Fated To Three Betrayed By All Until She Rose (Leilani) by Ahvahh novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41: All Shades of Strange.

Leilani.

"Leilani," Jarek whispered softly, sounding as though he didn’t want to be heard... as though he feared I would collapse any moment from now.

I shrugged, half-expecting to appear unbothered but my shrug only came out as a mini seizure. So I stopped.

My body still trembled from the aftershocks. Even my racing heart wouldn’t stop pounding against my chest. I swallowed a lungful of air and sighed, secretly wiping off my tears with the back of my sleeves as I raised my head to meet Jarek’s scrutinising gaze. "I’m okay."

"You’re not..." he drawled in a soft voice whilst carefully draping his arm around my shoulder as he pried the small box off my deft fingers.

I leaned into his hug, dragging in a lungful of his rich masculine scent mixed with perfume. And gosh, he smelled heavenly. I didn’t want to ever leave this place.

I didn’t want his sweet warmth to stop seeping into my blouse...

Wait, what the hell was that?

My eyes snapped open at the thought and I shook my head quickly, ignoring the burn in my cheeks as I shimmied out of his hold.

His deep dark slant eyes bore into mine as he regarded me in silence.

"What do you want me to do about them?" He asked quietly and this time, when I looked up at him, I noticed him staring at the letter in my hand like it was a formidable piece. He didn’t even glance at the bouquet of roses.

His overall expression seemed... uncomfortable.

Like he didn’t want to be here.

Like he didn’t want to see this...

I didn’t spare the objects another glance as well. I whispered; "trash them."

He stilled, and then slowly turned to look at me, his eyes wide. "You’re not curious to know who these came from?"

I shrugged dismissively. "No, I am not. If they wanted to be known, they’d have shown themselves to me, and I’m not interested in some dramatic goose chase. So throw everything away please."

Just like typical Jarek would do, he didn’t argue. He simply nodded at me and then picked up everything, including the roses, and dumped them into my trash can.

My heart felt heavy as I watched him do that carefully, not missing the way he seemed to be deep in thoughts.

For a very minute second—a very fleeting moment— my eyes snagged on the way his muscles flexed sexily under his suit and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed whenever he swallowed.

Jarek was a pretty fine man—no wonder women flocked around him like herds of cattle, but dismissing this thought, I flashed him a grin and waved him over. "I asked you to throw those damn things away, not give me a show!"

He frowned, his tiny eyes bulging. "What?"

"You’re throwing those out as if there’s a hidden paparazzi somewhere taking your pictures..." I drawled, and then acting as if I was glancing around to check for said ’paparazzi’, I stopped and shook my head. "I just double-checked. There isn’t. Now, come on!"

It wasn’t until then that the frown on Jarek’s face finally smoothened out. He flashed me one of his infamous smiles and winked. "Sounds like someone loved the show!"

I made a face. "Eww."

He feigned a surprised gasp, managing to look genuinely disappointed. "Did you just say eww? To me? A whole me?"

"Yes, of course. Eww." I retorted with a smile as he finally walked over to me.

He rolled his eyes. "You’re so unbelievably annoying."

And at that, I chuckled, momentarily forgetting about the strange gifts from earlier as I brushed my shoulder against his arm in a bid to annoy him further (that’s a lie, I only wanted to touch him... but I’d never admit that.).

"I know."

—

Later that evening, after all the awkwardness had finally worn off, the scent of roasted vegetables filled the kitchen with a hint of olive oil and herbs.

On the table, dishes gleamed under the soft light. Jarek and I had made a feast of grilled salmon drizzled with lemon juice, scoops of fluffy quinoa beside it, and a colorful mix of broccoli, ball peppers, and zucchini still sizzling from the oven.

"Looks amazing," I said, pulling out a chair.

He smiled, setting down two glasses of sparkling water. "Of course, have you seen the person who made them?"

When I asked us to watch a movie, he begrudgingly walked over to the living room with me—and he loves movies!— and then, he plopped onto the sofa farthest away from me.

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