Ruthless

51

My fingers toyed nervously with the tip of my sleeve, tugging at the fabric as I waited for the man in front of me to break the silence. It seemed he was determined to torment me with his unspoken words.

For the past fifteen minutes, it felt like we had been locked in a silent battle of stares, with me the clear loser as I would occasionally glance away. Pretending he wasn't there, only for anticipation to get the better of me, drawing my gaze back to him.

Each time, I found his eyes still glued on me, as if he were trying to decipher a complex puzzle but struggling even to begin ad, yet he wasn't ready to give up. He was determined to solve the mystery.

I forced myself to look away again, my foot tapping anxiously against the floor, the rhythm quickening with my growing unease. My fingers drummed impatiently on the mattress beside me, the steady beat a stark contrast to the chaotic thoughts racing through my mind.

To my surprise, his gaze had shifted.

Edward's eyes were now lost in some distant thought, staring unblinkingly at nothing in particular, as if the surrounding room had faded into obscurity.

I wiped away the thin layer of sweat that had formed on the skin between my upper lip and nose. It was almost laughable how fear could make someone sweat even in a perfectly air-conditioned room, the temperature just right yet inside. I felt as though I were burning up.

I crossed and uncrossed my legs, trying to find a comfortable position, but the plush bed beneath me offered no comfort.

The irritation simmered beneath the surface of my skin, fueled by the fact that he had barged into the room without so much as a knock, catching me off guard as I had been deeply engrossed in the book a maid had brought me to my request.

Reading was not a usual pastime of mine, but with nothing else to do under room arrest, it had become my only means of distraction.

Now, he sat across from me, comfortably settled on the couch, his gaze piercing through the silence as if waiting for the right moment to speak.

When he had entered, I had instantly noticed the white envelope in his hand and knew right away why he was here—the test results. A wave of unease washed over me. I had been with three people, but their reputations were far from clean. The possibility of an STD had lingered at the back of my mind since he'd arrived.

Unable to endure the suspense any longer, I broke the silence. "What do the reports say?"

At my question, Edward rose from his seat, his movements not rushed, as though he had all the time in the world. He adjusted his jacket, and brushed the nonexistent dust from his jacket; it might be his habit.

His gaze never left mine, and began to make his way toward me. Anxiety twisted inside me and I quickly lowered my eyes, focusing on my hands, only to realize my knuckles had turned white from the death grip I had on my dress.

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to take a slow breath, but the sound of his polished shoes moving closer made my heart race faster instead of willing my out of control nerves to lessen or have some grasp.

When the shoes stopped in front of me, I couldn't avoid them any longer. I looked up, meeting his gaze, and found his eyes boring into me with a cold, unreadable intensity. He held out the envelope toward me, but I hesitated, my fingers trembling as I reached for it. The envelope slipped from my hands, falling into my lap as if it weighed in hundreds. I could feel sweat beginning to bead along my hairline, and I quickly wiped it away as it was beginning to enter my eyes and burn it because of that.

"Sorry," I muttered, feeling the heat of embarrassment creep up my cheek and neck. My voice was barely audible, quivering with the overflowing mixed emotions I couldn't quite contain.