Chapter 58

Minutes after Arden and I agreed to let Layla be, I went back to the living area and starting thinking on how I would punish her for going against our agreement.

She had kissed him, a day had hardly passed since we both agreed to not mess around with other individuals but she had gone ahead and kissed him. I don't care whether she had no choice in the matter,whether it had been a necessity for her to play along, the fact still remained.

She had fucking kissed him!

And you ought to have see Arden in the bloody picture, he was clearly enjoying the kiss, with his hands on her as if he were marking his territory. I swear that if I don't do something awful to that phone before the week ends then my name is not Gabriel Germaine. I was hardly ever that angry. And now each time I closed my eyes all I saw was the two of them with their lips locked. Grunting, I went to the gym and worked out for a while, then I went through some files and signed a number of documents before I returned to the studio and tried to finish up in my painting. But I was too angry,and I feared that I'd end up with a painting of me standing over a corpse so I let it be and focused more on other things. 

But I couldn't forget. I was mad at her and I didn't even know how to justify the anger itself. I felt the same way I did whenever anyone took something of mine without my permission, only the feeling was a thousand times worse. 

She was mine, that was the end of it,and therefore any other person who dared to take her away from me was either unknowledgeable or suicidal. Perhaps even both. And I'm certain she knew that I'd be furious when I found out, and she must have been wondering whether or not I already knew. So that night, when she made supper and asked Arden to tell me that it was set I went down with a fake smile plastered on my face and "happily" ate. Arden and I had an agreement and so as long as he was around I was going to behave. I didn't even glance in Layla's direction,not even once. And Arden was sticking to small talk, light remarks here and there. And the one time I did look at Layla, she was eyeing us both suspiciously. She could definitely feel that something was wrong but she was forcing herself not to ask,she served us yet another one of her wonderful culinary creations and we all sat down at the dining area to eat. 

And I don't know why the entire scene was so awkward, Arden and I weren't talking either. We just stared at each other and smiled before we returned our focus to the food. 

And the silence stretched until finally one of us decided to put an end to it. 

" Are you guys okay?" Layla finally asked, I turned to find her studying us, her hand on her fork and her brows furrowed in curiosity. Arden assured her that we were, asking why she thought otherwise.

" Nothing, you're just.... quiet. I don't think I've ever heard you not talk for so long. " 

Well, ouch. What was that supposed to mean? We didn't talk that much. 

Shrugging, I went on with my meal and busied myself with my phone. Pretending that I was going through something even though there was nothing really useful on there. I could feel her eyes on me throughout the entire time, she wanted me to look up at her. But I fought the urge and restrained myself. I was still angry, and I had to convince Arden that I was following through with our deal. 

" Do you know the exact date your parents are coming?" She asked Arden who said he would confirm with them that night and tell her the following day. She nodded,took a bite of her food and then turned towards me once again. I could see her from the corner of my eye. And I realized how hard it was to act as if her presence there didn't affect me when I knew quite well what it was doing to me. 

" Don't you like the food?" She asked,and I knew that the question was directed at me. But my inner devil made me pretend that I hadn't heard her, I continued scrolling through my phone and leaned back against my seat. 

" Gabriel?" She called out with that honeyed voice of hers. And I swear she almost had me. Almost. Without glancing up I reached for the glass of juice and took a sip, then I placed it back on the table and went about my business.... ignoring her. I almost felt like an awful person.

" Dude, " Arden tapped my arm and inclined his head towards Layla's direction.

" She's talking to you. " 

I widened my eyes and finally looked at her, the sight of her like a punch to my chest, with an arch of my brow I waited for her to repeat her question. She shook her head and said it was nothing. That I should ' forget it '.

And then I actually did feel like an awful person, she seemed hurt. And seeing her like that made something switch inside me, knowing I was the reason for that look on her lovely face made me want to fix whatever I had done wrong. I placed my phone on the table and went ahead with my meal. 

I wasn't even that hungry to be honest, but I forced myself to eat the entire thing. By the time I took the last bite I was so full that I hated food and what it stood for. But then a glance at her and I knew that my discomfort was worth it. 

" Thank you for the meal, it was delectable, " I told her as I stood. Then I told them goodnight and picked up my phone from the table before I headed for my bedroom. If Arden sensed something was off then that was his problem, I wasn't willing to just hurt Layla's feelings and leave things as they were. 

After freshening up and brushing my teeth I lay on top of my covers and took in a deep breath. I had quite the busy day tomorrow so I had to rest, I turned the lights off and closed my eyes. For once I felt exhausted and I had hardly done anything. Not long after I was fast asleep....but then I woke up several hours later, my cock throbbing and my breathing hard. My mind once again filled with the thoughts of her. I wondered how much longer she was planning on tormenting me, now I couldn't even go through the night without her barging her way into my head and forcing me to pay attention to her. 

Her soft skin, that almost unsure look she always used to look at me and the way my stupid heart pounded when I thought about her. Those were all things that drove me to do what I did next. I hadn't forgotten about her and Arden, perhaps that's why I was thinking about her so much even in my sleep. Reaching for my phone I quickly dialed her number. Noting in the process that it was two in the morning. I called her and waited for her to pick up, putting her on loudspeaker and lying back down afterwards. She hang up the first time, then I called again and finally she picked up.

" Gab-"

" My room. Now, " was all I said. And just to make sure that she wouldn't decide to ignore the command and sleep on,I added, " Come to me or I'll stride over there and break the door instead. "

Would I do that? Of course not. The mahogany took almost a week to be imported from Asia, but I needed her to sense how serious I was. I hung up and returned the phone to my side table, then I sat across the bed and waited. Impatiently tapping my foot on the floor when she took longer than she had two. I decided to give her three more minutes, after which I was going to make my way over to her room and WALK in! 

As I was planning that out in my head, I suddenly heard her as she unlocked my door. Then she cautiously stepped in, her footsteps slow to ensure that Arden didn't hear her. She very slowly closed the door, then she turned to me and bloody murder was written everywhere across her face. Mostly in her eyes and in the dangerous look she shot me. 

" You have a problem, " she seriously told me. Then she scoffed and placed both hands on her waist. 

" What do you want?" She asked. And I realized that she was always grouchy whenever she felt sleepy, or when she woken up in the middle of the night. I stood and threw her an angry look of my own, but I didn't say anything. Then I watched her as she bit her lower lip and wrapped her arms protectively around herself. Turning her gorgeous face away from me. 

" He was the one that kissed me! " She blurted out suddenly. Her voice so defensive I almost smiled, but I was still mad and I wouldn't portray any emotions of joy until she understood just how much.