Page 71 of Ruined
“As good as it ever was,” he said.
His eyes were glassy, as if he couldn’t comprehend what was unfolding in front of his eyes. But there was nothing there. “What’s wrong?”
“I said I’m fine,” he said. I furrowed my brows. He pushed the glass back towards the bartender. “Let’s go.”
I followed him to the Terrariums, and again, he took one of the unembellished rooms, like the night before. I fixed us both glasses of whiskey, but when I offered him the glass, he shook his head. I put both of the drinks on the side table.
He gestured at my phone. “Change the charges to three times the current rate,” he said.
I lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”
“Charge me at least three times the current rate.”
I studied him: the rigid posture, his icy gaze. He turned away from me.
“Why?” I asked.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “The acquisition means that I’ve nearly doubled my profits. If I want to pay more for your time, then I’m going to do it. I don’t like being questioned, Haley.” He nodded at my phone. “Change the fucking charges.”
I looked down at my phone. It was his money, not mine. Still, it was strange to charge himthatamount.
I stood in front of him. “Do you want me to dance for you?” He was silent, staring ahead. Not seeing anything. Not feeling anything. Why was he acting so strange? “Would a massage help? Maybe some food? I can ask the chef to make you something special. What’s your favorite meal?”
He scoffed under his breath. What was I supposed to do? I put an arm around his back, and he moved away from me.
That hurt. “I thought more profits were supposed to be a good thing,” I said.
The silence stretched on, and I realized that if I had kept him as a member in my head, this kind of behavior wouldn’t have bothered me. As long as the member was paying the right rate, it didn’t matter if they wanted to sulk in silence. But because I knew Lucas, because I loved him, sitting there waiting for him to tell me what was wrong, what he wanted, was agony.
Say something, I thought. Do something.
“If I didn’t have any money,” he said in a low voice, “would you still want me?”
Finally, some words, though they didn’t make me feel any better. Why would he ask a question like that? Was doubling his profits a lie? Had he lost everything?
But then he wouldn’t be spending his money on me like this.
Wait. Had I admitted that I loved him?
His hazel eyes were strained, trying to see me, but being unable to focus, as if I was a frosted window that he couldn’t see through.
“If you didn’t have money, we wouldn’t have met,” I said. It was the truth. You needed money to enter the Dahlia District.
“That’s not what I’m asking,” he said, irritation in his voice.
“What does it matter how we met or why? We’re here now,” I tried, “And in a few years, I’ll be able to leave this place. Then it’ll be in our past.”
It made me cringe to listen to myself. Thinking of a rosy future. I had been close to ending my debt so many times before, and it never worked out. What made me think that I had a chance now? Was it Lucas? Because he wanted to pay my debts?
But then I would be indebted to him. And that wasn’t love.
“If I was broke,” he said, his voice harsh, “would you be here right now?”
“You’re acting strange.”
“It’s an easy question,” he said, forcing the words through gritted teeth, “All you have to do is say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’” He tapped his knee hard, his whole body rigid. “I want the truth. Would you be here right now?”
He had transformed into someone I didn’t recognize. His mind was elsewhere. He was completely detached. Did he ever have feelings for me?
