He was too calm. So calm that it made me nervous.
But then, I remembered that he had been like this in our past life as well. He ate whatever I cooked, though back then, I had been careful to cater to his tastes, rarely repeating a dish in the same week.
I wanted to bring up the terms of our new arrangement, but after dinner, he just went to the sofa to wait for the appropriate time to take his medicine.
The entire time, he didn’t say a word to me, didn’t even look at me.
What was going on? Was he deliberately ignoring me?
I stole a glance at him, and then it hit me. A wave of joy washed over me. “I knew it.”
He had to be regretting his decision. Why else would he be giving me the silent treatment? That meant I was probably safe for the night.
Tomorrow was Monday, which meant he would be consumed by work again and would have even less time for me. Besides, I had my own work to do. If I could just get through tonight, my chances of escape would increase dramatically.
Suddenly, a loud crash shattered the silence of the villa. My sleeve had brushed against the edge of a bowl, sending it tumbling to the floor. I instinctively crouched down to pick up the pieces, and a sharp pain in my knee made me hiss.
The next second, a hand clamped down on my arm, and Steven pulled me to my feet. “Nora will clean it up tomorrow. Leave it.”
He had pulled me up so forcefully that my injured leg banged against a nearby chair, and I winced in pain.
His gaze dropped to my knee, and his brow furrowed. “You didn’t put anything on this?”
It was only the second time he had spoken to me all afternoon.
Tears of pain sprang to my eyes. I shook off his hand and stared at him defiantly. “I forgot. You go back to what you were doing. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Steven saw the wariness in my eyes and a small, humorless smile touched his lips. His own eyes, however, remained cold. “What, are you trying to draw a line in the sand? Live out the rest of our days in this villa as strangers?”
The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I want to live out the rest of my days as a stranger to you, not just in this villa…”
Steven let out a short, harsh laugh. He suddenly scooped me up into his arms and carried me to the sofa.
A jolt of fear shot through me, and I started to struggle. “Steven, what are you doing? Put me down!”
He was supposed to be regretting this! Why was he carrying me? Where was he taking me?
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