The Cursed Pharaoh's Bride

Chapter XIV

Carolina

I fidget with my fingers as I stare at the cloudy glass office doors in front of me. What do I do? What do I say? Does he even know I’m here? Was he expecting me? What is he going to say? Actually, I think I already have an idea. He’ll wonder why it is that I have been avoiding him. He’ll ask me if something is wrong. How does he even know that I’m upset? Maybe I can start with that.

My thought process is cut off when I saw a young woman in very fitted business clothes and a face caked with make up walk out of Elijah’s office.  I don’t know why, but I get the feeling that she purposefully decided to wear a pencil skirt that comes up to her mid thigh. At first she gives me a confused look before her expression morphs into a more arrogant one. She says nothing as she sticks her nose up in the air and struts away from me. Elijah works with women like that?

The feeling of hot white anger overcomes me. Normally I would be scared of my sudden emotional reaction since I never just act on emotion. But I’m too busy swinging the heavy door open with all the strength in my body and marching into office to care. 

The second I stomp in, Elijah’s head pops up from whatever he’s working on in his computer. His office is very large, taking up what feels like half the floor. He has a large glass desk with two cushioned seats in front, for guests, I would assume. On one side of the room, he has a glass coffee table, a cream colored leather couch, and a cream colored leather love seat that matches the two seats by his desk. One of the walls in the office consists of a row of dark wood doors, which most likely act as closets or storage compartments. It is the only dark part of the room and it contrasts all the light colored furniture and decoration. The wall behind him was nothing but a giant class panel, giving him a perfect view of the city. I guess this is what your office looks like when you’re the CEO of a rising electronics company.

The moment Elijah realizes that I am the one who barged into his office unannounced, a warm smile crawls onto his face. His eyes, though, also seem to hold a look of relief. I can’t stop my eyes from sweeping over his sitting form. He’s wearing a fine black suit that’s tailored to fit his form perfectly. The blazer he has on only further emphases the broadness of his shoulders and the white shirt he’s wearing underneath is having a difficult time hiding the broadness of his chest. I also can’t help but notice that this is the first time I’ve seen him without his stud earrings. He must not choose to wear them for work, though I doubt anyone would chastise him about it. 

“Carolina, you’re here,” he says tenderly. He leans back into his chair, allowing his long form to stretch out of the hunched over position he was in.

“Yeah, well, I don’t know why you’re surprised. You’re the one who sent your COO to kidnap me and bring me here,” I snap as I cross my arms in frustration. I give him an accusatory look. The smile he has on his face falls and his expression turns into one of seriousness.

“He did that?” He growls in question. He leans further back and pinches the bridge of his nose. I have to stop myself from going over to him and smoothing out the agitated wrinkles on his forehead. “Luk can be so stubborn. I told him I would just visit you at school later today.”

“Luk?” I ask.

He pauses for a second, realizing what he let slip. “I guess he goes by Lorenzo these days,” he says with a wary smile before his previously serious expression returns. “I apologize for his behavior. He isn’t always this reckless. When he lets his ambition get the better of him, he tends to act without fully considering the consequences…Though, now that you’re here. I was hoping we could talk.”

I stiffen at the direction he’s taking the conversation. “What is there to talk about?” I say lowly. My heart rate picks up when he stands up and moves out from behind his desk. I’m worried that he’s going to take advantage of the fact that for some reason, I can’t handle him being so close to me. Instead of walking up to me like I think he’s going to, he just leans against the front of his desk.

“You know what I want to talk about, love,” he starts.

“Don’t-“

“Why have you been avoiding me? Why does it feel like you’re upset with me? I thought things ended well between us last weekend,” he starts.

“It has nothing to do with you or last weekend,” I say. Though, to me, it feels like what I’m saying is a lie. Is it?

“Ha! You and I both know that’s not true. But I’ll humor you,” he says arrogantly, “If it’s not because of anything I’ve done, why are you upset? You can’t hide the fact that you’re unhappy. I can tell.”

“How on earth can you tell?!” I raise my voice at him. At that, his eyes start to turn a dangerous shade of red.

“I’ve already told you,” he growls lowly, “You and I are connected. It’s through that connection that we can sense each other’s emotions and spirit, especially through our dreams. Though it seems that lately, you’ve been so upset with me that I can’t even access you in your sleep.”

He’s been monitoring me in my sleep through my dreams?! That would explain a lot. And the fact that I might be blocking him out also would explain why my dreams have felt empty these past couple of days. But just hearing that he can invade my mind–my privacy–makes my blood boil all over again.

I march up closer to him and jam my finger into his rock hard chest. “You know what? I am upset with you. More than upset. And it has everything to do with the fact that you still keep lying to me!”

