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Fourteen

It was so hard to pretend you know nothing.

Sitting in the dinner table with Rogue, watching him eat and smile at his phone, I wanted to crawl on the table and stab him. I wanted to scream and ask him what it was he wanted. How a man so wealthy and respected could actually be a devil.

My heart screamed as if it was being murdered. The hand holding the spoon was shaking in my hold. I didn't feel hungry. I was worried about Hanna. Had she eaten? Did he give her food? Was she suffering so much while I was sitting here enjoying? While I was complaining about being kidnapped and enjoying the luxury offered to me, Hanna was suffering more.

"I'm not a fan of quiet people."

I gripped my spoon. My teeth were gritted. Yet, I told myself to relax. He was observant. Any slip up would cause me a lot. I couldn't afford to let Hanna down. Somehow, I felt like this was all my fault. I needed to do better.

"I'm just feeling down today, that's all," I answered, playing with my food.

"Look at me." His command wasn't loud, but it wasn't gentle either. It sunk my stomach and made my heart tremble. I managed to look up, meeting his eyes. "Is there anything you're not telling me?"

Panic gripped me. He held my gaze firmly. "You know everything, Rogue. I don't think I can hide anything from you."

"You should try." There was a pause, then his amused voice, "Figuring it out is exciting. I'm encouraging you to please hide something from me."

I tried to control my breathing and spoke calmly,  "Whatever." I looked down at my food and played with it again. My jaw was visibly ticked, but I remained silent.

"How are you doing today?"

I dropped my spoon and looked at him, fire brimming in my eyes. "Are you kidding me?" Came the shaky, yet firm command. "Why do you care how I am? You're selfish. You only care about your needs. What I feel or how I am is none of your concern." My teeth chattered as I waited for a response.

"You're wrong about that, like how you're wrong about so many things. You're in my home. I treat my guests like I worship them." He didn't wait for my answer. "So, how they feel concerns me." He talked to me as if he were educating a student, filling me in, letting me know what to expect from him.

"Your state of mind concerns me the most."

"You should watch how you talk to me, Bethany. There is a world of difference between me and everyone else. One that I think you wouldn't appreciate. I am still capable of things you can't imagine. Provoke me again and I'll prove it." He turned, a wry smile playing across his lips.

I looked away without thinking, then stared down at my food. I was sure I would completely break down if I tried to imagine all the things my mind wanted to ponder on. In fact, I was imagining some of those horrible things, and how he had held my friend in captivity. I wanted to probe on the topic. It wouldn't be suspicious. After all, I had been asking about her.

"You haven't updated me about Hanna for days now."

He couldn't help himself, he laughed. "I'm choosing not to." His voice, thinly coated with civility, filled my head.

I glanced at him. "Why? She's my friend. I deserve to know what's happening."

"I've limited what you deserve to know and what you don't deserve to know, Beth. If you have a problem with that..." He looked at me intently; brows knit together, his mouth set in a hard line. "Well, I don't care if you have a problem with it."

Of course, he wouldn't care. Of course, he had no other excuse to say. This was crazy. There was fear of this man—eating at me. The words hung in the air. How long before? Before he admitted that he had Hanna? What did he plan to do with her? Would he continue to play games with me?