Joanne-
That evening, when the maids had gotten me all dressed up, I stepped in front of my room’s wall mirror and inspected my flat stomach.
I envisioned how I would appear with an unanticipated baby bump, how I would appear after nine months, and how my child – His child – would appear after being born, and the thought of it all gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach.
My hands slid from my hips to my tummy, and I softly rubbed my stomach, as if I could already feel the child.
I exhaled a sigh.
“Is it kicking already?”
Hardy’s voice almost knocked me over against the chair in front of me.
I sighed again as I jerked my head towards the entrance and softly scoffed when I saw Hardy standing there, dressed in a tuxedo.
“You scared me,” I mumbled under my breath.
When the hell did he walk in?
“Seems like you were lost in your little world, you hardly noticed my presence,” As he looked at me, his gaze hopped from my belly to my face.
His voice sounded tired and more thicker and it was just, unsettling.
“Isn’t it past your bedtime? ” He asked, taking a step forward.
As I sat down in front of the mirror, I resisted the really strong impulse to roll my eyes and instead focused on taking a deep breath.
Why the hell does he even bother to be here in the first place?
He exhaled a sigh as though my appearance was nothing more than an annoyance; I mean, he was the one who showed up, so what’s with the sigh?
“I sleep when I want to” I mumbled under my breath, he hardly heard me, but didn’t bother to press on what I had said.
I felt him walk around the room, the low heels from his shoes, hitting every concrete part of the floor, my hands were trembling a bit, and for sure I would never get used to his presence and the little walks he takes behind me, whenever he comes visiting. I hated it.
Hundreds of seconds went by, but Hardy didn’t say a word, he was still wandering about the room, like he was inspecting it, like I was a youngster who had destroyed the place and he was hunting for faults to put something on me.
Sadly I couldn’t turn my head around to look at him or what he was truly looking for. I stayed still, my eyes focused only on my reflection. It was sad, how great of an uncomfortable influence this man made on me.
A few seconds later, I swallowed as I felt the blood drain from my body and saw him standing behind me, watching intently at my mirror.
Every night he visited, felt like deja vu
After threatening me, he would always leave the room beaming, ensuring that I knew my position.
If his plan was to ever make me scared of him, the plan was working fine.
Hardy, who was standing behind me, was strangely silent. His gaze was fixed on my reflection, and my scattered glances and perplexed mind wondered why.
He was scaring me, as he always did, with his words. But this time, he’s not even attempting to speak, and it felt even worse.
Then it occurred to me, both his hands were resting on the end edge of the chair I was sitting in, and I began to heat up just letting my mind cook that one plan up.
What if I make a move, my hopeless mission, my impossible mission of making him fall in love with me, could begin somewhere from here.
I could begin by making a small gesture, such as placing my hand on his and gently caressing it.
But what if he changes his mind? We’re not even on good terms; I was treated like a pet, and pets are far more valuable than I am to Hardy. What if he ends up doing something even worse than flipping?
Maybe I should bury my plan and never think about it again.
‘However, what if he doesn’t flip?’ My always-quiet subconscious speaks up, causing me to twitch.
I gave the man behind me a quick glance and sucked in as much air as I could before slowly raising my hand.
Maybe I should shove my plan down and never think of it again.
‘But what if he doesn’t flip’ My always-quiet subconscious speaks up and made me twitch a bit.
I made a quick glance at the man behind me and sucked in as much air as I could, before slowly raising my hand.
That was the end of it.
I was actually doing it, I was making a move on someone who could kill me at any time, and I was triggering that time.
Of course, simply placing my hand won’t make him fall in love with me, but a first move is a first move.
It felt like the world had come to a halt at that moment, and I forgot how to breathe as my hand gently rested on Hardy’s right hand, as if about to grab his.
As I raised my eyes to see his reaction, I slowly let my nostrils breathe in air.
He looked the same, with the same unfazed expression but somehow I could swear I saw a glint of surprise in his eyes, with my hand on his.
Was he enjoying it?
Or was he about to knock me over?
His expression wasn’t telling either, so I went further by squeezing his hand a bit and letting my eyes lock with his.
Whatever happens, happens!
Slowly the side of his lips curved into a smirk and I felt my heart froze, but I never took my hand off his, he shouldn’t get even the slightest idea that I’m playing him.
Instead, he withdrew his hand from mine and let it fall to my chin.
He lifted my face with just his thumb and forefinger, allowing me to look at him in an almost inverted position.
The room’s lights were dim, but that didn’t stop me from looking at this man and realizing for the umpteenth time that he looked divine.
In just a short amount of time, this man’s hand slid down to my neck, to hold me in place and at light speed, his lips were smacking mine and his mystic warm cologne was drowning me.
.
…*