(Karsten)
I returned ho with a headache. I needed a cigarette, badly.
Caysir had inford that he had safely taken Arata ho. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about that aspect. I needed her to be safe.
Ma had called and told she was coming for a visit the next day. Her timing couldn’t have been worse. With the situation going on with Arata, this could turn into a disaster.
I knew Urisa must have cried to her how I threw her out of the house and now she was going to co and judge.
Asbela stood waiting for as I entered the house. My first question was.
"Did Arata eat dinner?"
Confusion slightly spread on Asbela’s face.
"No, master. She said ate already and was tired."
That’s what I had feared the most, that she would start starving herself, and I would be damned if I let that happen in my house.
She can be pissed at , she can yell and hate but I wouldn’t let her starve herself.
"Fix a plate. I will take it to her," I asked her. Asbela took my coat from and quickly nodded.
"Your dinner?"
"Later, Asbela. First, get sothing for Arata." Urgency mingled with irritation in my voice had her quickly moving.
Olphi was behind , so I turned and told him.
"Check the periter twice, I don’t want anyone lingering near my property." With an understanding, he blinked and left.
All my efforts had turned out futile to track whoever was behind Arata. But I had vowed to myself that once I found the culprit, that would be the last day he would breathe.
Asbela soon brought a plate with rice, gravy and chicken tenders.
"My mother is arriving tomorrow; arrange her room and see that everything is in order," I inford her while taking the plate; I headed towards Arata’s room.
Pausing behind her door, I adjusted my expression, knowing I couldn’t reveal any emotions.
I felt like shit but there was no other way. Knocking, I waited and hoped she wouldn’t already be sleeping.
Within a minute, she opened the door and stood before wearing her night suit and a bored expression.
My eyes, as usual, took all of her in, and keeping a blank face was so much harder than I had expected.
Her blazing locks softly rested on her shoulders and curled like carmine snakes all over her full breasts. The nightgown had a v-neckline, providing with just a peek of the upper roundness of her ample breasts, just enough to make my mouth water.
But her neck, her elegant neck was empty. I had gotten so used to seeing her with that necklace...which now rested in my safe deposit.
Snatching my gaze away I focused on her face.
"You didn’t eat dinner. No one sleeps hungry under my roof," I tried to speak with authority ringing in my voice.
It had no effect on Arata, she almost seed bored with my words.
"I ate, you got the wrong information." She tried to close the door in my face, but I planted my foot in the way before she could fully close it.
"Lies don’t suit you." I exercised restraint and hoped I wouldn’t have to threaten her again just to make her eat.
Her face convulsed in a hateful scowl and it pinged my heart to see the indifference her eyes held. They used to be so bright and now only the resentnt and pain resided in them.
"What are you, morality police? You might be my boss in the office but I am not answerable to you about what I do after my office hours, especially about my eating habits."
She had turned into a fireball and I was going to get burnt beyond repair if I wasn’t careful. I pointed towards her and then at the plate.
"My house, my rules. I say you eat, you do it."
As if to answer my question. Opening the door a notch she banged it back hard against my foot. The impact was so forceful that I felt my poor toes crushing even from inside the boot. If I hadn’t checked myself in ti, I would have flinched from the searing pain that erupted in my foot.
A smug satisfaction erupted on her face as she calmly told . "I won’t. Move your foot or I repeat this till you do it." She moved the door back again.
She wasn’t going to listen to like this, I had to play on her emotional aspects.
"No one is worth your health. Just think about your family, about your father, what he would think if he knew you have been skipping als."
She froze at my words; anger descended in abundance and shrouded her like armour.
She snarled like a spitfire, "Don’t talk about my father." Snatching the plate away from , she pointed with her eyes towards my foot. I knew she wanted gone.
But I wasn’t done, there was so much she was hiding. Like who spoke to her at the Winter Gala. Who fed her information. If she didn’t speak to , it would be impossible to track down her stalker.
"You need to tell who spoke to you at the Winter Gala. Whoever is giving you all this information can be extrely dangerous."
The hurt reflected on her face at my words; the faith between us had eroded, and I knew she was never going to trust again. Nor did I deserve it.
"I am not telling you anything. You are so capable of keeping an eye on others. Find it out yourself."
Her saddened eyes dipped to my foot again. Before pulling it back, I placed my hand on the blue wood of the door and her eyes enlarged as if afraid I would enter.
"One last thing. My mother is coming tomorrow so we will have to act accordingly."
Indifference flashed so clearly in her eyes as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"I am not kissing you even for your mother’s sake. The less contact, the better, but I will try my best to bear you. Don’t expect too much. The question is, what will your Ma think if she accidentally found out I have been sleeping around?" She asked so innocently, taking a jibe at for ntioning that she had been sleeping with Azul.
Only if that truth was revealed, she would be even more mad at than she was now.
"Then she better not find out. Goodnight, Arata. Tomorrow you are shifting to my room."
I removed my foot and she closed the door slowly. Her hurt-filled eyes lingered on mine before the door fully closed between us, obscuring her from .
I just stood there, staring at the closed door. My heart ached–at least tomorrow I will be able to touch her.
But would she want to?
I had to be careful, not to overdo it because I could imagine how difficult it was going to be for her.
’Forgive , Arata,’ I mumbled to the closed door before ambling towards mine.
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