Page 50 of His Hell Girl

What the… There must be hundreds of them.

"Vlad!" I yell out his name, sighing deeply as I realize another argument is forthcoming.

"Yes," he replies, coming out from the end of the hallway.

He's wearing a black shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants, and I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen him dressed so casually before.

"What's this?" I ask, waving my hand toward the army of teddy bears that seem to have laid siege at my door.

"Well," he starts, looking a little uncomfortable. He brings his hand up, scratching the back of his head as he all but avoids my gaze.

"Why is there an army of teddy bears here?" I ask, tapping my foot impatiently.

"For you," he eventually says, his voice going down a notch.

"For me?" I repeat, incredulous.

Closing the door to my room, I wade my way through themanyteddy bears, trying to ignore the way they are so soft and oh so cute. But this is neither the place nor the time to gush over stuffed animals.

"Did you rob an entire teddy bear store?" I cross my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes at him. "Unless…" my eyes widen. "Did you put something in them? Bombs? Listening devices?" I'm quick to grab into the nearest bear—a tiny blue one that is so soft I want to just pet him—and I pull, ripping it at the seams.

There's no way Vlad would do this without a reason. What is his purpose? Get me to lower my guard?

Speaking about trojan horses…

"Sisi," he groans, trying to take the bear from me, "there's nothing inside the bears."

"I don't believe you," I counter, tossing the first bear and taking another one, repeating the procedure and feeling it up for hidden wires or any other devices Vlad might have placed inside them.

"I knew you were a scoundrel, but I didn't realize you'd stoop so low to useteddy bears.What's wrong with you, Vlad?" I shake my head at him, sad that I'm destroying such cute toys.

"Sisi." His hands cover my own, stopping me from continuing to tear into the bears. "They were a present. Nothing else. I promise," he says solemnly, but I just push his hands aside.

"As if your promises count for anything," I mumble, not looking at him.

"I'm serious. I just wanted to give them to you."

"Why?" I fire back immediately.

"So that you're not… lonely," he admits, lowering his head.

I frown, unable to get a read on him. What's his angle this time?

"So that I'm not lonely?" I repeat, my eyebrows shooting up at his explanation before I simply burst out into laughter.

"I gather you didn't like them," he says quietly, staring at what's left of the little bear on the floor.

Before I get a chance to reply, though, he's gone, taking the broken teddy bear with him.

I knew it.

It must have something inside that I didn't notice, so he's taking it with him to hide the evidence.

Shaking my head at him, I decide that the sooner I get out of here, the better. Who knows what other tricks he has up his sleeve.

To my surprise, I don't see Vlad the rest of the day. It's only the next morning that I note his presence again, and this time with an over the top gesture too.

"Seriously?" I roll my eyes at him, lifting up the hem of my dress, so that it doesn't get dirty. Then I try my hardest to bypass him and head downstairs for breakfast.

---