29.

-HER-

I was still in a haze but his words kept replaying in my head. Even though the evidence was in front of my eyes from the first day, his words neither meant any sense to me and neither did I want to believe him.

As I started to recover from the sexual haze, the gravity of the situation weighed my shoulders down. I was now very much aware of what had happened between us and at what cost. Nana’s words rang in my ears.

I had done exactly what she had warned me against. I always liked to go against her and I had gone against her multiple times in the past when I was seeing Derek. She was mad at me for it but this… this situation, it seemed far more serious than Derek.

Somewhere deep down, I knew that if she ever got to know about this then I might have to lose the only family I had. That was the last thing I wanted to happen.

I laid still in the bed, breathing hard after kissing while my rationality finally claimed me back. Meanwhile, I heard him shuffle beside me. I looked at my side to find him sitting on the other side of the bed, facing the mirror.

His eyes were closed and his head was hanging, it looked like as if he were trying to concentrate on something. His body seemed tensed and I didn’t miss how he was clutching the bedsheet. The longer I stared at his face in the mirror reflection, the regret got intense on his face.

He suddenly opened his eyes. His intense grey once instantly met my hazel ones and I froze in the bed for some reason. Silence got louder as we stared at each other.

“We cannot do this again,” He spoke very darkly. His words strangely made my body heat up with embarrassment. I was yet again surprised how he changed so quickly. It was only moments ago when he told me how he wanted me so badly and now he was singing a different song. I was so flattered by the feeling of being wanted that I didn’t think much and just… gave myself to him.

I couldn’t hate myself more.

“Thank god,” I muttered as I got up and headed straight to the bathroom in that bedroom. I wanted to take a bath so badly, wishing that the mere water would be enough to wash the traces of his touch, kisses and the evidence of our consummation away but I knew what was done was done.

After I had fixed my dress and walked out of the bathroom, I found him fully dressed… and waiting for me.

“I hope you leave me alone after this,” I told him before walking out of the bedroom but he followed me closely behind. His hot breath blew on my neck, making my body heat up with need but I didn’t want to do anything with him anymore. I tried very hard to convince myself.

“I want to talk to you, Anna,” He grumbled behind me but I was already done with him.

“Not anymore,” I told him.

“But you are not done with this deal yet,” He told me. I grounded my teeth before I answered him over my shoulder, “We wouldn’t interact beside that,”

I heard him groan but I didn’t stop until I was downstairs and heading out of the house but he still called for me, “Anna, please. This is important,”

“You said you would leave me alone after this. I hope you are a man of your word,” This got him silent. I was surprised that he didn’t stop me when I walked out of the house. This oddly disappointed me. It was already starting to get dark and I had to get home before Nana could make up stories about me, especially after the conversation we had this morning.

I still had work pending in the office, which I was supposed to do after finishing that day’s work in the property but I couldn’t anymore because of Theodore. I was pretty sure that Mr Toles was going to grill me the next day. Theodore was already messing with my head. I would kill him if my job is affected by him.

With still deep in thoughts, I drove home. I grew more and more nervous as I got closer to my house. I was afraid of Nana finding out. Even though I was a grown woman, I still feared Nana like a teenage girl would while sneaking off her strict parent's house to meet her boyfriend.

I wasn’t specifically scared of Nana. I was scared of her abandoning me as my mother had done when I was born. Fortunately, Nana wasn’t home when I got there. I decided to get a shower the first thing I reached home because the lovemaking had left me hot and sweaty.

Even though I didn’t notice it right after we were done having sex, the slight burn in my southern lips was starting to register to me. I hated to see my inner thigh decorated with dry blood and his cum. It made me flush instantly for some reason but I ended up spending extra time in the shower, wishing that all my sins, especially today’s, would be washed away.

When I stepped out of the shower, I heard Nana outside in the kitchen.

“Yes, she met him already but I am hoping that she doesn’t find- Oh Anna!” Nana instantly stopped speaking and turned around to face me. I didn’t miss how she kept her phone away instantly while she smiled at me, which seemed very weird.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked her casually as I walked into the kitchen and checked the fridge for some orange juice.

“It was one of my clients from Spinefall. They are interested in buying a painting from my collection at a double price!” She told me, a bit too much with enthusiasm. The tone of her voice instantly sounded so wrong. I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes at her.

From the past few days, she had been acting weirdly and after the conversation we had about Theodore this morning, I knew that she was keeping a lot of things from me. I still couldn’t understand why it was necessary. We trusted each other very much but her silence was slowly starting to bend it and I was afraid that if this continued then it might break someday.

“Okay,” I muttered as I took the juice out and poured it in a glass before taking a seat on the dinner table, facing the kitchen. I tried not to wince at the slight pain that still tingled between my thighs. It would be dangerous to give anything away in front of Nana.

“Where were you gone today anyway?” I continued to ask her while she started preparing dinner.

“Ah, I got myself an appointment with the doctor. My knees trouble me very much nowadays. Seems like I am finally starting to age,” She joked. I sat silently and listened to her. She sounded so different; it was starting to make me anxious.

“What are you cooking for dinner today?” I asked her.

“That Nordic recipe with beef and vegetables. You like it, didn’t you?” She chirped.

“Yeah but you hate it, right?” I asked her. She waved her hand at me as she proceeded to cut the vegetables.

"How was work today?” She asked me this time and before I could answer her first question, she asked me another one from above her shoulder, “Did you see him today?”

I froze for a moment but I maintained my calm and answered her, “It was fine. Yeah, he was there today,” And we had sex. I didn’t dare say it out loud. I would never.

“Did he try to talk to you or did something unusual happened?” She asked. She sounded casual but I didn’t miss the undertone of darkness in her voice. It sent a shiver down my spine.

“Not really,” I lied.

“Good,”