Red Princess

69. Misplaced Trust

Ariel ignored him and repeated, "I see movement on the third floor near the fire exit. I'll take that end."

My index finger settled on the trigger, and my eyes focused on the dark windows, waiting for their signal. I raised my free arm and gestured for my team to prepare their weapons as Seydon and Ariel headed inside the building.

My mind kept spiralling towards Ariel and Seydon. I was never the nosy kind. I never bothered about other people's private lives, but something about them kept stinging me at the back of my mind. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a form of relief when he broke the engagement that morning.

I tapped on my device and tuned in to a private frequency to talk to Seydon alone.

"What? Miss me already?"

"You wish, Silver Asshole." I scoffed, my finger steady on the trigger.

He chuckled to that new nickname, his breath audible over the line. "That name is gonna catch up pretty quick."

"They might forget your real name altogether and prefer calling you that. It's such a fitting name to your personality."

"Did you really just tune in to throw insults at me?"

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Why did you break up with her?"

He only gave me silence in answer. If it weren't for his steady breath over the device, I would have assumed the line had died. When a few seconds passed, and none of us filled in the quiet, he finally spoke, "Felt like having a girly chat today, huh, Black Chicken?"

I ignored the provocation. "Evading questions and hiding behind a foul mouth. If anyone is a chicken, it's you."

"I thought I was an asshole?"

"Well, chickens do have one, don't they?" I shrugged.

"That's some serious demotion." He chuckled. "First floor is clear. Nobody's keeping watch here. I guess they are on the third floor like Ariel suggested."

"Don't make it obvious that you wanted to get captured. At least make an attempt to hide and fight back." I lowered my aim to the third-floor window. "And changing the subject won't help you."

He audibly sighed and then spoke, "Since when did you start taking an interest in my private life?"

"Since you told me you were getting married. I clearly remember you swearing on your heart on the graduation day that you'd die a bachelor."

"I guess I decided to make good on that swear."

I sighed on my microphone, closing my eyes for a second because his desire to constantly push people away was repulsive. He picked a fight with me on my first day at the academy, despite having barely spoken to anyone. Even though I had been bothered by his feelings for Alice, deep down, I was relieved that he was capable of feeling such emotions. He may not have been my younger brother, but I still treated him like one. I would punch him, insult him, and kick him away when he was annoying, but I would continue to be there for him when he needed me.

"I am here if you want to talk about it." I waited for a few seconds hoping for an answer, but it never came. Just when I thought our conversation was over and I almost switched back to the standard frequency, he mumbled, "I don't deserve it, not from you."

Our conversation was short and of no consequence, and I decided to give him his space. He was an adult and would come around when he wanted to. I heard a hustling sound over the comms as the two of them pretended to be employees of the building and surrendered.