Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Eugene was surprised again. First, she didn’t mind Hisha calling her name, and second, the expression on Hisha’s face as if seeking approval was so cute that Eugene almost acted impulsively. To prevent herself from doing anything rash, Eugene answered seriously on purpose.

“Yes.”

“Then I won’t do that.”

‘Oh no, what did I just say?’

Hisha was startled by his own words. It was only after speaking that he realized it sounded like he was saying, ‘I won’t do that, so please go out with me.’

Regretting his words immediately but unable to take them back, Hisha noticed Eugene’s subtle reaction – she must have seen the nuance. Eugene started to say something but just ended up laughing.

“Actually, I’m okay with most things. Just don’t lie to me.”

For a moment, Hisha felt a sharp pain in his chest. Even if he tried to convince himself that what he was doing didn’t count as lying, he knew that wasn’t true. Despite having his reasons, being by Eugene’s side pretending to be someone else without revealing the truth was indeed a lie.

“I…”

Hisha didn’t even know what to say as he started to speak, but Eugene’s wristband buzzed. Checking the caller, Eugene spoke.

“I have to go now.”

Having missed his chance to speak, Hisha only responded.

“Go ahead.”

As Eugene walked away, taking the call, Hisha watched her go.

“What’s up?”

Eugene skipped the greetings, and Sergei didn’t bother with them either.

[Let’s have dinner.]

Eugene raised an eyebrow.

“What kind of trap is this?”

[Didn’t know asking for dinner with your fiancée would sound like a trap.]

Sergei spoke bluntly.

“Alright. Send me the time and place.”

Eugene responded curtly, which elicited a low chuckle from the other side.

[Don’t be so cold. I’m someone you’ll be seeing for the rest of your life.]

It seemed Sergei had a change of heart or strategy. Eugene’s lips curled slightly.

“Okay. Send me the details.”

* * *

“There’s no issue with the car. Especially the AACS (Auto Anti-Collision System).”

The mechanic reported.

“Sometimes it fails to detect very fast-approaching objects, though.”

“If they’re very fast, you say.”

Nasiri repeated the information, finding it oddly significant. The mechanic shrugged.

“But a top-tier AACS like this one should detect even a missile.”

He gestured towards Eugene’s car in the middle of the service center.

“Though detecting a missile wouldn’t matter since the car would withstand a hit anyway.”

Contemplating the mechanic’s words for a moment, Nasiri finally replied.

“Understood. Thank you.”

* * *

“I’ll go ahead.”

Hisha said, but Pierlu didn’t even turn around as he responded.

“Sure.”

He was always so curt.

Hisha turned to leave but found himself stopping to look at Pierlu’s back. He couldn’t understand how a man who seemed only to know how to work with the stubborn determination of an ox could end up having an affair with Fuger-Dulloch’s wife. Even though having an affair with another man’s wife was something he couldn’t condone, having gotten to know Pierlu before knowing his situation made it hard to believe that the man acted purely out of impulse or desire.

Was he silently enduring the contemptuous looks from their colleagues because of his son’s medical bills? Hisha wanted to ask about his son, but in reality, he was just a third party, and any action would just be meddling.

As he stood there lost in thought, Pierlu seemed to sense his gaze and turned around with a displeased look.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m leaving.”

Hisha quickly said and walked outside, brushing off the dirt as he went. As he passed the main building, he unconsciously turned at a sound from beyond the open door and saw Eugene coming down the stairs. She was wearing the apricot-colored dress Hisha had thought looked pretty in the dressing room.

Hisha was speechless.

He had expected the dress to look good, but this was… breathtaking. Eugene looked like Aphrodite herself, not just someone born from sea foam.

Standing before him, Eugene smiled and asked.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

A gentle evening breeze blew in through the wide-open door, making the hem of Eugene’s dress flutter smoothly over the elegantly patterned lobby floor.

“Um… Where are you going?”

Eugene smiled a little. Most employees wouldn’t ask such a question, but Hisha’s innocent curiosity was like that of a child asking a parent.

“I have a dinner appointment.”

“You’re beautiful.”

Hisha said, and Eugene looked at him as if he had been struck.

Hisha showed no signs of regretting his words as if he were simply stating an obvious truth recognized by everyone. He was genuine, almost embarrassingly so, in a way rare in this place where transparency was a disadvantage.

