CHAPTER 42

The room went silentat his declaration. Everyone was confused. As if he had spoken a foreign language they had not yet mastered. He could tell he had shocked them all, and they needed a few seconds to regroup. Then everyone started speaking at once.

The voice of the president rang above the din. “Silence! This is a matter that needs to be discussed further. Mr. Kincaid, care to elaborate?”

“There’s not much more to say, my lord. The results speak for themselves. Before the mission, my brain scans showed no sign of the emotion that’s interpreted as love. Now, it shows clear evidence of it.”

“And who are you in love with?”

He paused, observing Kalli. She had gone unnaturally still. High color tinged her cheeks, but other than that, there was no reaction from her. It unnerved him. What was she thinking? More importantly, what was she feeling?

“Mr. Kincaid, must I repeat the question?”

“That is none of your business,” he answered the president, without taking his eyes off Kalli. “But I will answer, not for you, but for the benefit of the woman I love. She is sitting right here in this room. It is my colleague, Kalli Brooks.”

Another gasp shook the room, but she made no sound. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

He couldn’t tell what she thought of his declaration. Her face had become a blank mask, impossible to read. It unsettled him. Kalli was often infuriating and incomprehensible, but she had never been difficult to read. She wore her emotions on her face. She spoke to him with her eyes.

And yet now, when it mattered the most, her eyes had gone silent. It appeared as if a light inside her had dimmed. He couldn’t stand it. Ending his presentation, he went back to sit beside her. He wouldn’t give these fools any more information if the only person who needed to hear it did not feel comfortable receiving it.

“We need to talk. Let’s meet in private after the hearing ends,” he murmured.

If she heard, she gave no sign. Her head continued to point forward, her eyes refusing to meet his. Why? What had he done wrong?

He had confessed to a room full of judgmental strangers that he had fallen in love with her! Did she think it was easy for him to do so? He would have wanted to confess his feelings in private, to work out their differences without an audience. But she had not given him the chance.

She had disappeared and evaded him for over a month. After the disaster with the video call, he was afraid today would be the last time he would ever see her. He thought that confessing his feelings was a good place to start. He would go down on his knee, make a fool of himself, if that’s what it took for her to look at him. But her remote expression didn’t allow for any closeness.

“The deposition has concluded,” the president proclaimed.

Kalli stood up and made for the door. Fuck, no. She was not slipping away again. He set off after her, determined to not let her out of his sight until they had talked. Until he had convinced her of his feelings and that he needed her by his side.

“Kalli, don’t leave. Don’t hide from me anymore. We must talk. There’s so much I need to tell you. Please.”

“The ruins,” she said, her voice strangled, before slipping through the doors.

“The ruins? When?” But she was already walking away.

He followed.

“Mr. Kincaid, meet me in my office in five minutes.” Lord Chesterton’s voice rang out through the hallway.

“I can’t—”

“Go talk to them,” she interrupted, and his eyes snapped to hers. “You must, after the bomb you just dropped. We’ll talk later.”

“The ruins? You’ll be there?” he asked, torn between wanting to follow her and the need to settle matters here.

She nodded, turned, and walked away without looking back.