"This... is this the man who has been taking care of you, lody? The one you told about—the one you said you want to be with? Mr Sint."
lanie nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on the man sitting beside her. She had barely managed to convince Cadence to play along, to be part of this dangerous little act they had begun. Dam* it! This person was too tricky. Dr Jung was a masochist for falling for him.
It felt almost unreal, the way his deanor had shifted in such a short span of ti. Until only a couple of days ago, he had treated her as though she were made of glass and needed to be protected and hovered over every instant. Obsessive to the point of invading her room in the night! And now!
But today... today it was as if he saw her as the plague itself.. Getting too close might cause his death and she carried so infection he wanted no part of.
lanie scoffed at that. Marianne already knew Cadence Sint’s identity and his obsession with lody. As such, she would be aware of how possessive he was. And now, if Marianne was to notice that he was even unwilling to be near her, their problem would definitely increase.
So, if their plan was to work-if they were to keep up the charade and let Marianne believe that Cadence was dangerous, that he was the threat lurking too close to lody—then he had no choice. He had to keep playing the part. He had to stay ’obsessed’ with her, had to look at her like he couldn’t stand the thought of letting her go. Even if, right now, the only thing keeping him there was Dr Elais Jung.
"So, Cadence, what do you do for a living?" Marianne asked in concern.
"I love and protect my beloved." lanie almost coughed at the answer and then rolled her eyes as Cadence turned his head aningfully to her side, only to stare at Elais Jung who was sitting there, observing Marianne and her body language.
Marianne seed to be amused and she asked," Really? What do you an by that?"
Cadence shrugged," I and my partner. We patented a few revolutionary dicines and formulas for chemicals so we get the royalty off that. This keeps free to ’take care’ of my lover."
Marianne widened her eyes at the answer. He was serious! "You really do have a lot of ti on your hands." She said the words slowly and consideringly, but it was not noticed by Cadence who simply smiled faintly and said, "Plenty. Enough to make sure she doesn’t take a single step without knowing where she is. People call it possessive. I call it necessary. It is my way of showing I care."
lanie stayed quiet, letting him run with it. This was exactly what they needed Marianne to see. A little off the hilter, Cadence.
He leaned forward slightly, his hand resting on the table, close enough to lody’s arm to make it clear he had no intention of giving her space. "She attracts trouble," he said, his voice low, almost casual, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. She was kidnapped, wasn’t she? n look at her because she is beautiful. People want to talk to her because she is so charming. And I don’t like it."
Marianne raised her brows. "So you keep an eye on her all the ti?"
"Every second." His eyes didn’t leave lody’s face, and there was sothing sharp in the way he said it. "Where she goes, who she talks to, what she does when I’m not there... I know it all. She doesn’t get to keep secrets from . That way, I know every minute 1thing she might need."
Marianne blinked, taken aback. Well that was really not subtle. Like Cadence was waving the red flag in Marianne’s face.
Cadence tilted his head then, his gaze sweeping briefly to Dr. Jung before settling back on lody. "It keeps her safe. And it keeps people from getting ideas."
The implication hung heavy in the air. Marianne didn’t miss it
She was actually pleased with the words and even nodded encouragingly with a smile," That is so good. Our lody is really lucky that she fell for soone like you."
Even as anyone else might not agree with this, inside, Marianne was happy. Because, this was perfect. Possessive, obsessive, controlling—exactly the kind of man who could be used if she played this right. lody she could easily control but lanie was too smart. If she could get this man to make her disappear before her mory returned, it would be prefect.
But she needed to find a way. A plan. Sothing that would set the pieces in motion without leaving any trace back to her.
She was still considering it when Dr. Jung, who had been silent all this ti, finally spoke. His voice cut through the thick air.
"Cadence," he said sharply, his eyes on the man across from him. "Are you going to treat lody like a prisoner? This is not what we talked about."
Cadence turned his head slowly, his gaze locking on the doctor. The faint smirk tugging at his lips did not reach his eyes. Cadence’s head turned slowly toward Dr. Jung, his eyes narrowing just a fraction. There was suspicion there now, sharp and unmistakable, as though he were turning over sothing unpleasant in his mind.
"I didn’t know you were so concerned about lody, Doctor," he said at last, his voice quiet but laced with sothing that wasn’t quite polite. His gaze didn’t waver. "I’ll have to keep your concern in mind."
The words were delivered almost lazily, but there was no mistaking the undercurrent—a warning to keep is distance from lody.
Marianne caught it instantly. Oh, this was even better than she had imagined. The jealousy was right there, simring just under the surface. It wouldn’t take much to use it, to twist it until it worked in her favor. If she pushed the right buttons, this man would do exactly what she needed- without ever realizing he was playing her ga.
minute- miniscule
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