Chapter Eleven

The dinner was an uncomfortable event. Inanis sat next to me, and I noticed he barely ate a thing. He cut the food on his plate into small pieces, and those pieces into smaller pieces, and then moved them all to the side of the plate, giving the illusion that he ate when he really didn't.

I wondered why he wasn't eating.

There were twelve tables in the large room altogether. Different politicians sat at different tables. My father didn't even sit at the same table as us, which broke my heart.

Instead, we sat with the president, just me, Inanis, the first lady, and the president of the United States.

It was so, so odd, but Inanis seemed comfortable. In fact, he seemed so comfortable, that I noticed he kept zoning out, like his mind was full of thoughts more important than what was happening before us.

When he began to stare at a vase that sat against the wall behind the president, my annoyance got the better of me. How dare he act so immaturely around the man who runs the nation? And most importantly, how dare he zone out and make me lead the conversation?

I kicked his leg under the table.

His head turned to me, confused for a moment before he realized why I had done it. He only nodded, almost as if to thank me, before he returned his focus back to the conversation.

I felt weird after that but refused to acknowledge it.

I'll scold Inanis about his frequent zoning out later.

The dinner lasted nearly two hours. I was getting bored of sitting, and I could tell Inanis could barely hold himself still. His foot tapped rapidly on the floor underneath the table, only I could see how jittery he was, but even watching him twitch and move made me just as uncomfortable with being still. His fists were clenched hard as if he had an abundance of energy that he had to let out now.

Hyper, he was so, so hyper.

Finally, when the dinner was over, everyone began to leave the White House. Inanis was the first to say goodbye, as he clutched my arm, he led me out of the building before I could find my father and say goodbye.

We entered the same vehicle we arrived in, and the moment Inanis shut the door he ran a shaking hand through his hair, "That was absolutely the most boring fucking dinner I have ever had the displeasure of attending. I'd rather wade through cow spit than ever go through such an event ever again."

"Well lucky for me," I tell him, even though I completely agreed with what he said, "I get to watch you suffer through it entirely again at our wedding."

He glared at me, and I shot him a smug look in return.

Considering we had an almost two-hour long car trip ahead of us, I sat back in my seat, and closed my eyes. I refused to acknowledge Inanis sitting beside me, I refused to think of his previous moment of kindness earlier with my father.

I refused to question if Inanis actually had some humanity, hidden away in his rotten heart.

I tried to fall asleep, with my stomach full of food after two days of nothing, and having seen my father tonight, reassuring me that he was okay, I felt a million times better. Yes, we did just announce to the world of our marriage, and that did make me sick to the stomach, but at this moment, I felt alright.

I leaned my head against the window, and not even ten minutes later, I was almost successfully drifting away.

And then came the tapping noise, and the irritating shuffling that filled my ears.

I opened my eyes, and glanced over at Inanis, once again his foot was tapping the floor of the car like he was desperate to get to his next destination. He kept shifting, as if it physically hurt him to sit still.

I tried not to yell, I tried to not say anything.

But he was driving me mental.

"Stop!" I snapped at him, placing my hand on his leg to still it, making his head whip over to me. "Stop moving so much it's so irritating."

His eyes widened in surprise, and for the first time ever, he had no comeback for me. Not cocky words, no insults.

He just took a deep breath and turned his head to the driver. "Stop the car."

The driver looked like Inanis had lost his mind, "We're in the middle of city traffic-"

"Stop. The. Car."

"I can't-" Inanis wouldn't let him finish his words, as he opened the door, while the car was still moving.

The driver slammed on his breaks, as Inanis hopped out.

Confused, I stared at the open door for a minute, before my curiosity got the better of me. Did I manage to piss him off?

Did I strike a nerve?

I opened my door, ignoring the driver who was spitting out a row of obscenities. The car in front of us and the car behind us, both stopped, and Inanis's security guards came shuffling out. I ignored them as I spotted Inanis walking towards the sidewalk, the evening wind batting against the coat he wore despite it being nearly summer.

I quickly ran to him and didn't speak up until I was by his side, matching his swift, long steps. "What's wrong with you?" I asked him, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I need a walk." He said simply, "If I'm to be cramped one more second in that goddamn box of a car, I will go mad."

I shook my head in disbelief, "You're taking a walk through the city at eleven o'clock at night because you can't sit still for less than two hours?" I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop, "What is going on with you? You can't ever sit still, and you lose your focus every ten fucking minutes. You completely zoned out earlier this evening at dinner and left me to talk to the president. Alone." I quickly let go of his arm, realizing I was still holding it, "What's your problem?"

"My problem," He sucked in a breath, "Is not a problem at all." He continued walking, but I was not letting him get away that easily.

"That's not an answer."

He spun to face me, making me almost bump into him, "An answer? You want an answer from me? Have you forgotten you do not tell me what to do, nor do you get to pry into my thoughts. You are nobody to me, nothing."

I narrowed my eyes, my hands clenched, "Yeah, I don't give a damn about you either." I tell him, "But if we're going to be stuck together, I want to know if you're going to keep acting like a child when I need you to be an adult."

His voice was low, I've never heard him angry before, but this must be it. "Watch your words."

"Do you know what I think?" I say, not knowing why I'm trying to push him further, "I think you're just lazy. I think you are too lazy to keep focus on your job, that's why you can't hold a conversation for more than two fucking seconds. I think you are just an arrogant, egotistical asshole who doesn't think anyone is worth his time."

"You know nothing about me."

"I think I'm starting to know everything about you Inanis."

He stared at me for a long moment. Rage flashed through his eyes, as he turned away, and took several deep breaths to calm himself. I found it weird that I managed to get under his skin so easily. Normally Inanis was carefree and didn't care about my insults to him. I actually wondered if he enjoyed it when I called him names.

But this time was different.

Finally, he said, "Go back to the car, and go home. I'll see you at the wedding, wife." And then he turned and walked away. This time, I didn't chase after him.

I did what he said and returned to the car. I didn't want to talk to him anymore anyway.

The driver took me home, and I was sure that Inanis would find his own way to his own house. His house that I'll be living in once we are officially together.

Wherever that is.

Inanis's mother came to greet her son but stopped when she saw I was the only one walking into the home.

She frowned, "Where is my son?"

"He threw a temper tantrum and hopped out of the car."

Her eyes widened, "What?"

"Relax." I told her, too tired to bother being nervous that Inanis wasn't here to calm down his mother. I'm sure my own security guards would protect me if she tried anything.

Right?

"He's not hurt." I reassured her, "He just got angry and walked away."

She looked at me like she didn't believe me, and frankly, I didn't care. "Vita does not get angry."

"Well he did, maybe you just don't know your son as well as you think you do." All I wanted was to go my room, climb into the large bed and sleep for a thousand years.

Inanis said the next time he'd see me would be on our wedding day, I must have pissed him off so much that he didn't even want to look at me until he is forced to.

I would laugh if his mother wasn't currently throwing daggers at me with her glare.

I walked past her and made my way up the stairs. Every part of me screamed to be on guard, that his mother would attack me from behind.

She never did.

When I made it safely to my bedroom, I slammed the door shut and tore off the dress I was wearing. I slipped on a large shirt and dove into the bed.

I told myself it wasn't a mistake to make Inanis angry. I told myself he deserved it, because he is a killer, he is a psychopath. He is the monster in my life.

But for some odd reason, a pit of doubt began to dig itself into my chest, as I drifted to sleep.