Feeling Betrayed

"Yes, involving oneself in a romantic relationship will be a shorter way than observing people involved in them."

What?

She heard it correctly, right? But was it really what she heard?

The legendary Theodore being an amateur in romance? Gosh… this doesn't make sense anymore. All her calculations until now are going wrong.

"So, you are saying you have zero experience in love?" Anna was yet to believe that.

"Yes," Theodore replied plainly.

"Then what were those things about your being famous? You said you were quite famous but still don't have any love experience. Goshh… this is an outta world thing, man."

"I didn't say something about myself like being famous."

"But you technically are, right?" Anna pleaded as she was totally aware of his godly handsomeness and charm.

How can any girl ignore this kind of charm? In fact, she herself…..

Anna stopped her trail of thought forcefully as it was going nowhere. So, it is true then. She wasn't the only one being an amateur in this sector, huh? This is kinda fun now.

"So, you never tried those things?" Anna again asked him teasingly. But inside her mind, she was kinda screaming with happiness knowing that this guy never got a chance to get any far with girls even being this handsome. And here she is, thinking a while ago about what kind of girlfriends he had before. On the other hand, it was kinda sad for him. Such a waste of this devilishly gorgeous face.

Then again, Theodore dragged her back to the earth from her fairyland.

"If you are asking about other things, those things don't need to be connected to love. What I need is a pure selfless love scenario."

In an instant, Annabelle was thrown back to reality by him harshly.

What does it mean then? So, he did all those things as lovers do? After all, Love is not necessary for physical relationships.

Yeah, it was absolutely right. Anna herself believed in this theory as she was very aware of the 'love' thing. Actually, love can't be connected with some hormonal reactions like physical needs and urges. To think it clearly, love is also one kind of result of hormonal reactions. Human hormones, they are just something like this. When these stop flowing for a certain someone, love just ends then and there. That's it.

She believed in those but still, sometimes she questioned herself again and again. Hormones just can't stop flowing all of a sudden right? The other person always holds an impact on their reactions. Something happening by the interaction between two people can't be called one-sided reactions.

Then what was the whole thing? Why is it so hard to understand? And why is it so easy for him to define it with 'pure' love and mere physical reaction? Didn't he feel anything when he was seeing those girls for just physical needs? What kind of hormones was overflowing then?

Looks like it would have been better if she took a degree in Endocrinology instead of Economics. Human hormones are more complicated than they look.

"You can just have a pretentious one, can't you? It doesn't need to be so pure." Anna said with a frown.

"No, I can't. I think I told you why."

Theodore uttered those words plainly again. There was no softness in his voice like before. It was cold. It was like the steadiness and coldness of the waves before a storm. Right now, she can't read a single emotion from him. What was it? Reading people's expressions never felt this hard for her that it is feeling now. She just can't read anything seeing him as if he had locked those emotions somewhere very deep inside him.

All of a sudden, he became someone she doesn't know anymore. She thought she came to understand and know him a little bit. But it was her all along with her wishful thinking. The man standing in front of her was someone else. He wasn't the Theodore she knows. Maybe it was the real Theodore and what she saw until now was some other character made by this man.

"It's the same, isn't it? All the people out there were just bound by their own inner instincts and hormones."

Anna's voice somewhat trembled. Though she didn't know what exactly made her hurt. Theodore gazed at her as if he was trying to understand her inner thoughts. But it was quite hard to actually, as Anna was better at hiding her emotions than anyone. She never practiced, but she had to be on a tight practice since childhood. What she feels, what she wants, what she hates, what she likes, no one could guess looking at her as she would always hide those and turn those according to the environment.

"It isn't the same, Anna." Theodore slowly took two steps forward to close the distance again which was made by Anna a while ago as he tried to make his voice sound a little more gentle than before. He didn't want to act like this, at least in front of her. She was the only person he wants to be gentle with right now.

His calling her 'Anna' was something she was least expecting at this moment. She doesn't want something to make her happy right now though if he called her by this name some other time, she would have been happy to hear it. But no more. She doesn't want to hear this soft voice anymore. Because it was not the true Theodore. It was a fake one. And Annabelle hates the fake things most.

Theodore tried to take another step further but Anna stopped him signaling by her hand.

"People don't start relationships knowing the result, though they expect the best. things just come to this point." Theodore said slowly, remaining in his gentle voice.

"But the result is still the same, right?" Anna was more than hurt inside but still was emotionless outside.

She was feeling betrayed. It wasn't supposed to hurt that much when the one who betrayed you is not someone that much dear to you. But the way it hurts proved that he was definitely someone special to her. All of Kiera's warnings, she ignored it all then, huh? Maybe this is why Kiera said not to have some kind of attachment with this man. It was just the start. Maybe there were a lot of things out there yet to discover. She just got to know which one is his actual self. She would do anything but show him her vulnerable sight anymore. She allowed herself to lower her guard around him but no more. It won't be happening anymore.

Theodore didn't know what to say to this. He didn't think it would turn up to something like this. He couldn't see anything but he knew very well that she was very wounded inside by him. Nothing happened actually. She was just someone who could guess someone's true self by a single emotion. She was this amazing to be exact. Letting her see his true colors so soon, it was something disastrous. After all, he wasn't someone who can be loved innocently. He was a cruel person himself; how can he expect someone lovable like Annabelle in his life? It was something impossible, totally unworldly.

"I don't care about the result I don't need, I just want the result that I am working for."

"So, you are going to have a proper relationship to complete your report, right? Funny! You want something serious but at the same time not serious."

Anna looked at his dark eyes with her hazel brown eyes. She wasn't looking for any emotions anymore there. She had already given up on that idea. Theodore couldn't reply to her. He was silent, returning her sharp gaze with the same cold one.

This man, he can do anything without any hesitations. To be honest, he can just pick one of his past hook-ups to complete his report if he needs to do that. But she can't allow him to do that. She can't allow making these decisions on his own again. He has done enough by hiding his true self from her. She can't tolerate it anymore. Neither she can allow him to do as he pleases nor she can leave him like that. He started it by making himself reliable in front of her eyes. Once she starts to depend on someone, she can't just stop depending on them, right?

She didn't know when she started to depend on him. Maybe when he was there to listen to her sorrows? Maybe when he relied on her. Or maybe before that, when her eyes met his. Was it that time?

All she knows now is she can't see this man beside any other woman. Maybe he was with tons of girls before. But right now, there can be no one beside him. And she won't allow that anymore too. Only she can stay there on that very spot or else no one.

Annabelle didn't know how to express her feelings right now. All she knew was that her urge to know the real him was so irresistible that she can't keep them hidden inside her anymore. Even if he turns out to be a horrible person inside, she would still do it. There is no turning back.

"Then why don't you try dating me? I think doing it would be much better and much more fun than those hook-ups of yours? I know I can do it better." Anna said as this time she took a step forward towards him adjusting her eyes to his height.

This girl… she thinks he will have a relationship with just anybody? And what was all about this hook-up thing? He doesn't remember mentioning this kind of thing to her.