Free Web NovelChapter 25: Something’s wrong 4
Shhh—
The soft sound of coffee being sipped echoed quietly, whilst the sun’s rays streamed through the cafeteria’s large windows, bathing the room in warm light.
The two sat facing each other. Neither of them spoke a word.
Click.
Larshia slowly broke off a piece of the savoury biscuit, her green eyes reflected in the coffee cup before her.
Across from her, Zahad sat sipping his coffee with quiet elegance, as if nobility had taken human form.
The aura surrounding him exuded a strange dignity, so much so that everyone in the café was gazing at him with silent respect.
It seemed as though Larshia had vanished from the scene entirely, as all eyes were drawn to him alone. Even his simplest movements exuded refinement and gravitas.
The two remained silent... Larshia ate slowly.
And Zihad sipped his coffee as if the world wasn’t worth rushing.
Larshia finally sighed softly. It didn’t seem as though Zihad intended to speak any time soon.
"So... what do you think of him?"
"Think of what?"
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You know what I’m talking about."
"Ah..." he said, as if he’d finally realised, before raising his cup again. "You mean the coffee? It tastes bitter and sweet at the same time. I suppose I could say it’s good, I think."
He took another sip calmly.
Larshia frowned immediately, but Zahad didn’t seem to care about her reaction at all.
"Is that so? Unfortunately, I hate coffee. Hmm... I heard you visited one of your friends recently."
Zahad slowly raised his head and looked at her for a second.
"Tee-hee, tee-hee, tee-hee..." He shook his head slightly. "It’s not very noble to talk about someone behind their back. Where has your politeness gone? I thought you wanted to talk about something important... Is this what you consider important? What a disappointment."
"..."
Larsia smiled faintly as she placed her right hand on the table.
"You’ve reminded me of our childhood days... when we used to run through the fields behind the house, joking around with this one and that one without a care in the world... It would be lovely to get together again one day... what do you think?"
"...."
"You know what?" Zhad stopped sipping his coffee, then stared at Larshia for a few seconds before saying quietly:
"You could have been a truly beautiful woman... if only you didn’t act like an old woman all the time."
Larshia narrowed her eyes at him immediately.
"It’s not polite to call a woman an old woman."
"Oh, I apologise for that." He said, raising his hand slightly in an exaggerated gesture of apology. "As you know, I don’t have much experience dealing with women." He paused for a moment, then tilted his head slightly. "By the way... why are we here again?"
Larsia sighed softly as she pushed the biscuit away from her cup. freewebnoveℓ.com
"We haven’t seen much of each other over the last four days, so I thought it would be nice to have a little chat."
Zahad raised an eyebrow.
"Ah... so that means you don’t want to know what happened between us that night."
Zahad clasped his hands together on the table, then a faint smile played on his lips, before he suddenly changed the subject:
"By the way... how has your father been lately? I heard he’s not in the best of health."
Larshia’s features hardened slightly.
"And where did you hear that?" She added, in a sharper tone:
"He’s doing just fine."
"Hmm... I see."
Zahad watched her in silence for a few seconds, as if trying to read something behind her expressions.
"But why do I feel as though you’re planning something?"
"..."
"What do you mean?"
"I don’t know." He simply shrugged. "You tell me... why are you so concerned about Nero?" He paused briefly before continuing, his voice remaining unnervingly calm:
"Is it because his father has died? And because he will soon become the head of the Statelas family? Are you trying to win him over to your side, just as you did—"
"That’s not it." Larshia interrupted him suddenly.
Her voice had turned unexpectedly cold... yet a hint of sadness mingled with it, which she couldn’t quite hide.
"He’s my friend." She paused for a moment, as if trying to organise her thoughts.
"But honestly... I don’t know what’s happening to me... When I saw him acting strangely... I thought something bad had happened to him... I don’t know." She paused for a moment, and for the first time since the conversation began, something resembling sadness appeared on her face.
"If you really know what’s wrong with him... please tell me."
"I didn’t realise you were so emotional."
He paused for a moment, before a faint smile touched his lips. "Well... I suppose he’s probably grown up by now."
"..."
"From what I gathered from talking to him..." Zihad continued, leaning back slightly, "he seems much better than he used to be. Besides... it’s been years since I last saw him, hasn’t it?"
He said this as he picked up the cloth napkin lying beside his cup, then gently wiped his lips with it.
He then rose from his seat. Just as he was about to leave, he turned slightly towards her.
"Humans... strange creatures... they’re not constant. They can change and behave strangely in the blink of an eye... and so, truly knowing someone is almost impossible. Even you... ...you may not even know yourself completely.... Hmm... I seem to have talked too much. Goodbye."
Zahad then left the cafeteria with quiet steps, whilst Larshia remained alone.
She could see his back gradually receding... until he vanished completely from her sight.
Only then—the sadness vanished from her features suddenly.
Her face became cold and inscrutable.
She turned her gaze towards the window and stared at the sunlight for several long seconds.
Then she sighed slowly.
"How long must I wait... until I understand why I behave this way?"
She sank into thought for a moment. Then she shook her head slightly.
She had that strange feeling... a feeling telling her that she would know the answer soon.
She didn’t know if ’soon’ meant tomorrow, or a week from now, or even years from now. But she was sure of one thing.
That day would come. The day when she would be whole again.
"And I’ll regain what I’m missing..." The thought crossed her mind quietly. Then she finally stood up and left the cafeteria too.
