Chapter 23

Eric's house.

"What were you thinking Eric?"

Emma said to him. Eric wasn't seeing her. He was seeing Isabelle. That was all he was seeing, but that voice wasn't Isabella's. Twas Emma's.

He tried to convince himself that the person seated before him was Emma and not Isabelle. Twas hard to draw the inference.

There were at the dining hall. There were two sets of dining tables in the hall.

There was a dining table with just two chairs and the other had several chairs locked to it.

Like you would guess, they were seating on the two chairs dining table.

He had barely touched the Mac and cheese before him, she was halfway through hers. That made her feel as though she was doing what she wasn't supposed to.

It kinda made her feel like a thief or something close to that. If twas nothing close to that, then she would use the word uncomfortable.

He didn't say a word to her. He hadn't said a word.

She had just left from work to say hi to him and talk to him about what happened the previous day.

Only for her to discover that he hadn't had anything since the break of day and twas just 4:15pm. That was damn late for lunch, let alone breakfast.

And ever since she had served the food, he wouldn't eat too. She wasn't really fed up because she felt like she was doing it for her friend. She was having her friend's back.

She was being there for her. Ishbelle would had done better if she had been the one caught in such unpleasant claws of fate.

"You don't wanna have the conversation?"

She asked him again. She was already beginning to feel jumpy. He was acting more than wierd and she was somehow beginning to freak out. All he just did was was stare at her.

"I'll be back."

She said and stood up, taking her phone with her. She walked to the kitchen and gently closer the door.

She unlocked the iPhone 12 and tapped a call on. He was putting the manager on a call.

The manager came on,

"Hey, Em."

A croaky but rich voice. She paused for a while thinking of how to wield the words.

"Hey, are you there. Are you alright?"

The voice came again at intervals. The tone was rather concerned than curious at that moment.

"I'm alright now but I might no be later."

She started. She didn't know if those were the appropriate words to say.

"You're making me scared now."

The manager said again. He was a little bit drawn to Emma. He loved her in a mushy way though he knew she was outta his reach.

"You ain't as scared as I am at the moment. I'm at Eric's. Dropped by to check on him but he has been acting really wierd. And I'm scared as fuck. Please keep calling me at intervals. I don't know, he had just been staring."

She dropped the call. She didn't know if what she had done was the right thing.

She sighed and stole to the door, she opened gently. She was expecting to see him with knife pointed at her but hell wrong she was.

She walked out and saw him seating yet at the table.

She walked to the table. At that time, he had eaten a part of the meal.

She sighed. She felt guilty. She seemed to had been scared for naught.

"Seems like you're enjoying it. I'm not so great a chef."

She said, feigning a gaunt smile. He kept his gaze on her but she looked at the meal, fiddling with it.

Then at once, he stood up and began to walk to her. She almost stood but kept taking deep breaths and urging herself to be calm.

He wasn't holding any sharp object, why should she be scared.

He walked to the back of the chair on which she was seated and put his hands on the edges next to her hair.

She was going to turn to him to ask him what was going on when she felt his two hands on her boobs ploughing it really hard.

He brought his face closer and began to kiss her hair.

Not only was she shocked, she felt violated and harassed.

She fought herself free and slapped him. She began to hurry towards the door.

But he stood at the back of that chair and called as she got to the door,

"Ishbelle."

She turned at him for the last time and shook her head in annoyance. She slammed the door.

She began to hurriedly step down the stairs. Her phone began to ring.

"I'm out. But not what you think. I'll be fine."

She dropped the call without affirming whether or not the manager heard her.

She would explain later. She might even take the next day off.

But Eric would not go freely with that. She swore.