Cruelty Is a Relative Concept (Part 2).

"Tell me why do you need a ceremonial knife? Do you even know its true purpose?" Amelia looked into the man's eyes when his gaze fell from the canvas onto her.

"Isn't it obvious? Break the bond with you and your family. I don't want to be a puppet in the hands of some stupid girl," Marcus examined how the locks of hair lay on Amelia's shoulders and made another brushstroke on a white surface. "I was manipulated by the first twenty years of my life. That's enough for me."

"I'm not going to manipulate you," the girl replied. But she herself thought that her voice was not very confident.

"Oh really?" Marcus grinned, put the brush on the table and looked at Amelia, "What about your prophecy? To create a monster whose purpose is to destroy everything that it touches, and then transfer the updated world on a silver platter to one of your descendants? And somehow no one asked this monster whether he wants to do it at all or not."

"This," Amelia hesitated, the man's words were bitter truth, "This is just a bad luck."

"Bad luck? So that's what you call it. Well, of course, for the guardians of time it's just a set of events, they have their own role in this world - to watch and not to interfere," Marcus quipped and laughed, goosebumps ran on the girl's skin. Ever from her childhood Marcus's voice had a strange effect on Amelia, their meetings before that were not as long as in the last week, and this influence intensified every day. Whether their special connection was the reason, Amelia did not know. Thinking about it was dangerous for her psyche which was already on the verge.

Marcus did not know what his close and constant presence was doing to the girl, and Amelia hoped he would never find out. To do this, she had to wait for the right moment, which was to come soon.

"We do not choose which family to be born in. The fact that I am from the Teser family is not my decision, therefore-"

"Therefore, do not put the responsibility for others on me - did you mean this?" the man finished her phrase with an ironic tone, "However, you are easily putting the responsibility on me. Double standards, Miss. Politicians like to practice such things; I didn't expect you to follow in such footsteps."

Flames flashed in Amelia's eyes. What an idiot this "monster" is indeed! And she still wanted to take care of him so that the man did not find out the details of the curse?! Now she wanted to take this easel and hit Marcus with it so much! With all her strength, with a swipe, hit his head! Hard! So the pieces of wood would scatter in different directions!

"Why are you so prickly?! We used to talk to each other like normal people back in my childhood! Do you have a split personality, Marcus Taubert? You are all well-mannered and friendly, then you look as if you are ready to kill at any second. I can't tell you where the kukri is. This is a family secret, and this knife has really nothing to do with it! If you let me go, I promise that I will resolve the issue myself. Trust me."

Marcus, with an indifferent face, listened to the girl's tirade, and a few seconds later a loud male laugh filled the room, but it broke off as suddenly as it had begun.

"Trust you?" Marcus's voice fell into a chilling whisper, "Girl, you know what I hate the most?" he looked intently at Amelia, and it seemed to her that this look burns through her soul, "I hate it so much when people abandon their family, when they give up on people who are close to them. For me, there is nothing more disgusting than that. Do you know what I mean?"

The girl's eyes were covered with a dark veil, her heart clenched as if it were a fragile flower that had just been crushed by a dirty boot. He really hated her.

"Do you want me to trust you? Do you want me to let you go? So that you push me away again and ask me not to appear in your life, while leaving me in your power? No matter how disgusting my life is, I will not let anyone else play with it. Here I dictate the rules, and you will follow them. Either by your will or by my force - it's up to you to decide."

"I already gave you my answer, Marcus," Amelia got up from the couch and walked to the opposite wall, ignoring the heavy look of the man.

"Sit back. Now!" he hissed, and the girl felt a slight chill.

"I don't have to listen to you."

The brush in the man's hand cracked and fell to the floor, Amelia did not have even a second to take a breath, as Marcus was next to her. He stood so close that even a small movement was enough for their bodies to touch each other.

She leaned back and rested her back against the wall, the man hovered over the girl like a kite. His piercing gaze and hot breath next to her face penetrated Amelia under the skin, making it flare with fire in response. Something flashed in Marcus's eyes, and she was sure that he could hear the frantic beating of her heart. She herself heard it, as if it was beating in her head, and not in her chest.

"Silly girl, do you have any clue how much it takes for me to hold myself when you're around?" Marcus touched the girl's cheek with his fingertips, and Amelia froze, afraid to even breathe, "You know who we are for each other, don't you?" his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. The man outlined her chin with his index finger, slowly descended down her neck and his finger froze on the girl's chest, over her frantically beating heart. "You know, but you pretend that you don't care. Ready to burn in my fire, just to keep family secrets?"

Amelia swallowed, the man's eyes blackened. Marcus leaned over and it took a lot of effort for the girl not to close her eyes.

"You are so cruel," the words, filled with the scent of raspberries, like a light breath, touched her lips and spread a languid bliss over her body.

"Cruelty is a relative concept," she did not take her eyes from the deep abyss of his eyes and weightlessly touched his lips with her response.

The man froze for a moment, closed his eyes, straightened up and breathed heavily, "You may come in, Simon," Marcus said loudly at the very moment when the guy raised his hand to knock on the door.

Simon went into the room and was a little confused. Amelia was standing in the ring of hands of Marcus, turning away in the opposite direction. The man's hands rested against the wall next to the girl's head, and Marcus didn't even think about taking a step back, preserving too intimate the distance between him and the girl.

"I'm listening," the man said sternly, noting the confusion of his subordinate.

Simon hesitated, not knowing whether it was worth voicing it when the girl was there, but the order is the order, "Miss Lansington just called. She said she had cooked dinner and was waiting for you at her place, sir."

"Prepare the car, I am leaving in half an hour. You may go."

Simon nodded and hastily disappeared behind the door.

Amelia seized the moment, slipped out of the captivity of the man and hid in the far corner of the room. Marcus returned to the easel, folded his brushes and paints, and, without saying a word, left.

The girl looked at the canvas with a confused look, not daring to go up and see what was depicted there. She was so deep in thought that she nearly jumped on the spot when the door opened again, and Marcus entered the room with a tray in his hands.

The man put it on the table, and the air in the room was filled with the aroma of fruit and cinnamon. But the girl's attention was focused not on mouth-watering desserts, but on Marcus's look.

He was wearing a black tuxedo that accentuated his broad shoulders. Blond hair was neatly laid back, revealing almond-shaped eyes, similar to two shining sapphires, a straight nose and thin lips added an image of the aristocracy. He was cold and handsome at the same time.

Amelia had never seen him so... so attractive. And he prepared so for a meeting with another woman.

The girl felt bitterness in her mouth, her stomach demanded food, but for some reason, she felt grief. It was so strong that she wanted to go to bed, turn away to the wall and see nothing.

Marcus turned around and headed for the exit. Already at the very door, without turning to the girl, the man said, "When I return, I will get the information I need from you. Therefore, while you have time, think well, is it worth it to be stubborn or not. If you think that I will not use force, then you are very mistaken. The next conversation will not be so pleasant."

Marcus quietly closed the door behind him, but that click sounded echoing inside Amelia. She knew that this would be so, and so far her plan even had the opportunity to be realized. But why did it feel so sad and painful inside her chest?

The girl closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

She did not want to let this information get to Marcus. If he finds out, he will never let her go.

And now she had only one choice - to run.