96 Black hole

William could feel that something odd was going on. Although the faces of the Directors sitting in front of him had the same expressions as he entered, the atmosphere seemed different especially the man who spoke. He had this thought in the back of his mind but he was sure that he checked before making an appearance here. So his thought was, "It can't be."

As though it was on cue, with a whoosh the door opened. The person leading the group was the person William did not want to see. William's brows furrowed and he could not hide the discontent on his face.

Melissa entered with her own entourage of people. However, there was no longer any space on the other side of the table. What was surprising though was the person who spoke with William, the person who welcomed him and offered him coffee stood up and offered his seat to Melissa. It was a prominent spot as it was dead set in the middle, which meant it was the highest position. She sat at the chair as though it was meant for her since the beginning. She was smirking as she looked at William's surprised face.

Melissa felt a certain amount of accomplishment as she looked at Williams's surprised face. Her chest swelled with the feeling of oppressing the person in front of her. She had the upper hand in their meeting. She had always dreamt of the day that William will grovel at her feet. She could not help herself from chuckling as she thought of William's despairing face, unable to leave her grasp. She savored the feeling, the happiness she felt deep down in her heart. It was this moment that she had been waiting for. This was the time for her to finally seal the deal. Her eyes squinted while her lips curved as she smirked.

On the other side of the table, William felt his guts being pulled as he looked at the smirking face of Melissa, but there was nothing he could do. Instead, he looked at his friend, his confidante. His friend can only shake his head and smile wryly as a reply. It was no wondered his reply could only be this as they did their research before they come here. They searched every information about who held the authority to discuss their deal. They were sure to be discreet so that the other party will not be able to find out about it. That's where they found the names of the Board of Directors and their backgrounds. There was not even a hint of affiliation with the people on the list. This was why it had come as a surprise when William met Melissa here. They thought they'd be able to control the flow and direction of the discussion with the amount of information and benefits they were willing to give the other party.

However, this time, it seemed they hit a wall as anything they would try to offer would be turned down by Melissa. William wanted to up and leave the conference room but he tried his best to calm his feelings with every fiber of his being. He was already here so he wanted to try his best. Even though the bridge was already destroyed in their relationship, he might have a common ground which could make the discussion work. William leaned his back on the chair, trying to find comfort with the soft cushion that was supporting his back.

Melissa was watching every subtle movement made by William. William flexing his hand, moving his eyes away, confiding with his lawyer, leaning back in his chair as his expression relaxed. She wanted to continue watching him and enjoying the scene as his emotions continued to change. She was the reason for his emotions change from one up to another. She felt delighted by this.

Therefore, this made her confused on how he could easily control his emotions in such a way. She wanted him to despair, so much so that it brought her into ecstasy. Melissa's personality warped into something abnormal as she continued to have these thoughts. She herself did not realize how her simple, pure and devoted love for William has spiraled and shifted into something else. Her emotions that had been affected by this huge change in her thinking was difficult to put into words rather we could only think of it as her pure emotions was swallowed by a black hole inside her heart and from there something else escaped, an existence escaped from this hole which was the current feelings Melissa was having.

Melissa licked her lips as she continued observing William. William's expression turned tranquil once more. He now had the look of a cold and composed individual befitting of his position and stature.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa.