A Hypocrite

Violette felt his gaze on her and quickly calmed down and composed herself. She kept her head low and focused her attention on the food in front of her.

Lucian let out a chuckle and shook his head as he too picked up his utensils and toward the meal.

The couple spent the next half hour enjoying their lunch in a pleasant silence, letting the awkwardness and the tension built up by their earlier conversation diffuse quietly.

And when they were done, the waitress came back and quickly cleared the plates off the table, leaving the two to with just the wine bottle and their glasses refilled.

The Husband and Wife both sat there, sipping on their wine as they indulged in the fresh breeze and the quiet atmosphere.

The waitress was soon back with the bill and placed it on the table as she looked at the couple.

"Was everything up to your tastes, Sir? Ma'am?" she asked with a polite smile.

"Yes." Lucian answered and leaned forward to take the bill when Violette placed her hand on it.

"My treat." She declared with an irrefutable tone and a sharp look, as if daring him to try and refuse her.

Lucian smiled as he pulled his hand back and raised his arms up in surrender. Violette was satisfied and grabbed the leather wallet she put aside on the table and fished out a card before handing it to the waitress along with the bill.

The waitress was amused by their cute antics but she stifled her giggles and acted professionally as she took the card and bill from Violette. But just as she turned around and about to walk away, she was called back.

"Just a second." Lucian spoke up, and as the waitress turned back he asked. "Do you have the menu card?"

The waitress nodded with a smile and grabbed the menu from another passing waiter before passing it to Lucian.

Violette raised a brow and watched him questioningly as he scanned the menu and pointed out something to the waitress who nodded with a smile.

"Oh and, put those on a separate bill, please." He added and returned the menu card before looking at Violette with a cheeky smile, as if he has done something good.

Initially, Violette was disappointed he requested for a separate bill on his second order but when she saw that silly smile on his face, that feeling completed faded away, leaving behind only amusement and curiosity.

After they waited for five minutes, the waitress came back with a tray raised up to her shoulders. She reached their table and lowered the tray as she placed two glass cups filled with chocolate and vanilla ice-cream sundae in front of the couple.

Violette's eyes sparkled at the sight of the delicious brown and white balls sitting in the glass cup. She sat up straight and grabbed the cup as she began to dig in without any reservations.

Lucian's smile turned into a broad grin as he watched Violette thoroughly enjoying the cold treat. He only noticed it yesterday but he was already fascinated with the way her usual cold eyes sparkle and come alive at the sight of ice cream.

He felt thrilled, like he knew a very small, intimate detail about her life that no one else knew.

And it seemed, the way to Violette's heart was through Ice-cream.

After they finished their dessert and settled their bills, the couple quietly made their way back to Violette's room.

But all along the way, Lucian was distracted as if he was thinking hard about something. Violette noticed it too and waited for him to bring it up, whatever that was on his mind. But even as she was about to go back into her room, the man didn't open his mouth and looked more troubled instead.

Violette let out a sigh and looked at him, as she asked. "Want to come in?"

"Huh?" Lucian came out of his internal debate and shook his head. "No, its alright."

"Actually," he began to speak again after a brief hesitation, as his hand went up to rub the back of his neck to ease his nerves. "I booked a room on the upper floor. So, I was thinking maybe if you would…" his eyes darted around as his voice trailed off to a mere whisper.

Violette only heard the first half of his sentence and was surprised, but she didn't think much of it. But then it clicked.

Wait! A room on the upper floor? But all the rooms above the 4th floor are double rooms. She put things together and everything became clear to her at that point.

No wonder he was so distracted and lost in his thoughts. He must've been contemplating whether or not to ask her.

But now that she knew, what was she supposed to do?

She let out a dejected sigh. She knew she can't continue to keep taking advantage of Lucian's patience and understanding, and needed to take the initiative sometimes too. But no matter how she tried to convince herself, she couldn't find the courage to take that step.

Earlier, she valiantly declared that she would take this relationship seriously and try to be a good wife. But now that the time has come for her to act on her words, she felt indecisive and unsure.

Such a hypocrite, she was.

Can she ever really be able to move forward like this?

Lucian noticed the emotional struggle beneath her poker face and the gloomy aura enveloping her, and quickly decided to change the subject.

"Anyway…" He spoke out loud, trying hard to sound calm and casual. "If there's any problem or if you need anything, just call me."

Violette was befuddled by his words and slowly raised her head as she looked at him.

His gentle gaze and bright smile blew away all the uncertainties hovering over her and she felt as if she was under the warmth of the morning sun, rejuvenating her to her core.

"And don't do anything reckless like in the morning, okay?" he added with a stern expression and lightly poked the tip of her nose for extra effect.

Violette quickly withdrew her neck and glared at him, which only added to his amusement as he broke into chuckle.

"I'll see you in the evening." He said as he took a step back and turned around with his hands in pockets.

Violette saw him calmly walking towards the elevator and stopping after a few steps before slowly turning back.

When he saw Violette still standing outside her room, looking at him, he felt all the disappointment vanish and his face lit up with a big smile.

He raised his hand and waved at her, like a child waving back to their worried parent and Violette felt her heart skip a beat as she didn't know what to think of it.

She subconsciously raised her hand and waved it back as she stood there in a daze. With her hand still in the air, she watched him turn around and walk along the corridor.

And only after he was out of her sight did she broke out of her daze and dropped her hand. She went back into her room, closed the door and leaned back on it as if she was extremely tired. She then closed her eyes and slowly slid down to the floor, with a dejected expression on her face.