"Anything else, Mr. King?" I set the mug down.
"This will do for now." He brought the mug to his lips and sipped, but he suddenly choked on it and spat to the floor.
I exploded in laughter.
"Geez... thanks for the decoration..." Harper said, eyeing the floor and then Ares before dipping her mop in the bucket.
"Sorry!" I snorted, unable to control myself from laughing like a maniac.
Ares sighed, looking at the ss he made and then .
"Oops! I thought you liked a little sugar in your coffee..." I teased, resting my elbows on the counter and leaning toward him. "You handled it pretty well..."
He licked his lips, gaze darkening, and I could recognize those anywhere. Deja vu. I tossed so paper towels at him to erase the thickness in the air.
As he wiped his hands and mouth, it felt like he would freeze through the counter to get to .
Smirking, I went back to work, his eyes tracking my every move.
It went on for a really long ti until I finally gave him so attention, losing focus on my work.
"Isn’t there anything else you should be working on, Mr. King? Don’t tell you’re gonna spend the entire day here again."
"This place is the best in town."
I scoffed. "There are a lot of places."
"I prefer... here."
I sighed, closing the glass and walking to him. "I know what you’re doing?"
"What am I doing?"
Okay, I think I much prefer when he’s not talking.
"Whatever it is you’re doing... it won’t work."
"Depends on what you an."
I chewed the inside of my mouth, not wanting to voice it out. "Coming here shouldn’t be a habit."
"I’m here for Es."
"After what you pulled off, I’m sure you’re. I ant what I said, Ares. There’s no us." I added the last bit in a whisper.
"I know..." he replied.
I nodded. "Good." I resud my work, yet his eyes said a different thing than his words.
"Then why do your eyes keep following everywhere?"
"I should say the sa for you."
I released a sharp exhale. "No... I’m focused on work, and you’re distracting ."
He checked his Rolex. "Just waiting to pick Es from school."
"Of course you are."
"Do you always accuse your custors?"
"As I said, you’re not a custor." I gritted my teeth.
"Give your number..." he said out of the blue, fishing out his phone.
The switch was so unexpected that I had to blink a few tis to collect myself.
"You could have easily taken it yourself. Those are one of the tricks of the devil, aren’t they?"
"It wouldn’t be fun that way. I’m courting you."
I froze. "Y-You can’t be serious."
His eyes bored into mine, and I realized how fucking serious he was. Courting ? Courting? Does such a thing exist in his orbit?
"C-Courting... that is an odd word coming from you. It’s a joke then."
"Why did you think it’s a joke?"
"Because in a normal, reasonable sense, I wouldn’t go for your type."
"I’m not your type?"
"No, you’re not."
"Then it seems like I have more work to do."
"Failure will slap you right in the face."
"Good thing I like a challenge."
Ugh!
~☆~
It beca a ritual.
Ares would co early to walk Es to school, have his breakfast and lunch in the diner while flirting with . Yes, flirting, mostly with his eyes, because that man doesn’t need to say a damn word.
The quiet attention he commands was unreal. It was almost as if I could tell everything behind those eyes. I have always had trouble reading him, but now it seems like he has let down those icy walls and exposed everything to .
It wasn’t fair that he could do stuff like that, like it was nothing. I know Ares; he was a solid man, and he had no reason to bring down his walls for anyone.
I had just put Es to sleep. She was always so tired when we got ho because all her ti was spent chatting with Ares. I smiled, recalling how she held his hand tightly as we strolled ho, her little skips and smile.
I kissed her forehead, turned off the lights, and closed the door gently.
When I got downstairs, Ares was in my kitchen, his usual spot where he spent a few minutes before leaving.
"I take it you’ll be leaving any ti soon?" I asked while walking to the fridge, awaiting his usual goodnight.
"No."
My heart skipped a beat.
I closed the fridge and turned to him. "It’s late."
"I’m famished."
"F-Famished?" I stuttered because when he said those words, it didn’t seem as if he had food in mind.
"Or a drink, if there’s any."
I scoffed. "Well, I think you read my mind there."
No, he did not. My brain had wandered into forbidden depths in the span of minutes.
"It’s the weekend, so I think it’s perfect. Oh, and one more thing. I have been thinking about it ever since."
"What?" he asked, amused.
~☆~
"She was tiny!" I giggled as I showed him the picture of Es’s ultrasound. "I thought she was a nut at first until I was given a clear visual and here look at this!"
Another picture when she was just three days old.
Ares rubbed his jaw, observing the image with far too much intensity, a lingering smile on his lips.
"And there... when she first started walking."
He took my phone, tilting his head as the video played. Es was in diapers as I cheered her on to walk, and she giggled, crawling first to get to before holding onto the wall to stand.
The entire ti I docunted everything, I thought it was just things a first-ti mom would do just to keep mories because of how precious they were.
But a part of ... a part I didn’t wanna bring to the surface did it so that I could one day see this expression Ares had on. That glow was so unique and I couldn’t believe it.
Guilt swamped as I took another glass of whiskey, welcoming the burn, filling up my glass again, repeating the action until I felt a hand stop .
I looked to the Ares, allowing him to take the glass and set it down on the coffee table.
"Do you..." I hiccuped. "Hate ? I... I took this away from you. It’s not like the pictures or the million videos are gonna bring those monts back, you know. She’s your daughter and I..." I paused, feeling like crying."
"I don’t."
I chuckled. "Liar, liar."
I felt his hand beneath my chin, tilting so that our gaze locked.
"I don’t."
My bottom lip trembled as I sniffed.
"Do you hate ?" he asked.
"Your father took my parents away from . I should hateeee you."
Despite my words, he caressed my cheek and stroked.
"You’re a King."
"I pulled the trigger for you, baby."
I blinked, confused by what he ant.
"He didn’t die peacefully. I gave him death."
My blood ran cold as it dawned on .
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