Rion stared at Odette in silence until a few seconds later, he said, "I'm sorry. I misunderstood."
Odette's eyes blinked. She doubted what she heard. "Huh? W-what did you say?"
Before he gave a response, Rion first took and put some food dishes on his plate.
"Yesterday, I was senseless and under the influence of an aphrodisiac. I hope you can forget what happened yesterday. I didn't do it on purpose," he said in a flat tone but sounded very annoying in Odette's ears because Rion seemed to have no guilt at all. Even Rion seemed to think that what happened yesterday was a trivial matter.
Odette looked back at the man in front of her sarcastically. "You think the memories in the human brain are like android data that you can store and delete at will?"
Hearing the word 'android' Rion who was about to put a spoon into his mouth suddenly stopped and looked at Odette with one eyebrow slightly raised.
"Andr ... andro what?" He asked, but Odette paid no heed to Rion's question.
The brunette woman continued to talk and conveyed what she wanted to convey. "You talk like it's a trivial thing, and don't think it really shook me mentally. I might never get over it even if I wanted to."
"Then what do you want?" Rion put his spoon and fork back down and focused on the woman in front of him. "If I gave you money, wouldn't it hurt your pride as a lady of honor because it's the same as I paid you for the kiss that happened?"
"That's right."
"Then what do you want?"
Odette was silent. She tried to think about what she wanted. Did she want to sue and throw the man in jail? But nothing happened between them, just a kiss, and it wouldn't lead to a pregnancy that would be the subject of gossip.
Indeed, it seemed that Odette had better try to forget the incident and not prolong the matter. After all, if she did report, she would only be the subject of people's talk, and Odette really didn't like that.
As a child, Odette and her mother often became the subject of gossip from the neighbors. Her mother was called a bitch, and Odette was an illegitimate child. That was because her mother had no proof of marriage to show people that she was married, and Odette was the result of that marriage.
Odette didn't even know what her father looked like as her mother didn't have a photo of her father at all. Her mother only said that Odette's father died when Odette was still in the womb. Sometimes Odette felt that her mother simply lied and that what people said about her being an illegitimate child was true. But Odette never asked that because it would surely hurt her mother and make her panic disorder worse.
The thing that brought Odette to the profession of a psychiatrist was her mother's panic disorder. Her mother, who often experiences 'panic attacks' suddenly, made people who lack insight call her crazy, and it really hurt Odette's heart. She wanted her mother to get well, but she had no money to pay for her mother's treatment. Fortunately, God was very good.
God brought Odette and her mother together with someone who was a member of a social foundation that nurtured people with mental disorders. Her mother was taken to a social institution owned by the foundation. When the foundation brought in a psychiatrist to treat her mother, Odette noticed how the psychiatrist was so friendly and treated her mother very well.
People who took the time and lent an ear to listen to other people's problems and then tried to help. That was the definition of a psychiatrist that Odette got from watching the psychiatrist interact with her mother and that was when Odette wanted to become a psychiatrist.
Back to the present moment.
Odette exhaled tiredly.
"Say sorry," she said. Well, Odette guessed that was what she wanted. She wanted the man in front of her to apologize. Apologize sincerely.
"I already did."
"Do you know what it means to apologize or not? You don't look like you're sorry at all," Odette sneered.
Rion's brow furrowed at Odette's words.
"My actions? You misunderstood. I'm not apologizing for what I've done but I'm sorry that I've misunderstood," Rion explained, then secretly glanced at Anwen and Trish who hid behind the wall. "At that time I was also a victim," he added.
Odette didn't know how to express her feelings when she heard Rion's words.
A victim, he said? Huh!
Odette felt annoyed and wanted to laugh at the same time.
Rion picked his spoon back up and asked Odette to have breakfast.
"Why don't you eat?" he asked when he saw Odette just keep quiet.
Odette didn't answer. She turned her face away.
"This food has no poison." Rion chewed quietly.
"I don't believe you." Odette still looked away.
"Do you still think that I will sell you?"
"Who knows."
"You think if I sell you, you'll sell?"
Odette twisted her neck stiffly and looked at Rion with bulging eyes. What did this man just say? Was that supposed to mean that Odette was ugly and she couldn't be sold?
Irritating!
Odette pursed her lips.
Meanwhile, the corner of Rion's lips twitched. He wanted to smile when he saw Odette's sullen expression, but he held it back. When Odette pouted, her lips reminded Rion of a duck's beak.
"Ahem." Rion again neutralized his expression. "If this food is poisoned, do you think I will eat it?"
Odette turned her face away from Rion again. "I'm not hungry," she said curtly but soon after she said it, her stomach humiliated her.
GROWL
Crap! Why was it so loud?
Odette glanced at Rion with a flushed face, but the man ate quietly as if he didn't hear anything. That was a relief! Then Odette need not feel ashamed. Now, what should she do? She was hungry but she had already refused. If she suddenly took the food, then where should her pride be placed?
"There are a lot of people out there who want to eat but they don't have food," Rion said which made Odette turn to look at him.
Odette knew that Rion was trying to say that Odette was ungrateful. He had given her food but she refused to eat. When there were many people out there who wanted to eat but didn't have food.
This man was good at subtle sarcasm.
"B-because you insist, what can I do?" Odette finally took some bread and side dishes to put on her plate. The food looked very tempting and almost made Odette salivate. If Odette wasn't mistaken, since yesterday morning she hadn't eaten. It was only natural that she felt very hungry.
***
Hah!
It was a rough gasp that Anwen exhaled. She felt very disappointed when she finally found out that her brother and Miss Ody didn't do 'that' thing. Now that heavyweight that burdened her pressed against Anwen's chest again.
She unenthusiastically turned around and withered down the hall.
Trish, who saw the girl so sad, looked concerned. He actually wanted to catch up with the girl but he had to keep an eye on the king, who could relapse at any time. And when the king relapsed, Trish had to be there to make sure the king didn't hurt others, hurt himself or do things that would embarrass himself.
.
.
_________________
From the author:
A panic attack is the sudden appearance of excessive fear for no apparent reason. Panic attacks can occur at any time, whether during activity or at rest.