"Oh, for the love of- " Naqi cut himself off in the nick of time. "Who do you think you are?"
She closed the gap between them. "The woman who is going to be your girlfriend".
For a moment, he said nothing. But then, he stepped back and said, "I want you to leave."
Her reply came practically on top of her last syllable.
"And i want your promise. Promise me you'll say yes."
He clamped his mouth shut. It would have been an easy promise to make; but a promise would have been akin to an apology, and he would not give her the satisfaction. Call him foolish, call him an idiot, but he would not do it. Not after what she'd done to him.
"Good God," she muttered, "you're stubborn."
He gave her a sickly smile. "It is going to be a joy being my girlfriend."
"Naqi," she said, or rather, half-sighed. "In the name of all that is- " She raked her hand through her hair, and she seemed to look all around the room before finally turning back to him. "I understand that you're angry . . ."
"Do not speak to me as if i were a child."
"I wasn't."
He looked at her cooly. "You were."
"Good heavens, do you take me for a fool?" she inquired.
"Do you know why you asked me to be your girlfriend?" he demanded.
"What the devil are you talking about?"
"Do you know?" he repeated."Of course i know. It's because- " But she cut herself off, and she obviously did not know what to say.
He shook his head, blinking back in tears. "I don't want to see you right now."
She flinched from the venom in his voice. "What is wrong with you? Tell me- "
"No." Checkmate.
Labels: novel
