My dad squinted. “Are you not happy?”
Still tongue tied, I nodded and blinked slowly. My dad sighed and folded his hands on his desk.
“Look, I know the reason you’re in this situation is because of me and I hate that I got you caught up in my mess.” For the firsttime in a long time I saw regret in my dad’s eyes. “I’m sure you did what you had to do to make life bearable there.” His voice was now toneless. “Still, I’m working on making this right. Once I pay this debt back you won’t have to worry about that man ever again.”
Swallowing hard, I brought my bottom lip between my teeth.
“You didn’t do anything that’s gonna get you in trouble for the money, did you?” My dad had always been honorable. I knew he was desperate when it came to taking care of my mom and the household.
His eyes hardened. “I did what needed to be done.” Those words didn’t bring me comfort. My stomach churned and the lump in my throat grew.
“I should go,” I whispered, unable to form anything else.
He sighed. Defeat was written all over his face. “Just hang in there a little bit longer, okay? I’ma fix this.”
Stiffly, I nodded and gave him a tight smile.
“Love you, Azeira.”
Guilt filled me. “Love you too, Daddy.”
I left the room and leaned against the door after shutting it. My head dropped and I closed my eyes. I was torn. Going back to my life should bring me joy, but the thought of not being with Kairus anymore caused an empty feeling inside of me.
I snuggled under the throw blanket in the cozy chair in the library, sipping out of my teacup and reading a mystery I came across. The air was on full blast today, thanks to Lillian. I was sure she did it to spite me since I mentioned how I hated the cold. I had made a nice dent in the books here. There were abunch of different genres and I found myself wanting to explore them all.
I was so lost in the book I was reading that the library doors being pushed open suddenly caused me to jump and drop the teacup. My eyes bucked looking down, noticing it had chipped. Flicking my attention up, I watched Kairus’s eyes wildly move around the room before landing on me.
“Kair—”
“Who told you to come in here!” he spat hurriedly.
“No one I—”
“This room’s off limits for a reason.”
My heart pounded so loudly I wondered if he could hear it. Swallowing hard, I lowered my book and slowly rose from the chair, moving the blanket off me.
“I stumbled in here one day and noticed the books. I didn’t think it would be an issue to read them,” I said in a small voice. My hands grew sweaty and my nerves were jerky. I was happy he was back, since I wasn’t expecting him until tomorrow, but I was also nervous. It had been awhile since I’d seen him like this.
His spine straightened and his eyes looked like two black holes. He stalked toward me, causing me to hold my breath and go still. “This room is off limits,” he growled.
“I—”
His hand went to my neck. “I didn’t show you this room for a reason.” I tucked my lips into my mouth. I didn’t want to say anything that would set him off.
“Who let you in here? Did you pick the lock?”
I shook my head quickly. “It was never locked,” I squeaked.
His eyes cut tighter and his nostrils flared.
I stumbled back when he pushed me, pressing my back against one of the bookshelves.
“Kairus, I didn’t know it was a big deal for me to be in here. I just saw the books and wanted to read, that’s it.” He scanned the room before his dark gaze landed back on me.
I didn’t know what the issue was with him and the library but now I wished I would have listened to Lillian when she told me not to come in here.
“You should have asked before coming in here.”
