What Nobody Knew

Part 46

I spent the rest of the day vegging in front of the tv. It felt weird not to go in to work or do anything work-related for a whole day. But I figured that if William wanted me to report for duty, he would have made contact with me by now. 

It was already dark outside when there was a knock on my door.

I had no intention of standing up though. It was probably just someone from the hotel, wanting to check if I have enough clean towels or something. So, I ignored them. They would go away soon enough.

There was another knock this time louder than before.

I must say, for a place as luxurious as this, they were really pushy.

"Elizabeth, I know you're in there." William's voice came through the door.

What the hell did he want now? I thought the whole point of putting me in another room was to avoid seeing me. 

Maybe we should open the door to find out. Then you could get a peek at that handsome face of his. I think you're experiencing withdrawal symptoms...

What the... no I'm not! Has my mind been invaded by Cat's hormonal banter?

And I'm most definitely not going to open the door for William. I had no intention of seeing him until it could no longer be avoided. You know, when we have to depart to go back home. And even then it can be arranged that we wouldn't have any contact with one another.

A sigh came from the other side of the door.

"Listen, Elizabeth, I'm not going to ask you about the letter. It's just... the staff has informed me you haven't ordered anything to eat."

It was true. I was in such a zombie-like state the whole day, I hadn't even thought about eating anything.

He asked about you... he was concerned about you.

I shook my head at my inner voice. He's still a lying ass. The weirdly-timed surfacing of his compassionate side doesn't change any of that.

"I know you didn't eat any breakfast before leaving this morning and didn't order anything for lunch either." He continued.

All this talk of food made my stomach feel uncomfortably empty. 

There was another beat of silence.

"I know you don't want to see me right now. So, I'm going to leave you some dinner in the hall. Just eat it, please. I won't bombard you once you open the door or anything, I promise." He sounded exasperated, tired even. 

True to his word, I could hear his retreating footsteps until the hall was silent once more.

I stood up, stretching my limbs as I went towards the door. A cart with a tray was left abandoned in the hall. There was a bottle of iced tea, a plate of spaghetti bolognese and fresh garlic rolls on a side plate with silver cutlery and a tiny note placed neatly to the side. 

I was practically salivating at the sight. I picked up the note first.

Order more if this isn't enough.
Your room and everything you order is on my bill.
And with regards to that letter, please just read it.
Everything will make sense if you do.
I know I said I wouldn't talk about it, but I never 
said anything about leaving a note about it.

William

Sneaky bastard.

I tossed the note on the cart before picking up the tray and taking it back to my sanctuary. 

I wasted no time digging into my meal. I was in fact starving which, had I realized earlier, would have done something about it. I wasn't the type of girl to skip meals. I was way too in love with pasta for me to skip a meal.