11. "Funny coming from a man who thinks the world revolves around him."
I sat curled up on the couch in the decent sized library in the massive Ashford estate. Mr. Ashford had it built initially to harbour his interest of constantly learning more, but now Mrs. Ashford used it a lot more than anybody else.
She had even gotten out of her way to order my favourite books for me and fill up an entire corner with a collection I absolutely adored.
Zayden's parents were absolute sweethearts, and I kept forgetting to ask them whom their son took after.
Even his father was quite humble despite being such a massively eminent and affluent personality. What the hell was Zayden so damn arrogant about?
A thick romance book lay on my lap as I remained comfortably on the couch, getting caught up in the story, my thoughts slightly drifting every once in a while.
Wondering what it would feel like to have a life like the one printed on the pristine pages of that book.
As I sat reading a very... intense scene, someone strode into the library with controlled and authoritative footsteps.
I mentally sighed, already knowing who they belonged to.
"Great. You're here too." He uttered, exasperation coating his deep voice.
I looked up from the book. He stood wearing a dark blue buttoned up shirt and tailored charcoal trousers, looking sinfully immaculate and attractive as always. His rolled up sleeves revealed the deliciously enticing veins in his forearms, screaming evidence of the hours he spent in the gym.
I forced a sweet smile, the one I always donned just to get on his nerves. "Why don't you admit that you secretly enjoy seeing me?"
He looked at me like I had said something incredibly ridiculous. "Get over yourself, Sinclair."
I snickered. "Funny coming from a man who thinks the world revolves around him."
He narrowed his eyes at me as he pulled a book out of one of the shelves without even looking.
"What now?" I raised an eyebrow.
His jaw clenched and unclenched. "You're sitting on my usual spot."
I let out an exaggerated sigh. "This couch is yours too now?"
His gaze hardened as he walked up to me, slow and predatory. "Everything in this house is mine."
The corner of my lip lifted into a cheeky smirk. "Except for me."
His jaw tightened. "Agreed. You're one of the things I would gladly dispose if I were given the opportunity."
My smirk grew as he sat on the couch, next to me. "Try it. I dare you." I challenged.
He shot me a glare. "Carry on with your reading and stay out of my face."
I laughed, turning the page before peeking up at him through my eyelashes.
A lock of his hair fell over his eyes as he read the book in his hands. Something related to business and finance.
He looked utterly handsome. Quiet and peaceful, his jaw relaxed for once.
I didn't even realise I was subconsciously admiring him. The way I used to as a teenager who had a tiny crush on him. On a guy who seemed too far out of my league.
But now? He wasn't out of my league anymore, was he? I was more than worthy of walking next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder, except my shoulders wouldn't cooperate. It didn't help that I was 5'3 and he was... what? 6'1? Maybe more? He was practically a brooding giant.
"Stop staring at me." He reprimanded quietly.
I stretched my legs, closing my book, a small smile playing on my lips. "Your eyes linger a lot over areas of my body they shouldn't stay too long at, but I never said anything, did I?"
He didn't glance my way. "You shouldn't dress like that if you don't want men staring."
The audacity.
"I think I've made it clear that I don't dress for men." I asserted, a tinge of annoyance coating my tone. "Not every woman showing skin is asking for attention, Zayden. Get that through that thick skull of yours."
His head snapped towards me as if I had said something incredibly offensive. "Behave yourself."
I scoffed. "Why don't you start behaving for a change?"
Zayden's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. The tension in the air wasn't new—it had always existed between us in one form or another—but lately, it had started humming with something dangerously electric.
"I'm not the one parading around the house like it's a runway." He said bitterly, turning his face back toward the book in his hands, seeming to be trying to control his anger.
"I'm not the one who acts like he owns the air everyone breathes." I countered.
His focus dropped back to his book, but the slight twitch in his jaw told me he was far from relaxed.
I reached out, setting my book aside on the table in front of us, and in doing so, my fingers grazed his knee.
Accidental. Completely.
But he flinched, eyes darting to where my hand had been.
It made my facade of being unaffected by everything he said or did slip away for a second or two. It took me back to our childhood.
I sucked in a breath, aiming to control the sudden and abrupt whirlwind of emotions within me. "You don't have to act like I have the plague or something."
He didn't respond.
The silence stretched, pinching at my nerves.
"Can you leave already?" He suddenly spoke up.
I inhaled deeply. "No. You need to get used to me being around. I think the universe wants us to stay in touch."
"I don't believe in the universe," he replied flatly. "Especially not one cruel enough to tie me to you."
"Ouch." I placed a hand over my chest in mock offense. "You wound me."
"If only." He muttered, flipping a page.
God, he was insufferable.
And yet, here I was, still talking to him. Still... weirdly fascinated.
"So what exactly is your issue with me, Zayden?" I asked, genuine curiosity slipping through. "Is it my attitude? My confidence? My wardrobe?" I leaned in a bit. "Or is it just the fact that I don't worship the ground you walk on like everyone else?"
