GRACIE.
I clutched the book firmly in my hand, still pondering on what had happened earlier. The woman had introduced herself as Melissa, if I wasn't mistaken she'd looked eager to speak to me, I had seen the look in her eyes, almost like she had found me familiar.
Strange.
We haven't met each other before today, also, she had looked like she was about to say more to me before another middle-aged man had walked inside.
They had come together and she'd addressed him as a father.
It seemed they were close with Hayden's father because he had welcomed them himself. Just before they had disappeared inside the study she'd cast me a last lingering glance.
Was I just thinking too much about it? She was just some random stranger, for sure I would have remembered if I have ever met her.
With a small sigh I placed the book back on the shelf neatly, I still couldn't stop myself from wondering why she had introduced herself to me in the first place though.
I whirled around when I heard the sound of the knob twisting open, seconds later the door pushed opened and she entered, it almost felt as if she'd appeared out of my thoughts.
Had she followed me in here?
This was getting even more strange and alarming even.
I watched as she walked to one of the shelves to select a book and soon began to flip through the pages.
"What do you want? " I asked unable to conceal the uneasiness I felt.
She stared at me then, her gaze was a pair of coffee brown that didn't reveal anything, I couldn't even guess as to what she might be thinking.
"Why did you follow me here? " I asked again, more firm and direct this time.
Her gaze flickered with some unknown emotion, it was gone so quickly before I could figure out what it was.
She closed the book in her hands and carefully placed it back from where she'd selected it.
"Why would I follow you here? Don't overthink things " she said in a clipped tone meeting my gaze.
After a moment she continued, if I wasn't mistaken I saw a bit of curiosity in her gaze.
"I was just wondering who you are, I haven't seen you here before, How are you related to them? "
"I could say the same thing, I haven't met you before either "
A huff escaped her mouth at my words.
Something about the way she spoke made me wonder who she was and how she was related to this family, I only know her name, and that she had looked eager to speak to me earlier, but it seemed that I had been mistaken.
The curiosity in her gaze vanished, replaced by a cold hard expression.
"You are the mother of that little girl? she's beautiful, you should take care of her "
I was taken aback by her abrupt change of topic and the sudden edge in her tone.
Was it just a casual spoken word, it sounded straight like a warning..... no, it sounded almost like a threat.
"What are you trying to say? "
She shrugged lightly but I didn't miss the slight hesitant look in her gaze.
"You just seem like a nice person, and nice people always get hurt isn't it? "
She walked out the door after that, I stared after the door that had been left ajar even though she had completely disappeared from view.
Her last words replayed inside my head, the warning in her tone had been clear....even though a little hesitant.
From the very first time she had approached me, then following me all the way here, there were so many questionable things about her.
She'd been weird but for some reason, she hadn't seemed harmful.
My thoughts died down as Hayden walked through the door, I didn't miss the way his gaze scanned every portion of the room before it landed on me once again.
*
*
HAYDEN
All day I kept getting distracted, there was so much work to be done because I had taken that few weeks off.
All my thoughts kept zeroing back to last night...
When she'd told me she doesn't hate me j had felt something in me snapped, but when she'd told me she loved me I felt like a changed man. At that moment even if I were to die it would have been the perfect fucking way to go.
Her gaze had been fixed on me telling me she needed me as badly as I craved her.
That wasn't true though, no one would ever feel as I did for her, not even she would be able to return it to me with the same stormy consuming passion.
Still, I've never been so god damn afraid of making a mistake. I don't want to make any mistakes with her.
A deep part of me regretted when she had said she got used to everything....my obsession. My darkness, but an innermost part of me was thrilled, I had to suppress it and subdue it under control. She shouldn't have had to get used to that, I didn't realize earlier but I also messed her up more than I had thought.
Now my whole body was thrumming with anticipation to see her, needed to see that look in her eyes again, need to hear those softly spoken words...
Sure as hell I knew I didn't fucking deserve any of it.
And probably will never will.
From the start, I was no god damned saint, anything but that... A fucked up villain would be the right word to describe me. I wished I didn't have to drag her into it, I've always been selfish when it comes to her, I don't think that would change anytime soon especially now I know she wanted me... And has accepted me.
I couldn't suppress the wave of protectiveness I felt towards her, it had always been like this for me.
She could only belong to me, she could only be pried out of my life from my cold lifeless fingers.
I heard voices as I approached, one I knew just well to be hers, then another. I stopped myself just in time from crashing into a body as I made my way inside the library room.
To my surprise it was Melissa?
Here?
Fucking Robert.
There was just something I couldn't point out about him and his daughter, despite having known them and handling business smoothly with them for so many years, I still couldn't put off that feeling that something was wrong between the both of them.
Dad didn't see anything wrong with his closest friend and business associate.
It wasn't about Robert, it was about his daughter.
She came out as weird to me, I've only heard her speak a few times all these years, she was as good as her father... Well in doing bad things.
She always kept so herself so how on earth could she be talking to Gracie whom she'd just known for only about a few minutes?
I pushed back a wave of suspicion as I made my way inside through the door that had been left ajar
I met Gracie's stare and knew instantly that something was wrong.
"What's wrong ?"
She looked a little hesitant and began to play with her fingers, I don't think she's realized it yet but she always does that whenever she was fumbling for words... Or about to tell a lie
"Um... It's nothing " She tried at a smile but failed
I took a step towards her and made a tight grip on her shoulders, not enough to hurt her though.
Had something happened between them that left her so shaken, the thought sent a surge of rage through my veins, intensified by the fact that she was being hesitant to tell me.
I pinned her with a look that warned her not to lie.
"Did she say something to you? " I spoke motioning at the door with my fingers
"Nothing, I guess I'm overthinking things. Who's she, Hayden? "
"What are you overthinking, tell me? " I spoke ignoring her last question, the only thing that matters was that she seemed visibly upset and it seemed to be because of her.
"I don't know... I think she was just asking me to be careful? "
My brows knitted together at her words.
Careful?
"And why would she do that? "
*