Chapter 61: Breeding snakes

The question sent chills down my spine, and for one torturous minute, it felt like I could feel Sin's hands all over me, every single minute he had touched me, every time he had let his lips graze my skin. My back, my hands...

My lips parted, my eyes closing as I let the sensation sink in. My body was just as on fire as it had been the moment he had touched me, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

If it was good for me that Sin seemed somehow etched into me, or if I was walking the path of disaster and pain. I held my breath, my eyes still closed. His words, his eyes, the very sparse moments that he smiled at me. And that very moment he had said he loved me.

It had been an act for his daughter, but hell, now it made my stomach turn to mush, all the butterflies claiming freedom and taking full advantage of it.

I let myself think about how hurt he had been last night when he had said he would belong to me, and I had told him I was acting based on the contract. That contract... it didn't cater for the violent pull I currently felt for him. It didn't cater to this blinding need.

I slowly started to crawl back into bed when a sudden knock on the door stopped me. I froze, my brows furrowing. Sin wasn't here, and whoever would come up here would definitely see him down there. What could this person want?

"Who... who is there?" I called, hoping it wasn't Enrique. For my own sanity, I hoped it wasn't Enrique.

"It is I, Rosalind, Madam."

My brows furrowed, as I didn't recognize the name, but at least, it wasn't Enrique, and she seemed to be here for me. Maybe to clean the room? I wasn't sure.

I walked to the door, then opened it just a little so that I could see who it was. The maid gave me a small smile, then slowly took a step forward.

"You asked me to bring you a photo you lost."

My eyes widened with realization, and I immediately stretched my hand. "Thank you very much."

She smiled. "I am sorry I didn't bring it last night."

I waved her apology away, then gave her a small smile before closing the door again. I sighed, then turned the picture upwards.

To my horror, however, the part where Larissa had been sitting was scraped off cleanly. My brows furrowed as I put a nail on it to make sure it wasn't some sort of prank, but it wasn't. It was scraped clean, so clean it looked like nothing was there.

Without thinking, I opened the door and stalked out, running right after Rosalind. She was heading downstairs with hurried steps, her fingers clasped in front of her.

"Rosalind!" I yelled, and surprisingly, it caught the attention of everyone else except her.

I cussed under my breath and ran the rest of the way, grabbing her shoulder just as she passed where Sin was sitting with Alejandro and another man.

It took some time to register, but I slowly let her go and turned to Sin, who was now on his feet.

I blinked, my eyes darting towards Sin's guests, my teeth lightly gritting. I knew how bad I looked, still in yesterday's dress, and Sin would have to introduce me as his wife.

"Sin, I..." I trailed off, then turned to Rosalind. She was looking at me now, her eyes wide as they innocently darted around.

"What did you do?" I asked her, my voice low.

"What.. . what do you mean, Madam? I did exactly as you asked."

"Stop fucking lying! You tampered with..."

"That is what you asked me to do," she said, cutting me off. Tears started to run down her cheeks, and she sniffed, turning to Sin. "You... asked me to scrape off that part of the picture. Did you not, Madam?"

"Rosalind, you... -"

"What picture?" Sin asked, moving further, his brows drawn.

I turned to him, swallowing. Why the hell was Rosalind lying? I never asked her to take anything off. I never asked her to even touch the picture.

"Sin, I... -"

"Show me the picture," he said, stretching his hand to me.

Rosalind was now crying, her head low, and Alejandro and the other man were resting back on their seats, watching us with interest.

I bit down on my lips. I had no choice. Slowly, I handed the picture over to Sin. He watched it for a long time, his lips pursed, the rest of his face remaining expressionless.

"Where did you get this from?"

"Sin, I can explain. I swear, I was... - "

"You don't need to explain. Just answer me. Where did you get this from?"

I swallowed, my fingers raking through my hair. "I... it was in the envelope that... the policeman gave you and..."

Sin nodded, then waved Rosalind away.

"But Sin, she..."

He brought his hand to his lips, and I went quiet. Without another word, he brought his phone to him and dialed a number.

He turned to Alejandro and, with a small nod of his head, excused us. He pulled me away as the phone rang in his ear.

It was suddenly picked, and Sin looked down at the photo, his eyes darkening.

"I checked the envelope you gave me," he said into the phone.

I bit down on my lips. Definitely, the detective had seen it. He definitely knew who was in the photo. He knew what the photo meant.

"Can you see the connection now? I hope you will let us investigate further, Sin, because to me, it seems you are breeding snakes who will later bite your hand."

Sin nodded, putting the picture behind him. "You are saying someone I know might have killed Aldo?"

"Possibly, or there is something more. There seems to be more to this than just Aldo dying."

"Who is this snake I am breeding?"

I sighed, my mind a bit relieved, but still tense. Why would Rosalind lie like that? And for what? Why would she scrape Larissa off the picture and leave Sin with a puzzle? What did all of it mean?

"Your wife," the detective answered. "It is always the ones closest to us."

Sin nodded. "So Larissa was..."

"No, not Madam Larissa, Sin. Your current wife."