Page 134 of Tall, Royal Hater
An uncomfortable stillness surged through me as I held a pancake halfway to my mouth.
Shehryar lifted his gaze. But I dropped mine and forced the forkful past my lips even though I’d lost my sense of taste and remaining appetite. “Nothing,” I uttered.
He scrutinised me for a quiet beat. “It didn’t sound like nothing.”
I scoffed as I poked holes into my last pancake. “Yeah, well, in comparison to your problem, it is nothing. And you’re not gonna understand anyway.”
“Try me.”
“No thanks.”
“Why not?”
I set my box down with a slightclap. “Because you’re just gonna tell me to suck it up and stop acting like a rich brat who wants to live off Daddy’s money.”
His brows knitted together. “I won’t.”
“You will.”
“Tell me.”
“Why do you care?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “You listened to me last night, didn’t you?”
“So we share all our problems with each other now?” I pointed past me. “A week ago, we wanted to kill each other.”
He considered that for a second. “Things can change in a day, let alone a whole week.”
He wasn’t going to let it go. I knew he wasn’t…but maybe I didn’t want him to either.
“Fine.” I puffed out a heavy sigh and met his rapt stare head on. “I hate my job.”
He frowned. “Is that it?”
I nodded once. “Yep.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Why don’t you quit?”
“And then what?”
“Find another one.”
I rolled my eyes. “Because that’s so easy, isn’t it?”
He scratched a set of fingers through his beard. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never changed jobs. But I’m sure if you look—”
“I don’t know what I want to do, so where am I supposed to look?” I snapped in irritation.
I wasn’t irritated with him; I was frustrated with myself for not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I thought I had my career plans sorted, and now I didn’t, and I felt like I was already letting myself down as much as I feared letting my parents down if—whenI told them.
“Is that why you haven’t told your parents?”
“What? Shocked that I don’t actually want to be the family disappointment?”
The line between his brows deepened. “Why do you think they’d be disappointed?”
“Because I come from a family of high achievers, who set goals and meet them. And I…” I sighed, the uncomfortable tightness in my belly making me feel nauseous. “They’ve never demanded anything from me other than passion, and I thought I was passionate about a career as an economist, and they helped me get there by giving me the best education and encouraging me to find work experience and network and work hard and aim high, and I fucking hate it all.”
