ANUBIS: Noire

chapter 22

Syere POV

I roll my eyes as Aj continued to complain about Anubis and why I'm engaged to him.

"You haven't even been dead a month yet and you're already fucking on someone else." He mutters sharply.

"Okay?" I say without much thought failing to comprehend why it matters who and why I sleep with someone.

"I forgot you're kind of a whore."

"God now you sound like Wepwawet." I roll my eyes finally turning to him. "Aj we're not together no matter how many times you try to convince yourself and everyone else that we are. We're friends that just happened to fuck from time to time." I state with a shrug.

It was his turn to roll his eyes, seeming unimpressed. "We buy each other gifts on valentines, we sleep at each other's houses, we go out frequently together and we fuck. To everyone else, we're a couple." He argues.

"Just because that's everyone else's perception doesn't mean we are. You know that right?" I mutter.

The room fell awkwardly silent as he continued to glare at me with a look of disappointment.

A servant enters the room breaking the tension. "The master requests that Aj and Your Highness get cleaned up for dinner."

"Your Highness?" Aj comments making a weird face.

"He's talking about me." I clarify.

Before he can say anything else he's escorted out of the room as Lydia follows me to the bathroom to wash up.

•••

I soaked in the bath as Lydia brushed through my hair softly. "My lady, may I ask something?"

"What is it, Lydia?" I glance behind me questionably as I propped an arm on the rim of the tub and lay my head against it.

"Are you perhaps scared of commitment?"

I fall quiet at the question.

"Should I take that as a yes?" She adds tucking my hair behind my ears.

"Why are you asking me this?" I sigh.

"I'm just curious about the reason behind it." She answers monotonously with a soft yet firm whisper.

"It's selfish to commit to someone when you have no plans on living long," I mutter.

"But isn't it also selfish to sleep with someone consistently and expect them not to gain feelings for you?" She states scrubbing along my shoulders with a large soapy sponge.

"I think I'd like a quiet bath," I respond flatly.

She pauses briefly too briefly that I almost didn't catch it.

"Yes." That's all she said before rinsing me off.

I wasn't upset that she said it, she was right. I didn't wanna face it, it's not like I need to, I'll be gone in the next two months. Erased from existence, forever.

Nothing matters.

•••

We all sat at dinner quietly and awkwardly. Anubis had failed to mention this particular dinner he invited his parents, brother, and Ammit.

While I invited my fuck buddy. It's absolutely not awkward, not one bit.

Sensing the tension Nepethys tries to make conversation. "Syere dear, how are you feeling?" Her voice calls from a few feet away.

My eyes slowly fall on her from across the table. "If you're asking if I'd still like to disappear, I do." I state bluntly.

She visibly recoils sadly. "Oh...that's upsetting to hear."

Was she expecting a different answer?

Her eyes fall on her son as they begin to have a conversation in what seems to be Arabic. I roll my eyes bringing my attention to Aj who stubbornly sat beside me eating his food silently glancing around suspiciously.

He suddenly perks up wiping his mouth with a napkin quickly before setting it on his plate. "I have a question."

"What is it?" Anubis answers coldly.

"So how does this engagement thing work anyway? What good is an engagement if your partner wants to kill themselves?" He questions with raised brows.

"Well, the engagement won't happen unless Syere falls in love with me in three months." Anubis states his eyes glancing towards me with a small smile tugging at his lips.

I stare back blankly but my eyes snap to AJ as he bellows over in laughter. "Syere? Fall in love? You'd be lucky to hold her attention for a month. She gets bored pretty quickly." He chuckles harshly. "That's hilarious."

I roll my eyes however he catches it quickly pointing it out.

"What's that look for? You know you're not the love type. You must be relieved, you get to have sex with no strings plus you get your eternal wish at the end of it. How lucky you are." He chuckles once again shaking his head.

"I suggest you don't get too attached, Anubis, was it? You're not real to her and neither was I." He states before finally continuing his meal.

"Someone's bitter," Ammit mutters with a snicker.

My eyes fall on my plate staring at my reflection in the shiny silver cutlery I held tightly. I felt oddly emotional about it all.

AJ's words, the hushed voices around the table, Anubis's cold silence all of it was pissing me off and Wepwawets next comment became my boiling point.

"So...I was right then? About her being a whore—"

The sound of my chair clattering to the floor stops his words as I suddenly shot up.

"I'm sick," I mumble.

"Syere—" Anubis tries to calm me down but it was for naught.

"I'm so SICK of that word. I'm so fucking sick of everyone judging me for who I sleep with as if I owe anyone a damn sliver of loyalty. As if I'm some fucking PROPERTY to be POSSESSED." I began to laugh amused at the audacity of everyone in this room. "I never fucking asked for this engagement, never asked you to fall in love with me and I sure as hell didn't ask for your fucking input Wepwawet." 

My eyes fell on AJ with a burning rage. "You knew who I was before you decided to sleep with me. Did that stop you though? Oh no, I don't think so and now you think you get to complain about how I am now that you're in love with me? and I'm supposed to repay you for your hurt?" I chuckle humorlessly.

"Right because it's my fault you expected me to change if I had you around like you're that special." I sneered.

Several emotions flash through his eyes before he glares getting up and leaving the room without a word.

My eyes fall on Wepwawet. "And you're too much of a self-obsessed sexist prick with his head too far shoved up your ass to acknowledge that you're an asshole to compensate for the fact that no one wants you and you're fucking lonely.  All you have is a pretty face but I guess that's not enough to make up for your disgusting personality."

Picking up a piece of palace bread before heading towards the door. "I'll be damned if I let someone with no bitches insult me. I'll be in my room, goodnight." I state before leaving the dining room.