He will never harm me physically, but he doesn’t need to in order tobreak me. I sit on the floor, holding my head. He said he would pursue me, and that’sexactlywhat he’s doing. No sane person would pursue someone like this, but can I complain?
I don’t want to love himagain. I can’t. And if I were to love someone else, he wouldkill him. The demonstration I saw today… it’s a relief I don’t have any such feelings for Dex, or he would be dead by now.
I get up from the floor, take my phone out from my trench coat pocket, and call my dad.
He picks up instantly.
“Papa. Matleon thinks he likes me, and he was about to kill a friend of mine today.”
The line goes silent. I check if the call is fine. It is.
“Papa?”
“I’m at a loss for words, little one.”
“Papa, tell him to stay away from me. I don’t like him.”
“How can I do that? He’s helped you so much, and besides, it would look rude and wrong. A man wants to pursue you, and I stop him without a solid reason?”
“Isn’t me not liking him enough?”
“If we see it from his perspective, it’s not. Think of it like this: there’s a man you like, but he doesn’t like you, and you want to pursue him. What’s wrong with that? You’re doing nothing wrong.”
He’s right, but it’s not as simple as ‘I don’t like him because we have different favorite colours.’ It’s because he hurt meso badlythat I’m still not completely over it, but I can’t tell him that. That’s something only Matleon and I know. My cousins, Kaz and Zan, also have an idea of it, but not in detail.
I pinch the bridge of my brows. “Give the phone to Mom.”
He does.
“Hello, dear,” Mom’s voice comes through.
“Mom, please make Dad understand that I don’t like Matleon and I want him to stay away from me. I don’t know how you’ll do this, but you have to do it.”
“Okay, I’ll try my best,” she says after a pause.
Usually, she doesn’t have to do much to make Dad agree. All she needs to do is smile. My father is madly in love with my mother. I hope this one also works out with a smile.
“Okay, bye-bye. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie,” she says.
I cut the call. If my dad asks him to stay away from me, will he obey? He doesn’t look like a man who obeys anyone, but it should work, even a little bit is fine. I don’t have to stay here for that long.Just one more month.
chapter 6
Iselyn
It worked. My dad asked him to stay away from me, in a politically polite way, and he listened. He didn’t come in front of me for an entire week.Until today.But today, he hasn’t come alone.
His cousin Avira is here. She’s my friend. The first time we met was at a party at her house, and it was also the first time I met Matleon. After that, we crossed paths several times, at gatherings and parties at my uncle’s places, and at her parents’ house in D.C.
Today, we’re meeting at the Russian restaurant where I eat almost every day. It’s the best restaurant I’ve found in this city, and it’s very close to my apartment.
I ask her, glancing briefly at him, “What is he doing here?”
“He’s just bodyguarding,” she says lightly.
“Hello, Iselyn. Long time no see,” Matleon says, wearing that smile that deceives people into believing he’s a harmless golden retriever. Such awolf in sheep’s clothing.
