Jealous (2)

"We are supposed to visit Marcella's manager today. Do you want to go together?" Theo could not hide the tingle of nervousness in his voice.

Kathrina's brow furrowed in bewilderment as she knew Theo was not usually courageous to ask such things of her. He was too careful with her. She could easily guess that Clarissa or maybe Joe had given him some advice to advance his way toward her.

She remained silent, feeling a little troubled. Then, her eyes darted to Arthur, noticing that the man's face was devoid of expression. Kathrina did not know why she did it, but in the end, she accepted Theo's offer while still staring straight into Arthur's deep eyes. "Okay."

On the other side, Theo breathed a sigh of relief as though his breath pathway had been blocked before. "Thank you, Kath. I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Hmm, be careful."

Arthur's countenance remained unchanged; the only thing that gave him away was his increasingly firm hold on her hand. Although he could only hear a bit of their conversation, he was fully aware that the Theo guy had his eyes on Kathrina. He abhorred it with every fiber of his being.

He had not seen Theo, but Arthur already wanted to skin him alive so that Theo won't have other thoughts on Kathrina.

"Arthur, you are hurting me." Kathrina raised her voice at him, which made him instantly set her wrist free.

While Kathrina stroked her wrist, Arthur suddenly asked, "Who's Theo?"

Her eyelids lifted to meet his burning gaze, causing her to tremble at the sight of it. "Team members." She answered truthfully.

"Does he like you?" He stepped closer to her, waiting to hear the answer he wanted.

Kathrina moved backward, yet the man did not stop. She was cornered until her back touched the wall. She swallowed breathlessly as she clenched her hands around the hem of her shirt. "I guess. After all, we are working together."

"You know that's not what I mean. Give me the real answer. Does he like you?" He caged her by placing his arms on either side of her face, encircling her.

"He does."

In an effort to calm the wrath that was building up inside of him, which Arthur recognized as being caused by jealousy, Arthur closed his eyes. He knew he was not her boyfriend, so he had no right to feel like that. But he could not help himself from feeling possessive over her since she was already his, even though only on his mind.

"Do you like him?" Arthur inquired once again; he did so with an even more commanding tone than before. His jaw twitched nervously while waiting for her.

Kathrina's shrugged her shoulder and casually said, "I don't," she said. Relief filled Arthur's entire body, but then Kathrina continued her words, making him drop to the lowest part of the earth. "At least for now."

Arthur's facial muscles were rigid; he breathed in and out multiple times but still failed to calm his nerves. He could not picture a future in which Kathrina might fall in love with someone other than him. His anger boiled to the point where he wanted to lash out in rage at the world.

"Don't." He said it as if it were a mandate, and Kathrina was expected to comply with him. "Fall for me instead." He whispered to her; his tone was almost like he was begging her to do that. Gone was the commanded tone he used at first.

Kathrina felt the hair at the back of her neck raise in response to his words. Her head turned to his, which made them stare into each other's eyes in a very intimate space.

"I can't promise you that." Kathrina's lips quivered as she talked. Their breath was mixed together that she could smell a faint scent of mint from him.

Arthur gritted his teeth and gripped his fists so tightly that the skin on his knuckles became white due to the pressure. "Do it for me. Don't fall for him." He pleaded again, sounding even more hopeless.

"You are not my boyfriend, Arthur." Kathrina stood on her ground. Arthur was no one but a hot neighbor to whom she felt a little attracted. But, aside from that, there was nothing between them.

The curses that ran through Arthur's mind were beyond his control. It was so hard to get inside Kathrina's mind, but then it was what made her so special to him. She did not capitulate to his demands so lightly. "Why don't we just date?"

"No." Kathrina's firm answer once again made Arthur curse again in his mind, "I don't know you enough."

"The dinner. Let's do it today. It will help you know me better."

Kathrina rolled her eyes at him. Arthur made it seem like it was easy to get into a relationship. However, with her multiple problems, she would not venture into something new without knowing the probability of failing. She was not a risk-taker when it came to relationships; she was a coward with a lot of emotional baggage.

"I'm busy. A murder case is waiting for me to crack. And for dinner, I will think about it." Kathrina bent down and escaped from Arthur.

Arthur watched as Kathrina ran from him, easily slipping through his grasp, leaving him alone, dealing with his jealousy. It was foolish of him to think that just because Kathrina showed her vulnerability last night, he could have a better chance with her.

Looking at their current situation, he was doomed since he was very much willing to drop to his knees only to beg her to look at him.

"Fuck my life." He cursed loudly.