16. "You can't bear another woman in my bed?"
Weekend finally came around, and I stood in front of the vanity in my room, dressed in the black dress Aiden had gotten me to wear to the annual surgical conference part 2.
I couldn't help but admire how good it looked on me. It fit me like a glove, which piqued my curiosity as to how he was able to pick out my size so accurately.
Aiden was at work, and I were to take an Uber to the conference. I missed the times when I could drive my own car, but some technical issues emerged in it that were too expensive for me to get fixed.
After slipping on a pair of silver heels that went with the sparkling silver sequins on my dress, I gave myself a final look in the mirror. My lips were painted red and my eyes stood out thanks to mascara.
I grabbed my handbag and carefully walked down the stairs in my high heels. The Uber waited in front of the penthouse. I sat inside and gave the driver instructions on where to go, before leaning back.
About thirty minutes later, I arrived at the hotel the conference was in. I was overcome with excitement as I went in and looked at my surroundings.
Everything went smoothly. I was on cloud nine. I was able to interact with so many doctors my age as well as many accomplished surgeons. As I sat listening to a speech towards the end of the conference, someone came and sat next to me.
I didn't bother looking at the person, and kept my eyes on the stage.
"Are you happy now?" The person next to me asked in a low tone.
Recognising the voice, I turned to my side, and surely, it was none other than Aiden Knight. "You?" I whispered.
"I funded it, remember?"
"Yeah but you said you had meetings."
"I attended half and postponed the rest." He replied simply.
I looked at him, perplexed. Why would he want to attend the conference?
"You didn't answer my question... are you happy?" He asked again.
I nodded, a smile spreading on my face. "Very happy... thank you."
"Nice dress. Whoever got it has great taste." He remarked.
I had to put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from laughing out loud. Glancing at him, I found him smirking slightly.
"Yeah... thank you for the dress too."
I gasped as his mouth neared my ear, his thighs almost touching mine. "It's my favourite colour."
My heart drummed erratically, goosebumps erupting all over my skin.
"B-black?" I found my voice once he moved away.
"Yes."
"I'm not surprised... that's the colour of your soul."
He laughed quietly, causing me to look at him in astonishment. I had never seen him genuinely laugh before. He looked so normal. So relaxed. Nothing like the scary, dangerous person he typically showed himself to be.
"Don't look at me like that." He said.
"Like what?" I asked, biting the inside of my lip to keep my smile from spreading from one ear to the next.
"Like you're falling for me." He whispered huskily in my ear.
I snorted, before snickering quietly.
Claps sounded around us as the speech finished. An announcement to grab refreshments was made. I zoomed in with my eyes at the refreshments table where I had spotted a plate of strawberries earlier. I gasped when I noticed there was only one last left.
I loved strawberries, and I had to have that last one.
I sprung up on to my feet and walked as fast as my heels allowed me to the table, leaving Aiden behind.
Just as I approached the table, some guy put that last strawberry in his plate. I felt my heart sink. I didn't want anything else. I wanted the strawberry.
"Are you eating that?" I turned at the sound of Aiden's voice, seeing that he was talking to the guy who had taken the last strawberry.
"Um... yes?" The guy replied, his eyes widening as Aiden gave him his infamous death stare that could scare the bravest of men. "N-no. D-do you want it?" The guy changed his statement.
Aiden took his plate from him— more like snatched it— and presented it to me. The poor guy instantly scurried off. I felt bad, but I would also die for strawberries.
"Thank you... but that wasn't nice." I said, grabbing the strawberry and putting it in my mouth, moaning softly at its sweetness.
I felt Aiden's heated gaze on me.
He grabbed another plate and handed it to me, so I could take whatever I wanted. "What do you want to eat?" I asked him, looking around the table.
"Nothing. You eat."
I stared at him disapprovingly. "Did you have lunch?"
He sighed, not responding.
"Here. Eat this." I said, picking up a cookie and bringing it to his mouth.
He stared at my hand. "I don't have a sweet tooth."
"That's miserable!" I claimed, taking a bite of the cookie and moaning. "It's so good. Try a bite." I held it out for him again.
He stared intently at me, before giving in and taking a bite.
"It's so good, isn't it?" I asked once he was done chewing.
