Chapter 10
“What exactly are you scared of?” Cressida threw a question, her hand crossed over her chest, maintaining a few feet of distance from Alaric.
Alaric’s gaze lifted, and as his eyes landed on her, his brows furrowed, unclear. “What do you mean?”
“I’m asking you to tell me what you’re afraid of.” She clarified.
“Is that a command?” He asked, his tone laced with a hint of defiance.
Cedrissa’s expression softened as she slowly shook her head. “No,” she said in a gentle tone, her voice soothing. Her calm demeanor, a deliberate attempt to keep Alaric from getting defensive. “I don’t know what it is, but I know you’re afraid of something. And that’s what I want you to tell me.”
“Remember, you’re just a wife on paper, not in the heart,” he said, his voice cold and detached. “And because of that, you’re not entitled to know much about me. You’ll know only what I deem necessary. If I don’t tell you something, don’t ask. It’s… tiresome.”
“What of those I should know, but you don’t seem fit to share?” She questioned, her eyes widening slightly as she struggled to keep her voice level.
Despite the urge to raise her tone, she maintained control. “Until you accept that you’re not perfect, until you acknowledge you won’t always be right, we’ll never accomplish our mission…”
“It's either we’ll be stagnant or moving backward.” Her points were a challenge to his rigid stance, but he burst into a peal of laughter instead.
“Stop joking around, woman,” he said, his tone dismissive, locking eyes with her. “I don’t know what makes you think I’m not who I presented myself to be, but believe me, with or without you, my mission will be done… successfully done,”
“It’s obvious now that you manipulated me into marrying you just to gain access to this family,” he sneered. “You’ve achieved your goal, so savor the moment. Once our contract expires, you won’t be spending another night under this roof or bearing my name.”
“You’re right,” Cedrissa said, her voice steady. “I married you for a purpose, and that purpose is to get what we both want. We both want revenge, and that’s the purpose of this marriage, so what are you talking about?”
Alaric’s eyes flashed with anger. “Don’t play dumb!” He growled. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Stop pretending!”
His teeth clenched with his gaze boring into hers as if daring her to deny it. “I should have seen it coming,” his words dripped with distrust and anger, each one a sharp jab at Cedrissa’s composure. “You were too perfect, too calculated. Sadie sent you. It’s all her plan. You’re just her pawn, following orders.”
“I’m not working for anyone!” Cedrissa shouted, her frustration boiling over. “No one sent me!”
“Enough!” He bellowed, his hands clutching his head as if trying to ward off a pounding headache. He dropped his hands and pinned her with a piercing gaze. “If you’re not working for her, how did you figure out what I wanted? You said it was a guess. How could you be so accurate?”
His eyes narrowed. “You claimed you saw through me. Why couldn’t everyone else?”
Cedrissa let out a weary sigh, her gaze drifting downward as she tired of the futile attempt to explain. She lifted her head, meeting his intense stare, but remained silent, letting him vent his thoughts and emotions.
Alaric’s gaze drifted away from Cedrissa as he nodded to himself, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “As I’ve said earlier… I’ll let you stay until the contract expires… until then, live your life with the title they gave you… the queen of Garcia.”
Without a word, Cedrissa turned around, heading towards the entrance. But Alaric’s question brought her to a halt.
“Where are you going?” He asked. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
“I’m going out so I can give you the space you need,” she instantly responded. She slowly veered around, her eyes locked onto his, and she spoke with bold conviction. “And I have a lot to say, but not until you’re calm and ready to listen. Not until you realize that acting on emotion leads to nothing but chaos.”
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall in front of him. With a sniff, she held them back, quickly turning away to pace towards the door, eager to escape the tension and her own emotions.
As she poised her hand on the key, ready to turn it, his voice halted her once more.
“You’re right, I’m letting my emotions run the show,” he confessed, his low tone laced with a hint of guilt.
His eyes locked onto hers as she turned to face him, and he nodded solemnly. “And yes, I have something to fear. Many things, actually. But the biggest fear of all is putting my trust in someone, only to have it shattered again.”
She gently removed her hand from the key and took slow steps toward him, her eyes filled with a deep sorrow.
As she reached his side, she sank to her knees, warmly enveloping his hands in hers. Her gaze locked onto his, heavy with emotion. “If you’re afraid to trust me, I won’t force you.” She whispered.
“I want to trust you, I really do,” he said, his voice laced with a mix of longing and vulnerability. His eyes searched hers, filled with a deep-seated uncertainty. “But seeing you with him earlier, smiling at him…”
His voice trailed off, and for a moment, his mask slipped, revealing the pain and doubt that simmered beneath.
“It made me doubt whose side you’re on,” he voiced out, keeping his tone measured to conceal the pain that lingered beneath. “You looked happy around him,”
“We exchanged words earlier, and instead of standing by me, you moved to him. He got you a gift, and you called him a nice person. But when I did, you rejected it.”
Cedrissa’s lips curled into a gentle smile as she met his gaze, but she remained silent, her eyes speaking volumes.
“Rules are rules—no matter how thin the thread between us may be,” he declared, his jaw set in determination. “I’m not being petty—I just can’t tolerate that son of bitches anywhere near what’s mine.”
Cedrissa let out a soft sigh as she rose to her feet, then settled beside him on the couch. “Alaric,” she called, her voice gentle, pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts.
Her lips compressed into a determined line before she continued, “I understand where you’re coming from, but I have a plan of my own—I’m trying to lure Amabel and Felix…”
Alaric’s response was a disbelieving scoff. “Luring Amabel?” He said, his tone skeptical.
“Yes,” she confirmed, elaborating, “you know, to trap a monkey, behave like one. I just want to gain their trust,”
She tapped her knee lightly with her hand, feeling so concerned with what her message, hoping Alaric would understand him already.
“My smiles and laughter around them are calculated. They’re a deliberate to gain their trust so they’d let me in on their plans.”
Alaric giggled. “That’s a pipe dream,” he said, shaking his head. “Amabel’s a master manipulator, a chameleon who always stays one step ahead. She’s dangerous…”
His voice was laced with conviction, born from bitter experience. The vein in his neck pulsed visibly as he spoke, his words heavy with emotion. “She knows every trick in the book. There’s no way she’d fall for your trap.”
Cedrissa smiled subtly, her eyes glinting with amusement. She rose to her feet, her arms crossing over her chest, as she snickered softly.
Taking a step forward, she suddenly spun around, her gaze locking onto Alaric’s. “What if my plan succeeds?” She asked, her voice laced with challenge. “What’ll you give me if I pull it off?”
Her eyes sparkled with a dare, her tone daring him to make a wager.
“Anything you want,” he replied, his gaze burning with determination, his tone laced with certainty that she’d fail. “Just name it. I’ll give it to you.”
Cedrissa nodded enthusiastically, a bright smile spreading across her face. “Deal,” she said, her voice filled with conviction.
She dropped her arms and walked over to him, sitting down beside him. Raising a finger, she proposed, “to prove my plan works, I’ll retrieve one of Amabel’s plans against you. How about that?”
Alaric nodded in agreement. “Agreed.”
Cedrissa’s eyebrows arched upward as she grinned mischievously. “I already have a request in mind,” she said, her voice filled with anticipation. “I hope you won’t renege on your promise.”
Alaric’s soft chuckle held a hint of amusement, but his tone was resolute. “I may not be the man you expected,” he said. “But one thing that’ll never change is my word is my bond—I always stand on it,”
His eyes locked onto hers, unyielding. “And if you retrieve useful information, I’ll not only grant your request, but follow your lead on everything else,”
“I’ll let you be in the driver’s seat.”