Chapter 36: 36- The ''Date''


    Ste''s face immediately turned red. It was like a light switch getting turned off. One minute she was


    fighting with all her might like a wild animal and then in the next second she was turning red in shyness.


    Max would have called it funny if she had not driven him up the wall in frustration.


    "mwhha ha mu...," Ste mumbled, but since Max''s hand was still covering her mouth, the voice came


    out all muffled and incoherent.


    Max turned his face upwards to the sky, released a long, heavy, controlled sigh, and then removed his


    hand from Ste''s mouth, while still keeping a firm hold of her arms.


    Once Ste had managed to take deep breaths in, she sted, "Who the hell are you then?" and then


    like she just realized she was still clutched in his hold, she twisted her arm to see if could get free. She


    could not, so the only smart move that appeared to be was to stay still instead of turning up dead in the


    same alley tonight.


    *****


    Two hourster Max put down the napkin on the table after finishing hisst piece of sandwich and


    wiping his mouth. Ste sat across him, her hands folded under her chest, her eyes ring down at


    him like he had flipped her skirt up high in the middle of the street.


    "Tell me where she is staying," she repeated the question for the hundredth time. And for the hundredth


    time, like each previous time, Max replied with a curt, "No."


    "Stop trying to pretend like the god damn protector of my best friend!" Ste leaned forward and


    mmed her hands on the table, "I am not the one you need to worry about to go out spilling Hope''s


    whereabouts to that idiot!"


    Max leaned forward as well, to the point that his nose was almost touching hers, and gritted out, "I will


    notpromise the safety of my target, woman! And what you just said is literally a new turn in all this


    mess."


    Now that Max hade to know that Ethan was looking for Hope as well, the bug found in his phone


    could have been from him. But there was no way of confirming it for sure.


    Ste scoffed out loud and whisper shouted, "IT IS NOT LIKE I AM ASKING YOU TO TELL ME HER


    EXACT ADDRESS! I just need to know in which city she is in to have a bit peace of mind." she then


    tightened her hands that were resting on the table in tight fists, trying to gather a bit of patience and


    then said in a strained tone, "I told you everything that Hope went through, each fucking thing that


    Ethan did to her. I am so worried about her that I think I will go mad. So..." she took a deep breath


    again and whispered, "please, tell me."


    Max looked at the young, twenty plus years old girl in front of his eyes. She looked genuinely worried


    for her friend, her eyes begging him.


    He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. then lifting his head back up to look into her eyes he


    said, "Give me some time to settle things, and then I will take you to Hope. Deal?"


    Ste looked unsatisfied with the words but she did not really have any other option, she knew when


    she saw the determination on his face.


    "Deal." she murmured.


    ******


    Hope had not meant to hurt varys and p him. This was not what she could imagine herself doing to


    anyone. But then in the moment, her feelings had gotten the best of her and she raised his hand on


    him when she could not find any other way to get out of his hold.


    Hope was not aware of what consequences she had brought for herself. She had been foolish, acted


    rashly in the territory of a man who did not resemble the boy she had met almost a decade ago.


    And she had seen what the people of his world did to people like her for insulting them, or for getting in


    their way, and for... raising their hand. None of those things were good. Most of the things were scary,


    the rest of the things downright disgusting with leaving no wish in the person to live anymore. She did


    not know which category she fell into when it came to Varys, but she was desperately wishing it was


    none of both.


    After she had pped Varys she became scared the hell out of her mind. And that scared expression


    turned to terror when she saw the look on his face when he lifted up his head with the red imprint of her


    hand on his cheek.


    "Go to your room, right fucking now."


    Hope flinched at the words that came out of his lips in a low, fierce growl.


    The words shot through her skin and pierced deeply. Her eyes were red and swollen and as she tried


    to understand what he wanted.


    Shivering, her face covered in tears and heart pounding hard, she did not waste any time in following


    hismand. And then as soon as she had reached inside, she locked the door from inside, pulling


    out the key and throwing it at the dressing table. She did not want to be a victim of the things that were


    bad and disgusting. But in all honesty, even though she was in turmoil, she knew Varys was not that


    kind of man who would do such things. But then the things Ethan had done for years kepting back


    to her mind, leaving her restless and in fright.


