Chapter 6 A DEAL WITHIN THE DARKNESS (Demilia’s POV)

"I want only the truth, Damilia," Ethan's voice vibrated angrily, though he tried his best to remain composed. "What the hell did he slip over to you?"

The cold breeze from the evening was no more enjoyable, but rather harsh on my skin, almost the same with Ethan's words. It made my red gown cling to my body too tightly, giving Ethan a better view to feed his hungry eyes. I could sense the storm brewing beneath his charming eyes, though he's doing a great job at hiding it.

"I have no idea of what you are talking about." I whispered, maintaining a calm nature, not ready to match his energy.

"Don't you dare start before me and lie." He took few steps closer, his jaw line showing how furious he was. "I saw it Damilia. I saw him myself. He slipped a metallic object into your hand. Was it a note, a tracker, or maybe a ticket to meet him somewhere secret?"

I swallowed hard, not knowing how to push him off politely. My breathing was already shaky enough by just seeing him tonight. Isn't it enough bad day that I met him again after many years? Why is he trying to control my life again? "He was just..."

"Don't say that thing in your mind." Ethan snapped like an angry bird. Though his voice was low, but the danger in it wasn't mistaken. "Don't you dare lie to me that he was just being a gentleman, offering you help."

There was a long silence between us, the kind that was suffocating.

"I can't remember telling you that I asked Adrian for anything." I replied, my voice very firm. "He was the one that came to me. I had no idea what his motive was until you appeared in the picture."

"Oh, really?" Ethan sneered, still finding it difficult to believee, and I cared less. "You expect me to swallow your story, that you had no idea what was going on? That my greatest rival in business suddenly appeared, and of all people, decided to develop a liking to my wife?"

His word kind of stung the moment they left his lips. He always have a way of making it feel like a curse, and not a bond that it was supposed to be.

"I'm never the enemy here, Ethan." I muttered, suddenly losing interest in making him understand. "It would be better if you stop treating me like one "

He let out a bitter laugh, getting even more closer to the point I could feel his breath on me. "You think this is what I want? That I enjoy this barter? You think I like doubting you?'"

"I don't have any interest in caring about what you want anymore." I shot back, getting irritated with the way he was playing the victim card. "You seem to have forgotten how you made me a prisoner in your world, and when I finally get to breathe fresh air away from you, you lay all the blames on me."

He stared at me, too long, too hard, too intimate, too dominating. His eyes was thoroughly scanning my whole being, like he was looking for something to ruin. Then suddenly, he turned his back at me, and with a cold and commanding voice, he said. "If you are hiding something, I would give you another chance to had it over to me."

I blinked in confusion. "What?"

"That thing that he gave you.," he said. "I want you to hand it over this minute."

My palm itched, I tried feeling the small key in my clutch as I waned to be sure it was safe. I hesitated, not not he was watching my body movement.

"I see," he said calmly, but it was very deadly. "So, you truly have something you are hiding from me?"

"I have told you, I have no idea what it is," I protested, but my voice didn't sound convincing enough.

Ethan's jaw tightened, his face showing how furious he was. "I would give you two options, Damilia. It's either you obediently hand it over like a good girl, or I'm forced to search you myself. "

I took few steps backwards, glaring hard at him. "You wouldn't dare do such."

"Try me and see," he said, his cold voice enough to freeze blood.

For a second, I had concluded that he meant it. By now, my pulse had doubled, and I had no way of controlling it.

"Ethan..." I finally whispered on finding my voice, my heartbeat still increasing. "You don't seem to trust anyone, or do you?"

He leaned closer, covering the little space I was able to create between us to the point his lips almost brushed my ear. "Trust is only meant for people who haven't shed blood."

That earned a shiver from me, my body vibrating at the confession. "What exactly are you hiding from me, Ethan?"

He paused, and that was when his mask fell off, and I saw something in his eyes, like pain. But he covered it immediately as it came. "Haven't you realized that you are asking the wrong question, Damilia?"

He turned to take his leave, but I drew him back by holding his sleeve. "No. You won't be going anywhere, because for once, I demand that you answer me."

"Let go of me," he warned sternly, but I wasn't ready to be his puppy that night.

"Not until I get an answer from you. You have to tell me everything that's going on between you, and my brother. Why do you use every opportunity that you get to treat me like your biggest mistake?"

He spun around without warning to the point he made me gasp. His hand immediately grabbed my wrist, the other on my waist as he pulled me against him. "Because, ever since my existence, you are the only thing beyond my control. I have done my best to control you, but you always have your way of defying my orders." He hissed before realizing himself. "And I hate that so much."

My breathing hitched as he said that, and by now, our faces wa just few inches apart, our lips almost touching. The fury in his eyes was mixed with something else, something wild and demanding expression. "You want the truth so badly, Demilia?" He whispered with a hushed voice. "Your brother's deal with me isn't just about debt as you you have been made to believe..." He stopped, clenching his jaw. "...that very night that he sold you..."