Chapter 181 A kiss
_Author’s POV_
Alaric watched Rowena standing in the doorway and waited for what he expected to happen next.
He had seen it before with other women, the first stiffening, the slow retreat with a hideous look of betrayal on their face, and then the door closing again either literally or in the face.
Not to mention the conversation that would have to happen later.
It was a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation like this one and he would not blame her for it if she reacted that way.
But he seemed to have forgotten who this woman was, she actually did the opposite of what he was thinking.
She walked right into the room, closed the door behind her, set her bag on the table near the window, and looked at Brielle with an unreadable expression.
The look she gave Brielle was scrutinizing.
Brielle also looked surprise that Rowena didn’t run away feeling hurt like every other woman would. She had straightened up slightly, turned her head and now the two of them were looking at each other across the hospital room.
Kasper had come in behind Rowena, he knew Brielle was still inside with Alaric and he had come to help Alaric with the women issues that would hit him when Rowena saw Brielle.
But to his surprise, Rowena didn’t make a fuss. She remained as calm as ever.
Kasper looked at Alaric, then at Brielle, and he shifted to Rowena.
The tension in the room was worse than he imagined, he instantly regretted why he came, it was too late to leave now.
What he did was find a corner and hide in as he watched the women.
Brielle recovered first, which was typical of her. She had always been fast on her feet in situations that would have made other people slow down.
She straightened fully, pulled one glove off and looked at Rowena with a calm expression. Unlike Virella who faked it, Brielle matched Rowena so well.
Honestly, Rowena was not what Brielle had expected. That much was visible, even if nothing else was.
“You must be Rowena Ashthorne,” Brielle said.
Rowena didn’t respond, just staring at her, but the look in her eyes was a response to Brielle.
Something moved across Brielle’s face briefly.
“And you must be the doctor.” Rowena finally said the words.
Brielle was annoyed, and she felt disrespected. She clearly had a name and they both knew it, but Rowena had chosen not to use it.
It made Brielle feel disrespected.
“Dr. Brielle Logan,” Brielle corrected in annoyance although it didn’t show on her face, and then added, with smoothness, “Alaric’s ex-girlfriend.”
Alaric closed his eyes for exactly one second. “Brielle.”
“What?” she asked, without looking at him, trying to feign innocence.
“Stop talking,” he warned as he glared at her.
“I’m just introducing myself,” she said, never looking away from Rowena. She smiled thinly and added. “It’s polite.”
“We were not......” He stopped himself before he could finish and exhaled. “We were not together in any way that warrants that introduction.”
“We spent years in each other’s company exclusively,” she said pleasantly.
“That is not the same thing,” he deadpanned.
“How about the loving moments we shared?” she asked. “I was always in your bed_”
“Brielle.” Alaric growled low in his throat.
Kasper, from his corner, was looking at the ceiling with so much focus as he dwelled in his new found hobby of counting them.
Rowena listened to their exchange without changing her expression, she looked at Brielle now with a steady attention and said nothing for a moment, which was somehow more effective than anything she could have said.
Brielle held the eye contact too, she was not the type to look away first either and she didn’t.
Two powerful women in a hospital room were a kind of weather system that no one would’ve seen coming.
“You developed the silver protocol,” Rowena said finally to break the awkward silence. Her words didn’t come as a question, which Brielle noted.
“I did,” Brielle nodded.
“How long before it works?” Rowena asked directly.
Brielle paused briefly, she hadn’t been expecting the conversation to go there, or at least hadn’t been expecting it to go there that quickly. “Once I prepare and administer it, significant improvement within two hours. Full stabilization by morning.”
Rowena nodded. “Good.”
Without another word, she moved to the chair beside the bed, the same chair she had been using since yesterday, and sat down in it with a relaxed posture.
Brielle watched her do this and something crossed her face that she controlled quickly.
Rowena acted tough but she wasn’t all that, Brielle thought in her heart. She already knew she would never get along with this woman, they would hate themselves dearly.
Alaric looked at Rowena who was looking at his arm, specifically at the wound that Brielle had been working on when she walked in.
“Does it hurt? she asked softly.
“It’s manageable,” he replied, feeling warm.
She looked at him just briefly and whatever was in her eyes in that moment was not the usual blankness she always had on. This one was something more honest than that. Seeing he was staring, she wore the blankness again, but he already caught that emotion from just now.
“I should prepare the treatment,” Brielle said from across the room.
Her voice was professional and completely appropriate. She could feel the tension in the room now and she hated to admit it made her jealous seeing how Alaric looked at Rowena.
She picked up her bag from the chair she had moved it to and said, “I’ll need about twenty minutes,” she was looking at Alaric who had his eyes on Rowena. “The preparation requires some particular conditions. I’ll use the room they’ve given me down the corridor.”
“Fine,” Alaric replied.
Brielle looked at Rowena once more before she left, but Rowena didn’t look back at her. In her case, Brielle wasn’t worth it.
Then Brielle walked out and the door closed behind her.
Kasper exhaled from his corner. “I’ll just......” He began andpointed at the door.
“Yes,” Alaric answered almost immediately as if wanting him to just leave quickly.
Kasper hurriedly scrambled off, feeling relieved that he didn’t need to face them again.
The room went quiet the moment he left, leaving just Rowena and Alaric.
Alaric cleared his throat and decided to explain the situation. What Brielle had said earlier must’ve stirred something in her and he wanted to smooth things out.
He opened his mouth started to speak, but didn’t finish.
“Rowena, I need to explain.....she and I were not......”
Rowena didn’t give him a chance to finish before she stood up, crossed the distance between them in a few steps, leaned forward, and pressed her lips against his.