    The night turned darker and the world went silent. There was nothing but darkness outside and she did


    not hear any sound of footstepsing her way. And then even though she did not want to put her


    guard down, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep without knowing when it slipped behind her


    swollen eyes.


    *****


    Hope climbed out of not the car, actually, stomped out of it, and started walking away. The freshness of


    the early morning felt like a new wave of life.


    She had taken one step ahead when her hand was pulled and sped in someone else''s.


    "For fucks sake..." she muttered under her breath, "where the hell am I gonna run off to with all these


    people behind me?"


    "I will not give you a chance to find out." Varys said and clutched her hand tighter.


    "OH COME ON!" Hope growled and turned her head to re at the men in casual clothing but killer


    personalities and expressions spreading out in different directions behind them, disappearing like


    shadows even when there was literally no one in the area, "do you really think that I am that stupid that


    I will try to run with your people guarding my every step?"


    Her gaze returned to Varys who looked up at the sky through the dark blue shades resting atop his


    nose, his chiseled features, a few days old stubble and pink lips shining against the sun like a mirror


    made of beauty and gorgeousness and everything that God gave to male species for doing the good


    deeds in the past lives and grumbled in his throat, "Mmmhmm. For sure."


    Hope''s mouth opened and then closed like a fish. There were a lot of wordsing atop her tongue,


    none of them good, by the way, most of them considered extremely vulgar and impolite to scream out


    in public at certain someone.


    Hope gritted her teeth in frustration and tried to wrench her hand out of his hold. She twisted her hand


    and despite of her trying her hardest, his hold did not losen even a bit.


    Giving up she continued to walk while at the same time keep her flower printed, knee length,


    sleeveless pink cotton dress from flying with the gentle wind but since Varys wasrger than her and


    striding forward, she was practically running to match up with his steps. She was already flushed when


    at five in the morning she was practically dragged and lifted up from the bed in Varys'' arms and thrown


    inside the washroom because he had decided they needed to go on a ''date''. Like an idiot, she had


    assumed that the key that she had thrown on the dressing table was the only key avable and will put


    her guard down against all the evil. The instant heart attack and terrifying feeling she had felt in the


    moment as she soon as she had realized that the lock had not stopped Varys froming inside the


    room was enough lesson to protect herself better for her next seven afterlives.


    "HEY!" she cried out as her hand slipped from her dress while running, making the flowy length of the


    bottom fly up to her upper thighs, "slow down!"


    Varys turned his head and found her half heaving for breaths and tried to hide the smile that broke out


    at the corner of his lips. But then he slowed down so she could match his pace.


    "Do notugh at me." Hope red up at Varys. Her eyes squinting to give him the fierce expression but


    then immediately started blinking fast when the sun behind him shined right into her eyes.


    "You are still as cute as you were in college, you know." Varys looked down at her and grinned.


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    Hope rolled her eyes at him and looked away, her hair slipping over her shoulder and helping her cover


    her flushed face.


    The ''date'' as he had called it was in a private park. As they entered inside Hope found herself


    surrounded by fresh grass and flowers with a couple of trees here and there in distance. In the middle


    of the pond, there was arge pond where the ducks were swimming. The sun shined beautifully above


    them.


    Her eyes widened in surprise because when Varys had said ''date'' she had expected for him to do


    something super fancy that all the rich people to do attract the other person. But as they entered the


    park and a smile tugged at her lips, she realized that Varys perhaps knew about what she likes more


    than she even knows about herself. And as the thought crossed her mind, the memories of their


    teenage days made her heart hurt. After all, the memories she had lived with him had not faded. They


    had been buried down forcefully in one day when it had be too overwhelming to hold them in her


    heart anymore.


    "You are finally smiling."


    The smile wiped off her lips in the very next second. Varys''s strides came to a stop and he crossed the


    distance between both of them,ing to stand right in front of her. There was a slight chill in the


    morning air. His hand left her palm and both of his arms wrapped around her waist immediately,


    "Do you like this ce?"