An eternity must have elapsed before he slowly turned towards her. His eyes were blank, and his face, inscrutable as he regarded her.
"Sebastian, I asked a question. Who are Rachel and Josh?"
"How did you know about them?" He grimly asked.
Dipping her hands into the apron pocket, she pulled out the photo and note. "Here. Who are they?" She asked, stretching them over to him.
His brows instantly narrowed to a frown as his free hand instinctively went into the inner pocket of his blazer. When he looked up at her, anger was evident in the creases on his forehead.
"How did you get that, Angelica? Have you been going through my stuff?" The grimace and anger on display on his face stung like hell, and at the same time, fueled up her anger.
"That is not an answer, Seb. Who are they?!" She yelled, surprising herself and him. She had never raised her voice at him until now, but this wasn't the moment to care about how well she should treat him. This was about her, and the possibility that she might have been betrayed.
In long strides, Sebastian darted towards Angelica and snatched the photo and note from her.
Angelica flinched as her heart nearly leaped out of her mouth. For a split second she thought Sebastian was going to hit her, and that would have been a first.
"They are none of your business." He said curtly.
The dismissal hurt. The response caused a tear in her heart and the thought that it might be an admission to what he has done...
"You... You have... son?" Her voice hitched as her lips quivered, her eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears.
There was a reaction on his face. Something flickered in his eyes, something similar to surprise. But it was gone before she could put a label to it. He regarded her, and just when she thought he had something to say, he sighed under his breath.
Moments turned to seconds, and that to a torturing eternity, before he spoke up again.
"Look, I am running late, and I am not ready for this seliberate fight you want to pick up this morning. Stay out of my business!" He turned to leave but turned to her again, "And stay away from my stuff!"
With a force on her feet, she hurried after him and seized him by the hand.
"It's every bit my business. I'm your wife! I deserve more than those stupid words. I need an explanation. I demand—"
"You demand nothing from me!" He snapped, cruelly snatching his hand from her and startling her to a flinch.
His eyes were enraged as he looked at her. "I told you it's none of your business, but again you want more. I told you from the beginning how this marriage would work. I told you I wouldn't be able to give you the things you want from this marriage, and you agreed to it. Now you're demanding?!"
"I'm your wife, and we agreed to respect each other, but you—"
"You want an explanation." It wasn't a question, but yet she nodded despite the pricking feeling in her heart for her to bolt before he said anything.
"Here's an explanation." He took a step closer. His eyes were frosted. "I don't care what you think. This marriage was never meant to be, so you have no right demanding anything from me especially an explanation." A sharp, shaky breath rushed through her lips as she stood there, stunned and weak.
"Se—" her trembling voice tried to say, but he raised his hand and stopped her.
"If you're tired, Angelica, then please leave. Because unlike you I'm holding to my end of the bargain, because that's what this is — a bargain to cohabit and make stupid babies for our families. Other than these, you can never demand anything from me."
Silence loomed. It was thick and scary, but somewhere above the silence were the thundering beats of her heart, resounding deeply in her head.
"Are you saying it's true? Are you—" Her throat has never been so coarse. It felt like graphite scraping against graphite. And her voice wouldn't stop shaking. "Is he truly yours?"
There was silence again. She wasn't praying, neither was she wishing. Everyone of her senses were fixed at one point, his eyes as she waited for his answer.
"I'm sure you already have an answer in that head of yours. You always presume your answers before you even ask, so take it. Hearing it from me would not change anything."
Yes, it would. How could he not see it? How could he not know that saying something even as simple as 'this is a misunderstanding' could change everything? Because truly that was what she wanted to hear. For him to say that she was mistaken. That even though he wasn't in love with her, he'd never betray her.
"Sebastian," she breathed, weak and drained of words. She felt sick and tired. Was it natural for her to feel this exhausted? To feel this defeated?
Knowing one could give so much, and gain so little. Knowing this was all she's worth — someone that didn't deserve an explanation after such betrayal — felt like a knife carving a crevice in her heart.
God, the pain... it was excruciating.
"If this is all, then I'm leaving." He coldly said, and with no hesitation he turned towards the door, set and ready to leave.
"If you walk through that door without telling me the truth, you won't come back to find me."
Sebastian paused again and turned his head over his shoulder. "It's that a threat?" He asked with a snicker.
Angelica used all she had in her to keep her voice straight and firm. "No, it's not a threat." She answered. "I'll truly leave."
Silence reigned over the room again, his hand holding firmly to the knob. He just stared at her for a few seconds before turning around and walking towards her. Pausing right in front of her with his towering figure, he snickered.
"And where would you go?" He asked with an amusing look. "Angelica..." He drawled and brought his face right in front of hers. "Stop trying so hard to gain my attention. Because, tuth is... You never had it to begin with."
Angelica bit her inner cheeks to get her emotions in check. He was bent on hurting her.
Sebastian straightened up, and Angelica followed him with her gaze as he sauntered towards the door. And just when she thought he'd have an epiphany and realize how much this union mattered to them, he pulled open the door.
And with a grit in his voice, he said, "And I won't stop you." With no hesitation. Without an ounce of emotion. With no looking over the shoulder, he walked out of the house, closing the door behind him.
Her legs weren't trembling, but somehow she felt her body being pulled to the floor, her vision covered with a hot film of tears. Nothing has ever hurt this much, and right at this moment, she wanted to scream. She needed some air, because somehow she must have forgotten how to breath.