Chapter 24: The Ride
"Why the cuffs?" Vivian asked, voice laced with curiosity.
"Ether cuffs," Azalea corrected, eyes never leaving his book.
She squinted at him, then her eyes widened as realization hit.
He’s not afraid of me manipulating his emotions... she thought, He’s afraid I’ll manipulate that girl’s emotions.
Tch. She clicked her tongue.
She should’ve done it the moment she saw the girl—her aura had been chaotic. Jumbled. Rage, frustration, grief, confusion—too many emotions at once. It was overwhelming. She’d never encountered someone with such a storm of raw, unfiltered feeling before. It had stunned her. She forgot to act.
"...Wait," she said, voice shifting into mock horror, "But don’t these cuffs leave me vulnerable? What if your manly instincts kick in and you can’t control yourself—what if you try to ravage me?"
There it was—the narcissist in full display.
Azalea didn’t even flinch.
"Trust me when I say this... you don’t ignite any form of lust in me," he replied, tone flat. "You can sense emotions, can’t you? Then you should already know. You don’t even register as one percent of the women I’ve seen in my life."
A lie of course.