Chapter 47: The Agreement Between Them

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: The Agreement Between Them

~Reynold’s POV~

"Now, let’s finish our food," she said, picking up her fork again. "We have a lot more to talk about later."

After we finished the rest of our meal, Lily wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood up from the sofa.

"I have to head out for a bit, but I’ll see you when I get back. Dad said you’re staying for the weekend, right?" she asked, looking down at me.

I nodded quietly. "Yes."

"Alright, I should get going. I need to speak with my father first."

I glanced toward Frederick’s desk. "Go ahead," I murmured.

Lily walked across the spacious office and stopped beside Frederick’s desk. She leaned down and spoke to him in a low voice. I couldn’t make out a single word, but Frederick simply gave her a brief nod in response.

Once she finished, Lily straightened and turned toward me. She gave me a friendly wave.

"Bye, Reynold."

"Bye," I replied softly.

She turned and walked out of the office, and the heavy double doors clicked shut behind her.

The massive room suddenly felt much quieter.

It was just the two of us again.

Frederick still hadn’t returned my phone. He had kept it on the corner of his desk throughout the meal, safely out of my reach.

I took a steadying breath, gathered the untouched food containers that were still warm, and slowly walked across the plush carpet toward his desk.

Frederick looked up as I approached, his intense eyes following my every movement.

I stopped a step away from his chair, keeping my posture careful. "Mr. Corvin," I said softly, setting one of the untouched food containers on the corner of his desk. "You should eat something. You’ve been working this whole time."

Frederick stared at the container for a moment before looking back at me, his expression completely unreadable. "I’m not hungry. Take it away."

I hesitated, trying to show a little concern. "You haven’t eaten anything since I got here. Please, at least have a few bites—"

"I’m fine, Reynold," he cut me off, his voice turning cold and dismissive. "And don’t act like you actually care. You finished your own food and sat over there talking to my daughter before you even remembered I was sitting here. Just take the container back and eat it if you’re still hungry."

"I... I wasn’t—Mr. Corvin, I’m sorry," I stammered, my chest tightening at the unfairness of his words.

"It’s fine," he said flatly, turning his attention back to his laptop.

My gaze dropped to my phone. Frederick noticed the exact moment I looked at it. His jaw tightened, and a dark, cynical expression crossed his face as he jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Is that why you’re suddenly standing here playing the dutiful pet?" he sneered. "You didn’t come over here to be nice. You just wanted your phone back."

Before I could even defend myself, he reached out, grabbed my phone from the desk, then stood up and leaned forward, shoving it into my hands.

"Here. Take it. Now leave my desk. I’m trying to work."

"I didn’t come just to get my phone. I came to bring you food—" I tried to explain, my voice trembling with frustration.

"I said, leave now," he commanded, his tone absolute and unforgiving.

I swallowed hard, the fight draining out of me instantly.

"Okay," I whispered.

I turned on my heel and walked away, blinking rapidly as hot tears gathered in my eyes. It hurt far more than it should have, stinging even more because he was being so harsh with me over a misunderstanding I hadn’t even caused.

I walked back to the distant sofa and sat down, staring blankly at the floor as my thoughts raced, replaying everything Lily had told me.

I’m sorry, but I can’t be that strong, I thought miserably.

I wanted to follow Lily’s advice, but the thought of standing up to Frederick made me hesitate. He was paying for everything in my life right now, even my tutors. If I shouted back at him, he might get angry and throw me out.

Still, the more I thought about the way he had coldly dismissed me, the harder it became to swallow my frustration. A rebellious spark slowly began to flare in my chest.

Maybe she was right. Perhaps the only way to deal with a stubborn man like Frederick was to be just as stubborn and give him the same energy he gave me.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, I stood up from the sofa, picked up the container of food I had brought over earlier, and marched straight back to his desk

Without asking for permission, I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down, meeting his eyes.

"I’m sorry," I said quietly, my voice sincere.

Frederick finally stopped typing. He set his pen down, leaned back in his executive chair, and fixed his intense gaze on me.

