The question was –whatwas he seeing?
My heart stopped moving when Willem reached for his knife, and I saw my other brothers tense.
But then all Willem did was cut himself a slice of steak. “I hope you enjoy the carnival.” And then he fed himself the piece of meat and began to chew,elegantly,of course.
Jaak and Nic’s incredulous gazes mirrored each other.
“That’s it?” Fleur blurted out.
Yeah, I thought, equally bemused.Was that really it?
“He has stated very clearly that he only sees Anneke as a friend, and as Marcus is also our friend, it would be the height of discourteousness to doubt his words.” Willem’s gaze turned to me. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong about just being friends.” The pause that followed was deliberate. “Is there, Anneke?”
Six
Ihad just gotten backinside my bedroom when my mobile phone vibrated with a text message from Marcus.
Marcus:I’m sorry.
I lay down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. I could probably pretend I didn’t know what he meant. That would save us both from embarrassment, wouldn’t it?
Anneke:There’s nothing for you to apologize for.
And there wasn’t.
It wasn’t Marcus’ fault that Willem saw through me, and it wasn’t his fault either that my oldest brother thought it was best to warn me against falling for Marcus Ravelli in front of everyone. Sure, Willem hadn’t said it outright, but then that was never my brother’s style. I knew how to read between the lines. Willem himself had taught me, and so I knew what he was telling me without so many words.
There’s nothing wrong about just being friends. Is there, Anneke?
I flipped to my side and covered my head with a pillow, but the words just kept echoing inside my mind.
I knew Willem had only said that because he was worried about me.I knew that.But I also couldn’t help feeling resentful, and I hated it. I had never felt resentful in my life.Never.
And yet—-
There’s nothing wrong about just being friends. Is there, Anneke?