Chapter 65 A KNOCK AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
NIRELLE
I wake up the next morning to a knocking sound from the door. My eyes fly open, and I am trying to come to when the knock comes again. I look at the clock and wonder how I had slept so well when the previous days had been such a hassle for me. I look around the room, trying to get myself.
I rub my eyes gently as I walk out of bed to the door. I pull open the door, and standing there is Lucien, fully dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket. His hair is slicked back fashionably, and he has a pair of tennis shoes on. I, on the other hand, am in just a long, thin-strapped silk nightdress hanging loosely against my bare skin.
I had been a hundred per cent certain that it was Mara on the other side of the door, and that was the reason I had come to the door like this. I wanted to act confident, as if I didn't care what I looked like standing there almost naked in front of him, but the reaction of his eyes evading my body did not help matters.
"What are you doing here?" My voice is strange to my ears.
"To get you, I thought you would have been awake by now. Did I wake you?" His questions poured in all at once, making me pause to understand the situation.
"Are you going somewhere?" I ask, and he looks at me strangely.
"We are going out together."
"We are?"
"We have a tonne of things on your list to do together."
"You are going to go outside?" I point to his face, my voice clearer and my tone sharper. "Outside the mansion gates?" I ask again, and he nods. "But you don't do outside the mansion gates," I add as if it is not a fact that she is already aware of.
"I know," he says, and I can see the conflict on his face. "But a lot of things on your list have to be done out, so we are going to do it together."
I step out of the doorframe properly and cross my hand over my chest. "I already told you that you do not have to do this. You have not been out in years, and I can tell from experience that it is a struggle to get used to the real world once you are out there. That was the reason I had kept on making mistakes."
"I know, but..."
"You don't have to," I say, dismissing it. Whatever we can do here, we can make do with it, and if I need to go out, I'd ask Theo to accompany me. I see the change on his face, and I can tell he does not like the idea.
"So you prefer being out with Theo than with me?" he asked, and I almost mentioned how Theo would be a better fit since he is good at anything done outside, but I know he won't like it.
"You know that is not what I mean." I want to stop this conversation and go back in to change up. "Let us just forget whatever this is, and maybe tonight we can have a picnic in the backyard underneath the night sky," I suggest, wanting to give him something at least.
He holds me over my shoulders, the first real contact since he stood there. I had always had repulsive thoughts whenever I was touched by someone else of the opposite gender, but here I was enjoying it more than I should have. "Go in and change." He is serious, and it seems like he is not taking no for an answer.
"Lucien, listen to me."
"Nirelle, listen to me," he says, copying my tone. I press my lips into a thin line and tilt my head.
"I think that if we are to go out, then we should make a concrete plan. You can't spring this up on me just like that," I say, wanting to find any way to keep him from stepping out. He would be shocked at how different the world is from the last time he was out.
"Are you worried about me?" I look to see if he was being teasing, but no expression on his face is readable as it keeps morphing.
"Yes," I reply. The words were to sound normal, but it opened up a lot for me. I blink rapidly as I feel my heart rate speed up.
"You do not have to be worried about me, and just think of yourself today."
At this rate, we might spend all morning going back and forth, and one of us had to make the compromise for the other. "What is your plan? Do you want people to see your face? Are you ready to show your face to the world?" I ask because I do not want to be the reason his plan is ruined. "If you are walking side by side with me, then you know that people are going to ask questions, and it would only take a shorter time than we think for them to figure out that you are Lucien Vexley." I want him to know the full implication of whatever he is doing. He pulls out a mask and sunshades from his pocket.
"Here," he says triumphantly as if he had won. I sigh, knowing he had truly won.
"Well, give me some time to get ready," I say, stepping back in, ready to close the door in his face. "Where are we going?" I ask before I go so I can just know what I have to wear.
"To a bookshop, then to a self-paint store; we would get groceries and then have a picnic under the stars," he replied. He was really eager to tick off boxes on that list.
"Are you cramming all of the things on the list into one day so you can be done with me?" I ask in a joking manner. He has a serious expression on his face as he steps forward. He stares at me and shakes his head.
"I added more things to the list because there is a lot more I want to do with you." He takes a step back with his eyes still locked in mine and then walks away, leaving me with my thoughts raging in all directions.