Speaking back

Draven hurriedly turned away and also bumped into the sofa next to the bed. Phoenix hurriedly got up and helped him before he could lose his balance. Only his arm she was holding was very heavy.

"I… I didn't mean to be rude. It just caught me off guard because I've never seen you like that." She said, bowing her head apologetically. "I'm very sorry, please accept my apology."

"It's my fault, I should have just used my glasses." He replied hurt in his voice as she he looked for the glasses in his pocket and hurriedly pushed the rimless glasses which made his eyes blue in color like an illusion.

Phoenix realized she wasn't wrong when she saw him briefly with red eyes the other night on stage. "Your eyes…"

"I know… I'm sorry it scared you." He apologized.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. They're beautiful." She said gently as she sipped the water with her. He looked down at her in shock and she stared back at him.

No one had ever told him that about his eye after he had heterochromia which made one of his original eye color change from blue to red. He hid it from everyone for years and had special glasses made for him to make his eyes appear normal if he didn't want to use contacts.

The incident that caused his eyes condition also resulted into sometimes poor eyesight. "You're just saying that not to make me feel bad, but it's fine." He replied, walking over to the coffee table.

"No, I'm serious. I've never seen mixed eye colors in person." She replied and then her mind drifted back to what on earth she was doing in the famous Draven Anderson's mansion. And from the look of things, she was in his room.

She slowly started to remember what happened the previous night. From how she followed him to the bar and how she threw up on him. She suddenly looked down at her body to realize she was wearing an oversized shirt, his shirt.

The glass in her hands fell to the ground, making him look at her in panic. "Are you alright?" He asked her but she was stunned as she tried covering her lap with the cloth but to no avail.

He noticed what she was trying to do and he tried hard not to laugh at her cuteness. "I asked the maids to change your clothes from the dress. I… I don't have female clothes so I gave them that." He quickly explained as he made out her uncomfortable look. "I'm so sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable."

Phoenix didn't know how to act. It was strange to her experiencing this calm and cute side of Draven when everything published about him was him being cold and ruthless and never speaks but now he is being talkative. She didn't expect him to be this soft at all.

"Thank you." She said, her voice just above a whisper as she walked over to the sofa. He served her a small bowl of soup with a tender behavior and for the first time since she could remember, she was cared for by a man but he wasn't hers.

The scene of Natalie and Ryan from last night flashed across her mind. She forced back tears as she clenched the spoon in her hands, almost hurting herself as she bent the spoon.

This made Draven look at her in a shocked expression and when she realized this, she quickly apologized. "Sorry, Ryan just crossed my mind." She apologized, gently setting the spoon aside.

Draven wanted to say a word, but he was cut short by her phone. He had placed it on the bedside table in case she had a call and indeed she was having one now.

Phoenix walked over go the phone and the instant she brought it go her ear, Ryan's voice blared from the speakers which annoyed her. "Where the hell are you, Phoenix? You've really got some nerves to leave without me telling you to and now sleeping out. Are you with some man?" Ryan asked with anger evident in his voice but she couldn't care less.

"I am nothing like you Ryan. I am so surprised you can even raise your voice at me if I actually am seeing a man." She spoke back. On the other side of the phone, Ryan was shocked. He had never heard Phoenix speak back. She was always the obedient and submissive wife no matter what.

"Did you just speak back at me?" He asked his voice clearly holding the shock in his expression.

"Is replying to a conversation now counted as speaking back, Ryan?" Phoenix asked, a frown settling on her face. "I didn't know that at all."

"If you don't want to be beaten to the point of being unrecognized by your fans, get yourself back to the Brown Mansion now." Ryan ordered.

"And if I don't?"

"I have the power to remove my shares from your father's company and once I do that, your father's legacy will come crashing down. By the time you go bankrupt, there will be nothing to pay his medical bills with." Ryan said in a threatening tone but she stood her ground, forcing back the tears which started to form in her eyes.

"Do your worst, Ryan. I am done being controlled by you and abused by you if you won't appreciate my efforts and stoop so low to the extent of sleeping with other women."