CHAPTER 25: CHAPTER-25. (THAT STUPID SNITCH).

It felt as if his eyes were glued to them as half of the area was almost bulging out.

This happened when he pulled me, gripping my arm, the robe slightly loosened, and he pressed his body to mine, the area was peaking out a little bit.

My face heated in seconds. My brain stopped functioning as I couldn’t decide how to react to this.

My whole body went stiff; heat rushed up my neck and straight into my face.

For a second, I just stood there frozen, my brain refusing to work. Of all the places his eyes could have been, of course, they had to be there.

I swallowed hard, but my tongue was stuck somewhere between telling him off and screaming at myself for even noticing how close he was.

His chest pressed into mine, steady and warm, and every breath he took brushed against my cheek. My heart was hammering so loud I was sure he could hear it.

Heck, maybe the whole building could.

And then his eyes came back up, locking with mine. No guilt, no shame, just that infuriating unreadable look. Like I was the one at fault here.

"You are not going out wearing this," he muttered, low and deep enough to make my stomach knot as his eyes again roamed over me.

I have always felt conscious about my body, but never in my whole life have I felt this level of consciousness under his burning gaze.

His one hand gripped my waist while the other one pressed against the door, trapping me. His breath was raging against my skin, heating it, and so was the environment around us.

My hands were still on his chest. The thin T-shirt did nothing to keep the warmth of his body from seeping into my body.

When I realized that my hands were free and that his eyes were still glued onto me, not wasting another second, I adjusted my robe, tightening the knot firmly.

I was already embarrassed from the incident and now fuming from frustration, which I this time poured all onto him, "You neither want me to stay here nor do you want to go out, then what in the world should I do to prevent you from invading my personal space.

That too, again and again." I gritted out the last word, almost grinding my molars.

He, too, till now stood straight but never loosened the grip on my waist as he flatly replied, "Talk."

Jesus, another one-word reply, and I would throw a punch in his face, breaking his sharp jaws.

Before I could manifest my wish into reality, he continued and finally revealed, "I found out about our photos being leaked, and I wanted to talk about it."

His words felt as if some threw a couple of ice-cold waters over me, waking me up to the reality.

He wanted to talk about that? God, so he remembered our kiss? And who told him about it?

As soon as the question came to my mind, a face flashed in front of my eyes, realizing who it might be.

Josh. That stupid snitch.

It was highly possible as he had a big mouth and he could not keep anything to himself, especially if the one asking...sorry demanding the answer from him.

But right now... I had a bigger problem.

Because he was still standing there. Hand firm on my waist. Eyes still on me like I was some kind of suspect under interrogation. And worse? worse than all of that he knew.

Our kiss. The photos. The whole thing.

I could feel my stomach drop and twist all at once, like I’d just been shoved off a cliff.

My brain scrambled for words, any words, but everything came out in half-thoughts and panicked static.

"What about it?" I praised myself internally for not fumbling over words like a kid.

His eyes were narrowed as if scrutinizing every action of mine.

We stood there for a few seconds, which almost felt like an eternity, when he opened his mouth, "I have decided to announce our marriage publicly."

The moment the words fell into my ear, it felt as if someone snatched the land beneath my feet. My legs started to shake like jelly.

I could not be able to straighten my body when Dave’s grip on my waist tightened, balancing me.

I gaped at him, having no words. I could feel my eyes widening at the size of a saucer pan. My throat started to get dry as a lump formed in my throat.

He would not do that. Would he?

Several assumptions started to cloud my mind, and no scenario was making sense. Why would he want to publicize our marriage? And more specifically, why now, in all the time?

In all these years, he ignored or changed the topic whenever I tried to take this matter to him.

And now, when I did not want to do anything with him and even divorce him.

And now he was here with a blank expression on his face, revealing that he wanted to do that as if he was just announcing that Christmas comes in December.

My mind was running faster than my own heartbeat, but my mouth just... refused to cooperate.

"You can’t be serious," I finally managed, but my voice came out weaker than I’d intended.

His eyes didn’t even flicker. "I am."

That was it. No explanation, no softening of that damn unreadable face.

Just those two words, and suddenly my entire body felt like I was trapped in a glass box, air thinning by the second.

I let out a short, humorless laugh, the kind that comes out when you’re too stunned to process anything properly. "You decide to drop this bomb on me now? Out of nowhere?"

"Not out of nowhere," he said, his voice calm, infuriatingly calm, like this was just some logical next step in his neatly planned life. "I’ve thought it through."

"Oh, well then.." I threw my hands up, stepping back only to realize he was still gripping my waist and I wasn’t going anywhere. "...if you’ve thought it through, clearly my opinion doesn’t matter. Why would it? I’m just the one actually in this marriage."

Something flashed in his eyes, quick, unreadable again, but his voice stayed even. "It matters. That’s why I’m telling you before I do it."

Was he serious?

"Before you do it?!" My voice rose, sharp and almost shaky.

I wanted to scream and say more but when he narrowed his eyes as he dropped the question like a bomb in the silent sea, "I would stop everything if you give me one reaon that why shouldn’t we do this?"