"Reynold, we have a contract," he said, his voice dangerously low. "It hasn’t even been three months, and you’re already sitting over there plotting over a girl? Tell me something, am I not giving you everything you want?"

"You are," I whispered, refusing to look away.

"Am I not fucking you well enough?" he pressed, his eyes flashing with raw possessiveness.

"You’re doing your best," I murmured, my cheeks warming under his intense stare.

"Then what the hell do you want? Why have you already started having feelings for someone else? The contract hasn’t even ended, and you’re already thinking about dating someone else?"

Hoping to calm him down, I tried to reason with him. "I’m not trying to break the contract, Mr. Corvin. I meant after the five-year contract is over. I was only thinking that maybe I could date her then, not right now. I thought what I said made sense, but somehow, it only made everything worse."

A dark, humorless chuckle escaped Frederick as his expression hardened. He pushed himself to his feet and looked down at me. "Leave my desk now. I have work to do."

Normally, I would have scrambled away. But Lily’s words echoed in my mind.

You have to know how to handle him first. Just be stubborn and give him the same energy.

I swallowed my fear and forced myself to stand my ground. "I’m not leaving until you eat your food."

Frederick’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief, and then his temper snapped. He shouted right back at me, "Leave now, or I’ll have them send you straight back to campus!"

"Fine. That would actually be better!" I shot back, my voice cracking with all the frustration I had been holding in. I stood up fully and faced him. "I’d rather be back there than sit here with someone who calls me a ’nobody’ in front of his own daughter! I didn’t even do anything wrong, and you still had the nerve to shout at me!"

Frederick froze, staring at me as though he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. I had never spoken to him like that before, and judging by the stunned look on his face, he clearly hadn’t expected me to.

"You know what?" I continued, my body trembling with a mixture of adrenaline and lingering tears. "I don’t even care whether you eat this food or not. Just call the driver and have him take me back. I don’t want to be here either!"

Silence filled the massive office, heavy and deafening.

Frederick stared at me for a long moment, his chest rising and falling as the anger in his eyes slowly gave way to something else. Then, almost unexpectedly, he let out a long breath, lowered himself back into his chair, and reached for the food container.

"Where’s the fork?" he asked quietly.

I blinked, a small wave of surprise washing over me.

Wow... it actually worked.

My hands were still trembling, but I quickly walked back to the sofa where I had been sitting. I picked up the food delivery bag, pulled out the plastic fork, and hurried back to Frederick’s desk.

I handed it to him, and he took it from my fingers before opening the container and starting to eat.

After a few quiet bites, he looked up at me.

"Do you really not want to be here?"

"I’m sorry," I admitted softly, lowering my gaze to my shoes. "You were shouting at me, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to say something."

Frederick let out a heavy sigh, his voice softer when he spoke again.

"I hate it."

I looked back up at him, confused. "You hate what?"

"The thought of you being with me while already thinking about being with someone else..." He paused, his intense eyes fixed on mine. "I hate it. It feels like you’re betraying me. We have a five-year agreement, Reynold. Focus on us. Whatever happens after that can come later."

"Alright," I whispered, a strange warmth spreading through my chest despite myself. "I promise I won’t do that anymore."

Frederick paused, setting his fork down.

"And about earlier..." His expression softened slightly. "I’m sorry for calling you a nobody. It’s just that Lily acts like we’ve never talked about you before."

I frowned and crossed my arms. "What do you mean? Aren’t you the one who said she’s never seen you with a man before?"

"Yes, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know I’m into men. She knows. She just had never actually seen me with one before, especially not after I’d had sex with him. You still had marks on your neck when she walked in, so that was the first time she’d ever seen me like that with another man," Frederick explained, running a hand through his hair.

I nodded slowly. "I understand. But what exactly have you told her about me? And why did she act like she didn’t know anything about me?"

He leaned back, his expression turning thoughtful. "Lily is very smart, Reynold. She already knew about you before she met you today. I talk to her about most things because she’s very protective of me. But..." A faint smile touched his lips. "She actually liked you from the very first time I told her about you. We have a different agreement concerning you, but I wasn’t doing what she wanted, so that’s why she acted that way."

"What agreement?" I asked, completely confused.