Chapter 16
***
The footman led me to the second floor. Unlike at Count Ravant’s mansion, the stairs were carpeted in red, and curiously, there was not a speck of dust in sight.
It's as if the massive carpet was freshly washed and cleaned every day. Khaled’s study was located in the deepest recesses of the second floor, to the right. It was almost halfway around the mansion.
It had a pair of bronze-colored doors, much taller than Aubrey, with doorknobs bearing the family crest. The footman stood before them, knocked, and asked.
"Miss Aubrey Sandalwood is here."
Then, whatever answer came from within, he opened it for her. Aubrey gave him a curt bow and cautiously made her way inside. His study was the size of two of Aubrey's bedrooms combined.
The balcony doors were open, making it feel even more spacious. A large bookcase lined one wall, much larger than the one in Jeffrik’s study.
It seemed like everything in this place was big. In the center of the room was an elongated desk, and there he was. The desk was piled high with papers, some of which had fallen to the floor.
Aubrey stopped about five paces from the desk. With her hands clasped in front of her and her gaze slightly away, she waited. For a moment, all she could hear was the sound of scribbling and flipping papers. In the distance, the water from the fountain began to trickle again.
Aubrey, unable to bear the silence, glanced up from her position and saw Khaled. He was poring over the papers with a narrowed brow, as if that was the reason for her hasty return.
He didn't seem to be in the mood to speak first, so Aubrey decided to wait a little longer. She bit her lower lip and twiddled her fingers.
"What can I do for you?"
His blunt voice came like a thunderbolt, because the room had been so eerily quiet. Aubrey jumped, but quickly composed herself. She didn't want to freak out like a fool in front of him anymore.
She was tired of stuttering, and she didn't want to fumble and end up biting her tongue or hiccuping.
‘There's nothing to be nervous about, nothing to be afraid of. I'm here to have a conversation, a conversation, that's all.’
Aubrey muttered those words to herself over and over again, then looked up. He was looking at her, too. His hair was slightly disheveled, exposing his forehead and eyebrows, making his expression more visible.
"You don't look like you're here for tea."
He pressed the corners of his eyes as he said it. His fingers were long and elegant.
"Hand......."
Don't stutter, Aubrey said under her breath.
"I just wanted to give you your handkerchief back."
At that, he raised one eyebrow. He didn't seem to remember. Aubrey walked over and dropped the neatly folded white handkerchief on his desk.
"Thank you for that time."
"......."
"And I was rude, because I'm not used to being in that position."
"Such a position?"
He asked, glancing down at his handkerchief. His icy gaze felt like a sword. Just a question. She tried hard not to avert her gaze.
It's like they're staring at you because you're alive. Aubrey had to keep thinking that way, so she could talk to this man.
"I'm not used to socializing yet, and..."
Despite her best intentions, her anxiety was at an all-time high. It was time to get down to business.
"Before that, thank you......."
Her heart was already beating like it was going to explode. She wasn't even sure if she was speaking correctly, her voice mingling with the sound of her heart. Aubrey was telling the man about that day, and she was telling him first.
"I'm sorry I'm so late in saying hello, but I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated it."
But what she didn't realize was that she hadn't yet healed from the memory. Even as she expressed her gratitude for what had happened, she felt increasingly short of breath as the memories flooded back.
The dark island. The bridge she ran for her life. The soles of her feet were torn to shreds. And yet, Aubrey could still clearly remember herself as a child, reaching out to a stranger, desperate to live.
"I don't know if you remember, but we weren't in the best position to greet each other, so I thought I'd say thank you now......."
"Miss Sandalwood."
"Actually, the reason I'm here is because I have a favor to ask of you, which is why I didn't get a chance to give you a heads-up, and why I'm so rude as to come to......."
Aubrey bowed her head and begged him to keep it a secret as she recalled the events of the day that she didn't even want to think about. The more it became clear, the more she wanted to sit down and cry. Her eyes burned with a mixture of shame and fear.
"Ha."
There was a heavy sigh as he rose to his feet. The man's approach was blurry through her tears. When he was close enough, Aubrey barely managed to get out the words she needed to say.
