Chapter 14
When the Villain Knows Your Name Part 2
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"Are you sure of that...?"
Red Hilt's voice was meant to tease, but for some reason, his words seemed to imply something. As the villain signaled the waiters to serve the food and wine, Arondight's mind was busy replaying the villain's words repeatedly, with each repetition twisting in his gut.
"What is he implying? Why does it feel like he knew me even before we first met...?"
A chill ran down Arondight's spine. His pulse quickened in a way that made him question everything he thought he knew. And just as his mind seemed determined to deepen his confusion, a stray thought suddenly wandered in:
"Wait...Noble Seas...? Wasn't this the same place Ivan Ross—the guy from three months ago, the one-night-stand-I-pretend-never-happened guy—said he booked for dinner tonight?"
For a split second, Arondight nearly laughed. Or maybe cried. Probably both. Apparently, the universe wasn't content with subjecting him to emotional whiplash alone; it had to be sprinkled with some irony, too. The sheer coincidence of this whole damn dinner, down to the place, the timing, and everything in between, was maddening in its finest!
But his mind wouldn't let go of the possibility that it was all just a coincidence. Arondight clenched his fists tightly under the table to suppress the anxiety that threatened to rise from his intense restraint.
"Maybe I'm just imagining things. That's all. It happens to me constantly...seeing connections that aren't even there and don't make sense..."
Still, the nagging thought lingered: What if Red Hilt is Ivan Ross?
Arondight's heart suddenly hammered in his chest like a warning, "No, it can't be. That's impossible. His rational mind shouted at him, trying to hold back the rising tide of panic. To be honest, if Arondight had to pick between dinner with a narcissistic billionaire like Ivan Ross or this sadistic bastard, Red Hilt, he'd rather take the billionaire. At least Ivan Ross wouldn't threaten him with smoke monsters or weird serums! And, well...he was quite the gentleman, to boot.
But the more Arondight tried justifying things, the more questions he found, and the fewer answers came. That's when he realized that the longer he waited to confront the truth, the tighter Red Hilt's control over the situation would become. He had no idea what game the villain was truly playing.
Red Hilt's smile widened as he slowly swirled the glass of wine. His eyes lingered on Arondight long enough before he spoke softly.
"You seem...deep in thought. Care to share?" Then, he tilted his head slightly and continued as if he was reading something from Arondight that only he could sense, "Or perhaps... You were surprised by what I said?"
Arondight's stomach churned slightly. To get rid of it, he drank a little wine to moisten his throat, which had been dry due to tension. But still, the words that he wanted to say stuck in his throat, as if they were trapped between fear and disbelief.
Why is he smiling like that? Why does it feel like he knows exactly what I'm thinking?
"I...I'm fine," Arondight forced himself to swallow the wine from the glass in one shaky gulp.
Lie. Just lie. Don't give this fucking villain the satisfaction of seeing you getting so confused!
But then, Red Hilt's smile suddenly shifted, enough to set Arondight on edge. "I think this beating-around-the-bush conversation isn't helping us reach the real point...Adrian Garland."
Arondight froze the moment Red Hilt uttered his name. How...how does he know my full name?
Red Hilt's gaze lingered on him, and he said, "I brought you here to tell you that I'm not angry with what happened between us at the bar three months ago. In fact...you left quite the impression on me. So much...that I found myself...obsessed with you."
Arondight's throat went dry again. But this time, he gripped the table's edge as if it were the only thing that could anchor him. How...how does he know that?
"Oh, don't look so shocked...." Red Hilt decided to stand up from his seat and approach Arondight, who was barely blinking in his seat due to surprise. The villain reached out, placing a hand lightly on Arondight's chin, tilting his face to force him to meet his gaze. His eyes held an intensity that made it impossible to look away.
"I want to see those eyes again begging me to drown you in pleasure, like how you made me happy with your mouth..." Red Hilt said this while caressing Arondight's lips with his finger.
It took Arondight long enough to recover from the shock. With a sudden, almost frantic motion, he swatted Red Hilt's hand away, causing Arondight to stumble back in his seat and nearly fall to the floor.
"You..." Arondight's voice wavered with pure disbelief. He can't accept that the man before him was the same person who had introduced himself as Ivan Ross days ago, the unknown bartender from that fleeting one-night encounter three months ago.
"You're...Ivan Ross?"
Arondight felt the room shrink around them for some reason, and the tension between him and the villain was thick enough to taste.