Chapter 26: It’s Just A Ring [1] "Mrs. King, it’s late. We should be back in the penthouse by now," said Reed for the tenth time. "Mrs. King." I was keen on finding my ring. I have searched the area where all the craziness had happened today. The last thing I wanted was to be back here, but here we are. I’ve circled this area many times. How hard is it to find a sparkling diamond in the dark? "It has to be around here somewhere." "You haven’t told me what we’re looking for." I halted, straightened my spine, and faced Reed, who had a worried expression plastered on his face. "We’ve been here for hours, don’t you think I should know?" I felt bad now; he had been accompanying me ever since, and I had said nothing about my distress. "I lost my ring." Understanding became his gaze. "I thought I’d find it, but I don’t know where to start and.... a-and..." Reed came to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Just breathe..." I didn’t realize I was heaving uncontrollably until he said those words. His hand slid from my shoulder to my arms and held me tight. He didn’t break eye contact with me as he kept murmuring the word breath. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves, and when I opened them again, I felt a little bit better. "I-I think I’m losing it," I said. "Today was... scary." "You got lost." "Yes, I got lost." I didn’t think he believed me, but he only nodded. "We’re gonna find your ring. I’ll stay out here longer if I have to." I smiled at his words, but it dropped so quickly. "What’s wrong with me? What am I even doing here? Been out here for a pointless search." "It’s not pointless, it’s your ring." "My granny always told me how I get too attached to things, even the ones that don’t make sense. She called it a good and a bad thing." "Shouldn’t you be attached to your ring?" he reasoned. "Erm... yes, I should. I mean I have to... sorry..." I rubbed my forehead. I felt Reed’s hand on it, and his worry only grew. "You’re running a temperature." "I’m fine." "No, you’re not!" he snapped, realizing what he had done, he pulled away from me. His mouth moved to speak, but a loud ringtone filled the air. I held my torch in my armpit and fished out my phone, and the name Devil Boss reflected on the screen. I don’t even feel like picking it, but I did anyway. "Ride back to the stables." The call ended before I could say anything. I didn’t know why, but I felt anxious about meeting him. It was deja vu because it was the same way I felt when I stepped through his office doors for my interview. I don’t even wanna think about it right now. "Mr. King?" Reed asked me, and I only offered a nod. In silence, I walked back to my horse, having trouble mounting because of how exhausted I was, but I felt Reed’s hands on my waist helping me up. "Thanks." He mounted his own horse, and we rode out. "We still haven’t talked about last night," I began. "I think we should, given my behaviour." "There’s nothing to talk about, Mrs. King." "Did you get in trouble?" "..." "Well then, I think it’s best the next time I get drunk, you should be on the first plane out of Midnight. Tori always said if she had a chance to choose between catering to me when drunk, she’d be better off teaching lemurs how to dance." A breathy chuckle rolled off him. "Now, that’s the sound I was hoping for." He flashed me a wide grin. "Did you purposely say that?" "I mean, it’s a win, but Tori did say that. I figured you lost it because you received a scolding from Ares after what happened." "A scolding," he mumbled. "Not that? Don’t tell me you’re gonna be fired!" "That’d be the easy way out, wouldn’t it? Mr. King never uses the easy way." I swallowed a lump in my throat, my mind wandering to Athena’s words. "You’ve worked with Ares for a long time, right?" "Yes." "H-How much do you know about him?" "What do you mean?" "Well, he’s a King, well known in the city. An important man like him must have... secrets." We stepped into the light gleaming from the lamppost, and I caught Reed’s eyes on me. Realizing the kind of question I had asked, I said. "Silly me! Why should I be asking such a question?" I urged Duke to go on ahead to avoid the awkwardness that had suddenly grasped us. Nice try, Catherine. Keep this up, and everyone will know the truth. I caught sight of the stables, then of Ares waiting outside. I released a cold breath when I neared him and dismounted Duke. "I’m gonna miss you. I’ll do my best to come see you again." As the stable hand took Duke away, my smile faded. I faced Ares, who came to me, without a word, he took off his coat and draped it around me. "I lost the ring," I confessed, already feeling pressured. "I came to look for it." He narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn’t have gone out to look for it." "I’m sorry..." I mumbled under my breath, feeling like I had done something wrong. "I—" "It’s just a ring, I’ll buy you another." He said it so casually that it made my jaw tighten, and a scowl formed on my face. I had no idea why I got worked up about this. I reprimand myself for spending hours looking for it when Mister Ice here can get another with a snap of a finger. Why was I even bothered about the fucking ring when it was all pretend to begin with? His hand reached for my hair, the strands whipping across my face from the wind, but I flinched back before he could touch me. A look I couldn’t describe flooded his eyes. "Can we go now? I’m tired," I said, pushing his coat back to him and walking to the car.