier’s reply. “Buddies? What ‘buddies’? Mr. Xavier, why should we be buddies? I’m just a secretary, and I don’t even know you that well.”He shrugged. “Oh, but you know my brother well enough
Xavier narrowed his eyes and studied her. “Gee. Why are you like this?”The secretary stiffened. “Like what?”“All this denial and deflection, man. You’re bending over backward trying to hide what you truly feel for some reason,” he pointed out. “It’s obvious just how much you like my brother, and yet you try so desperately hard, grasping at these absolute moralisms and other prudish sentiments, to deny yourself. Damn, that’s such a tiring way to live, don’t you think? If only you discard all
The secretary stood by the roadside alone, her hand patting her chest, looking a little shaken.'I must have offended Xavier with what I said,' she thought as she sighed helplessly. She knew Xavier was not someone to make an enemy out of—his reservoir of unpredictable schemes and plots knew no bounds, and he had no compunction in using them against his foes. The secretary was certain she had just doomed herself into becoming his mark, but honestly, she rather that than do anything that could
“Fine? You literally went through gastric irrigation! The doctor had said, explicitly, that you’ve come down with a very severe case of food poisoning... God, I should have sent you to the hospital last night! How could I be so stupid?! I even thought you were just coming down with common digestive discomfort or something…”Her eyes were red again. Guilt was punishing her.Damon sighed helplessly. He considered her with a gaze so soft as if he was coddling her with looks alone. “It’s not your