"It's alright."
I rolled my eyes, looking at the table again. Spotting sandwiches, I placed two in my plate along with some cheese and potato balls, and nachos. "Come. Let's eat." I said to him, holding his wrist with my free hand and leading him to the chairs.
We sat down side by side, and I held the plate out. "Eat." I ordered.
He raised an eyebrow at me, before complying and picking up a sandwich. We ate in silence for the next fifteen minutes, and then he went to put the empty plate away.
"Aysel? Is that you?" A guy walked up to me.
My eyebrows shot up as I recognised him. "Hey, Chris!"
"How are you doing?" He asked cheerfully. He was one of my classmates in medical school.
"Great. You?"
"Awesome. It's great seeing you. Where are you working these days?"
I watched Aiden approach us, a displeased look on his face.
"I'm working at Royal Health." I told him.
"Wow, amazing. Are y—"
"Hi." Aiden interrupted him, towering over him by a few inches.
I licked my lips. "Um... Aid— uh, Mr. Knight, meet my classmate from med school. Christopher John," He nodded. "And um... Chris, this is, uh, he's my... um..."
"Aiden Knight." Aiden introduced himself.
I sighed. I didn't know why I was getting so nervous.
"Mr. Knight, of course. Who does not know you? It's an honour. I'm a bit surprised to see you here though." Chris replied.
"Um he owns the hospital I work at." I replied instead.
"Oh I see. That makes sense." He uttered.
"If you'll excuse us, there's somewhere we need to be." Aiden said curtly.
"Sure. Don't let me hold you back."
"Uh it was good seeing you, Chris. Goodbye." I said, earning a nod from him.
Aiden started walking ahead, and I followed him, trying to keep up with his pace. "Mr. Knight!" I called, hoping he would stop, but he didn't.
We stepped into the parking lot where he just started walking faster.
"Wait! Mr. Knight!" I called, but he didn't listen.
"Aiden!" I called louder. "Ouch!"
I tripped over a pebble and landed on my hands and knees on the ground.
I saw his shoes a few seconds later as he stopped in front of me, before he knelt down to my level. I felt embarrassed, and tried getting up, but failed. Wincing, I realised I had scraped my knees.
I followed Aiden's gaze that was glowering at something behind me. The next second, he was pulling my dress down. It was then I realised that it had ridden up to the back of my knees.
As soon as he covered my exposed legs, he grasped my forearm firmly, pulling me up to my feet. I winced as I stood, my scraped knees burning.
"You're hurt?" He asked, closely scrutinising my facial expressions.
I glared at him. "I fell. Of course I'm hurt."
A loud gasp left my lips as he scooped me up in his arms effortlessly. My eyes widened as he started walking toward his car. "P-put me down!"
He ignored.
"Aiden! People are staring!" I chastised, noticing a few people take in the scene playing before them.
He still didn't say anything.
I hid my face in his chest, afraid to be photographed. I could not have a scandal or something with the country's biggest and most dangerous businessman.
He opened the door to the passenger seat of his car, sitting me in and fastening my seat belt. I sat frozen in surprise in my seat at the way he was behaving. Then he walked around the car and sat in the driver seat, before reversing out of the parking lot and driving down the road.
Minutes passed by with none of us saying anything, until I decided to break the ice.
"There's something I need to ask you.... Please." I said cautiously.
"What?" He inquired.
I took a deep breath before speaking. "Um... do you... do you have those... dreams often?"
I noticed his grip tighten on the steering wheel. "What dreams?"
"I've witnessed you having bad dreams twice," I emphasised, looking at his temple. "And you're always so shaken up and scared afterwards. You... you scare me too."
His jaw was clenched, his knuckles white. "We all have bad dreams sometimes, don't we?" He seemed to force the words out.
"Yes, but... if it's something that happens to you often, you can talk to me about it. I promise I won't tell anyone." I assured.
"There's nothing to tell." He said curtly.
I sighed, looking out the window. "You're not possessed by ghosts at night time, are you?"
He scoffed, and I glanced to see his grip loosening on the steering wheel. "Not at all. Ask Luna if you wish."
"Uh huh... you were probably sleeping with a spirit that night because she left not long after you exited my room." I quipped.
