Trapped In His Love

8 -The Bet

Even though there was nothing that I wanted to know more about what was going on his head, I knew that indulging this conversation with him, was not going to be something that would turn out well for me. No matter what I wanted to do, I would simply need to remain quiet, for the sake of my own emotional safety. If Austin was already being this cold and aggressive, then I did not want to know how he would behave when the time came for me to challenge him.

It was a situation where I didn't really have much of a choice—a situation that I often found myself in.

Something that I couldn't help but dislike, was the way that I had become so compliant in regards to Austin. There were times that I had every right to speak my mind and burst out, but because of the very nature of Austin's personality, I had learnt to keep my mouth shut and simply accept what was going on.

No matter how much resentment and resistance I felt in my heart, there was absolutely nothing that I could do, other than to listen to whatever he had to say, and be done with it. It was like I would never be able to win.

When we had initially left the cemetery, I had been under the impression that we would be going home. But now that I looked back on the moment, I couldn't help but feel like a fool. I should have known that Austin's priorities were still with Simone, and that he would want to be with her, in the hospital—because that is where we were now.

As soon as I walked into the building, the distinct smell of disinfectant reached my senses, the smell overpowering everything else. But I couldn't allow myself to be caught up and delayed by something like the smell, because Austin wasn't waiting for anyone—me, specifically. I needed to make sure that I kept up with him and stayed with him so that he wouldn't have an excuse to leave me here, by myself. I knew that he wouldn't even think twice before doing something as neglectful as that.

It seemed like we went through an endless amount of hallways and staircases before we got to Simone's room. I knew that Austin must have deliberately avoided taking the elevator in order to make things difficult for me, and he had succeeded. I felt like my lungs were about to give out, like I couldn't get enough oxygen into them.

But I would be damned if I dared to show that this was the way that I was feeling.

Simone was laying on the bed, and by the looks of it, she seemed to be in the process of receiving a drip. She was paler than I had ever seen her—and that was saying a lot, considering the fact that she had a pale complexion by nature. She looked even more like a damsel in distress, and I couldn't deny the fact that this must have been why Hades felt the way that he did about her. It was all of these little things that were slowly starting to piece into big things. But I was the only person piecing them together.

I didn't miss the way her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of me walking in with Austin, and if I was in her shoes, I would have felt the exact same. The only problem was that I wouldn't have wanted to see anyone, and not specifically the woman who hadn't pushed me down the staircase.

"What is she doing here, Austin? I don't want to see her."

Believe me Simone, if I had been given a choice, I wouldn't have been here, either.

It seemed to me that she had lost a part of her manipulative streak when she had lost the child, or perhaps she was simply disconnected from it for now. Her true colors were showing, and she wouldn't be able to get away from it any time soon. Although I doubted that Austin was bothered by it, judging by the way that he was hugging her and resting his head on top of hers.

"Laela will be taking care of you for the next few days. After all, it is the least that she can do, considering what she has done."

The ease of the intimacy between the two of them caused tears to shoot to my eyes, the burning sensation behind my eyelids almost being enough to make me cry, but strangely enough, I managed to keep my emotions under control. I knew that they would never let me live it down if they saw the fragile state of my emotions. On the contrary, I was certain of the fact that they would find a way to use it against me.