Chapter 41—Her Life

Elvin stared at Eve in amazement. He had very well heard what she had said, but he just couldn’t believe it.

“You heard me?” Eve asked. “I said let’s go out for a date. I’ll pay.”

“You’ll pay?” Elvin said.

Eve squinted her gaze. “What’s wrong with that? We are friends, are we not? I wish to spoil a friend by taking him out on a date.” She grinned.

Elvin wanted to touch her, and start off a wildfire on her body, but her body was still sensitive from the pleasure he had just given her, and he knew she was doing her best to compose herself. “Thanks.”

Eve shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Surely, she didn’t mean to drive him too.

“Should I carry you to the tub?” Elvin asked.

Eve stared down at her naked body. “I would very much like that. My legs are still shaky, so I can’t trust myself to make it to the bathroom.”

Elvin laughed. “It was beautiful to watch. It’s always beautiful to watch. Watching your body spasm the way it does always interests me. Actually, it’s what I like to see more often.”

“I wonder. You just might.”

“Are you considering us dating?”

“Are you satisfied with us being friends?” she asked.

“More like, I never wanted it. I mean, if I had the money then, I would have married you,” he said.

“But if you want to be logical, I don’t think it’s a step you would have made. After all, marriage isn’t very strong these days. People rush into it, or not, but still, they divorce. And maybe, I want us to better understand ourselves first to be sure this is what we want. If you say yes to me, it’s for life. I won’t share you with another. You can’t divorce me. You can’t run away. And if you stop having feelings for me, well, that would be unfortunate.”

“I don’t want that.”

“None of us wants that. I don’t want what we do here to be the deciding factor because other ladies won’t want to try it with you. The purpose of being together is to act as one. And hardly do you see that in marriage.”

“So I’m to think properly about it?”

“Yes. And to make sure it’s me you really want, go out, see other ladies, be who you want to be, and do what you want to do. But if you return to me, saying you want me for life, then, it has to be what it will be. For life.”

Elvin got slightly scared at the thought. He had spent almost two months with her, and so far, every day with her seemed like a blessing. They never fought. Or maybe, it was because they still looked at themselves through the eyes of strangers, for indeed, he couldn’t say he knew her.

Going into something without finding out enough, that sure seemed like a trap. He needed to know her past. Wait. Did that really matter? But people were prone to repeating certain events of the past, and as some believed, people never really changed. How true was that?

“I would prepare so that we can go out, but before I take my bath, I just have to ask,” Elvin said. “Are you a serial killer?”

Eve perfectly concealed her smile. “Oh yes. I remove the eyes of people, then I discard them by the wayside alive.”

Elvin chuckled. “Well, are you a psychopath?”

Eve placed a finger to her jaw, tapping it, and lifted her head to stare at the ceiling. “Let me see. I am crazy. A bit of a psycho, but nothing major, so you’re safe.”

She was amazing. She looked like one who could put up with anything. And maybe she didn’t know it, but she challenged him to be better, and he wanted to be so for her. Her secrets, he wished to know, but his future with her was of more concern.

“Save for the fact that you know I own a company that you don’t know of,” Eve said, “what else can you say about me?”

“You’re a sex addict,” Elvin said.

Eve laughed. “Yes. That aside. What else?”

“You look deceptive, and innocent. A strange combination if you ask me.”

“If someone is deceptive, it definitely means they have an ulterior motive, right?”

“Yes.”

“What if my ulterior motive was always to win your heart?”

“You don’t show it,” Elvin said.

“And that’s the point,” Eve said. “You are not meant to see it. There’s a saying. If you’re a criminal, and people know that you’re a criminal, then you’re not doing the job right. A true criminal’s identity isn’t known by the public. No one sees him coming. No one knows who he is. That’s the kind of criminal I would like to be if I was a criminal. Well, not that anyone would know.”

“You would be impossible to catch.”

“Yeah. I know. Like for instance, the wealthy family you once talked about in Tan Height, let me ask you this. Do you think you would be able to recognize them if they walked up to you today?”

Elvin shook his head. “No. I don’t think anyone has seen them before.”

“Oh, trust me. We both have. They move around Tan Height every day, but you won’t know because some days, they are like normal pedestrians, and on other days, they move like politicians, behind tinted cars, and with escorts and police cars.”

“If I’ve seen such a person, I would know,” Elvin said. “They usually have a certain pride in them. Well, in truth, sometimes, it’s hard to believe that they are wealthy, but certain things always give them up.”

“Like what?”

“The way they walk. How they sit. How they eat. How they talk…”

“Then, you’ve not really met the daring ones. One thing money does to most people is that it makes them bold. You feel like you can take on the world. You see, when a city is like your compound, to you, everyone is a guest, and like it’s a party, you just wish to see them satisfied. That’s how it is to this family. They own the press. They own the police. They own literally all businesses, including the court. They could kill someone and not be charged for murder.” Eve laughed. “How hilarious is that?”