Without looking at his expression, I straightened and went into my bedroom. In this world, no one would go out of their way to help someone else for no apparent reason. There had to be a motive. I was smart enough to know why Marcus treated me so well.
Sometimes, I wanted to continue feigning ignorance just so that I could stay. However, humans were complex beings. I couldn’t very well put on a facade forever, not to mention the current me couldn’t afford to be ignorant anymore.
“Scarlett!” He paused before asking in a low voice, “Have you ever… felt anything for me?”
His question stunned me, and my mind couldn’t formulate a response for a while. “I’m sorry, Marcus!”
A low laugh came from behind me. “Okay. I understand.”
His simple words carried a sense of heaviness.
Even so, there was nothing I could do about it.
I parted my lips, attempting to say something, but no words could escape.
Back in my bedroom, my chest tightened uncomfortably. Even after a whole night of tossing and turning, I still couldn’t fall asleep.
During the past two months, I never once thought about how I was going to spend the rest of my days.
Besides solving the matters between Ashton and me, there was also Marcus. I had no qualms accepting his meticulous care. In fact, I even enjoyed it. However, I seemed to have forgotten that there was nothing I could give him, and at the end of the day, he was the one who’d get hurt.
I was broken and beyond repair, so I shouldn’t drag him into my mess.
The night passed by so slowly that I thought the sun would never come up.
The next day.
After a sleepless night, my head buzzed with a pounding headache.
Marcus was already in the living room. Upon sensing my presence, he looked at me with a neutral expression. “Have some breakfast first.”
I nodded, my gaze landing on the homey meal comprising of eggs, bacon, and bread spread out on the dining table.
As we sat across from each other., he remained silent and ate his food elegantly.
Upon noticing the dark circles beneath his eyes, I asked without much thought, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
He met my gaze and replied tersely, “Eat more.” With that, he filled my plate with more food.
I studied him for a while but remained silent otherwise.
My mind had wandered off when my phone rang. When I felt Marcus’ eyes on me, I snapped out of my daze and glanced at my phone.
Ashton’s phone number was flashing across the screen.
Seeing my lack of reaction, Marcus raised his brows. “Aren’t you going to answer it?”
After picking up my phone and swiping it to answer, I placed it against my ear and waited for him to speak first.
“Do you have a lot of stuff? I can go up and help you with them. I’m downstairs now,” Ashton spoke in a monotonous voice.
I got up and walked to the windows, then pulled the curtains open. True enough, the man was standing tall and proud downstairs, clad in a black suit.
“It’s fine,” I declined in a flat voice, then added, “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you,” he answered in a tone that matched mine. I guess this had always been the way we interacted.
After ending the call, Marcus looked at me with pursed lips. “You haven’t finished eating.”
I stared at him and hesitated for a moment, knowing that he was in a bad mood. “Thank you, Marcus.”
Except for this, I didn’t know what else I could say. Since everything in the bedroom was arranged by him, I didn’t have anything to take with me.
I skirted around him to walk out of the bedroom, but he abruptly grabbed my wrist. Before I could react, he grasped the back of my neck.
It all happened so quickly that I had no way to dodge him. I hurriedly shoved him away and massaged my neck as anger simmered in me. “Marcus, I thought you respected me!”
He huffed out a laugh. “You always see the good in humanity!”
My expression was grave when I stared at him, then I said in a heavy tone, “Goodbye.”
This happened because of me, so I didn’t have the right to lecture or criticize him. Hence, I had to bear the consequences.
Ashton was waiting by the gates downstairs.
Upon seeing me come out, the crease between his brows eased slightly, and he extended his hand to me. “Let’s go home.”
His voice was so soft that it was almost carried away by the wind.
I pursed my lips and ignored his outstretched hand, then brushed past him and marched toward the car.
Just then, Marcus’ menacing voice came from behind. “You’d better take good care of her, Ashton, or I won’t let her go the next time.”
I faltered in my steps and looked over my shoulder to find that both men were staring each other down in a silent battle.
Ignoring them, I got into the car and vaguely heard Ashton saying, “There won’t be a next time.”
Ashton revved up the engine and started driving. Since he didn’t make conversation, neither did I. Instead, I gazed out the window to watch as high-rise buildings whizzed past.
As we passed by more buildings, it began to dawn on me that K City was much more than just a bustling city.
“What would you like to eat?” Ashton finally broke the silence, asking me airily. When he glanced sideways at me, his eyes darkened slightly with a hint of frost seeping out of them.
With pursed lips, I replied succinctly, “I’m not hungry.” It was true since I already had something to eat earlier.
He kept silent and parked the car in front of a breakfast place, glancing at me to declare, “Well I am.”
After getting out of the car, he entered the shop and found a table before settling into a seat. With an expressionless face, he asked, “Do you eat pancakes?”
I wasn’t hungry to begin with, so I gave him a nod. “Anything’s fine.”
Right after that, I bowed my head and scrolled through my phone. Just then, I received a text from John. Are you meeting up with OrbitTech’s president in J City this Wednesday?
