"What is it?" Horus swarms her like a puppy. A stupid puppy.
"Walk towards the corner for me..." she says. "And stay there."
Horus nods.
"Wait... what? Is that it? You're not even going to~," Horus starts but halts mid-sentence when Hilde's eyes widen, and she shoots him a warning glare.
"Please?" she begs.
"Okay..."
"Thank you! You'll make me so happy!" she says. She smiles wide. It seems like a genuine natural smile. The kind of smile that shows her teeth and gums and makes her eyes sparkle, even if her bangs hide them. Her smile makes him feel warm.
Horus feels his chest tighten. His heart skips a beat.
Hilde turns her back on the weird-ass man and eats her food. Her back is turned so she can't see how flushed his cheeks are, how his heart is racing in his chest, or how hard he's breathing. He sounds like a man in heat, but she can always beat him up if he does something funny.
'It only takes her ten seconds before she sets aside her plate.' she thinks angrily.
Her eyes drift over to the stack of documents sitting on top of a file cabinet next to him.
She grabs the files and hands them to him. "Keep yourself busy; stop being weird."
******
"Hey, Faith... I have a suggestion; I want to suggest that~."
"Do you think it's a good idea to open a new location to the north?" Faith asks. Faith announces.
Felix nods. "All right, I'll talk to you later then. Bye," he hangs up the call and throws the phone onto the couch. He rubs the bridge of his nose and sighs deeply.
*****
"Where is she?"
Horus sighs and closes his eyes.
He's still facing the wall, and it's been half a day. His back is getting stiff, and his neck aches too much. His head is pounding with every loud sound that comes from behind him, the files being put down on the table, and steps being taken around the room.
The woman is pacing the room. He knows he shouldn't look at her, but sometimes he can't help himself. He wants to turn around, to stare at the beautiful back of her, at her slender waist, at her long legs, and her hips, and her...
"Are you listening to me?" Hilde stands akimbo, looking at the silent man facing the corner of the room, and pointing an index finger at him menacingly.
"Yes, I am very aware," he replies quietly, without turning around.
"Good!"
She sits down on the edge of the table where the files had been left last night.
"Let's talk about your problem," she states flatly.
Horus' shoulders sink, and he slumps against the wall, his eyes fixated on the floor.
"Your problem... is that you're too pathetic."
Horus clenches his jaw.
"What is your goal here, miss?"
"Of course, it's to catch the person manipulating Felix!" she says in a self-righteous manner.
"Who is he?"
"Whoever he is, he's connected to Faith. And he knows her secrets. And he may be trying to manipulate her into working for him because he cares for her in his own sick way. I'd say he likes her. Maybe more than he should like her." Hilde starts rambling.
******
Another four days and the door opens. Rada Jovanovski enters the room to see the two disheveled people sprawled on the floor.
She raises an eyebrow in surprise and looks around her surroundings. It doesn't seem like anyone's living there except for the two bodies lying on the floor.
She quickly approaches them, kneeling near the man's unconscious form lying on the ground. Her eyes narrow as she scans their bodies closely.
She looks at the woman and kicks her. Hard.
Hilde stirs slightly.
Rada groans.
*****
Two hours pass.
The woman has been unconscious since yesterday afternoon. The man hasn't moved since he was thrown down in the same place.
"You can't even stay awake for me to inspect you. You think you can handle this type of work?" She snaps at the woman lying prone on the floor.
She starts to have a coughing fit, forcing her to lean against the wall while coughing violently. Her throat feels dry and rough like she hasn't eaten or drank for a whole week.
Rada grabs a bottle of water from the desk and brings it closer to her lips, pouring it inside her mouth.
Suddenly she stops. She looks up to the ceiling and sighs. After ensuring that all the water has made it inside her body, she places the bottle down.
She slowly gets up from the floor and limps over to the chair standing opposite the bed. She rests her elbows against the armrests and lets her head fall heavily onto the chair.
She stays like that for quite a few minutes.
Finally, she looks up and looks into the woman's face closely for the first time.
Dark rings are underneath her eyes; her skin isn't as smooth as usual, and her hair is messy, even though it looks like someone just tried to tear it off her scalp.
"Hmm, well, that certainly isn't nice," she comments with distaste.
She stretches her back and straightens up as best she can, leaning forwards until her elbows rest on her knees. "I suppose I should let you sleep for another few hours." She mutters as she picks up the clipboard, pen, and paper from the desk and walks over to the door.
******
Hilde wakes up in a hospital room. On the floor is Horus. He's sleeping, his arms folded in front of him, his head resting gently against them as he rests his chin in the crook of his elbows.
She frowns slightly and reaches for her wrist. The bracelet that is supposed to hold a watch is gone; it has been removed during her sleep.
She notices something else on her wrist, however.
A name is written in black ink.
"Frankfurt"
Hilda is confused and tries to rub it off, but it doesn't fade.
"How did it get there?" she wonders and touches her wrist again. This time her hand slides over her wrist, and her fingers brush along the tattoo.
A tattoo.
Something clicks inside her brain, and she frowns.
"No," she whispers. "No." she breathes out, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stares at the word carved on her wrist.
"Why do I have such a strange tattoo?" she mumbles to herself and pulls down the sleeve of her blouse to reveal the end. Her eyes widen in shock once they land upon a black lettering imprinted on her skin.
"FRANKFURT. "
She stares at the tattoo on her wrist for a long time. She can feel her heartbeat quicken.
She swallows heavily. Tears start forming in her eyes as she tries to suppress her emotions, not wanting to show any weaknesses.
But it isn't easy.
She sits in a daze for a moment, processing everything that has happened to her. Everything that is happening to her. The fact that her 'boyfriend', the one whom she loves and trusts, and the man she considers her 'husband', betrayed her trust and lied to her for three years hurt her and broke her heart, and she has no clue why.
Suddenly Ms. Jovanovski walks in the room.
"Did you get over your~"