Alex was still standing in the very same position where Abi left him when Zeke entered the house. His eyes were blank, dark and frozen cold.
Zeke stared at him but the man didn’t even seem to notice him. It wasn’t until Zeke spoke to him that he was brought back to the present.
“You’re really not going to go after her?” Zeke asked, as composed and as emotionless as ever.
Finally, Alex moved as his head raised to look at Zeke. Then he stared at the ring in his palm for another long while, seemingly falling back into the abyss. He cleared his throat and shook his head and he seemed to have finally jolted back to reality but his first reaction was a forced sardonic laugh.
And then, too soon, his laughter evaporated from his cold face. He clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white in the process, as if he wanted to crush the ring inside it into dust. His cold eyes brimmed with deadness. He started to coat himself with his coldness, like it was some protective permafrost, closing it around him, isolating him again from the world.
The next moment, he turned and looked at Zeke with a wicked smile forming on his face.
“Go after her?” he shook his head, his unpleasant smile not fading. “When have I ever chased after anyone? Huh? Zeke?” he uttered and the ever so expressionless Zeke frowned, obviously bemused.
“Abigail is…” Alex started again. There was no warmth in his voice as he uttered her name nor any glimmer of light in his eyes. “She finally woke up. She finally heeded the danger signs that have been flashing in front of her this whole time. She’s indeed an amazing little lamb.” He was nodding as he said that, as if he was silently saying that Abigail did the right thing in finally leaving him.
Zeke didn’t say anything more and just stared at him with displeasure while Alex nonchalantly loosened his tie and walked towards the grand staircase without another word.
Zeke watched the man ascending the staircase like nothing had happened and his frown became even deeper. He sat by the fireplace, staring at the stairs as he rested his face on his knuckles. He looked like he was plotting something serious.
After an indefinite amount of time, the entrance door opened and Xavier emerged along with Dianne. The woman was dressed in a seductive fiery red dress, excitement flashing in her eyes. She didn’t bother to say hello to Zeke and immediately headed to the third floor.
Zeke just quietly watched the woman walk up the stairs with a meaningful smile on her face, while Xavier walked over to where Zeke was and sat next to him, heaving a deep sigh.
“Now what the hell’s going on? Dianne said that Alex called her,” he said but when he received no response, he just sighed again.
To ease his boredom, Xavier brought out his phone and played a game but a round hadn’t even ended yet when they heard the sound of stomping heels descending the stairs in haste.
Xavier immediately stood up upon seeing the beautiful and confident woman who had just walked upstairs minutes ago, now looking mean and upset. Her face was nearly distorted by her sullen and grumpy expression.
“Hey, what happened?” Xavier asked her and the woman almost yelled at him in frustration.
“I don’t know!” She shook her head in disbelief and anger. “He called me to come here… just for him to shun me away like he was disgusted by me!”
Xavier looked at her, with the words ‘idiot, did you not learn your lesson last time’?
“He asked me to come. He asked me to touch him!” Dianne retorted, realizing the meaning behind Xavier’s gaze.
What she said then surprised Xavier.
“Oh, he asked you to come and be intimate with him but once you did, he threw you out?” he repeated in disbelief and Dianne gritted her teeth, feeling humiliated.
“Something’s wrong with him! He cursed and then ordered me to leave. Something seems to be bothering him, like he’s going crazy about something! Just what the hell happened to him?”
Xavier’s eyes flew towards Zeke, asking lots of questions. When Dianne saw that the man had no idea what was going as well, she snarled and left the house.
Upstairs, Alex was drenching himself under the cold blast of the shower.
His eyes were frozen and his fists were clenched into tight balls. He raised his face to the streaming water. He looked like he was asking the water to wash away something but time passed and his dark expression didn’t change. The cold water didn’t seem to be working at all. He hit the marble walls hard and switched off the water. He stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and hair still dripping wet.
He entered his pitch black room. It was cavernous, hollow and lifeless. But there was one thing that was out of place, the only colorful thing inside. The jellyfish plushie Abigail gave him.
Alex’s jaws clenched upon the sight of it. Images began to appear in his head and he reached out his hand to touch it but he stopped midway, gnashed his teeth before he hurriedly got dressed and stepped out of his room.
Zeke was still sitting in the same spot when he saw Alex, already dressed up and ready to leave.
“Where are you going?” Zeke asked but Alex gave him another sardonic smile.
“Wanna come with me?” he asked, his lifeless eyes looking at him meaningfully.
Zeke could already tell where he was planning to go and he finally stood up and faced him with all seriousness as he spoke.
“Alex, even if you go there, it’ll be the same. You can’t touch anyone because all you want is Abigail. You can’t get her off your mind. You want her back because you’ve fallen for her Alex. Just admit it.” Zeke said and the man who was going to leave the house, halted in his tracks and froze.
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I’m so happy that this book finally reached top 6!! Yey! Thank you so much to all my dear readers who are voting relentlessly! You guys are everything to me. If this book stay top 6 until Friday, I will give mass release this Saturday. Fighting! Keep voting!
