Skip to content
Novel Catalog
Chapter_289
Elaine was quiet for a moment, her gaze fixed on Ludwik. She could feel the tension mounting between them, the silence stretching on. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about the way Ludwik was acting—his cold demeanor, his aloofness—set her on edge. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts, but she knew she needed to approach this carefully.
“I don’t understand, Ludwik,” she finally said, her voice softer than usual, but with an edge of frustration she couldn’t fully suppress. “The meeting at the Christian Hotel… Why the sudden change in venue? It doesn’t make sense. You’ve been so distant lately. I can’t help but feel like there’s more going on here than you’re letting on.”
Ludwik’s eyes briefly flickered with something—irritation, maybe—before he replied, his voice carefully neutral. “Elaine, you’re overthinking this. It’s just business. Don’t read too much into it.”
Elaine’s pulse quickened at his words. She could tell he wasn’t being entirely honest with her, and that stirred something deep inside her. The anger she had been holding back began to rise, and she couldn’t keep the sharpness from creeping into her voice. “Don’t lie to me. The meeting wasn’t just a random change. You’re involved in something, Ludwik. I know you are. And it’s not just business. You’ve been acting differently, and it’s starting to make me feel like you’re hiding something from me.”
Ludwik glanced at her, his expression unreadable. He took a slow drag from his cigarette, then extinguished it in the ashtray with a controlled motion. He stood up and walked toward the door, his long strides purposeful, but Elaine wasn’t ready to let him walk away just yet.
“Why are you pushing me away like this?” she asked, her voice softer now, almost pleading. “We used to be a team, Ludwik. We faced everything together. What happened to that? To us?”
There was a flicker in his eyes—something almost imperceptible—but it was enough to make Elaine’s heart skip a beat. Had she gotten through to him? Was he finally listening?
But Ludwik’s reply was curt, his voice colder than before. “Things change, Elaine. People change. You’ll have to get used to it.”
Elaine felt her stomach drop at his words. She wanted to argue, to scream at him, but instead, she swallowed her pride and bit back the words that threatened to spill out. She knew she couldn’t push too hard, not when she was already on the edge of losing everything. But she couldn’t just let this go, not when she could feel him slipping away from her.
The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival at their destination. Felix led the way, and they walked in silence, Elaine’s mind still racing. Her thoughts were a mess of confusion, frustration, and something darker she couldn’t name. Ludwik’s words stung, but they also fueled her resolve.
They reached their private dining room, and Ludwik took his seat at the head of the table. He was as calm as ever, his demeanor like steel, and Elaine could feel her anger simmering just below the surface. She sat across from him, forcing herself to remain composed.
The quiet tension between them was almost palpable, but she wasn’t going to let him off the hook. Not this time. She had to know the truth. She needed to understand what was going on in his head.
“Ludwik,” she started again, her voice steady, though the underlying urgency was still there. “What about the Christian Hotel? Why the change? And why are you acting like you’re a stranger to me? I need to know where we stand.”
Ludwik’s gaze met hers, but there was no warmth in his eyes. “I’m not hiding anything, Elaine. You need to stop imagining things. It’s just business.”
His words felt hollow, like a well-rehearsed script he was reading from. Elaine’s fingers clenched around her purse. She wanted to scream at him, to shake him out of his cold detachment, but she kept her composure.
“You’re wrong,” she said quietly, almost to herself. “This isn’t just business. It never has been. Not for us.”
Ludwik didn’t reply, and the silence that followed was suffocating. Elaine could feel the weight of his indifference pressing down on her, but she wasn’t about to give up. She needed to keep pushing.
After a moment, Ludwik glanced at his watch and stood up. “I’ll have Felix book us a table by the window. I know you prefer the view.” He didn’t wait for her to respond before walking out of the room.
Elaine stood there, her thoughts spinning. She had no idea what Ludwik was hiding, but she knew one thing for sure—she wasn’t going to let it slip away without a fight.
