Zayne stared at her.
"Have you forgotten what I told you about being my mate?"
Evelyn furrowed her brows at him. "What does that even mean?"
He clicked his tongue and rose from the bed. Humans. He approached her, leaned in closer, till his face was next to her ear. Then he whispered, "I'm never going to grow tired of you though. This is all pointless. A waste of time."
She scoffed with a smirk and pulled her head back slightly, shifting to stare right into his eyes, her head craned back.
She challenged, "Are you scared…Zayne?"
Silence stretched between them for a beat.
Zayne suddenly laughed, dropping his forehead against her left shoulder.
"What's so funny?" She was genuinely taken aback. "Why are you laughing with that condescending tone?"
He pulled his head up and palmed her cheek. "Me? Scared? You're a very funny human, you know that?"
"Why are you talking like you're a peacock or something?" Evelyn asked, sneering.
A…pea…cock?
He was stunned, blue eyes going blank at a complete loss for words. His dark lashes flickered at her, wondering.
Why would she call him a peacock?
Evelyn dropped her arms akimbo. "Naturally, if you refuse, you're scared and nothing more."
"Are you provoking me?" He raised a brow, offended.
"Am I?" She intentionally batted her lashes at him. "Surely you're not afraid of this human girl, are you? You're not scared she's going to beat you at your own game, are you?"
Zayne's left eye twitched. Her provocations were getting to him. "You think I'm scared? Of you? As short as you are?"
She scoffed, "I'm above average. Five foot seven for your information." She whipped her hair against his face, walking over to take a seat on the sofa, legs crossed. "I don't see why you won't accept my deal. It's pretty decent. Tolerate me for a year and you get what you want. Failure to do so and I get what I want. It's a matter of who wins. What are you scared of?"
Her lips stretched into a grin.
"Don't tell me you worry I might win, Mr. Mancini."
Zayne stood watching her.
Naive in some aspects, but she was clever. No wonder her father believed she was best suited to own TDG, despite not being too fond of her. She knew how to get what she wanted.
His gaze moved from the green of her pupils, down to her nose and reddish lips that were still drawn in a grin. Then back to her eyes again. He side-smiled.
"I like your confidence."
He began advancing towards her, stopping in front of her. The man grabbed both arms of the chair and leaned down until his loose hair could pour on either side of his face. "You really want to play this game?"
Evelyn bit her inner cheek with the most challenging look on her face. "I don't want to play this game, Zayne. I need to play this game because I'm going to win, and you better keep to the deal if you're going to agree to it."
They stared at each other for what seemed like a long moment and then, he shrugged, ignoring the sting on his wound.
"Okay, we have a deal. But be careful, little monster, you might end up being the one wanting to go back on your words."
She chortled, lowering her head to break into soft laughter. "I assure you I won't. I don't make deals with the intention of running even if I lose. You have my word on that."
She shifted her gaze to his wounds. Her lashes fluttered and she immediately furrowed her brows.
"Your…injury."
Zayne looked at it. "What about it?"
"What do you mean?" She shot him a look. "This looks nothing like a day's wound! How are you healing so fast? This is uncanny!"
She lifted an index finger and poked at the wound. "Does it hurt?"
"The fuck you mean does it hurt?" He snatched her finger. "It stings."
"Oh." She looked apologetic. "Sorry."
"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm healing so quickly? Aren't you even curious?"
"I am."
She met his eyes.
"But do you have an explanation?"
"I do. But it'll only make you regret this deal you just made with me."
"Then I don't want to hear it. For the sake of my sanity, kindly keep your secrets to yourself. I'm not interested in your life." She slipped off from under his arm.
He turned his head to look at her.
She wiggled her fingers at him. "Lend some of your clothes to me."
"What?"
"Shirts and sweatpants precisely."
"No."
"No?" She pointed to herself. "I need something to wear. And I can't go out just yet. Tomorrow, I'll shop for new clothes. How about that?"
His eyes scaled her from head to toe and then back up. "They're not your size."
"I know." Evelyn nodded. "But give them to me first."
Zayne eyed her suspiciously for a few moments, but still, he gave his clothes to her as she wanted.
"Scissors," she demanded.
"Excuse me?" A stunned look spread across his face, eyes broadening a bit with his brows arching.
"Oh, relax, I just want to shape it up to my size. I'll buy you a new pair later."
She tossed the shirts he gave her aside on the sofa and rolled up the arms of her shirt, before unbuttoning the vest of her suit.
She spread the sweatpants on the bed, then began to measure it.
"You're very tall. I wonder what your parents fed you. Can't possibly just be bottles of milk."
Evelyn cracked her knuckles, knelt on the floor, and proceeded to get to work. He had to stand there and watch in horror as she destroyed his clothes, unable to utter a word.
All he could do was turn around and leave.
———
A bulky man, with a bandaged arm pushed the door of an office open and walked inside.
He approached the desk, bowing to whoever was seated in the office chair, turned and facing the floor-length window.
"Boss."
"So?" A calm voice reverberated, asking, "Did you succeed? Is she dead?"