Forsaken betrayal

Episode 9

Gealic stepped out of the room, her suitcase scaping against he floor, causing a gritty screech that filled the whole room, a silly declaration of her resolve to leave. She brushed asides Mrs Rachel whose face was etched in fake concern, pleading for her to not go and going as far as trying to take the suitcase away from her. As she descended from the stairs, she spotted Lennox standing at the far end of the dining room. His glacial eyes were locked on hers, holding a wine cup to his lips She stared back at him for a long time, trying to hold the rage she felt inside but her trembling hands and her quivering lips betrayed her resolve to stay strong. Between the pleasure she felt the night before and the pain that overpowered it this morning, Gealic had nothing but hatred for the man who had caused it.

"Miss, please go back to your room. Master, I am very s-" he held up a finger and she immediately knew it was for her to shut up and leave. She obliged immediately, opting to stay as close as possible to hear what they would say and as far as possible that they cannot see her.

Lennox's gaze traveled from her face to the travel box in her hand and back to her face. Something was not quite right with her.

"She should be happy." He thought

"She has finally gotten me right where she wants me, why is she running?"

"Her tears..."

Grealic walked towards him slowly, trying to staring right through him till she stood side-by-side with him, a small distance from him.

She raised her head to face him, "I hate you." She said and walked straight past him.

"I-" His voice stopped her in her tracks. "I can see through your lies. If you hope to corner me with your act, I'm sorry but I'm not a fan of yours, you'll have to try harder." He continued without looking at her retreating figure. "You are married to me and you cannot escape it. You sold yourself to me." He said with a sinister smile tugging at his lips.

"Watch me leave." She spat and walked into the open elevator.

Lennox turned to the side, swirling his wine cup around and opened the large glass door that lead to the terrace. Frohigh up there, he watched as she stomped her feet through the graveled walkway and furiously dragged her box along. "I'd send you away if I could." He muttered to himself.

"Dylan," He called for his bodyguard, "Follow her. Bring her back before nightfall."

"Master, do I go..." Mrs Rachel moved close to him.

"No."

Lennox stared at the document displayed on the page tab on the table but all he could focus on was

"What is bothering you?" He glanced to where Alex sat as soon as the message popped up on his screen and returned back to what he was doing.

"The presentation has been over for some minutes, we're all waiting for you. Say something." Another message popped up on the screen before Lennox looked up to the surrounding.

Lennox's gaze swept across the room, his piercing eyes lingering of the presented. He watched as the man nervously smoothed his hair back in a nervous attempts to look collected under Lennox's scrutiny.

None of the board members dared to meet his eyes, all silenced by the fear of his reaction and bracing themselves for the onslaught they would receive, should Lennox not like the presentation. Some were older men but Lennox had an infamous history of drilling fear in the heart of every man he came in contact with.

But Amelia had stood up to him. That was the thought that filled his head. The way she raised her head and cursed at him made it feel like she had gone through a kind of complete change.

The incidents of last night and this morning was all her doing. But this morning, her reaction was very different from what he had expected of her. Amelia would have... him with a sultry glance. She would have smiled at the thought of what she had done. She would have mocked him and not a single tear would have dropped from her face. But this new Amelia cried, she cursed him, and left the house right in front of him.

But Amelia was an ever-scheming woman and the change in her attitude was probably one of her plans. She had done more than this, enough to cut her wrist in his presence. There was nothing she could not do, and she had most likely found a new way to get to him, through his emotions.

He smirked. "Keep up the good work, Amelia."

"Uhm s-sir, what do you t-think of the new proposal."

Lennox stared blankly at the presenter, not letting an ounce of emotion show on his face. "You, Mr Smith. What do you think of the proposal you presented?"

An hushed noise started among the board members, but a glare from Lennox silenced them all.

Johnson watched what was going on with a smirk on his face, knowing Lennox's stoic appearance didn't do as much to affect him as the others. They were friends after all.

"Mr Smith, I asked a question that very much needs an answer especially if you want to continue working here," The tone of f his voice scared the man further. "Tell us your thoughts on the proposal."

"I-i think," The terrified man cleared his throat. His job was on the line and he could not afford to be cowardly in the presence of Mr Lennox. If there was one thing he knew about Mr Lennox, it was that the stoic man hated cowards, he tired them in the speed of light as soon as they display any form of timidity. "I think it was better than last time sir. I reviewed some of the highlighted problem points and came up with better ideas. Most of these ideas tackle functionality of this project. If this goes well, we'll break into more markets around the world."

The entire board scrambled up as Lennox stood to his feet and watched intently as he got out of his seat and walked towards Mr Smith. The latter gulped nervously, praying at the back of his head that he was not about to be fired. Lennox stopped right before him, standing at a considerable number of inches above the fretting man. He raised his hands, slowly heading it towards the man's face. A chortle escaped the man's mouth as Lennox's hand moved closer to his face and only sighed in relief when all he got was a light rap on his face before Lennox walked out of the conference room with Alex and Johnson following right behind.

"We'll have a meeting to finalize this project tomorrow," Lennox said without looking back at the.

Only when Lennox left did the suffocating tension in the room. The man who had been scared shitless collapsed to a nearby chair, clasping his face in his hands softly while the rest of the board members walked out of the room, giving him a pat on the shoulder as they left.

"What was that?"