He didn't speak right away. His grip on the book tightened slightly.
"You're loud. You challenge everything. You push buttons just to see what happens." He responded, voice tight and laced with subtle frustration.
"So what you're saying is..." I tilted my head, slightly amused. "I get under your skin."
His glare was instant.
I grinned, feeling victorious.
"You're impossible." He mumbled.
"And you're predictable."
Our gazes clashed again, silent words tumbling in the narrow space between us. There was heat. Not the obvious kind. Not romantic, not seductive. But the kind that existed between two people who refused to lose. The kind that came with the battle of stubborn hearts.
"Why are you really here?" He asked suddenly.
"In the library? To read." I smiled sweetly.
He looked like he wanted to say something cruel in return but stopped himself. Instead, he stood up, brushing past me, his fingers skimming the back of my hand as he reached for something on the table.
Neither of us moved for a second.
Then he pulled his hand back like he'd touched fire.
And a second later, he slapped shut the book he was trying to read, threw it on the table with force and stormed out of the library.
———
The moon lit up the ink-black sky when I stepped onto the balcony that night. The estate was quiet, the only sounds coming from the faint rustle of trees and the gentle breeze that blew.
I leaned against the railing, closing my eyes, letting the air cool the heat that lingered from the day's earlier tension.
"Of course."
I turned sharply at the sound.
Zayden had ventured out onto his balcony, a glass of whiskey in his hand and a pissed expression on his face. He wore a plain white T-shirt and black lounge pants, but he still looked like a walking magazine spread.
It was annoying how he looked so good in even the most casual of attires.
But anyways, so did I.
He didn't glance my way as he sipped on his drink. "Do you ever not appear where I am?"
I grinned, resting my elbows on the railing. "Maybe I'm just a figment of your imagination. A product of your suppressed guilt and desire."
That earned me a side glance. Cold and unimpressed. "You're more of a product of poor judgment and horrible fate."
I snorted. "You could save your energy and just behave like a normal person with me, you know?"
"I'd rather stab myself." He grumbled.
I snickered. "Be my guest."
He took another sip of his drink, jaw clenched, eyes staring out into the distance like I wasn't even worth looking at.
"You know," I started. "you don't have to act like I'm some infestation. We are living in the same house. You could at least try civility."
His face was strained as he stared ahead at the sprawling estate. "I don't have time to be civil towards people I consider insignificant."
"But you have time to engage in back and forth, unnecessary banter with them." I shot, a hint of bitterness coating my voice.
He stayed silent for the next several minutes, and I decided to shut up as well.
He was really getting on my nerves. I was fed up of him behaving like that with me ever since our childhood for absolutely no damn reason.
He behaved like he was some king, and I was a peasant.
We belonged to the same world, the same social and financial class, yet he had the nerve to treat me as if I was way beneath his status.
In that moment, I swore to myself. I would bring Zayden Ashford to his knees. He would be so obsessed with me, he'd pine for my presence. He would no longer be able to treat me like I was worthless.
When the day would come, he would see the world with my eyes.
"Stay in your bedroom tomorrow." Zayden's voice dragged me out of my thoughts fuelled with determination and powered by frustration.
I blinked. "Huh?"
"Don't come out of your bedroom tomorrow evening." He drawled, voice commanding and cold.
"Why not?" My eyebrows scrunched up together.
He inhaled deeply, gulping down the rest of his drink before turning towards me with his infamous stone-hard gaze. "I have important clients coming over. I don't want them to see you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't they see me?"
He narrowed his eyes. "I don't want them seeing you parading around in barely-there clothing while I'm trying to close a ten figure deal."
I let out a breathy laugh. "You're afraid I'll captivate their attention?"
"I'm afraid they'll think I'm hosting indecent people in my house." He said bitterly.
That instantly triggered my anger, yet I made sure my words came out steady and calm. "The only thing indecent in this house is your behaviour."
"If I see you walking around the place like it's yours, there will be consequences." He threatened.
More anger bubbled within me. "If you're so bothered by my presence, make me leave. I dare you."
He stepped closer to the stone divider between us. "When I decide to remove you, Aurelia, it will be permanent."
The words hit harder than I expected.
For a moment, I just stood there, searching his expression for some crack in the ice. Anything that might tell me he didn't actually mean it. That it was just a power play.
But his gaze was stone cold. Unflinching.
I exhaled slowly, schooling my face into something neutral as I attempted to keep my rage in check. "Got it. I'll stay in my room. Wouldn't want to upset the great and mighty Zayden Ashford."
"Good." He spoke curtly.
He turned and walked back inside, shutting the balcony door behind him with a sharp click that sounded far too much like rejection and dislike.
I stood there for a while, letting the night swallow up the sting of his words.
But even as I told myself not to care, my eyes stayed fixed on the space where he'd just been.
I wasn't the type to cry over a man's coldness.
But I was the type to make sure the next time he looked at me, it would be with regret for every single word he just said.