Chapter 80 FINDING THE BALANCE
DEREK’S POV
I was beyond pissed by her attitude in recent times, that much was certain, but at the same time, I knew there was nothing I could do because she had refused to tell me anything that was going on with her. The more I pestered her to talk, the more she refused. It was due to that godforsaken letter, I knew it. There was nothing more infuriating than asking her for answers, but yet again, she was proving stubborn, like she knew what she was doing. I knew what she was doing, but at the same time, I couldn’t help it because this was the same treatment I had meted out to her only a few weeks before.
“Is there anything else you are not telling me?” I asked her one evening over dinner.
She shifted in her seat, an uncomfortable look in her eyes. I didn’t know why this was so, and I didn’t want to be suspicious, but at that moment, she was doing things that made me highly suspicious of her. If she thought I would sit back and allow all of this to go down the drain, then she had another thing coming because I would definitely not do that.
“There is nothing else,” she countered.
I found it hard to believe her, but it wasn’t like I could tie a rope to her neck and drag her to the death place to tell her what she was hiding from me.
“Are you sure?” I stressed again, wishing she could just spit out whatever it was she had in her mind.
Suddenly, she stood up, drinking the last of her water as she walked out of the dining room. This was the most surprising thing I had ever seen her do, but I knew at this point, she had enough of all of this, but still, she wasn’t forthcoming with anything at all, which made it worse.
“Where are you going?” I asked, disbelief in my eyes.
“Away from this place… away from you.”
I tried to call her back, but my calls fell on deaf ears. She wasn’t going to answer me, and this time around, I was convinced that she did something suspicious. It wasn’t like I had hidden anything from her in the past; even though my attitude towards her was bad, I never failed to hide it, and she knew, but this time around, she was hiding everything that was going on with her, giving me no clue whatsoever as to the reason why she was behaving this way.
Just then, Damien walked in, and even though he had tried to talk to her, I knew he made no headway. Amber could be quiet, preferring not to talk or say anything, but she was Damien, I had seen it in her now. If I didn't know any better, I would have said she chose just the perfect time to unleash everything she had been hiding. It was absurd thinking about it, but here it was, right now in the open.
“Any luck with her?” I asked.
“No, it just seemed like I had hit a brick wall. Man, she’s really stubborn." He chuckled.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” I sighed, eating the rest of my food.
The more I thought about this whole thing, the more worried I became because I knew that whatever was going on with her, she had made a final decision within herself about it. I had seen this kind of attitude in some of the people I dealt with; it was nothing new.
“Could it be problems with her pack?” he asked.
That was the only plausible reason why she could behave this way. There was nothing else I could think of, and I had to base it on that.
“That’s the only reason I am leaning on. I really do not want to believe that there is something else going on.” I said.
“What about Trent, or could this be the reason why she’s behaving this way?” he said, confusion on his face.
“Trent? What has this got to do with him?” I said, rising to my feet.
He stood up as well, walking with me out of the dining room. We were now looking through all possibilities for her sudden change in behaviour, and it was surprising now because a week before, I didn't care about her, preferring to ignore her entire existence, but now that the letter had come and had disrupted everything, alarm bells began ringing in my head.
“Well, you know, considering you both fought the last time, it might just be that she’s pissed about it and wouldn’t know how to talk to you.”
I chuckled despite the situation we were in. That wasn’t the reason, and I knew it. We were just itching for answers, even though none of it made any sense to us, but yet again, it was better than nothing.
“No, I don't think that’s the reason. Amber would never behave this way because of issues with Trent, I just know it. This is something different.”
“But even though it is, we still don’t know the root cause. Something happened to the man, most especially with her family. I’m telling you, that’s the reason for her behaviour.”
If that was the case, then I wasn't angry enough because my hatred for that pack knew no bounds, and she knew it; everyone knew it.
“What do you think I should do?” I murmured.
But he caught my words, a look of resignation on his face. He was equally as important as I was, so whatever idea he had in his head, it was as good as if it were coming from me.
“I suggest you give her time, let her come over it, but if it's getting too serious, maybe you should take a look… just a look, man, because I know how far you are willing to go to destroy them, but in anything you do, remember that Amber is now in the picture.”
I sighed deeply, knowing he was right, but still, I couldn't bring myself to even relate with anyone in that pack because at that moment, my reaction towards them wouldn’t be a
surprise, more like a forewarning.
THE ESCAPE PLAN