บท 35: Discolored Truths
"You said you were working overtime, but why were you doing it in a hotel?"
A certain word in Marvel's question hit me hard and it stung. It sent chills down my spine to see him still smiling, unaffected that he'd found out about the fact that I lied to him.
How, and... since when? Did he casually make those conversations with me while knowing about the truth all along?
"Going to such a cheap hotel with another man, what kind of overtime you were working on, Asta?"
When Marvel proceeded to the next question, the shock registered on my face before I could hide it and he saw everything. Even before I produced a word to respond, he had pulled my waist closer, pressing our bodies together. While maintaining his smile, his fingers were still around my wrist, curling for a grip above my bracelet.
At this point, I won't be able to fabricate another story to tell Marvel.
"Sir, did you order someone to tail me?" I asked, questioning his actions.
"Tail you?" Marvel almost snarled toward my objection, his facial expression swiftly changed, and it was when I knew the danger signal had been on. "I could just tell my people to barge in because I could, but I held it in because I didn't want to know what was going on between you and that trash inside that hotel room."
He squinted at me through hardened eyes that I always thought beautiful, but now they brought only the accusations like a jealous lover I couldn't recognize. Their color had only a minute ago reminded me of the beauty of the ocean, sighting out to where the warmth of the hearth blended into the earthy hue of his bedroom, now they were simply cold. Every muscle in his face was tense, and without a word, his gaze communicated intense mistrust and anger toward me.
Marvel took me in various gazes before, most of them were cold, but this time was different. I didn't recognize the gaze that was holding mine now, as if we were two people who had never met.
Perhaps, he didn't want to show it to me all this time. Perhaps, he waited for the right chance to come and kept it in until today.
I'm not sure, but, I've never seen such a malicious gaze in a person before.
Cautious, I was about to step backward, but Marvel suddenly yanked my wrist, dragging and throwing me to his bed. Before I could turn around to anticipate his next move, my jacket had withdrawn my body.
"You stench like a slut," he scowled as he got rid of my outer clothing, disgusted by the different smell all over it. "If you don't burn your clothes after this, I will."
He didn't stop until then, let alone give me chance to counter. When I tried to rise from the bed, he immediately pushed the back of my neck, slamming my face against the pillow and I was no longer able to move. Despite receiving the effects of all those motions, it was unknown to me how his movements were so quick and accurate, locking my body precisely.
I was treated this way and yet, for a moment, I was grateful that it was a pillow under my face, not a desk.
The clinking sounds clashed in the air when Marvel tried to unbuckle my belt from behind. I gasped, knowing where his hand would soon reach.
"S-Sir, I will do as you say, s-so please..." I begged and finally got him to stop to hear me. "If you hate the smell, then please let me wash first..."
After hearing my request, for a moment, Marvel didn't react. I gulped hard as I glanced at his face. I got a feeling that I had said something I should never have said.
"O-of course, I will also burn my-"
"Why?" He cut me in, his voice flat and low. "Are you telling me that it's not just your clothes, but your body is also dirty?"
Before I could even pronounce a word to fix the misunderstanding, with such anger and force, Marvel pulled my trousers and pants down my knees.
"W-wait, Sir-" I stuttered, frantic with worry. "This is not like what it seems... I..."
My face filled with anxiety when I took a glimpse of Marvel's expression after learning what could have happened to my bottom, my word stopped itself and without my control as if I wasn't given the chance to defend myself after knowing I had been found out, and it might be too late to explain any further.
My prediction was right. When I thought Marvel might have watched me through that hotel waiter, I proceeded to "do" my own thing down there so that it would seem like I had sex with the man whom I met with in the hotel. The perfume was actually my initial plan to confront him as I knew he would definitely notice the different smell in me, but I thought it wouldn't be convincing enough since I felt there was something off with that hotel waiter.
Lately, I had a feeling Marvel had been watching me since the poisoning incident and also because Gilbert had laid suspicion on me. Even though that day he didn't seem to really care about who might have drugged him, Gilbert is still his right-hand man and obviously, he might consider his words.
Despite all that, even without someone else's opinion, I believe a man like Marvel must have a strong intuition.
