THIS VERSION OF YOU DIDN'T DISGUST ME.
Yes, it was him.
But not the one who had been with me.
And discovering that barely affected me.
I made a face when I saw him.
Arrogant and disheveled.
As if he had just come from the office.
Loose tie, half-open shirt.
And a surprised look that scanned me from head to toe.
"I didn't mean to bother you," he growled.
"Excuse me?"
That apology seemed strange to me.
Hugo never apologized.
He invaded, took, possessed.
"Don't think I'm excusing myself," he clarified, as if he could read my thoughts.
I shrugged.
What annoyed me most was his indifference.
I was beautiful.
I thought something would have happened between us before.
The incident earlier didn't count.
Even though it had been glorious.
I laughed when I realized I didn't feel fear, but rage.
As if it wasn't terrifying enough that someone had fucked me in the shower.
Or something.
Someone who had his face, his hands, his voice.
"What's so funny?"
"Forget it." I walked to the closet. Water was still running down my back and between my legs. "What do you want?"
He didn't answer.
The silence stretched, broken only by the urgency of my hands searching through the drawers.
I straightened up with a pair of panties in my hand.
Pink.
Minimal.
His eyes locked onto the lace.
I smiled.
"Weren't you the one who put all this here for me?" I asked, dangling it in front of him. He neither confirmed nor denied.
He just looked at me.
Like one looks at a ghost.
Or at something that cannot be named.
I felt a chill hit my back and I turned.
"If you're not going to tell me what you want… leave. I want to get dressed."
I heard his footsteps moving away.
My hand on the knot of the towel.
Motionless.
What the hell…
"Let's have dinner together."
My body tensed and I spun around fast.
"Seriously?"
He was standing in the doorway.
Filling it.
One hand on the frame.
His gaze measuring me.
"Seriously. There's no one else and the silence is heavy."
I blinked twice.
Hugo never showed vulnerability.
This… could this be another ghost like the one before?
I shook my head.
"Are you okay? Your girlfriend… is she okay?"
He sighed.
Short. Soft.
"Are the businesses okay?" I added.
"Nothing is okay," his tone was somber and icy. "Since you entered my life, nothing is okay."
That was an invisible punch.
"Are you blaming me for something?" My voice wasn't as firm as I wanted.
He smiled.
And yes, there was exhaustion.
It was the second time I noticed it.
But… why was he letting me see it?
Why did he allow himself to look human in front of me?
I was obsessed with the all-powerful CEO.
But this more human version of him… didn't disgust me.
"9 o'clock in the dining room," was his answer, and he disappeared.
I could still hear his footsteps fading down the hallway.
I smiled, ripping the towel off my body.
"I'll be there," I murmured. "Tonight, CEO, I'll have more than a version of you in the shower. Because I'm going to seduce you. And you'll be mine. Completely."
WHO ARE YOU REALLY?
My heels echoed on the marble like a verdict.
I was going all in, and I walked with firm steps.
With a confidence I rarely felt.
I chose a short red dress that left very little to the imagination.
And I decided not to wear underwear.
I did my makeup like a predator and bathed myself in expensive perfume.
When I entered the dining room, he was already there.
He set his phone on the table as soon as he saw me.
And I knew by his eyes that I had provoked exactly what I wanted.
I approached without breaking eye contact.
His scent warmed me like embers.
He stood up and pulled out a chair to his right.
His body brushed against mine.
But I didn't react.
The table was set with roast, potatoes, salad…
The smell was delicious.
"Who prepared this?" I asked, remembering the maid.
Hugo didn't answer.
He simply poured me a glass of wine.
Red.
Glowing.
When he looked at me and drank from his own, the liquid reflected in his dark eyes.
Insidious.
I downed mine in one gulp.
He smiled and refilled my glass.
"Are you hungry?"
I nodded.
"It looks delicious."
"It is," he said quietly. "You cook very well."
My pulse quickened.
"And what does that have to do with…"
"Isabella…" he hissed, with that charm of his while his fingers brushed my wrist. "It's adorable how you forget things, but you have to stop."
He winked at me and started serving.
I didn't move.
Searching my mind.
I didn't remember.
Was I losing my memory?
There was a gap.
A crack in time.
Or magic.
Why worry?
Someone who looked like Hugo had fucked me in the shower.
Notes kept appearing.
I kept waking up in inexplicable places…
Whatever it was, if he was there, to hell with it.
When he slid a plate in front of me with a generous portion of meat, I picked up the cutlery.
We ate in silence for a while.
The glasses emptied and filled several times.
When Hugo went for the third bottle, my plate was empty.
While I cleaned myself with the napkin, I tried to remember the last time I had eaten so well.
I couldn't.
Before, my life had been about two things: my job, and Hugo.
Mostly Hugo.
I smiled when he returned.
"Satisfied?" he asked, looking at the empty plate.
I nodded.
He opened the bottle with a wet pop and refilled the glasses.
"How strange," he murmured.
"What?"
He slid a finger along the rim of his glass.
"It's as if the world outside had stopped existing."
I shivered.
"Does it seem that way to you?"
He leaned forward.
"It does. It's an incomprehensible but pleasant feeling."
My hands tightened on a piece of the tablecloth.
"Would you stay in this bubble?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"You mean forever?"
"Or for a while."
He laughed. That indecipherable but warm laugh.
"I don't know. It's possible," he replied. "Life isn't simple."
"It isn't," I admitted, "and that's why I want to know what I am to you."
His answer came instantly.
As if the question were old.
"A game, Isabella."
I pressed my lips together.
"What if I don't want to be one anymore?" I growled.
"What's wrong?" he said in a mocking tone, taking a sip of wine. "I don't see any of the arrogant and confident woman I caught in my office."
I glared at him.
"That's because I need answers," I snapped.
"I do too."
"It exasperates me how you act. Shouldn't you be devastated about Sue?"
He set his glass down calmly.
"No," he said with a firm, grave tone. "Attachment is a mistake, Isabella." Silence. "What I would like to know is everything that goes through your head. I know you're hiding things from me."
I straightened up and thought about the notes.
I should have known he knew.
"You disconcert me," I admitted. "And I know who Sue is."
He took the glass again.
"That was to be expected," he said when he emptied it, "but that's not all."
"That room full of mirrors…" I began, and I could see how he tensed.
I stopped.
There was a crack there.
"I hope you're comfortable while you fix it."
I turned sharply when I heard that voice.
There was no one else but us.
And the wind whistling through the windows.
I looked at the elaborate crystal chandelier above the table.
It tinkled.
As if someone had blown on it.
I looked at Hugo again.
He was drinking his wine distractedly.
His gaze fixed on one of the floral patterns on the tablecloth.
"Who are you really, Hugo Caleius?" I blurted out, without even thinking.
And it felt like liberation.
His mouth curved just enough to fake a smile.
"That's not the right question," he whispered without moving his eyes from their place. "It's not about me… and you know it."
A feeling of emptiness brushed against me.
I opened my mouth…
But in the center of the table his phone vibrated.
The screen lit up.
And I swallowed hard.
I had forgotten about that… person.
It was the fourth character in discord.
Hugo finally moved and picked up the cell phone.
When he saw the name, his face turned to stone.
He stood up abruptly.
Uncomfortable.
He walked away with it pressed to his ear.
I, I don't know why… looked at the floor.
And there it was.