"Should I help you, Sis?"
Annabelle, still displeased, glanced at her brother, who had been walking on eggshells around her for some time now, as he asked. She refused coldly without a second thought.
"No, there's no need."
She intended to turn around and start cleaning his room, but in the end, she hesitated. Her heart softened just a little, and she briefly considered saying something more to ease the tension between them.
But even that thought quickly passed. She decided he should suffer for a while and reflect on what he had done wrong, at least until she finished cleaning.
"I'll inform you when I'm done," she said, finally walking away.
Christian watched her retreating back, feeling even more awkward and guilty.
He had hoped that by the end of his torturous mealtime, Annabelle would have eased up, even slightly. But seeing no change, he was left wondering what he should do.
Christian felt certain that what had happened in the morning wasn't the reason for her anger now, even if she had noticed. So, he reasoned that the cause must somehow be related to Eva. Even then, he couldn't pinpoint the specific reason, leaving him at a loss for what to say or how to earn her forgiveness.
But, knowing he didn't have the time to dwell on these things for now, Christian grabbed his laptop and moved to the living room, intending to work there for the time being.
"Iris, was there anyone following Eva, snooping around when she came here?" he asked.
[Yes. Even though it seemed like she lost them before arriving here, the same car later showed up in the vicinity of the house.]
While Christian tried not to be too fazed, as he had somewhat expected this outcome, he still didn't feel good upon hearing the confirmation. So, while tapping the table in front of him, he asked again,
"Did you confirm which side they're working for?"
[Yes, it's Damian Slate.]
Hearing the confirmation once more, Christian tried to suppress his irritation, then, before diving into the thing more seriously, he gave Iris a clear directive.
"For now, keep an eye on them. Most importantly, if there's any new talk about assassins from Damian Slate's side, inform me immediately."
With Iris's answer, the room finally grew quiet, the only sound being the soft tapping of the laptop's keys. And like that, time passed.
More than three hours later, Christian, deeply absorbed in his work, suddenly felt a small weight on his lap, causing his hands to pause, and lowering his gaze, he found his sister out there looking back at him.
Annabelle, resting her head on her brother's lap, met his surprised expression and wondered just how focused he had been to not notice her sneaking in until she was this close.
Or was it because it was her, that, unconsciously, he let his guard down?
Feeling pleased as these thoughts swirled in her mind, she wrapped her arms around his back, burying her head against his firm stomach. To her, it was a well-deserved reward for all her hard work, after all.
Christian, on the verge of feeling drained from the continuous work, looked at his sister silently. Seeing her seemingly back to normal, he couldn't help but feel more at ease and relaxed.
Leaning back against the sofa, he rested his head and closed his eyes, his hand gently brushing through her hair.
In this soothing moment, Christian felt his energy slowly returning. Even the tension from discovering that Eva had indeed been followed seemed to ease. Without a word to his sister, he allowed himself to rest for a while before finally returning to his work, at hacking.
As more time passed, Annabelle, feeling that she had rested enough, lifted her head and looked at her brother's face. Studying his expression, she finally spoke.
"I was awake when you did that to me this morning."
Hearing his sister's sudden statement, spoken in a calm voice devoid of sharpness, Christian initially felt relieved that she had truly calmed down on her own. But as her words sank in, he froze.
'Was that really the reason?'
Silently wondering, he took a moment to steady himself before finally, though rigidly, lowering his head, and said.
He paused briefly, the weight of her words settling in, and with a heavy heart, he continued.
"Don't try to apologize!" Annabelle cut him off before he could finish.
Christian's expression turned awkward once again. He had no idea what the right response was supposed to be.
"Just take responsibility instead!" she demanded.
'What kind of responsibility are we even talking about right now, in the first place?'
While wondering that, Christian, feeling completely at fault here, continued looking at his sister, hoping she would at least elaborate further.
But instead of providing an explanation, Annabelle asked another question.
"Why did Eva come today?"
Feeling like he was obligated to answer in this kind of situation, Christian replied truthfully, though he couldn't help but wonder where she was going with this this question.
"Because I called her?"
"Hmm. Then why did you call her?" she pressed.
Christian couldn't help but pause at her question. In the end, while averting his gaze, he answered in a low voice,
"Because I missed her."
And Annabelle, not intending to let him off easily, persisted.
"Right, after doing that to me?"
Hearing her accusing tone, Christian finally felt the urge to defend himself this time.
'It was really a spur of the moment.'
'Had my hand not been there when I woke up, I wouldn't have done that.'
'Had we not slept in the same bed, like I said at first, this wouldn't have happened.'
'Had I not heard from Iris how Eva stayed up from night to morning just waiting and trying to guard you, I wouldn't have called her.'
'If you were awake in the first place, why did you allow that?'
Christian felt like he could give his sister all kinds of excuses. More than ever, he felt she was being unfair in the moment. Yet, in the end, he didn't.