Chapter 39 Memorial?

Chapter 39 Memorial?
Two days later and my cold attitude hadn’t reduced one bit. If anything, it only seemed to increase. I avoided Jayden like a plague and spent my mornings tucked away in Ariel’s room and my afternoons wandering the gardens, ensuring I was never in the same square inch of space as Jayden.
He didn't exist to me. Not his cold glares, not his heavy footsteps, and certainly not the way my heart still did a treacherous little skip whenever I caught the scent of his expensive cologne in the hallway.
On the evening of the second day, I was sitting on Ariel’s bed, helping her with a drawing, when a soft hesitant knock sounded on the door.
"Come in," I said, my voice low.
One of the housemaids, Martha, stepped inside with her head bowed. "Pardon the interruption, ma'am, but Mr. Jayden is requesting your presence in the dining room for dinner. He says it is... urgent."
I felt my jaw tighten. Matters regarding him were always urgent which I no longer cared for. He already said I was useless, why on earth is my presence needed now?
"Tell him I’m not hungry," I replied, turning back to the sketchbook.
Martha cleared her throat nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "He was quite firm, ma'am. He said he would come up here himself if you didn't descend within five minutes."
Now, that caught my attention. I wasn’t scared of him in the least but the last thing I wanted was for him to storm this room with Ariel in it. She didn’t need to see that ugly side of us.
"Fine," I snapped, standing up and patting Ariel’s head fondly. "I’m coming."
I gave Ariel a reassuring smile before leaving with the maid. When I stepped into the dining room, Jayden was already seated at the head of the table. He looked as cold as ever but there was something about his posture this time that made me stare at him a minute longer.
As I pulled out a chair that was the furthest from him, I avoided his eyes, telling myself I don’t care about him.
As I placed the kitchen linen on my lap, I turned to look coldly at him. "To what do I owe the honor?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Why is my presence suddenly so important to the boss tonight?"
Jayden set his glass down and met my eyes. He actually looked at me instead of through me. "We need to talk, Celine. The way you’ve been acting for the past forty eight hours is—"
“Why should my action matter to you?" I interrupted, coldly. "And as far as I’m concerned, we have nothing to talk about. You made your feelings perfectly clear in the car. I understand that I am an asset and assets don’t talk, Jayden. They just sit there and look pretty for the cameras."
His eyes darted around for a while as if he didn’t know how to handle the situation anymore. Then, he met my eyes again. "I was harsh. The situation with that man, Poppy... it was unexpected."
"That is no excuse and to be honest, I don’t care," I said, my tone cold. "My past, friends and my feelings are officially off limits to you. You have gotten what you want so now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to eat in peace."
“Celine—”
I didn’t listen to him anymore. I simply signaled the server to bring out the first course and for the next twenty minutes, the only sound that could be heard was of us eating.
I focused entirely on my food and tried to enjoy it as much as I could but even without looking up, I could feel Jayden’s hot gaze on me. It wasn’t the usual face he usually gave me, this one was more intense, as if he had a lot to say but couldn’t quite say it.
When I finished my meal, I wiped my mouth with the napkin and stood up abruptly, ready to leave because his stare was starting to have an effect on me.
"Wait," Jayden said, finally speaking up.
I paused with my back turned to him, but I didn't turn around. "What now?"
"Tomorrow is the anniversary of my parents' death," he said. The coldness was still there, but underneath it, I heard a tremor of something that sounded almost like vulnerability. Almost. "There is a memorial service at the private cemetery. It’s a family tradition, and the press always keeps a distance, but they’ll notice if you aren’t there. We need to attend it together."
My heart involuntarily softened. I knew he lost his parents young, but he had never spoken of them to me and I knew nothing about them except for their pictures that I stumbled upon in that room.
I was about to turn around and ask if he was doing okay but then, I remembered all that has happened. Then, I remembered the car. I remembered him calling me a slum girl’s shadow and telling me he didn't care about my tears.
If he didn’t care about my tears, why should I care about his?
The sympathy died before it could take root. If this was just another performance for the sake of his reputation, I would give him the appearance he wanted but that was all he was going to get.
Without a word, without so much as a nod of agreement or a glance in his direction, I turned and walked out of the dining room with my head raised high.
I felt his eyes follow me all the way to the door, but I didn’t look back. Yes, I was going to the memorial with him but the part that cared about his welfare was long gone.