His gaze hardened as he tried to hide that his lie had been caught. "Are you spying on me, little one? Is it out of jealousy? You can't bear another woman in my bed?" He teased, speaking up after a minute of silence, his face easing up.
My eyes widened. "That's absurd."
He pulled into his driveway. "Try not to fall for me, little one."
I forced a glare in an attempt to hide my surprise. "I... I could never fall for someone like you!"
He parked the car and stepped out without a word. When I realised he wasn't going to open my door, I stepped out too. Stumbling in my heels, I forced myself to move forward. He was ahead of me, seemingly unaware of how I was struggling to walk straight.
As we entered the lobby, we were greeted by a guest.
Aiden's guest. None other than Luna herself.
For some reason, I was fed up of seeing her.
"Heyyy." She beamed at Aiden, strutting up to him. I gaped at both of them as she put her hands on the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss.
I felt a pang of hurt and embarrassment as he kissed her back.
I turned to the stairs, leaving them alone to devour each other's mouths in peace. I removed my heels, carrying them in my hand as I dragged myself upstairs to my room, where I plopped onto the bed.
I sat there like a statue for several minutes, until a knock sounded at the door.
"Yes?" I called weakly.
The door pushed open, revealing Aiden as he walked in holding a first aid box. I frowned as he knelt in front of me, pulling my dress upwards. I held his hands, stopping him.
"If you want to play doctor, at least do it right," I scowled. "You're supposed to take consent first. You're supposed to ask and inform before exposing any part of your patient's body."
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not here to play doctor-doctor with you. I'm going to put this ointment on you and then leave."
My frown deepened. "I don't need your help. I'm fully capable of doing this on my own. Besides, I know you have extremely important things to tend to, so you can leave."
His gaze hardened, as he removed his hands from my hold and proceeded to pull my dress up to my knees, revealing my scraped knees. "Could you not have walked carefully?" He upbraided, applying antiseptic over a piece of cotton.
I frowned at his forehead. "This is all because of you! I kept calling out to you, but you wouldn't listen!"
His lips thinned. "I did not tell you to run after me."
"Fine. It's all my fault." I said angrily.
"Stop arguing." He ordered, pressing the antiseptic to my injury.
I winced, jumping slightly, but he held my waist, stilling me in place. A strange feeling erupted in my stomach. I flinched again as he pressed it to my wound again. Gripping his shoulders, I pressed my lips together, forcing back my moans of pain.
"Hang in there." He said gently, carefully applying the antiseptic over both my knees. Once he was done, he took a soothing ointment and applied it with his fingers. I couldn't help but stare at his face the whole time while his eyes remained fixated on what he was doing.
He looked up at me once he was done. "Is that okay?"
I nodded quietly.
He stood back up, taking in a deep breath. "Do you need anything else?"
I shook my head as I sat still on the bed, overcome with an alien emotion.
"What do you want for dinner?" He questioned.
"Nothing." I muttered, looking at the wall by my side.
He stayed silent for a minute; I could feel his heavy gaze on me.
"Okay then. I'll be in my room." He announced.
"With Luna?" I uttered impulsively.
He met my eyes. "She's gone," he asserted. "I'll be in my room alone if you need anything."
He kept staring at me for a couple of minutes, as if waiting for me to say something, but I had no words.
"Good night." He stated once he realised that I wasn't going to respond.
"Night." I replied dully.
He eyed me for a few seconds before leaving me alone to bask in the bizarre and unfamiliar feelings that I was experiencing out of the blue.
Perhaps it was a sign that I would be menstruating soon.
Sighing, I got up from the bed, wincing slightly at the pain in my knees. I quickly managed to overcome it and made my way to the bathroom to change.
After changing into my night clothes, I turned the lights off and went straight to bed, willing for sleep to take over me instantly.
It took me about an hour to fall asleep.
I woke up sometime in the night, due to my bladder, as per usual.
Heading to the bathroom, I checked the water like I always did.
Surprisingly, there was water that time around.
After emptying my bladder and washing my hands, I walked back into the room, but before I could lay down again, I noticed something on my nightstand.
Using my phone's flashlight to illuminate the object, I stood stunned at the realisation of what it was.
A box of strawberries.