Chapter 15 Empty gaze!
|| Author Pov ||
Killian looked away briefly, “Because…”
He paused and again looked at her curious face. Rosa’s eyes widened and shut them close when he made the next movement.
He leaned in closer. Too close. Rosa quickly shut her eyes in nervousness. After opening them again, she saw Killian’s dark gaze on her. Now both his hands caged her between them.
“Because, I wanted to.”
Rosa’s eyes stared at him, stunned. She couldn’t understand why he would say that.
Killian’s eyes were cold, as usual. His gaze lingered over her small frame. “You have somewhere to go?” he asked in a mocking tone, reminding her of the reality.
But how’d he know that?
Confusion lingered in her mind and she stared curiously at him for further explanation. She wondered how he knew she didn’t have anywhere to go or how he found her.
“You will stay here from now on.” Rosa’s heartbeat quickened.
What was he saying?
Why would he let her stay in his house?
Rosa’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. “W-why?” The question barely came out, her voice small and unsure.
Killian let out a quiet chuckle, low and dark, his fingers brushed against the wall beside her.
“Does it matter?” He leaned even, his breath now ghosted over her skin, making her shiver “You have nowhere else. No one’s waiting. No place that belongs to you.” he pointed out.
Her heart started to ache when he spelled out the reality. His words hit her aggressively. Her eyes eventually warmed up.
Her lips shivered and she whispered, “I-I can’t.” The words barely left her, weak and uncertain, as if she were trying to convince herself more than him.
Killian let out a quiet scoff, tilting his head. “So... you’re planning to live on the streets?”
The sharpness in his tone made her flinch. He wasn’t mocking her. No, it was worse. He was stating a fact, forcing her to face something she wasn’t ready to admit.
A soft sound escaped from her lips, she barely controlled her tears from coming out.
“You will stay on my terms.” His voice was dangerously low now, a whisper only meant for her. His tone was sharper when he highlighted the word ‘my terms’.
His gaze looked back and forth at her lavender eyes while she stood lost in thought.
Killian wetted his dry lips and stood straight, tucking his hands in his pockets.
“Your things will be arranged by tomorrow. You’re not leaving until I say so.”
His order screamed dominance, as if he didn’t even care about her consent. Rosa couldn’t say more. He had given her enough of a reality check.
She had nowhere to go! Nowhere but the streets!
Killian gazed at the silent girl. “Wh-why… why would you..wh-why would you l-let me—” she stammered.
“Because you’re my responsibility now.” He replied in a monotone, cutting her off. Rosa’s breath hitched. Her heart pounded as she stared at him, eyes wide and filled with timid confusion.
His responsibility?
Rosa stared at the floor, her mind clouded with confusion. Everything was happening too fast, slipping through her grasp before she could even make sense of it.
Confusion. Confusion. And more confusion!
His responsibility?!
Did he mean that in the way a professor should? That he simply had an obligation toward her as his student? Or... was it something else entirely?
Her chest tightened. How could she stay here? In her professor’s house?
But she knew.
He had left her no choice.
Nor did she have a choice to make.
“H-how did you know?” Killian raised an eyebrow at her question, the slightest hint of amusement flickered in his cold gaze. His sharp mind had already guessed what she was asking.
“I have my ways.” Rosa’s breath caught when he said that. His voice was dangerously low and dominant. The way he said it, so casual, so darkly, made her blood rush through her veins.
Killian’s tone, the calmness in his words, made it clear he wasn’t going to explain.
Rosa stood frozen, trapped between reality and the chaos inside her head. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say?
Rosa had no choice. That much was clear.
But staying here… in his house?
Her professor’s house?
The very man she loved in silence, the man whose presence alone made her heart race and her thoughts spiral.
It was suffocating. The weight of it all crushed her chest, leaving her breathless.
She couldn’t stay, she shouldn’t stay.
But where would she go?
The streets?
Alone, helpless, vulnerable?
She had no family, no place to return to. No one waiting for her.
Her aunt had made sure of that when she threw her out like she was nothing. Rosa swallowed hard, the weight of her reality crashed down on her.
She had nowhere to go.
Rosa gulped and slowly parted her rosy lips. “Wh-what… what do you w-want…” she paused a bit, “in return?”
The room fell silent. Killian’s eyes turned colder. Still showing no emotion, he gazed at her bowed head. Her hands were gripping the cloth of her dress tightly.
“Curiosity can be dangerous, Miss Sinclair.”
His voice was deep, almost taunting, warning her not to question him further.
Rosa swallowed hard, her grip tightening on her dress. She wanted to ask more, to understand but the unspoken threat in his tone kept her silent.
“Go to your room!” she flinched at his rough voice. His tone was flat and strict.
Rosa slowly lifted her gaze, her amethyst eyes shimmering with unshed tears as they met his once again.
Her moist eyes stared at him like a timid cat, small, fragile, and utterly vulnerable beneath—
His empty gaze!