His Little Flower (Felix and Flora) novel Chapter 64

Chapter 64 

The rhythmic hum of the refrigerator was the only music in the kitchen as I scrubbed crusted flour off the countertop. 

I was 

alone in the kitchen before he walked in. He didn’t spare me a glance, or maybe he did side eye me a bit. But I pretended not to notice. 

He guzzled water from a glass, the ice clinking against the silence. His back was ramrod straight, shoulders tense. He looked worried about something. It guess he was stressed. 

Suddenly, his head snapped up, eyes finding mine like the jolt of a live wire. 

“Good morning.” I murmured 

“Morning.” He answered distractedly. His eyes were zeroed in on my face. I prayed in my head that he couldn’t see the remnants of last night’s fight with my father. I had tried my best to hide it with makeup. But putting on makeup had hurt. 

I remembered seeing the mark in the morning – a stark purple bloom that marred the pale canvas of my cheek and my temple, it looked like a venomous spider web. It was scary, actually. I could only hope he hadn’t done some serious damage. 

My breath hitched as Felix gazed at me. Panic coiled in my gut, 

Please, don’t ask me about it. Please, just leave. 

His eyes narrowed, the green depths swirling with concern. Flora,” his voice was rough, sandpaper against silk, “what happened to your face?” 

Words jumbled in my throat, desperate to form a lie, a shield against the truth his concern threatened to expose. When Felix asked me something with so much concern, how could I lie to him? My body wasn’t accustomed to not listening to him. 

“Just… tripped,” I mumbled, forcing a smile that felt painted on with ice. “It was really funny, actually.” I giggled, “I fell and it was a whole thing.” 

He didn’t return the mirth on my face. Instead, his features darkened. He knew I was lying. It was easy to see. I had clearly been punched in the face. 

“You’ve become so good at lying, Flora.” He said lowly. His fists were clenched at his side. “This isn’t the first time I’m seeing you hurt. Answer me.” 

“It’s really nothing.” I looked down at the floor. 

One. Two. Three. One, Two. Three. 

He moved toward me, a predator closing in on prey. When he approached me, his gaze on me was unwavering and searching. Interrogative. 

“Tripped?” His voice was a low growl, disbelief laced with something I couldn’t name. “Flora, I’ve seen my fair share of injuries, Worse than this. That’s not a wound from tripping, that’s someone’s fist.” 

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drum beating against the backdrop of a crumbling façade of being alright. “No, Felix,” I choked out, the lie heavy on my tongue, it left a bad taste in my mouth. “It’s nothing like that, really.” 

His eyes wouldn’t leave the purple bruise. He wouldn’t even look into my eyes. His own were filled with a silent rage I had only seen in him a few times. 

– 

And even while all this was happening and I was panicking, the only things I could think of was – Oh, he still cares about me. Enough to be angry for me. But oh, there is no way he can find out. 

“Don’t lie to me, Flora.” He snarled. 

His voice, raw and pained, ripped through the carefully constructed armor I’d worn for years. 

His expression changed, and his lips thinned, pressed together. “Was it your boyfriend?” 

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” I answered. 

“Then who?” He thundered. It was so loud I almost jumped. 

“There’s no one, Felix,” I whispered, my voice thin and threadbare. “It’s just… me. I swear. I tripped.” 

Chapter 64 

His jaw clenched, his hands fisted into tight balls. He reached for me, his fingers lightly encircled my wrist. He pulled me to him. Towering over me, his face was bent so our eyes met. My breath hitched. “Who hurt you, Flora?” 

I gulped. “No one.” 

I was feeding him white lies that he wasn’t accepting. 

*. But what else could I do? 

He pulled me impossibly closer, our chests were touching, and my labored breaths fanned his lips. I shivered, my breath coming out shaky. 

“For fuck’s sake, Flora,” his words were a menacing whisper, “For once in your life, don’t be a fool.” 

“I am the fool, Felix.” 

“Always taking the blam 

the blame, aren’t you, 

au, Flora? Even for things you have no control over.” He pushed me away. “I thought you’d grown up,” 

He turned 

ay, his silhouette a stark statue against the window that poured in the sun. “Just tell me, Flora, Please, just fucking tell me.” 

away. 

His voice, low and choked. He sounded so desperate. It was almost a plea. 

I fled the kitchen, the clatter of my retreating footsteps the only punctuation in the heavy silence. I ran until my lungs burned, down the stairs to the attic. I found myself a dark, lonely corner. 

A wave of dizziness washed over me, followed by a crushing tightness in my chest. My breath hitched, each inhale a shallow rasp against the roaring in my ears. My vision blurred. 

ny warmth. I counted till a hundred till the panic subsided. 

Collapsing on the ground. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to create any