So, I came up with such a reason to meet Aakash and used the idea about everything that happened in the hotel to divert Marvel's attention. Even though I knew I would make him furious, it was all on purpose.
Since I've gathered enough information to destroy the underworld business, I can't let the chance slip just because I'm not brave enough to face the risks, right?
But,...
"Right when I was dying on my bed..." Marvel softly laughed in disbelief after figuring out the state of my lower half.
I was sure I would be able to face the risks since I knew something like this would likely happen. But, I failed to consider the consequences could be far more severe than my expectations.
Marvel grabbed my hair from behind and my face was pulled from the pillow away. I groaned in pain, but then I felt his face already on my shoulder, replacing my discomfort with dread.
"Is your ass itchy for a man's dick that not being fucked for a while has made you go crazy?" He scowled in a hateful tone layering his words, the scorn in them measuring his anger. "If you think I couldn't touch you because I was sick, you're completely wrong."
While he talked, I could feel his fingers strongly gripping my hair, I could even sense some strands giving away. Seeing my defenseless being, he sighed to calm himself.
"So, who is this bastard whose dick has entered you?" Marvel asked me in a sudden composed voice, his lips twitching up a bit to form a smile - the smile that was merely on his lips, but not at all reflecting on his eyes. "Answer me."
"I... I don't know his real name," I replied in jitters, sensing the possible harm in his rhythmically clenching fist. "He was a broker."
I made up about Aakash, about what I had done in the hotel, about almost everything - of course, I did. At this point, even though I'm held at gunpoint by Marvel, I would never, even in a million years, sell my comrades and my organization out. That's why I'd rather choose this way.
"Not only you lied about the work, but you also hung out with some unknown prick in a hotel," he straightforwardly concluded. "Was it fun?"
I swallowed hard, unable to deal with his sarcasm. Even without looking directly at it, I could see he was still smiling. The atmosphere around him was gradually changing, affecting the air around me.
Before long, to my surprise, he let go of me before I even begged and he got down from the bed, leaving me nonchalantly.
I tried to get up and desperately pulled my pants up my waist when I had the chance. I was busy with my clothes I didn't fully understand what Marvel meant to do.
While buckling up my belt, I took a moment to look at him - at this point, his backside - much in confusion as he was busy seeking through the cigar boxes on the shelf in the corner. While he took his eyes off of me, I used the opportunity trying to make an excuse for escape.
"If you leave my room now, you might as well don't ever return to me again, Asta."
I flinched when my name was called, with that voice, with that tone, and before my awareness, my feet had halted when they were this close to touching the floor to leave the bed. The man whose words paused my intention to run away was still calmly choosing the cigar of his desire.
I turned my eyes to him again, still, it was only his broad back, but even his presence alone was simply intimidating to sight, although we were separated several meters away. While he seemed like he was in dilemma to select which cigar to lit tonight, I was in my own struggle to decide whether or not it was okay to leave, but now it was no longer an option.
Marvel's thick and long fingers pulled out a single bar among various cigar brands inside the biggest box, then he proceeded to a cigar cutter. Accompanying our silence was the sharp snipping sound of him cutting the tip of the cigar he was holding. Flick; in a single pull, he lit it up.
Standing by the shelf quietly, Marvel was waiting for the fire to embrace the elegantly rolled cigs. He spun it around a bit to burn the end perfectly and evenly until he was treated to a nice, fairly uniform orange glow. He made sure the flame didn't torch his cigar, nor affect its inherent flavors like he had familiarized himself with the strength of his match and how different types of cigars react to it differently.
Without even looking at me, without even creating a sound, his existence had demanded an absolute submission of mine toward him. I couldn't say anything. I didn't even know what to say. But, I knew he didn't ask for my answer, because what he gave me was not an offer.
"I thought I didn't want to know what you did inside that hotel room. I changed my mind," Marvel spoke as he turned around, finally facing me.
When I captured his gaze, I knew the danger was there, but it was just this emotion that I couldn't explain. I wanted to understand it, at the very least, so I could figure out a way to react and return the sentiment that was dwelling in it. But, to my surprise, I didn't have enough capacity to do that, and so I had to wait until he brought me to my senses.
"Show me what you did there."
I knew I had pushed a certain button on Marvel. I just didn't know it was the worst one.
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