Chapter 26 A married couple must live together
Lilac's heart nearly stopped. He found her already? She had already known he would eventually find her, but this soon? She immediately ended the call and took a deep breath before opening the door.
Outside, Eric stood in a dark suit. Hed did not have on a tie, letting his collar stay open to reveal his lightly tanned skin.
"What do you want? Why are you here?" Lilac asked, blocking the doorway instead of letting him inside.
Eric stared at her then took a big step forward, closing the distance between them.
His sudden action forced Lilac to step back quickly, allowing him entrance into her apartment.
She frowned and stared at him as he closed her door behind him. Under the light he took in Lilac's appearance. She supported herself on the wall to the side clearly unable to stand well. He could see the bandages on her feet and what looked to be bruising on her wrists.
"You are injured," he said and Lilac raise a brow. She could not believe his audacity to say those words. Of course she was injured. That is what happens when one gets violently abducted.
Lilac wanted to say these words but refrained from doing so. Since he was acting as though nothing happened, then she will join him to do so.
"Accidents happen," Lilac said to him.
"Did they do this to you? Those who took you, did they do this to you?" Eric asked.
"Why are you here?" Lilac said him tiredly. Standing was getting too annoying. She wanted to get this over with.
"Why do you think? You get taken, then you disappear before my men could even rescue you. Where do you think is should be?" He asked and a spark of anger flashed through Lilac's eyes for a second. But she held herself back.
"We are already getting divorced so, obviously I will no longer be living with you. I will be back to get my things." Lilac said.
"How did you escape?" Eric asked. He has been watching her reaction since she opened the door. She seemed to be holding back a lot. As though she wanted to pretend her abduction never happened.
He had thought she would be angry when she could not reach him while being abducted, and so there was no need to be straight forward. It was best to calm her first so he can ask what he needed to know. But seeing her avoid the incident instead, he decided to be straight forward.
"Or It might be best if I send someone to pick up my things," Lilac said, seemingly ignoring his question.
"How did you escape, Lilac?" Eric asked again. Lilac tiredly found a seat and slowly descended into it.
"Most people would ask, Did you see who took you? what did they want? What did the say? Can you describe how you were taken?" Lilac mocked.
"I am not a police officer interrogating you," Eric said.
"Oh, so you do know you are no a police officer? Then why are you cosplaying like one now? The other questions would have at least made me think you wanted to know who your enemy was, after all, they only took me, because they thought I was your wife. But what use is knowing how I escaped?" Lilac asked.
"You are my wife," Eric answered.
"Not for long, but what does it matter to those who want to throw punches your way?" Lilac sneered. Eric could tell she was sneering at him using her status as his wife to divert his enemies.
"Avoiding the question only makes me more curious, Lilac. How did you escape?" He asked.
"Escape? I was let go. I was held for a bit and let go," she answered. She did not care how ridiculous that sounded, after all, he was not there.
"Why?" He asked.
"Why would I care why? But I guess, you would, after all, it would have been to your best interest that something happens to me, right?" Lilac said. They had at this moment torn off all pretences.
Eric was even more sure now that she knew he had used her. Even though he felt uncomfortable under her gaze, he did not feel regret. Did she think marrying him would be all fun and games? She should have thought of this before forcing her way into a marriage with him.
"You cannot stay here, it is not safe," Eric said.
"I am not safe anywhere. But at least I can sleep in peace here," Lilac said. Then she looked at him with irritation.
"Since you have said your peace, when will you be leaving?" Lilac asked. It was clear she did not want him there. This made him, who had always been on the other end of her consideration uncomfortable. She had never outright asked him to leave before. But since he could not get any useful information from her, he decide to was a waste to stay and walked towards the door.
But before he could open it, his phone rang. Eric looked at the number and frowned. It was Diane Miller. Why was she calling?
"Eric Black, It's Diane Miller," Diane greeted with a slight cheer in her voice. Eric could tell she was happy. It seems she came to rub her success in his face.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"Oh, sorry to disturb you. It's just that since I won the bid, I wanted to thank your wife but I did not have her number. Please let her know that I will be sending a gift her way. Alright, I know you are busy, so buy for now," Diane said and ended the call.
Eric stood paused by the door for more than a minute after the call ended. What had she say? Did Diane mean that she won the bid because of Lilac? Eric turned around and stared at Lilac who was looking out be window, determined not to look his way.
But his bid numbers was something only his brother and father knew. Even their spouses did not know as they only decided on the day of the bid, to keep it a secret. And he had heard from his spies that the mayor pulled out his support of the Black family because he got word that the technology was not ready and would not favour him. That is how he lost the bid. A higher amount and the loss of the mayor's favour.
Was she implying Lilac had something to do with these things? But how? He stared at her intently.
She had said she was let go. Does this mean she gave them information to let her go? But how does she know these things? What about his wife did he not know?
"Why should a married couple live apart? Since you won't come home, I will just stay with you," he said and Lilac turned his way sharply.
"What?" She exclaimed incredulously.