Chapter 26
Evelynne:
Just like he promised, thirty minutes later, we left the company, heading out to check the apartment.
There was pin drop silence in the car and at some point it became maddeningly uncomfortable.
The chauffeur drove in silence and I took note of his dark long hair which fell loosely to his shoulders.
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I looked up to the rearview mirror and noticed that Rhysand was watching something in his laptop, with airpods on, and he was also typing something on his tablet.
He must love multitasking, and I wondered how he coped with his days filled with so much work.
I released a deep breath and stared out the window, watching the large expanse of the city and tall company buildings as we drove in silence with me sitting at the passenger seat.
A couple of minutes later, we drove into an estate.
My lips hung open as we drove further in and all I kept seeing were big houses which seemed to be for the highly sophisticated class.
Was this were he got me an apartment? I wondered, hoping not.
Cause how on earth do I ever get to return the favor if what he offered was huge.
Maybe we are driving to his house to get something first, I settled on with that thought for a while until the car stopped in front of a normal sized building compared to the huge houses and mansions we had come across.
“We are here.” The chauffeur said from beside me and a frown crept up my
face.
“Here? is this where-” I began to ask but was unable to get the complete words out of my mouth as I stared in awestruck at the huge tightly fenced mansion directly opposite the ‘normal‘ looking house.
“Yes, it’s here.” He gave me a small nod, before stepping out.
Rhysand seemed to have noticed that we’ve arrived, as he looked up from the work he was doing and stared outside.
He removed the airpods from his ear, and fixed them back into the small case. The chauffeur opened the door for him, and before he got out, his gaze landed on me.
The burning fury in his eyes minutes ago, was far gone.
“It’s here.” Rhysand said and stepped out before I could get the chance to utter anything.
I stared up at the ‘normal‘ sized building before finally getting out.
Before I got the chance to ask Rhysand why it was in this estate, he had already walked away and towards the direction of the building.
Without getting the chance to say anything, I followed after him. Trailing behind him, with conflicting questions running through my head and causing an unpleasing ache.
“Rhysand.”
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“Rhysand.”
I called after him, as he walked far with large striding steps.
He came to a sudden stop, and I crashed into his back with a heavy hit as I figured too late that he had stopped walking and I was in a rush to get to him.
“Goddess!” a curse escaped my lips as my forehead crashed directly to his firm back.
My hands pressed to my forehead in a bid to rub the ache away and it was at this point that Rhysand finally turned around.
Sparing me with á blank expression, he rose a brow at me, “What?” just like his expression, his tone was curt, and firm.
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I considered my next words before opening to speak but hesitating and closing my lips shut.
Rhysand stood with a brooding tall frame in front of me, staring down at me, which made me acutely aware of my own height as I stared up at him, nearly tilting my head.
He must be like 6’5 ft tall or something, which made my 5’7 ft tall look very
short.
He frowned at me, about to turn around and continue walking, and that was enough to kill the remaining hesitation I had, “Is this where the apartment is?” I asked in a low uncertain voice.
“Yes.” He answered and I gaped up at him with wide eyes.
He stared deep into my eyes and it finally dawned on me how stupidly close we were.
I took a step back, and muttered, “You are kidding me right?” my eyes flicked to the normal apartment which was far more big and polishedly clean than my normal apartment back at Lakeville.
I couldn’t help but gaze up at the building in awe. The beautifully landscaped estate was surrounded by a lush greenery and variety of vibrant flowers were placed across almost all the houses we’ve come across.
“No,” he responded, and I held his gaze for a while about to straight forward reject this and tell him I don’t need it anymore but he walked away before I could say anything.
A nervous, uncertain breath escaped my lips as I stared up at the apartment. The exterior was sleek and so modern, the entrance was flanked by two pillars.
“I don’t have all the time, Evelynne.” The sound of Rhysand’s voice broke my reverie, and I turned to see him standing by the entrance, about to walk in.
I remembered he said he had somewhere to go, so I immediately followed in after him, trying to make this brief so he can go to where he needed to be at.
He went inside and I followed in after him, the moment my eye caught a glimpse of the interior, my breath got caught in my throat.
The walls were painted a soft, creamy white, and the floors were made of dark hardwood.
Unable to take it all in, I shut my eyes close, pressing a palm to my forehead, “Rhysand, stop please,” I muttered so he could stop walking and hear me out.
He came to a stop and turned around to look at me with a questioning stare. I shook my head rigorously, “I do appreciate your efforts. But when I asked you to get me an apartment I meant a normal looking one, not a high class bungalow inside a
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wealthy estate.”
A breath escaped from my lips and I looked up at him, “Like I said, I do appreciate your efforts but I can’t accept this.”
His brows pulled into a frown, “You don’t like it?” he asked.
“Oh, no. It’s lovely and all=”
“Then take it,” he cut my words short and tried to dismiss my worries but there was no way I could easily ignore this.
“Rhysand. Listen to me, I muttered and he stood tall with just five steps away from me, and with his hands tucked into his pockets.
“I’m listening”
I nodded, my gaze traveling across the apartment once again. “This is…too much. And I can’t accept it. I just can’t. This wasn’t what I was expecting when you told me you’ve gotten a place. I expected something along the street. Nice and homey, and normal one bed room apartment, with a kitchen, a small living room, small bedroom and a bathroom… that’s all.”
I continued, “But this is way more than that. I can’t accept.”
“This is normal.” He said.
I gaped at him, “It isn’t from where I come from.”
“Then you adjust.”
“I don’t know how I can even repay you… I just can’t accept this. Thank you for trying to find a good space for me but please no, not this.” I shook my head, taking a step back and about to turn around to leave.
“I told you I don’t need repayment for it,” his words stopped me.
“No. You told me I can repay by owing you a favour for now.” I told him.
“Accept the house. We can make it two.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Then three favours should be enough.”
“It’s still not enough to beat this…. place,” I waved my hands around the living room we stood in.
“Things I might ask for may cost more than what this house is.” His voice turned low and firm, but I heard him well.
1 shook my head, “No, I can’t. I just need a one bedroom small apartment. It doesn’t need to be in a wealthy estate.”
“It has just two bedrooms, close to one.” He told me.
“Well, a small living room is all I needed.”
“The living room is okay for a normal house in Somerville.”
“Then a small kitchen and a small bathroom,” I shook my head again, staring around the living room where we were standing.
“I can have someone reconstruct the house to your taste,” he offered and for the one hundred and one time for today, I
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Chapter 26
gaped at him.
You’ll break this down and reconstruct the house just cause I complained it’s too big?”
Rhysand nodded. “This is one of the safest estates in the city. And I’ll also like to have you close to where I live in case of an emergency where we have to act as partners, which was another reason I chose here.” He explained.
And hearing his thoughtful explanation made me have a rethink. His words were very on point–and bitterly right.
Where do you live? I couldn’t help but ask…
The house opposite this.” He stated and my mind wandered back to the image of the house I had seen before we got in.
Gracious goddess.
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