Chapter 80:
Carlos’s Point of View
I adjusted the grip of my cane in my hand and slowly pushed my chair back as I stood up to my full height,
then said in a tone filled with satisfaction:
"Well, Robert... I will return in the evening to enjoy my night with Luna."
A calm smile ford on Robert’s lips as he tilted his head slightly, replying:
"Yes, I will send word now to have everything ready for you."
I exited the office with confident steps, the sound of my shoes on the marble echoing with a regularity that reflected my composure.
As I was crossing the corridor, I spotted Julie coming from a distance; she looked distracted, as if her features were hiding a storm that hadn’t yet subsided.
I stopped completely when we t, passing my gaze over her face in deliberate contemplation.
Then, I leaned my body toward her slightly and asked in a low, calm voice:
"You didn’t say anything to about the gift..."
I paused for a second, then added in a whisper carrying a mysterious tone while watching the pupils of her eyes:
"Did you like it?"
She tilted her head slightly, blinking her eyes as if gathering her scattered self, then answered in a tone she tried to keep calm:
"Oh, you an the desk and the bookshelf."
She paused for a second, and I saw her thoughts translated in the movent of her lips before she continued:
"Very beautiful... I liked it, you even brought the notebooks and pens."
A small, faint smile appeared on her face, and she said softly:
"Thank you very much."
I relaxed my facial features and replied with confident coldness:
"Don’t thank ; I’m glad it t your approval."
I gave her a quick wink with my right eye, then slowly extended my hand and raised my fingers to brush away a rebellious strand of hair that was covering the corner of her eye.
At that mont, her gaze froze and turned as sharp as a blade, as if my hand had violated a forbidden zone. She took a step back and asked in a disapproving tone:
"What is this?"
I maintained my calm, lowering my hand slowly, saying:
"It was just over your eye."
She raised her eyebrows, and words rushed from between her lips with a sting of anger:
"My eye, not yours, so mind your own business!"
Her words only made the smile on my face widen, and I said while scrutinizing her burning features:
"Why are you always so irritable?"
She lifted her head with a false loftiness, straightening her posture as she averted her gaze from , saying:
"I am not."
I leaned my body toward her, approaching to a degree that allowed to see the glint of defiance in her eyes, and said in a low voice:
"Yes... you are irritable."
She exhaled in frustration and fended off my attack with a sharp tone, saying:
"Perhaps because I am in this place by force."
Suddenly, her green eyes widened as if an idea flashed in her head, and she followed up while piercing my eyes with her gaze:
"Haven’t you asked yourself this question?"
I didn’t flinch; instead, I slowly raised my golden cane while contemplating its shine under the light, then nodded my head in complete calm and said:
"A convincing reason."
The tension in her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she raised her eyebrows, saying triumphantly:
"See?"
I said in a calm tone that settled in the space between us:
"I see..."
I couldn’t stop my eyes from sliding toward her full lips; they were moving with a provocative rhythm, while her face, devoid of any makeup,
radiated a breathtaking natural beauty that made contemplate its details with a focus I hadn’t planned on.
She cut the thread of my contemplation when she suddenly asked:
"Are you leaving now?"
I don’t know why a wave of hidden happiness swept over at that mont, as if her passing question gave a weight or importance I hadn’t expected.
I tilted my head slightly and whispered in a voice carrying a seductive questioning tone:
"Do you want to stay?"
I noticed the tension invading her features imdiately;
she blinked rapidly before freezing her expression into that cold mask she always wears, and said sharply, trying to pull herself together:
"No... why would I want you to stay? I’m just asking."
My smile widened with mischief, and I said while watching the slight reddening of her cheeks:
"I don’t know... maybe you’ll miss ."
The mont I uttered the word, she furrowed her brows deeply, clenching her teeth until her small jaw muscles bulged, then exploded:
"Who are you for to miss?"
She paused for a second to catch her agitated breath, then added in a mocking tone as she turned her face away:
"You’re starting to lose your mind, Mr. Carlos."
I said as I took an additional step, closing the distance between us until my chest almost touched her shoulder,
and in a voice that dropped to a husky whisper:
"No one would keep their mind after seeing you, Julie."
At that mont, all words vanished from her tongue, and shock was clearly etched on her face;
her green eyes widened and her breath froze in her chest as if she were trying to process the impact of what I had said.
Before she could gather herself or have the chance to respond in her shock, a familiar voice, sharp as a blade, pierced the silence of the corridor.
"I thought you were leaving, Carlos."
I turned slowly, maintaining my coolness, to find Robert standing in a stiff posture,
his eyes eyeing with a look devoid of friendliness, as if he were setting invisible boundaries for the area where I was standing.
Robert approached us with slow steps that carried a weight of silent threat. I raised my eyebrow coldly and asked him in a tone cloaked in mockery:
"Are you worried about the ti of my departure, Robert?"
Robert stopped just a step away, thrusting his hand into his trouser pocket in a posture that seed relaxed,
but the strained veins in his neck betrayed his tension.
He replied rigidly:
"I am only wondering, Carlos."
I averted my gaze from him slowly, as if I were deliberately marginalizing his presence, and fixed my eyes on Julie, who was standing between us like a bewildered bird.
I said in an audible voice while scrutinizing her confused features:
"We were exchanging conversation... Julie and I."
She quickly shifted her eyes away from , as if my gaze were burning her, so I continued my speech while turning my sight back to Robert,
a aningful smile forming on my lips:
"Talking to her makes you forget what you actually intended to do... doesn’t it, Robert?"
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