Chapter 92 – A Dead Man’s Possession (2)
“But it’s already worn from use. Do you like it that much?”
“Well, it’s yours after all.” Lacias threw her a fond smile.
Lila couldn’t care less about the blanket. But seeing Lacias take great interest in it made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, especially when the blanket used to be Mrs. Marshmell’s. Bringing it with her like Lacias suggested didn’t seem right.
She shook her head in disagreement. “This is going to be thrown away.”
“Why?”
“Because… it’s old. Look how worn it is.” Lila hoped that her explanation would suffice. She couldn’t exactly tell him that her late husband also made use of it, could she?
But Lacias seemed to pick up the meaning behind her words and nodded.
“I get it.” He pressed his palm on the blanket, fingertips digging into the soft material like he wanted to tear it apart, no longer treating it softly like he did a few moments before. The gentleness in his eyes was now gone, replaced by a cold, penetrating stare in its place as it panned to the surface of the blanket.
This was the main reason why she didn’t want to talk about this. As she looked on, she began to see what kind of person Lacias was on the inside. Lila shook her head to get rid of the thoughts and kneaded her temples with her fingertips. She needed to steer the conversation away from talks of Viscount Marshmell.
“You’re right. This really is too worn to be used. I’ll buy you a new one, so it’s best if we throw this one out.” Lacias spoke suddenly, breaking the silence that enveloped them for a good minute.
“But you said you like it—”
Lacias interrupted. “I just noticed that it was not clean, it had a few stains here and there.”
Lila knew that was highly unlikely. Jane would have gotten rid of it already if it did have stains. Not wanting to prolong the conversation any longer, Lila acquiesced. “Right, let’s get rid of it.”
Lacias hummed.
“And there’s no need to get me anything new. I have a lot here that I can use.” Lila remarked.
“No. I will get you something. I insist.” He spoke with a finality in his tone that Lila could only mutter in agreement. ‘Sure. Do whatever you want.’
She knew trying to convince Lacias otherwise when he had already made up his mind was pointless. She beckoned for him with a flick of her fingers, gesturing him to come close so they could discuss their upcoming schedule. It’s what she came here for in the first place.
As Lacias made his way towards her, his eyes wandered about her bedroom with a curious gaze as he deliberately took in his surroundings, prompting Lila to ask him what he’s looking at.
“I’m just trying to remember how the furniture is placed.” Lacias replied casually.
Lila tilted her head to the side. “What for?”
Lacias only shrugged his shoulders, like he did not understand why Lila bothered to ask something so obvious. “I just want to make sure my mansion wouldn’t have the same layout as this, since I don’t want to be reminded of this place in any way.” The corner of his lips pulled into a smirk.
“Sure. Alright.” Lila replied nonchalantly. The truth was, even if the mansion had the same interior design as the Marshmell’s mansion down to the most minute of details, Lila would not notice it at all. Lila was entirely indifferent to the place she was staying at so she let Lacias do as he pleased.
She reached for his hand and pulled him with her. He let himself be dragged by Lila obediently, so unlike the time when he grabbed her by the waist earlier.
She sat down at the foot of the bed and tapped the space beside her, urging Lacias to do the same. He sat right next to Lila with barely a space between them.
“Forget everything else and look at this.” Lila started.
“What is that?” Lacias asked her out of the blue.
It seemed like something else got his attention, again. She wondered if he would ever pay attention when she talks about work. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated and she was about to reprimand him when she saw Lacias intently looking down at his feet. Lila followed his gaze and saw a dark navy slipper peeking from underneath the bed.
Lacias’ eyes grew cold, realization settling in that this was certainly not Lila’s. The size of her feet was not that big, and it clearly belonged to a man. Lacias peeled his eyes off the slipper and directed his gaze at Lila, waiting for an explanation.
Lila inclined her head to look at the slipper better. Was it Viscount Marshmell’s? She had never seen this before, and what was a large slipper doing in her own bedroom? If she saw this earlier she would have burned it to ashes. She loathed the Viscount as much as she did Mrs. Marshmell.
Even if she uttered these thoughts out loud, Lacias’ face was already wrinkled in disgust. “Why is that dead bastard… “ He gritted out. “What is that dead man’s slipper doing in your room?”
Lila was startled at the harsh words spewed out of his lips. She was so surprised that she could only stare at him in silence. Her mouth parted and closed, unable to answer his question.
Lacias frowned and bit his lower lip, as if he was stopping himself from raging. He forced himself to calm down before speaking. “Why didn’t you get rid of it?”