Treating Mr. Billionaire

~ 44 ~

"What is wrong with you?!" The words exploded from her lips as her face twisted with aggravation, her blue eyes returning to his with an expression that showed she had had enough of listening to him speak like a condescending ass.

It took him a few seconds to comprehend her angry outburst, his brows furrowing together as he stared into her eyes. "Problem? Don't you think you have bigger ones? You barely survived an assault and yet you don't seem to even care about pressing charges against that idiot. What were you thinking jumping on a date the next moment after a terrible ordeal?" He questioned, the intensity in his tone almost palpable, making her want to squirm in discomfort.

"And why do act like you care??" She countered, her pot of annoyance boiling over as she glared at him, the urge to yell becoming stronger by the second. "I agree what happened was not a minor incident but you make it sound as if I was in dire straits," her voice rose in frustration and fury before he could reply back. "It's none of your business, Mr. Stanley. What I do with my day offs, if I associate with lowlifes or even go on dates, is none of your goddamn business! Do you think I am some little child you can just lecture however you want? I don't think we have that kind of relationship for you to barge into my conversation with somebody else and then just drag me away. I deserve some respect, you know?"

The words rushed out of her mouth faster than her mind could control them, her hands gripping the hem of her dress tight enough to make her fingers hurt from the pressure. She had just spilled out her exasperation like a flood and she didn't think she would be stopping at that if he kept pushing the issue further.

The heavy sounds of her breathing were audible in the silence that followed, with both of their eyes locked as he studied her expression intently. She was not sure if any of what she had said affected him judging by the kind of person he was but she was glad they were enough to shut him up at the very least.

Maria felt the quietness beneath his stare weighing on her as it stretched longer and longer, her gaze searching his face for any reaction, and his mouth for words of apology or explanation, yet none of those came to the surface. He merely continued staring at her, the silence continuing to suffocate her, and that made her drop her hopes and decide to leave.

She was on the verge of turning away when he took a step closer, that one act of him postponing her intentions and causing her to halt as well. Her brows pulled slightly together when he took two more ones, coming in close until there was only a mere space of three feet between them.

And then she looked straight up at him, meeting the unreadable emotion beneath his chocolate eyes, wondering what could possibly be going through his mind. They stood there like that for the longest time before a word broke through her lips in a cracking tone, "What...?"

His gaze only intensified and she wondered if he was planning murder because of how she had burst out at him earlier. But instead, he stated an unexpecting statement, with his tone low and husky, as though he did not really wish to make a fuss out of it, but he still wanted her to know what he was thinking. "I am going to make sure that idiot who tried to hurt you rots in jail."

Maria froze for a moment at his words, tension already building within her from the intensity of his tone, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as their eyes continued to lock for too long.

He stared back into hers, watching the way her thick lashes blinked repeatedly and the way her lips parted slowly before she managed to reply after a while, her voice trembling slightly, "I think I should go now..."

That was her only excuse to leave a situation that was becoming dangerous for her heart. She was not sure why but having him standing that close was causing a stirring within her, making her heart beat erratically as her chest tightened. She could not remember feeling so flustered in the past.