"Please...... don't tell."
"......."
"Do me a favor and don't tell anyone."
He looked larger than life, but somehow friendly. He seemed to be wearing the same gorgeous smile he'd shown her at tea time. He even handed her the white handkerchief again. It was time for Aubrey to take it.
"What, that you were a slave?"
With the insensitive words, the ground she stood on seemed to crumble beneath her feet, and the tears she'd barely managed to hold back slid down her cheeks. As her vision cleared, she saw the man's face.
He looked so relaxed, so unhurried, his dark blue eyes showing no emotion whatsoever. Interest, if you will.
"Did you come to me to ask me not to tell?"
"......."
"If I don't talk, what do I get?"
She was wrong. The man who had risen through the ranks as an illegitimate child. The man who had first established himself as an unwelcome presence, before being a gentleman at tea time. The order was wrong.
Aubrey took a hasty step backward as the realization dawned on her.
"Ha, I'll see you next time......."
As she turned to leave, Khaled gently grabbed her wrist. Aubrey looked at the hot, large hand clutching her wrist, then at his face in confusion.
"Where are you going?"
"......."
"Is running away your habit?"
The words stopped her trembling. She felt the thin rope she had been holding onto snap.
"Now, what......."
When Aubrey asked in disbelief, he kindly repeated it in his signature gravelly voice.
"I asked if running away was your habit."
It was then that a small hand grabbed the hem of his shirt like a claw. A million emotions she'd been holding back slammed into the top of her head. How could he say such a thing? How could he say such a thing to her? Khaled didn't blink at her surprise. It was as if he'd seen it coming.
"What are you going to do?"
"......."
"Anything."
A thin smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, as if he found the situation amusing.
"What the hell...... are you doing to me?"
Tears streamed down her face as she spat out the words. She wondered what the hell was wrong with him, why he was doing this, why he was only showing her those eyes.
"My, what have I done so wrong....... I'm just trying to live, and that's the only way to live......."
The memories, still so vivid, quickly flashed through her mind. Once the tears started, they didn't stop. The more she looked, the faster they fell.
In his dark blue eyes, he saw a woman pleading with him. Her face was stained with tears, and she was stuttering and spitting out words one by one.
"I'm begging you. Please......."
Then the large hand brushed her cheek. For a moment, the heat was searing, and then the thumb stole her tears.
"Calm down. Miss Sandalwood."
"......."
"You must think you're something, seeing as how you thought I was going to tell people all that crap."
"Then tell me."
Aubrey gripped his collar harder.
"Tell me. Tell me you won't tell. That you won't say anything......."
You’ll keep your mouth shut because, as you say, I'm a nobody, and the nobles don't want to hear about the tale of a nobody.
"I won’t."
The answer was incredibly cool and clear. When Aubrey narrowed her eyes, he repeated it, peeling off her fingers one by one.
"I won’t."
Aubrey pulled away from him, a dazed look on her face. He brushed off his rumpled shirt and returned to his seat. A crumpled handkerchief lay where he'd been standing.
"You got what you wanted, now leave."
Aubrey mulled over Khaled's answer. He said he would. He said he wouldn't tell. For now, she could only take him at his word. She hesitated for a few moments, then turned away when she saw Khaled's gaze return to the papers.
She walked over and reached for the handle that bore his family crest.
"But, Miss Sandalwood. You have made a mistake."
"......."
"Since you're so eager to hide it, I guess Count Ravant must know nothing."
Her heart, which had ceased to flutter, dropped to her feet with a thud. If she wasn’t gripping the doorknob, she would have fallen to her knees. Aubrey opened the door and stepped out without a word, but then slid back against it and sat down. Why hadn't she thought of that?
That just as she didn't know how he had become a Count, he didn't know how she had come to be a lady. She, with her own words, had given away her weakness. Her eyes, not yet dry with tears, stared blankly into space.
***
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Write a comment
Nona (Sunday, 14 January 2024 06:39)
I need to know his intention. What he did to her is just soo... weird??
pinayAKO (Sunday, 14 April 2024 05:08)
ow its so get interesting..i like it..i hope theres a smut here sheessshh