"Flirt? Never! Show my appreciation? Definitely."
"Oh, I am sure you show a lot of appreciation to a lot of women," I just said and chuckled a little.
"Well, you are special."
"I'm sure you say that to everyone."
He just shrugged and smiled a bit innocently, before nodding towards my food.
"Eat."
"You eat!"
"I already ate!" he gave back.
I rolled my eyes, and then pulled the plate back, lifting the half-eaten piece of toast and doing a big number out of taking a bite.
"See? Not so hard," he just teased me.
I just shot him an annoyed look.
"It still tastes bad," I mumbled.
"You will be fine. Dominic will be home later."
"Where is he exactly?" I asked.
I knew I said I didn't want to know ... but ... but I couldn't stop myself from asking.
"No ... I don't want to know ..." I quickly said.
"He went to see Arianna," Gabriel told me anyway.
My heart was filled with this ... ugly feeling. Jealousy. I knew it was that, but I didn't want to admit it, so I just put on my I-don't-care face and nodded a little.
"Just to make some things clear. He doesn't like she came by."
"I don't care," I said.
"Sure, you don't," he said and shook his head at me.
I just ignored him, and we sat in silence for a little while, until he repeated his question:
"So, what would you like to do today?"
Chapter 34
-Lara-
It was difficult but I was able to convince Gabriel to take me out. I had to get out of the house, and I already knew that trying to run away, while I distracted Gabriel with a book or a bad excuse, would never work. He had to take me out, and so he did. He had been hesitant, saying it probably wasn't such a good idea, considering I wasn't the council’s favorite person right now, but I said I felt cooped up and as the queen, he had to listen to me. So, he did.
I was out.
In the real world ...
Yet, as we went to get some late-night food at this small diner, yes, it had taken me a long time to convince him, so it took a while before we got out of the door, I kind of wanted to go back. It made me realize I was already finding a home there. It was the stability. The feeling of it made me feel safe and made me not want to run away, but I knew I had a job to do. I would find the perfect time to excuse myself to the bathroom, and then I would be out of there. I would figure out what to do from there. My freedom came first. Luckily, I did have my phone and wallet with me, making sure to sneak them into my jacket before we left. I couldn't bring anything else with me. I had to be able to move fast.
"So, we are out. Happy?" Gabriel asked.