Cake, Body, And Caffeine

CHAPTER 19

-CHAPTER 19-

"Thompson. Hmm." Emily nod and stepped forward to caress his sharp chin, gently. "If only you didn't leave, that surname would be different by now."

It got Theodore under his skin. Emily is smart enough to play with her dialogues, she knows what skeletons to pick and rub on his face. He gave a silent glare, feeling the sharpness of his air huffing out of his nose. It has been a while since he had Emily this close.

"Andrew, I—"

"Not that name, Emily. It's Theodore," he said with a clenched jaw and aching desire to be expressively furious.

"Whatever floats your boat, Theodore. I missed you." Earnestly, she leaned her face closer than she did and grabbed his nape for a kiss.

This was the woman Theodore once knew. A bold, audacious, and tender. Her lips pulled him back to what he was way back home. She tasted like margarita and a familiar cigarette brand that he used to puff as well. That lips he kissed on important dates, steamy nights, luncheons, and business meetings. She was everywhere and everything, Emily was that significant.

Theodore moved his lips as a response, deciding to play with it. He knows he did it well when he earns a moan from her. Cutting the kiss, disappointment from Emily's face became visible.

"Do you think that's too easy?" he released a grin that surely would crush her ego. Theo cannot afford to be fooled for the second time around. He had been encountering a lot of women for the past few years and this isn't new at all, Theo is a veteran in the field. "Not so fast, Emily."

"You used to not resist me." With a sly intent, Emily complained without breaking eye contact.

"Right. I used to," he replied. "What do you want, Emily? Cut the crap, will you?"

He stepped back and went to the kitchen and tried to clear his head while cleaning the remaining mess from dinner. Theodore didn't expect her to leave as he heard the door closed; the sound of her heels remained in the room. Fuck this, why now?

"Your father."

That stopped him from wiping the stove. He had always been hating that man. Since he left, Theodore claimed himself as fatherless. The shame that he always felt remembering that he was blood and flesh of a conniving and dire. He worked a lot to build his own decent character, figured his way out of the narrative that people want him to play.

Remembering his father easily shook his grounds pulls him back to who he really was.

"He's not my father." After a long period of silence, he replied. Emily got herself some water from his fridge, looking mad.

"You can't run away from that truth—

"And you can't keep rubbing it on my bloody face! I ran away for my safety regardless of the expense on my name. I was vilified and dehumanized for something that I didn't commit, having charges against me dismissed was the first thing that I want to happen after my mom died!" Theo exclaimed, letting go of his fuming emotions. "So no, you don't get to say that I can't run away where stories are twisted in the first place."

Aggressively, she scoffed, "you think it was easy for me? Do you think I did all of this for kicks? I had to earn your father's trust after our engagement was canceled, and you left me with a stupid pathetic letter, saying you'll be back in a week— you lied!"

"Emily, I didn't—"

"Liar! You lied!"

Theodore was certain that it was his dad who made his exit worse and more questionable than it appears. He left with no traces, nor did contact any friend before he flew. He can remember how few clothes he grabbed just to arrive on his flight on time.