Chapter 6

　　While he was still dazed, Kay rolled over and slipped out of his arms.

　　With her back to Silas, she said flatly:

　　"When I said fine, I meant I agree to let her stay in my room."

　　She was leaving tomorrow anyway. He could give the room to whoever he pleased.

　　She'd expected the answer would satisfy him, but instead Silas suddenly wrenched her back around, his face dark as he stared at her:

　　"Why?"

　　Kay looked at him, not understanding:

　　"What?"

　　His voice went cold:

　　"You hate Rose so much you'd send her to the ends of the earth. Why give in so easily this time?"

　　"Are you scheming something? Planning to hurt her once she moves in?"

　　Once, an accusation like this, flung at her without a shred of proof, would have hurt so much she couldn't breathe.

　　But now her heart had gone numb. She couldn't feel a single trace of pain anymore.

　　She let out a sigh and said quietly:

　　"Don't worry, I won't do anything to her. I'll move out tomorrow—"

　　Before she could finish, Silas cut her off:

　　"Kay, do you even believe your own words?"

　　"I know exactly how you used to go after Rose. Now she's taken your position at the research institute. You must hate her to death!"

　　"There's no way you wouldn't make things hard for her."

　　Kay smiled bitterly to herself. So he knew after all—that Rose's spot at the Ashford City Research Institute was one she'd snatched away from her.

　　Seeing Kay fall silent, Silas assumed he'd guessed right, and pressed on, seething:

　　"I won't let you get what you want. This time, I will protect Rose no matter what!"

　　Kay nodded, humoring him:

　　"Don't worry. I promise I'll never show my face in front of the two of you again. Satisfied?"

　　Her offhand tone reignited his anger. His face darkened:

　　"Fine. Then move out tomorrow."

　　"And clear your things out completely. Rose can't stand having other people's belongings in her room."

　　Kay's expression stayed blank:

　　"I'll take only what's mine. The rest you can have the housekeeper deal with."

　　"Don't worry. I promise I won't appear again after tomorrow."

　　Silas looked at her eyes, still bright and lovely in the dark of night, and for some reason a strange unease crept over him.

　　As if something were slipping away from him, beyond his control.

　　Those eyes had once been full of love for him. Now something he couldn't read had mixed into them.

　　That unfamiliar look stung his eyes, and he turned his head away on instinct.

　　After a long moment, he gently stroked Kay's hair:

　　"Kay, Rose and I grew up together. She lost her parents young. She's been through so much, all alone."

　　"Marrying you was a betrayal of her. I have to take responsibility for her."

　　He slowly took Kay's hand:

　　"Don't worry. Once she's found her footing in Ashford City, I'll stop getting involved in her affairs."

　　"By then we can live our lives in peace, with nothing between us, just like before."

　　At the word before, Kay's long-quiet heart sped up for an instant.

　　Then, the next second, it went still again.

　　She thought of the day Rose came back to the country, when Silas had left her alone in the pouring rain that night and driven off to the airport to pick Rose up, and hadn't come home until morning.

　　The next day, the entertainment headlines ran a dreamy shot of the two of them embracing in the rain.

　　Back then Silas had been just as tender as he was now, telling her Rose was only frightened from spending so long abroad, that he was merely comforting her.

　　Once Rose settled in Ashford City, he said, he'd keep his distance from her.

　　And now here he was, using the very same lines on her again.

　　Not a word of it would Kay ever believe again.

　　Outside the window, a crash of thunder split the air.

　　The next second, Rose's soft, tearful voice came from beyond the door:

　　"Silas, it's thundering outside. I'm so scared."

　　"Won't you come keep me company…"

　　Without a moment's hesitation, Silas rose to his feet, frowning:

　　"Kay, Rose is terrified of thunder. I'm going to sit with her."

　　"You… get some sleep early."

　　With that, he left without another glance at her, without looking back.

　　Kay's lips curled into a bitter smile.

　　Silas had probably forgotten—Rose had just released a photo set shot in a thunderstorm not long ago. She wasn't afraid of thunder at all.

　　The one afraid of thunder was Kay.

　　Her father had died on a rainy night torn by lightning, and ever since, she couldn't sleep through a single storm.

　　The old Silas would have gently gathered Kay into his arms and soothed her in a low voice.

　　But now he'd probably even forgotten how the Silas of those days had once cared for her so completely.

　　A tightness pressed on Kay's chest. She got up and went to the kitchen for water.

　　As she passed the guest room, a soft moan reached her ears:

　　"What, feeling sorry for your wife?"

　　"It's just a little thunder. It's not going to scare her to death, is it?"

　　"Though if she knew you'd abandoned her, trembling with fear, to slip away and fool around with me, I wonder if it wouldn't make her furious enough to die."

　　Silas's voice came muffled:

　　"It's what she deserves."

　　"She did wrong back then. She should be punished."

　　Kay's brow creased slightly. So he hadn't forgotten.

　　So this was meant to be her punishment?

　　Punishment for not clearing out the bedroom overnight, the instant he'd given the order today.

　　She pressed a hand to her wildly pounding heart and let out a long breath.

　　Good. She hadn't misjudged him. He was still the same despicable Silas.

　　Only that way could she leave with her heart untroubled.