The Heart Thief

the heart thief - |17|

Roman

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Holy fuck.

I would argue that this was one of the funniest things that has happened in my life, but I was in shock to think of anything that could rival it.To think I almost fucking killed myself last night after some crazy woman proposed to me immediately after confessing that she had been tracking my location. And on top of it all, Millie was my fucking employee. Without a doubt, these past twenty-four hours have been the absolute wildest experience of my life.

Fuck.

"Okay, so you found out she works for you. What did you do?" Shane asked abruptly, catching me off guard as I hadn't even settled comfortably in the chair.

I involuntarily tightened my cheeks, feeling my jaw clench. Shifting in my seat, I rubbed the back of my neck and glanced at him. "I canceled the meeting and ran out of there," I confessed, the words ringing in my ears, making me feel like an insensitive jerk. I had reacted impulsively, fleeing the situation like a coward instead of handling it maturely.

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

I nodded in agreement. "You're right, I didn't," I concurred.

Isaac intertwined his fingers, leaning back and lightly tapping his lips with his index fingers. "I have to be honest with you," he admitted.

My gaze shifted to him. "You've got to be kidding me. You knew?" I exclaimed, caught off guard. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

He flashed me a good-natured smile. "I knew from the first time I met her. She mentioned working in your company, but I didn't think it was important enough to share," he explained, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Not important? You little shit!" I threw a pillow at him, which he effortlessly dodged, chuckling. It dawned on me that this cunning bastard had been plotting this whole situation, deliberately keeping me in the dark for his own amusement. I had to give him credit for his commitment to being an asshole. He wanted to surprise me, and fuck, he succeeded.

"Roman, calm down. Neither of you did anything wrong," he reassured, adding it as an afterthought.

Shane chimed in, concurring, "He's right. You and Millie are friends. That's perfectly acceptable."

Acceptable? Is that how it should be labeled? Was it acceptable for me to want her every time I laid eyes on her?

As if he could read my mind, Isaac leaned forward, wearing a knowing grin that resembled his sister's. "Unless you're considering doing something wrong, and that's what's troubling you."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not," I curtly replied, unwilling to admit it to him and provide him with the satisfaction.

"Really? Because sitting here, I can practically decipher your thoughts."

"I'm not," I seethed, frustration coursing through me. Maybe it's just lack of sleep. I slept in the hospital, but it wasn't restful. I've been struggling to sleep properly for days now, and I feared it might be insomnia. The last time I experienced insomnia was when I was fourteen, and my mother had to compel me to see a therapist for it. It improved eventually, but unfortunately, the therapist wasn't much help. I vaguely remembered him mentioning that certain events could disrupt sleep, but I couldn't pinpoint anything specific that would be causing it. Maybe it was stress. Or maybe it was something else entirely, like reaching a boiling point.