Page 59 of His Hell Girl

"A…?" A frown mars her features as she leans closer to study the ink on my skin.

"The A that holds the monsters at bay," I continue, my hand on her hair as I lightly caress it. "I lied that night, Sisi. Fuck, I lied about everything. But the one thing youneedto know is thatyou're not ordinary to me. You're one of a kind." I take a deep breath, pushing her chin up so she can see the sincerity in my eyes.

"Myone of a kind."

"Vlad," she starts, and I can see tears glistening in her eyes.

"No, you don't have to say anything." I press one finger to her lips, using my other hand to wipe some of the moisture in her lashes. "I'll wait for you. No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you. But I'm not letting you go. Not this time."

My plan is slowly startingto work. For a few days now Sisi and I have developed a pleasant companionship and she no longer closes the door in my face. In fact, she even acknowledges my presence now, which is more than I would have hoped for.

But since it's not the best progress, I need to step up my game more. After perusing several articles, I've decided to heed their advice since they all seem to recommend the same thing—play hard to get.

I'm not entirely sure how this is the best approach since I just got her to talk to me, but if this is the key to making her more interested in me, then so be it.

As I look across multiple sites, I see that I need to be the one ignoring her now. All, of course, to make her reach out first.

"Damn it," I mutter to myself, a little reluctant to switch attitudes.

But if they say it will work…

For the next two days, I do just that. When I see her, I barely say a few words, more often than not showing myself unavailable to her.

I can see she's bothered by my sudden change in attitude, and it takes everything in me not to stop it immediately and apologize to her. But the more I look at the advice on the internet, the more they recommend the opposite.

On the third day, I don't even have to try, as I'm called away for the entire day. Maxim suddenly called me to ask for help in dealing with the police in the case of some missing prisoners. And since Maxim is not the best at diplomacy. I'd rather deal with it myself.

After an entire day of interviews, I come home ready to go to bed. Opening the door to my room, I don't even pay attention to my surroundings as I take off my blazer and my tie before loosening the buttons on my shirt.

"Fuck, you scared me." I jump up when the light turns on and I see Sisi sitting at my desk, hands on the table as she looks at me suspiciously.

"We need to talk," she says, getting up and plopping herself in front of me.

"We do?" I raise my eyebrows, a little confused.

"Yes." She nods, crossing her arms over her chest in a pose that tells me she means business.

Damn, I think I'm screwed.

Now I just have to see what I did wrong.

Again.

13

SISI

How does one go from promising to never let me go one day, to completely ignoring me the next?

I'm so frustrated I'm ready to throw my hands in the air. I'd prided myself on being able to read Vlad pretty well, and I'd even found myself believing his apology and his assurances about waiting for me.

But now? It's like he's done a complete one eighty.

A few days ago he was offering me his heart on a platter—literally. Admittedly, it was a very sweet gesture that had made me melt just thetiniestbit. But now he barely acknowledges my presence.

Truthfully, after his many displays of opulent gifts and surprises, I'd started to become a bit curious about what he'd do next. Well, consider me completely surprised when I'd opened my door tonothing.

Is that it?

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