51 February 3, 2021: odi et amo

'I'm pretty sure that I can't lie by saying that I didn't go home. There are CCTV's almost everywhere in this building.' Being the anxious person that she was, Syn thought of her excuse even before she was questioned.

It was already stated by Tristan that she couldn't engage in any sexual activities with other men all the while their contract was in effect. Although she could escape the interrogation by lying her way out, she was aware that Tristan abhorred being deceived.

Perchance, if he unveiled the truth regarding this incident, the lady would have to bear the consequences of appropriating Tristan's anger and violating the contract simultaneously.

'Have I been too complacent in doing my job, knowing that I have the option of letting Tristan pay the debt on my behalf? Seriously, get yourself together.'

Thereafter scolding herself, Syn cleared the table of the clutter. First, she returned the medicine box on top of the living room cabinet, proceeding to put back the glass of milk and the container of cereal in their respective places. Then, she picked up the bowl that she used and walked towards the sink to wash it along with the spoon.

Cleaning up the kitchen table was a good window of quietude, allowing her to dive deeper into her thoughts. Upon recalling the events yesterday, Syn heaved a sigh as several conflicting emotions bombarded her conscience.

'Still, why the hell can't I resist the temptations of that man? Every time I see him, I just can't restrain myself. Is it because he perfectly fits my preference? Or am I becoming easy? This is so absurd. Now that he's not in front of me, I realize how stupid my actions were.'

Syn shut her eyes as she tried to digest the guilt that was eating her from the inside. The flurry of her sentiments that was crawling under her skin made her want to squirm. She nearly fell over from the dizziness that struck her head, but thankfully, she was leaning on the sink counter.

'I have no choice. I won't bring up the fact that I was not home. I'll leave it to my future self to answer that question if it ever comes up.'

Breathing in enough air to calm herself down, Syn opened her eyes and finished her task-at-hand. Once she's free from her chores, the lady walked en route to the main bedroom to procure her change of clothes.

It only took her a few minutes to prepare her garments, bringing them with her in the bathroom. Behind placing her clothes on the marble counter, Syn removed her clothes, leaving them on the floor. As she entered the shower booth, she adjusted the temperature of the water to her preference. Shortly, she tapped on the digital panel to start the downpour.

'I should hurry and not make Tristan wait.'

Having said that, whilst she let the tepid drops of water to cascade her skin, outlining the curves on her body, Syn felt as if Konrad was still touching her. The droplets lightly kissed every mark that the man left, nourishing a heated sensation at the pit of her stomach.

A muffled moan escaped her lips as she attempted to forget their moment of carnality, amorous and addicting, yet the fervour was too much for her to contain. As a consequence, she bit her bottom lip before her hand mindlessly and slowly reached for her entrance.

However, just as she was about to brush over her opening, she heard Tristan's voice calling for her.

"Syn, I'm here. Come to the living room when you're done."

In lieu of responding, the lady merely hastened the process of scrubbing down her body. The instant that she turned off the shower, she exited the cubicle, skipping her routine of allowing excess water to drip down her body.

Syn wiped herself dry with one of the extra towels stored in the cabinet, mounted on the wall opposite of the counter. In this case, she purposefully chose clothes that would conceal her whole body -- A black knitted turtle neck top and a pair of grey cotton pyjama pants. Upon dressing up, she used the hairdryer so as to not wet her clothes or the couch she would be sitting on.

Latterly of a few minutes, she went out of the bathroom, promptly sauntering towards the living room. There she saw Tristan who was seated with his legs crossed, absentmindedly observing the view out of the window. Syn quickly occupied the seat in front of him

Tristan did not face Syn for quite a while, causing the lady to seize the silence. It would be better if she organized her thoughts in order to not commit any errors in her speech.

Soon, the inopportune confrontation began. Tristan looked into Syn's eyes, conveying no emotion at all. With his tone veiled, he commenced their conversation, "Why aren't you sleeping yet? It's late. You have class tomorrow."

Inwardly sighing out of relief, Syn gave him a smile ahead of answering, "I was so tired the whole day, so I forgot to bathe and take my medicines. When we're done, I'll sleep right away."

"Is that so? Will it be fine to continue out talk? Should we move it later?"

"No, it's alright. You can go ahead."

Syn carefully observed Tristan's countenance, noticing every movement that he made. She watched as his eyebrows furrowed and jaws clenched, making his teeth grind on each other. The atmosphere between them became tense, scarcely presenting the lady with bothersome foreboding.

"Miss Rosenfelt, I don't think that hiding the fact that I have a fiance was something that you have to be irate about. First and foremost, I have no duty to tell you everything that's going on with my life. Second, we are not in an actual relationship - The one that's binding us is a contract in which you're benefitting from. It's not as if I'm the only single man who you entertained."

Harkening the aggregate of his statement, Syn somehow felt that Tristan was being distant, even calling her formally. Though, what agonized her more was the actuality that the man implicitly said that she was nothing but a mere prostitute.

"Thus far, I'm baffled by how you reacted when you Arthasia introduced herself to you. I found that rather immature. We are in the middle of business, Miss Rosenfeldt. I will appreciate it if you wouldn't make things a tad more difficult for me."

Syn did recognize that it was presumptuous of her to be upset when the man did nothing wrong. Withal, the root of her distress was of a contrastive reason than what he was claiming. Nevertheless, she kept her own counsel, aware that Tristan was not over talking. She didn't want to risk angering the man by virtue of uttering unwarranted excuses.

In the meanwhile, Tristan straightened his back and undid the joining of his lower limbs. Following that, he suspired to brace himself from what he was going to say next.

"I'm deeply disappointed that you're hiding something from me, Miss Rosenfeldt. At this point, I won't be lenient in monitoring your daily life anymore. You keep on testing my patience, so I'll return the gesture with the same sentiment."