Chapter 8.

68 5 0
                                    

"Welcome to the rest of your life."

Luke spoke as he swept his arms around the main room. I stood in awe and glanced at him.

"How do you afford all this?"

"My art gets me a lot of money."

"So, you weren't lying when you said you had a passion for art."

He shrugged before moving towards me. He seemed gentler and touched my cheek. I flinched again almost as if it was an instinct.

"Does it still hurt when I touch your cheek?"

I shook my head as it no longer hurt. It had healed and there was no trace it ever happened.

"Then why do you still flinch away?"

I looked up at him as he took hold of my hands and placed them on his face.

"I do not flinch, neither should you. As long as you are here, nothing can ever hurt you again. Not me, not anyone."

I nodded as he backed away. I wasn't as scared now. The half of him I liked was coming back out and as long as I remained beside him, it would stay.

"Would you like something to eat or drink? Treat this house as your own because it is ours."

"You make this sound like a marriage, calling everything 'ours'. It's your home, I'm only here to save myself from starvation and poverty."

He turned and scanned me up and down. Unlike the others, I didn't know this look. He seemed slightly angry but at the same time, hurt. Almost as if I meant something. He walked towards me slowly, his eyes fixed on mine.

"The one thing you must understand Alice, is that this might as well be a marriage. Sharing everything and acting as if we love each other so no one suspects a thing."

He stopped about a metre away from me and secretly, I was disappointed. For once, I wanted him to approach me. I wanted to feel the warmth of his breath on my face.

I wanted him.

The ChaseWhere stories live. Discover now