Chapter 76 The scent of lilies
CHAPTER 76: The scent of lilies
Silas
I pushed open the heavy doors to my office and crossed the threshold, Natalie hot on my heels, her displeasure apparent despite the impeccable mask of professionalism. As soon as the doors closed behind us, she didn't waste a second to voice her discontent.
“Where have you been?” she demanded, her voice tight with a frustration she was barely managing to leash. “You left the office hours ago and didn't bother to sit through the meeting with the HR team,” she fumed.
“And?”
“For God’s sake, Silas. You don’t just vanish to God knows where when there are matters that require your attention here.”
I didn't stop until I reached my desk, turning to face her with a cold, level stare.
I undid the buttons of my coat.
“I remember telling you quite clearly that my whereabouts are none of your business.”
“And I'll remind you that it becomes my business when the man running this empire walks out while we are in the middle of a very crucial phase,” she snapped, blue eyes flashing with a heat that had nothing to do with business.
My temper flared.
“I have never taken my business for granted,” my voice dropped into a dangerous, low octave. “I settled every outstanding detail of the acquisition before I stepped foot out of this building.”
She stepped forward, pointing a finger in my direction. “You know this isn't about that.”
I threw my arms out wildly. “Oh really. I think you're in a better position to fucking enlighten on what is going on here then,” i snapped.
She glared at me. “Don't you dare turn this around on me—”
“That's not my style, Nat. You know that better than anyone.” I paused, watching the way her chest rose and fell with her sharp breaths. The realization hit me then, cold and sharp. “This isn't about the meeting with the PR team, is it? You’re not pissed because of work.”
She neither refuted nor confirmed it. Natalie just stood there, simmering slowly.
“You’re pissed because of where I was... because I was with Vera.”
She stiffened, her jaw tightening. “That is—”
“Don't try to make a fool of me,” I warned, rounding the desk towards her. “You were never this affected when I flew to Vegas on an impromptu business trip for three days without notice—right in the middle of the proposal draft for the merger,” I countered, stepping toward her. “Tell me why my proximity with my wife triggers this much.”
Her eyes flashed. “Because that was different!” she cried out, her composure finally fracturing. “For God's sake, Silas, listen to yourself. You're even calling her your wife now.”
I folded my arms, casually leaning on the desk. “What do I call her then?” I feigned ignorance.
“This marriage is transactional. It’s a contract. And that child... that child you left the office to go and check on, isn’t even yours,” she stressed. My jaw tightened. “Why are you acting like a doting father at the expense of your own goal?”
The air in the room grew taut.
“Why are you so affected by Vera and this marriage, Natalie? This was the plan all along. Why does it matter to you what I do with my wife?”
“I’m not affected,” she lied, her voice trembling. “I just don't want to see you lose sight of your goal. I don't want you to lose focus over a woman who is a means to an end.”
She seemed to always want to remind me that Vera’s place in my life was only temporary, just to achieve a goal. And for some reason, it irked me today.
I let out a harsh, humorless breath.
“You’re the one who rejected the contract marriage proposal when I offered it to you, Natalie.”
Her face crumpled. “What are you trying to say?”
I shrugged. “It's not your business anymore. Maybe we wouldn't have been here if you had just taken my offer.”
There was a glimpse of something unreadable in her eyes before it disappeared.
“Are you being serious now, Silas? I rejected it with good reason,” she said on a softer note. “We're so much better like this,” she whispered, her mood shifting with a sudden, dizzying speed. “What we have—”
In the blink of an eye, she moved into my space, her hand reaching up to the lapel of my jacket, her voice turning into a breathless husk. “It's been so long, Silas. Far too long.”
Before I could process what was happening, she pressed up on her toes and leaned in, her lips pressing against mine in a desperate, searching kiss.
Natalie and I had hooked up countless times since I lost Simone. While there had been no feelings involved, it had been…intense.
But for the first time, as she pressed her lips to mine, I felt nothing but a sharp, clinical detachment.
The contact felt wrong… like an intrusion.
I reached up and firmly gripped her wrists, pushing her away with a cold finality, until there was a clear, cold distance between us.
“Stop it, Natalie. We are in an office,” I said, my voice like steel. “Get a grip.”
The humiliation that flooded her face was instantaneous, turning her skin a blotchy, painful red. I saw the rare flash of hurt in her eyes, and for a fleeting second, a pang of guilt stirred in my chest.
She had been my loyal friend and partner for years.
“Nat, I—”
I started to apologize, but it was already too late. She had already turned and vanished through the door with neither a word nor a backward glance.
Too many things in my life were slipping out of my control. And I hated it.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, and by the time I got home later that night, the mansion was a tomb of silence.
I reached our bedroom to find it bathed in the soft glow of a single lamp. A glance at the bed and Vera was already asleep, her breathing shallow and rhythmic.
In the semi-darkness, I stripped off my suit and padded to the bathroom and got under the shower, letting the scalding water beat against my neck.
Yet the heat didn't help; I was plagued by the hospital, the sound of that heartbeat, and the way my heart raced in a strange way at that steady proof of life. I couldn't understand it.
Why was I doing all of this for a woman I was supposed to hate?
I turned off the shower and walked out of the bathroom, drying my hair with a towel.
Walking back into the room, I stopped short. There, sitting on the dresser, was a massive, overflowing bouquet of white lilies. I didn’t notice it the first time I walked into the room.
I stepped closer, picking them up. As the cloying, sweet scent hit me, the room seemed to tilt.
A fragment of a memory flashed behind my eyes…a weak, disoriented female voice I couldn't place, pleading into a void I couldn't see.
“Please... please stop...”
The memory was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving me disturbed and breathless. I stared at the flowers in my hand, my grip tightening until the stems groaned.
What the hell was that?
Who was the woman?
Why couldn't I remember what it was? Or when that happened?
My temples throbbed and the blood pounded in my ears. The smell of the flowers…it had triggered whatever that memory was.
Slowly my gaze trailed to the bouquet in my hand.
How did they even get here?
There was only one explanation…Vera.
But…who were the flowers from?