Eugene smiled.

“Thank you.”

“No, Eugene is beautiful.”

Hisha reiterated without a second thought.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Eugene extended a hand.

“Would you escort me?”

For some reason, Hisha, who hadn’t been embarrassed up to now, blushed at the request.

“My hands are dirty.”

“It’s fine.”

In the end, Hisha rubbed his hands several times against the cleanest part of his work clothes and then reached out. Eugene placed her hand on his. Bewildered, Hisha guided her down the stairs. Hisha, as if enchanted, continued to watch her.

Finally, the two stood in front of the car waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Hisha still couldn’t take his eyes off Eugene.

It was strange, but Eugene began to understand how her mother might have felt loving another man. It would be difficult to keep suppressing your emotions when someone looked at you the way Hisha was looking at her now.

Involuntarily, she glanced briefly toward the greenhouse. The fact that she was even thinking this way meant Hisha had truly done something remarkable. Turning back to Hisha, Eugene smiled and spoke.

“See you later.”

Under the light spilling from the mansion, Eugene seemed to shine.

Hisha didn’t want to let go of her hand. If he let go, Eugene would go to her fiancé, Sergei Aleushin. He knew tonight’s dinner was with him. But he had no right to stop Eugene. Besides, with her out of the house, it was a good opportunity to search around, so he reluctantly let go slowly.

“Have a good time.”

Eugene looked up at him. Her eyes, filled with light, were so beautiful that if she kept looking at him like that, Hisha felt it could be dangerous. He would forget about viruses and everything else.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Hisha asked, trying to hold himself together.

Eugene laughed.

“I feel like I want to go. For the first time, I think I want to come back to this house.”

Then she lifted her skirt slightly and got into the car. As the door closed, the car glided down the street, illuminated by the soft glow of streetlights.

Hisha looked up at the mansion. It was grand and imposing… but Eugene’s family wasn’t there. She was all alone.

* * *

Eugene set down her wine glass. The soft lighting of the restaurant reflected her image on the smooth surface of the glass.

“You keep thinking about something else.”

A voice said, causing Eugene to look up. Across from her sat Sergei, dressed in a well-tailored suit.

He gestured towards her with his eyes.

“You dressed up beautifully for once.”

“That’s right.”

Eugene replied, turning her gaze aside.

“But there’s no one here to appreciate it.”

The large restaurant, covering approximately 330 square meters, was empty except for their table. Under the ceiling that resembled Chagall’s painting of the Paris Opera Garnier’s ceiling, ‘The Dream Bouquet,’ each table covered with white tablecloths was illuminated by colorful glass lamps. The waiters stood in precise intervals, waiting to be called.

Eugene let out a low sigh.

“Who in the world doesn’t know you’re rich? Do you need to flaunt it like this?”

“A fiancée deserves this level of effort.”

“You thought to show effort, but didn’t consider my tastes, did you? I prefer some degree of white noise.”

Sergei shrugged, seemingly unbothered by Eugene’s sarcasm.

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time. But tonight, I wanted a quiet conversation.”

“What conversation?”

“The night is long.”

Suddenly, Eugene’s face turned expressionless.

“Don’t talk to me like you talk to your other women.”

Sergei chuckled.

“Do you think I’d go to this effort for anyone else? There’s no one as demanding as you, but there’s also no one else worth this much effort.”

Eugene didn’t respond and took a sip of her wine. It was clear he had changed his tactics.

Since their engagement, orchestrated by their fathers, they had seen each other maybe once a year at some party. It was no secret that they both saw other people, and no one thought it was strange.

Their tastes couldn’t be more different. Sergei preferred soft, elegant white women with blonde hair and blue eyes, while Eugene despised upper-class men. They had realized this the moment they met, wishing they could marry their fathers off to each other and go their separate ways.

“Seems like the company is doing well.”

Sergei said casually, cutting into his steak.

“The reaction to the new drug isn’t bad.”

Eugene replied, equally nonchalant while eating. Sergei shrugged slightly.

“Considering you didn’t spend much on lobbying.”

“In a world where sincerity eventually gets through.”

Sergei looked at her with surprise.

“Sometimes I don’t know how to react when you say things like that.”

“I didn’t say it expecting a reaction from you.”

Eugene didn’t even look up. Watching her, Sergei took a sip of his wine and thought.