Chapter 234: Flirty Devil "Anything else, Mr. King?" I set the mug down. "This will do for now." He brought the mug to his lips and sipped, but he suddenly choked on it and spat to the floor. I exploded in laughter. "Geez... thanks for the decoration..." Harper said, eyeing the floor and then Ares before dipping her mop in the bucket. "Sorry!" I snorted, unable to control myself from laughing like a maniac. Ares sighed, looking at the mess he made and then me. "Oops! I thought you liked a little sugar in your coffee..." I teased, resting my elbows on the counter and leaning toward him. "You handled it pretty well..." He licked his lips, gaze darkening, and I could recognize those anywhere. Deja vu. I tossed some paper towels at him to erase the thickness in the air. As he wiped his hands and mouth, it felt like he would freeze through the counter to get to me. Smirking, I went back to work, his eyes tracking my every move. It went on for a really long time until I finally gave him some attention, losing focus on my work. "Isn’t there anything else you should be working on, Mr. King? Don’t tell me you’re gonna spend the entire day here again." "This place is the best in town." I scoffed. "There are a lot of places." "I prefer... here." I sighed, closing the glass and walking to him. "I know what you’re doing?" "What am I doing?" Okay, I think I much prefer when he’s not talking. "Whatever it is you’re doing... it won’t work." "Depends on what you mean." I chewed the inside of my mouth, not wanting to voice it out. "Coming here shouldn’t be a habit." "I’m here for Esme." "After what you pulled off, I’m sure you’re. I meant what I said, Ares. There’s no us." I added the last bit in a whisper. "I know..." he replied. I nodded. "Good." I resumed my work, yet his eyes said a different thing than his words. "Then why do your eyes keep following me everywhere?" "I should say the same for you." I released a sharp exhale. "No... I’m focused on work, and you’re distracting me." He checked his Rolex. "Just waiting to pick Esme from school." "Of course you are." "Do you always accuse your customers?" "As I said, you’re not a customer." I gritted my teeth. "Give me your number..." he said out of the blue, fishing out his phone. The switch was so unexpected that I had to blink a few times to collect myself. "You could have easily taken it yourself. Those are one of the tricks of the devil, aren’t they?" "It wouldn’t be fun that way. I’m courting you." I froze. "Y-You can’t be serious." His eyes bored into mine, and I realized how fucking serious he was. Courting me? Courting? Does such a thing exist in his orbit? "C-Courting... that is an odd word coming from you. It’s a joke then." "Why did you think it’s a joke?" "Because in a normal, reasonable sense, I wouldn’t go for your type." "I’m not your type?" "No, you’re not." "Then it seems like I have more work to do." "Failure will slap you right in the face." "Good thing I like a challenge." Ugh! ~☆~ It became a ritual. Ares would come early to walk Esme to school, have his breakfast and lunch in the diner while flirting with me. Yes, flirting, mostly with his eyes, because that man doesn’t need to say a damn word. The quiet attention he commands was unreal. It was almost as if I could tell everything behind those eyes. I have always had trouble reading him, but now it seems like he has let down those icy walls and exposed everything to me. It wasn’t fair that he could do stuff like that, like it was nothing. I know Ares; he was a solid man, and he had no reason to bring down his walls for anyone. I had just put Esme to sleep. She was always so tired when we got home because all her time was spent chatting with Ares. I smiled, recalling how she held his hand tightly as we strolled home, her little skips and smile. I kissed her forehead, turned off the lights, and closed the door gently. When I got downstairs, Ares was in my kitchen, his usual spot where he spent a few minutes before leaving. "I take it you’ll be leaving any time soon?" I asked while walking to the fridge, awaiting his usual goodnight. "No." My heart skipped a beat. I closed the fridge and turned to him. "It’s late." "I’m famished." "F-Famished?" I stuttered because when he said those words, it didn’t seem as if he had food in mind. "Or a drink, if there’s any." I scoffed. "Well, I think you read my mind there." No, he did not. My brain had wandered into forbidden depths in the span of minutes. "It’s the weekend, so I think it’s perfect. Oh, and one more thing. I have been thinking about it ever since." "What?" he asked, amused. ~☆~ "She was tiny!" I giggled as I showed him the picture of Esme’s ultrasound. "I thought she was a nut at first until I was given a clear visual and here look at this!" Another picture when she was just three days old. Ares rubbed his jaw, observing the image with far too much intensity, a lingering smile on his lips. "And there... when she first started walking." He took my phone, tilting his head as the video played. Esme was in diapers as I cheered her on to walk, and she giggled, crawling first to get to me before holding onto the wall to stand. The entire time I documented everything, I thought it was just things a first-time mom would do just to keep memories because of how precious they were. But a part of me... a part I didn’t wanna bring to the surface did it so that I could one day see this expression Ares had on. That glow was so unique and I couldn’t believe it. Guilt swamped me as I took another glass of whiskey, welcoming the burn, filling up my glass again, repeating the action until I felt a hand stop me. I looked to the Ares, allowing him to take the glass and set it down on the coffee table. "Do you..." I hiccuped. "Hate me? I... I took this away from you. It’s not like the pictures or the million videos are gonna bring those moments back, you know. She’s your daughter and I..." I paused, feeling like crying." "I don’t." I chuckled. "Liar, liar." I felt his hand beneath my chin, tilting so that our gaze locked. "I don’t." My bottom lip trembled as I sniffed. "Do you hate me?" he asked. "Your father took my parents away from me. I should hateeee you." Despite my words, he caressed my cheek and stroked. "You’re a King." "I pulled the trigger for you, baby." I blinked, confused by what he meant. "He didn’t die peacefully. I gave him death." My blood ran cold as it dawned on me.