NIRELLE - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

"What do you want?" The sound of my own crying voice startles me just a bit. I look back at Theo blankly. "You did not say he was here, too. Is he here to apologise?" I ask.
"If I had said he was, would you have opened up?" Theo asked, and I asked myself the question multiple times before shaking my head slowly. All of this was his fault and no one else's. If he had not been a jerk to me last night, then I would not have tried to provoke him and ended up in this mess.
"Is he here to apologise?" I asked, feeling my throat crack a bit as the words flowed.
"I don't know why he is here, but I am here to apologise." I can see Lucien's discomfort at his friend not taking the initiative for him.
"Then only you can come in." I step aside, and Theo steps in. I try to close the door, but it won't; his body is midway in the frame, and his hand is holding the handle firmly.
"Do you have anything to say?" I ask, and he nods gently. "Then wait your turn." I don't know why I was being mean, but the look on his face was a bit satisfying. He needed to know that I was not a pushover. "Excuse me." He slowly moves away from the frame, and I close the door with as much force as I can muster, even though there is no real damage done.
", I was wrong," Theo said in an apologetic tone. "I am sorry; I did not mean to treat you this badly."
"What are you sorry about?" I had seen women do this in movies. Men always wanted to apologise without knowing why they were apologising. Theo shuffled on his feet and tilted his head.
"For dragging you out of the restaurant and arguing with you in the car. Dor being insensitive and not allowing you to handle things yourself," he said, and I have to say he has more common sense than any average man. I take a deep breath and move closer to him. "I was following orders, and something about Cassian is so infuriating," he added, and I could not agree to his face, but I did.
Cassian had an aura; it was not annoying at first, but then he spoke in a condescending tone, in a very subtle way. If you don't pay attention, then you'd surely miss it.
"Also, don't cause a scene when I know you were just trying to have lunch."
"I knew you were following orders, and to be honest, I am more angry at Lucien than at you. He is the one who caused all of this."
"I know, right?" he exclaimed as if he had gotten the answer to a math problem he had been at for hours.
"Don't get too cheeky," he nods and then flashes a smile.
"Am I forgiven now?" he asked. My answer is a slow nod and a whisper of yes. "Thank you," he goes in for a hug, and I do not move back as my brain tells me. I know this man does not want to hurt me; he does not think of hurting me at all.
He pulls away after some time and then pats me on the head like I'm a dog. "Give him a chance to explain himself," he mutters, and I frown.
"He better have a good explanation." Theo goes to the door and opens it. Lucien tumbles over as he had been leaning into the door, trying to eavesdrop.
"What are you doing?" Theo asked Lucien, who was now in a bowing position. "Are you finally acknowledging how much better of a man I am than you?"
"Get out," Lucien said, standing straight and pulling his shirt down before pushing Theo out and stepping in. He closed the door behind him, and I stood by the bed with my hands crossed over my stomach.
"Did I say you could come in?" I ask, trying to control myself. I had been so angry, but I am better now. I let out all of that frustration when I cried, but it did not make it better; he needed to apologise truthfully and explain the bad blood between him and Cassian.
"I thought you said that..." he stammered and then trailed off, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"Why did you want to see me?" I also cut him off from rambling incoherent words at once.
"I want to apologise."
"The kind from yesterday?" I ask mockingly, and he shakes his head.
"I am sorry, and I mean it this time. None of what happened was me trying to control you; I just thought that was the best way to..." He trails off again, and I can see how difficult it must be for him. This was a change from the norm he was used to, and so was it for me. I was scrubbing a toilet, and then suddenly I was married without any explanation whatsoever.
"Are you going to explain why you sent Theo to pick me up?" He moved closer, just a step, and when he saw that I was rooted in place, he continued coming closer.
"I don't trust Cassian."
"How did you know I was with Cassian?" I already know the answer; I just want to hear him admit it. He looks like a mouse caught in a trap. "You had one of the guards spy on me?"
"I won't call it spying because they are to report where you are at all times to me; they were just doing their job," he adds, the last part under his breath, almost inaudible for me to hear.
"Their job is to spy on me?" I ask, faking a surprise. "I thought it was to protect me?" I ask again, and he shakes his head quickly.
"No, no. I mean, they are to tell me where you are every time so I know you are safe."
"If you are so worried about me, then why don't you tag along?" That was not what I wanted to say, but the words were out already; I just had to play it cool now. "You don't have to be stuck in here all day," I add, trying to act like those words meant nothing at all. Why did I care that he cared?
"You know I can't," he sounded defeated.
"One last thing," I say, raising a finger in the air. "Why do you hate Cassian so much? Why is there so much bad blood between you two?"
Lucien blinked, and for a moment, something flickered behind his eyes. Pain? Regret? But it vanished as quickly as it came.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” he said—too quickly.
"Mr. Vexley?" I call myself not ready to call him by his first name. "If I were to be caught between you two, I would at least know so I can know the right side to pick."