“I haven’t lied about anything,” he protests as his expression turns grim.

“But you’re keeping secrets! Omission of information is still lying,” I snap. He holds my hurt glance for a long moment before quickly turning his head away from me in shame, his eyes starting to return to their icy blue color. That just only seems to make my anger worse.

“So it’s true. You’re hiding something from me,” I accuse.

He runs his hand through his dark locks before resting it on the back of his neck. He turns his head towards me, but his eyes aren’t on my face but rather the top of my head. “Carolina, you need to trust me when I say that it’s for the best that you don’t know certain things for now.”

“Trust you?” I scoff, “How can I trust you? I still barely know who you are. I know you’re a mummy and yet I still can’t seem to fathom how it is that you’re here. And I’m supposed just accept that? You say we’re connected, but I even question that sometimes. I bet you say that to all the girls!”

His eyes quickly snap to mine at that comment. “What do you mean by all the girls?”

I give him a look of disbelief. Is he serious? Does he think I’m stupid? I dig into my school bag, pull out the magazine, and toss it at him. I couldn’t stop myself from buying it when I saw it again at a newsstand. He catches it easily and his frown immediately deepens to a scowl when he sees the front cover.

“You and I are connected. Please,” I mock as I cross my arms and turn my back to him.

“I don’t have anything with this woman. She was just my escort for the evening,” he tries to explain, “She wasn’t even my idea. I was planning on going to the gala alone.”

“Then why didn’t you?” I ask as I turn to my head towards him, sending him a glare. Elijah seems taken aback for a second by my response before the edges of his lips start to curve upward. I can feel my heart skip a beat as he slowly steps forward, his chest pressing against my back. His arms move around my waist gently and his lips find their way to my ear.

“Is someone jealous?” He whispers in a teasing tone.

I can feel a heat rise to my cheeks. “I-I’m not jealous. Why would I be?” I stutter. His body rumbles underneath me as I feel a chuckle rise out of him. It sends a shiver down my spine. I want to rip myself away from him, but I’m enjoying the feeling of his warm body pressed against mine a little too much.

“Who’s the bad liar now?” He teases. “Besides, you have nothing to worry about, darling. I’m far more attracted to short women with nice wide hips and a delectably little waist.”

I feel my face heat up even further as he continues to whisper sweetly into my ear. “There’s one particular woman I have my eye on who has the most beautiful dark curly hair I’ve ever seen, and skin that’s such a deep caramel, I can’t help but wonder if it’s as sweet as the candy.”

Without warning, I feel his soft, full lips press against neck. I jump at the electricity that surges through my body from the contact. The feeling of his lips grazing my neck brings me out of the trance he has me and I quickly rip my body away from his grip. My heart is racing a million miles a minute. I quickly turn around to face him and put some space between us.

“D-don’t do that again!” I squeak. He just sends me a satisfied smirk as if he just won a battle or something. He’s such a jerk. I try my best to calm down. My mind still feels like it’s in a daze.

After pausing for a moment, I’m able to control myself long enough to focus on the real reason I was dragged here. “Ok. Maybe I was upset, in part, because of what I saw on the magazine,” I admit, “And you’re right, it’s not warranted. Not because we’re a couple or anything. If anything, my jealousy is unreasonable because we’re not a couple. You can do whatever you want with whoever you want. I don’t care.”

He raises a questioning eyebrow at me but chooses to remain silent. “That doesn’t change the fact that you’re keeping the fact that you’re Egypt’s first pharaoh, the son of Horus to be exact, a secret from me.”

Elijah stiffens at my comment. “What do you know?” He asks.

“As much as the history and mythology book will tell me,” I say, “Which is more than I can say about what you’re willing to tell me. If you have nothing more to tell me, then I guess there’s no reason for you to involve yourself with me further. I’ll just keep looking for other sources that will tell me what you are.”

I turn my back to him one last time and start walking towards his office door.

“Carolina, wait,” He calls after me. I just ignore him and keep walking.

I then see the lock on the door suddenly move and I can hear the click to signify that I won’t be able to open the door. This would have surprised me if it didn’t remind me of something similar Elijah did to me at the lab. I think back on what Lorenzo told me. I close my eyes for a second. It’s an illusion. It must be the Eye of Horus. When I open my eyes, the doors look like they did before. Normal and unlocked. I easily push through the doors, Elijah calling after me. I can hear the shock in his voice.

A large, warm hand suddenly shoots out and grabs my petite hand. The electricity radiating between us all but confirms that it’s Elijah.

“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything. Just, please. Don’t go.”