_________________________________________
「Esme」
✧✧✧✧
_________________________________________
Why is he here? He couldn't have recognised me, right? I hope not. Not now. Not now, please.
He has changed a bit. He has become more mature. Still wearing suits like he always did to inherit father's business soon. Has he already?
Well, it doesn't matter when I am going to burn it down to ashes.
His black is styled properly and his purple eyes frowning at me since I turned and we made eye contact. He is not the only one frowning.
I smoothen my expression and walk towards the door, passing by him when he grunts and whispers.
"Still no pearl?" He snickers, making me mad, but I rein it in. It's not the time. Not here. Not now, in this state.
"Still not the CEO of DL?" I taunted him back and notice his jaw tightening. I guess I am still right. After all, father won't let go of his position so early.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" He said with his teeth grinding. "We will never accept you back."
"I don't need or want you to take me back. I'm just not interested." I huff. "And you are the one who is getting ahead of himself. I didn't talk to you, but you still came to me."
"That's because -"
"Stop. Go wag your tail in front of father and your dear little sister."
"You are my sister too!" He yells.
"Be quiet, Mr Delphina." Qiana orders iciliy making my dear "older brother's" face go red.
"Not anymore." I say and leave. I knock on the door thrice, making sure my expression doesn't give away my nervous and frightened heart and mind, as two pairs of eyes watch me.
"Come in." The voice comes form inside, husky and smooth. Something one can drown in willingly and never want out.
I open the door and enter. I don't look back while closing the door because the bigger problem is here. Right in front of me. Reading a file and then he stiffens and looks up at me.
His eyes turn colder than before and he snaps the file shut, putting it on his table and staring at me.
His lips twitch up, humoured and sarcastically. "Here to seduce me after your attempt failed last night?"
I clear my throat. "What do you think this "attempt" was about?" I asks and his eyes darken.
"To sleep with me." He says. And I look at him nonchalantly. An Evander can definitely not be that dumb right? Specially someone who is leading the company?
"Don't look at me like that." He gives me a humourless smile. "That was my first thought until you used magic." I stop myself from flinching. He knows. Of course he does. He was even almost immune to it.
"Your spell knocked me out for a few minutes, by the time I woke up, everything seemed normal. I thought I was dreaming but then I noticed that I wasn't because of the fact that a strand of your hair was stuck on my robe."
Darn it. I was only focused on the blood and escaping that I hadn't noticed that. I continue to curse myself but he interrupts it.
"What is your relationship with the Delphinas?" He asks.
"What is your relationship with the Delphinas?" I know I am asking a stupid question. I already know the answer. A business partnership. But I don't want to answer him and reveal anything that is none of his darn business.
"Don't act stupid and ask questions you already know." He looks at me with disdain.
"The same goes for you." I retorted. If I can hear his voice from outside, I am sure he heard what Karter yelled outside as well.
A shadow of a smile passes through his face and then he shuts down again.
"You are his sister." He says.
"No." I reply.
He looks at me, searching my face to find out any evidence of the fact that I might be lying. But he can't. I would rather die than say anything that would relate me to them.
He taps his fingers in thought when he is done scrutinizing me and then asks "What do you want?"
"Something which is rightfully mine." I say.
"The pearl?" He taps his fingers continuously. My fingers twitch as I stop them from clenching into a fist.
"I know about the pearl because the Delphinas want it. Have been wanting it for a decade." He says smoothly igniting my anger.
Those fuckers! How dare they?! They still want my pearl even though it's out of their hands and with an Evander! What could possibly be the reason?!
"Looks like you didn't know about it." His fingers have stopped tapping on the table and I hadn't even noticed it. He was studying me.
"I thought you were one of them. Trying to get the pearl back for themselves." He rasps and I know he is hiding something. He has more information which he is withholding from me. More information which could very possibly be of advantage of me.
"Give my pearl back." I get straight to the point since he already knows.
"Not so quickly..." He drawls.
"What do you want?" I have no choice but to make a deal with the devil to get back what's mine.
He frowns but then continues "Where were you for the past decade?"
I can't tell him that. "I don't see how this is related to-"
"Since the pearl is so important to you that you would wait around my company's building, jump at me, and then even attempt to take it from me in my own bedroom at night, I think it is related to you wanting the pearl back so badly."
"I was doing something." I say, grinding my teeth.
"Something more important than taking your pearl back?"
"At that moment, yes. Now, please give it back-"
"No." He muses.