The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

Trouble - Chapter 13

You were pulled aside at work the next day. It was you, Matthew, your employer, and Peter who had all been taken aside, and while your fellow employees worked away, Peter had paid for all of you to sit down to a dinner at the very restaurant that you worked at.

Thing were absolutely awkward.

"This is ridiculous, Monsieur," Matthew said, his eyes flicking over to Peter as he dropped his fork on his now-empty plate. "What isn't there to understand about [Y/N] working a late shift during the nighttime?"

Your employer, Monsieur Lafond, gave a disappointed shake of his head. Even if Matthew was no longer working there (his day of 'release' was supposedly that very night, actually), Monsieur Lafond seemed to think.

"The thing that neither one of us 'understand' is why [Y/N] wasn't at work at the times that you said she was," Peter said through a mouthful of some sort of fancy food (that you knew wasn't at all cheap, since you knew the menu inside and out by that point).

"What are you talking about? She was absolutely there," Matthew protested, stealing a sip of water as he shifted his gaze between Monsieur Lafond and Peter. "We worked together."

Matthew knew that what he said was far from true, and you could almost see his eyes searching for something to say... or perhaps he did have something to say, although he was hesitating on whether to say it or not.

That could have been either a good thing or a bad thing.

"Really?" Peter said, his eyes moving to get a good look at you. He was almost staring at you like he would break your neck at any given moment. "[Y/N]... you haven't at all said much. What is your take on this entire situation?"

You paused. Your food, despite the fact that it was absolutely one of your favorite dishes, had hardly been touched... but who could blame you? You even looked sick. There was something sickly pale about your skin, and the entire world seemed to spin around you. That made you decide that it was a good idea to grab a sip of water to keep you from raising even more suspicion than necessary.

Your hands played with the lace hem of your skirt as you gulped down your nerves, and you flashed Peter the largest smile that you could manage... which probably wasn't even so much as a half-smile.

"I was at work, Monsieur," you said with a soft nod. You were feigning calamity, and even though you felt like you were going to pass out at any given moment, you surprisingly didn't at all look the part. That was assisted by your soft chuckle... and in a way, it said 'this is ridiculous.'

"There isn't much else for me to say," you said. You took a sip of the water class to your right hand side, and even after that, you shrugged. "My apologies if you expected some great confession, but I can't think of anything else to say."

Matthew truly seemed to be conflicted at this point. His leg bounced nervously as he stared down at his plate, his jaw clenched, eyes unfocused, and hands folded.

Thankfully, though, Peter seemed more focused on interrogating you than watching Matthew...

That seemed to be a good thing. Your stomach sank completely at the sight of your friend - and most definitely not in a pitiful sort of way. You were terrified that he would accidentally spill one of the truths (if not all of them) about who you were truly with all of those nights. You trusted Matthew with your life, yes, but you didn't at all trust him with the life of Erik.

"Every night during the production of Don Juan, Matthew was the only one to be spotted inside of this building... care to explain that?"

You gulped.

There was nothing else you could have said in your defense... you knew it, Matthew knew it, Monsier Lafond knew it, and Peter knew it. He fed off of it like a shark, and he was quick to let you know just that.

You hated how laid-back Peter seemed. He was just eating away and wiping his face, drinking that dark wine in that tall glass of his while the life of your lover could have easily been blown to bits.

"I'm sorry, Monsieur, I... I have nothing to say."

"So you didn't at all arrive to work?" he pressed. Monsieur Lafond was beyond disappointed. He was an old man with a personality much younger than his years, and because he was so enjoyable to be around, seeing him so distraught made your heart sink... Peter seemed to be drawing from this.

"Where else would you have been?"

You opened your mouth to answer, but yet again, there wasn't a single word that came out of your mouth. You were practically trapped...

And Peter seemed to know that. Perhaps enjoying it, even - but who could blame him? It was his job to crack an impossible case, and you were there right like an answer key, being the only component of it the mystery finally giving out the answers he wanted.

"We know that you weren't practicing with your partner, we know you weren't at work, so just tell us, [Y/N]... where were you?"

Matthew finally cracked.

His head snapped up, his eyes were wide, and his mouth spewed out words faster than you had ever seen before...

But he didn't say at all what you thought he would.

"We were having an affair, Monsieur!" he said quickly. He cleared his throat and stared back at his glass, not daring to glance up and meet your eye. "We were having an affair."

A/N: A double update? Whaaaat? Who is she?? Haha, I just have so many ideas for his book that I haven't written down yet... so you can probably expect quite a few more updates! This chapter was a little short, yes, but it's still VERY important... if you couldn't tell! And thanks to everyone who commented and voted on the last chapter - it means SO much to me that you stuck with this book, even though it took me forever to update! Love you all 💖