“I was watching you.”
“You were in the room?” My horror deepens. There’s no way I could miss a 6’4” man standing inside his own bedroom.
He shakes his head, jaw tightening. “There are cameras in my room.”
My eyes widen. “Oh. Wait, why the hell do you have cameras in your room?”
“For security reasons.” His tone leaves no room for argument. “Now answer my question. Because neither of us is leaving this couch until you tell me what’s wrong with you.”
All my sadness, guilt, shame, everything evaporates, replaced by fear. He can’t know. If he keeps watching me with that piercing intensity, I’ll forget in minutes that I’m supposed to hide the truth, that I’m in love with him.
I wet my lips, forcing words past the dryness in my throat. “More than eighty percent of people in this country are diagnosed with depression. It’s not necessary that every single one of them has a specific reason behind it.I’m just… not feeling very happy. I don’t think there’s a reason.”
His jaw hardens. “All those people have very valid reasons for their depression. It’s not some flu you caught from your neighbor. And I can see—very clearly—how you’re trying to act clever with me.”
I purse my lips. “Fine. Since you can see through my lies, let me tell you the truth. And the truth is, I’m never going to tell you, or anyone else, what my problem is.”
I get up from the couch. “I will figure out a solution soon.”
I turn to leave but end up sitting on a hard surface, which is Zoan’s thighs.
My breath sticks in my throat when he locks his arms around me. Does he know no brother does such things with his sister, or should I tell him that? But why would I, when I’m having my dream moment here?
“I told you, we are not leaving this couch until you tell me your problem.”
Dream moment apart, I’m now fully frustrated.
“You are my problem, Zoan,” I voice out my frustration, looking straight into his icy eyes. God could not have been more creative, He gave him eyes according to his personality.
My frustration blurs into admiration for his perfect features. And soon after, my heart picks the proximity as a clue, beating louder. The fear of being exposed turns intosomething very, very wrong when my eyes slide down to his lips.
“Keep your eyes on mine,” he mutters thickly.
I shift my gaze up. The black of his pupils has expanded, bleeding into the cold territory of ice.
Zloban
Her problem is me.
She is crushing under the weight of her feelings for me. It was always there, right in front of my eyes, yet I never saw it, or maybe I never wanted to see. I ignored her jealousy over rumors. I ignored the way she used to shine and smile when I visited her, and how heartbroken she looked when I left after only a few hours. I ignored her searching my name on the internet ten times a day. I ignored her watching me.
Because I never wanted her to want me.
And I thought it wouldn’t happen as long as I didn’t acknowledge it, as long as I didn’t give her feelings any fuel. But it happened. The small flame has grown into a raging inferno burning in her amber eyes.
I could live my whole life with this obsession. But she won’t survive it. We can’t have a future together. I’m Alexander Bennett’s son, for the whole world, including him. I can never have his daughter. He would become alaughingstock in the eyes of the entire world. Not many people know about his daughter’s existence, but those who do are more than enough to drag his name through the mud. And I can’t let that happen to the man who gave me this life.
But above all, she must never be made to suffer that hell. I will not let it happen.
I let go of her waist. She rises from my thighs, her face flushed.
“I hope I’m not disturbing something important,” Leo’s voice comes from the entrance of the living room.
He steps inside. Avira walks to him and hugs him. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” His voice carries a surprisingly light mood.
He sits beside me. Avira settles on the side couch, her eyes never leaving me. I’m drowning in her attention. As much as it makes me feel alive, it kills me with equal intensity.
