Chapter 48

"What are you trying to make me say? Is this some kind of joke on your part?"

"Your change of question, I'll take it as an answer."

"An answer to what? Do you really think I want you to know what I think of you? A girl with no education, poor, and miserable wouldn't catch the attention of a Montenegro. I don't think I'm stupid when I say that even you have a much higher standard." I said with sadness, looking away. He remained silent, which was enough to confirm my theory—he simply liked playing with the foolish street dweller.

"Please… could you be more careful so that I don’t misunderstand in the future? It's confusing when you kiss me and are kind to me."

♡

César

There was only one reason I was angry, and it was that I had once again succumbed to my most primal instincts. That little woman provoked an uncontrollable hurricane inside me, and today, I had proven it. She made me feel vulnerable, insecure… we didn't even have any relationship, yet her rejection hurt me. Her pushing me away was another big blow to my ego. I was a Montenegro, and still, I begged for a bit of her attention. And to top it all off, she was telling me not to kiss her again—that was the last blow I needed to hear tonight. Of course, I was angry… but with myself because I no longer recognized who I was. Did she dislike me so much that it was the second time she rejected me, or had I become a shadow of my lazy brother? All her stupid excuses and cheap justifications seemed like a way to tell me that I was bad at kissing. Without realizing it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Was I really that bad? I know I was harsh without many justifiable reasons, but did I only deserve a "thank you" after everything I had done for her? After everything we had been through, she drew a line again, pretending nothing had happened. Couldn't she see that I was holding back the urge to throw myself at her again? I was dying to ask her if it was hate or disgust that she felt for me.

"What I'm trying to say with all this, Mr. César, is that if we want to have a stable professional relationship, we shouldn't confuse things. Besides… if you hate someone so much, isn’t it strange to show such affectionate gestures?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I think the one who hates is someone else." We looked at each other, both confused by that statement. We remained silent, waiting for confirmation of that accusation.

"I… I don’t hate you. If I think about it seriously… you paid for the hospital when I broke my arm, you gave me a house and a job, and now you helped my grandfather… Regardless of how poorly we get along, my grandfather taught me to be grateful, so… if you ask me, I couldn't hate you." I stood there, stunned, watching her bite her lips slightly in doubt. Could this be considered a confession? She didn’t hate me… it wasn’t a big deal, but my heart was pounding too hard—damn it…

"But you rejected my kiss…" I pointed out, looking at her.

"What?" she asked nervously.

♡

Belle

"I… I was suffocating, and besides, we were in a public place, and then they called us…" I covered my mouth, incredulous at what I had said. I wasn't complaining because it was wrong but because it wasn’t the right place. What the hell was I saying? It sounded like an excuse.

"You pushed me away because we were in a public place?" What kind of summary was that?

"Why do you understand only what suits you? Are you even listening to yourself?"

"The one who seems not to listen is you. You just gave me hundreds of excuses."

"I… I’m just telling you what I was feeling." I couldn’t lift my head out of embarrassment. How had we gone from making an agreement to this strange atmosphere?

"And now?" I heard him whisper in my ear, making me jump.

"What excuse will you give me now…? We’re in my car," he said, leaning in dangerously close.

"This… I…"

"Oh, that’s right. Are you going to use Joffre as an excuse? We can close the window so that excuse doesn’t work."

"That’s not what I meant… you’re too close, Mr. César," I said, feeling his warm breath as I fell back into the seat.

"This time, you have no excuses, Belle Orphan." My breathing was rapid, and his gaze was clouded, yet his eyes still shone with a beautiful icy gray. His tie slid across my face, and I quickly grabbed it, covering my mouth.

"Now I remember… You’re that girl from the club. You had the same scent. I knew something was familiar."

"S-scent? W-what scent?"

"Fresh peaches…"