Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday - Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Rune’s Secrets (I)

Grace lowered the military binoculars and stepped away from the window. The sight of the street down below was not something she enjoyed watching – it was a gruesome reminder that she still was in no place to help anyone.

“Here’s your coffee.”

She turned to face Rune who just walked out of the kitchen with two cups of black coffee for the two of them. Moving toward the living room area, they both settled down on the couches and sipped the dark liquid in silence for next few minutes.

After waking up this morning, Grace got ready and had breakfast with Davian and Dr. Kian. While those two left to continue with their day, she headed to Rune’s apartment as they decided the night before.

Hence, here she was, sitting in his living room while enjoying the coffee. Her eyes wandered around the place, taking in every single detail. “It feels like you haven’t bother to clean your place in a while.” She pointed out once she was done with her survey.

As her gaze returned to the young man sitting opposite her, she noticed the smile that made its way to his lips at her comment. He too fixed his gaze on her face as he spoke, “I wasn’t in the mood to work the past few days.”

The two of them became silent once again, and this time, Grace studied him. He looked different from before, more reserved, silent, and calm. What she was seeing in front of her was nothing like his previous – cheerful, and easy-going personality.

“What’s wrong with you?” She failed to stop herself from asking. Seeing him like this was affecting her more than she wanted to accept. Even though she always thought of him as young and kind-of reckless, she still liked to see that side of him.

Her question made him let out a deep sigh and his attention shifted from her face to the wall behind her. For a moment, he said nothing, but then he returned his attention back to her face and replied, “I have been busy trying to decide how to handle the matter.”

Grace didn’t speak immediately and waited to see if he had anything else to say. So, when he remained silent after that statement, she finally asked, “What about now? Have you made your decision?”

She watched as a very faint smile curved the corners of his lips slightly, but it was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I want to tell you the truth, Grace. But I keep feeling that I can’t.”

She put down the coffee cup on the table sitting in front of her and straightened, focusing all her attention on the man who was making her step out of her way to handle him and the situation related to him. She knew better than anyone else that if it had been someone else in Rune’s place, she would have long abandoned him, or worse…

“Then tell me, why can’t you speak the truth?” She asked, not moving her eyes from his even for a second.

And he did the same – kept his gaze focused on hers as he answered. “Because I’m afraid of losing you.” His voice was a mere whisper. And the flickering weakness she caught in his eyes just for a mere second, before he replaced it with his usual calm facade, it made her realize just how vulnerable he was feeling while answering that question.

Maybe she should have taken a soft approach in that situation, but she wasn’t here to beat around the bush. Even if she had a soft corner in her heart for this young man, she wasn’t going to allow that to ruin the safe future she was trying to build for herself and her friends.

She had made up her mind – this was the last chance she was giving him.

Taking in a deep breath, she spoke, “You are going to lose me either way, Rune. So I’ll advice you to speak the truth. But since you can’t seem to start this conversation, let me help you.”

All the calmness, or softness, disappeared from her eyes as she looked at him like she was looking at a complete stranger – one who was proving to be a threat for her and her people.

“Did you come after me because of the jade bracelet?” She asked.

“You know that I did-” Rune started speaking but she cut him off before he could finish. “You know that’s not what I’m asking.” Her eyes were staring right into him, as if to see past the layers he had built around him. “I’m asking if you planned to take my bracelet.”

She didn’t beat around the bush and placed the question out in the open, hoping that he would answer truthfully. He did seem surprised by her question, but as usual, he was quick to school his expression.

He let out a small sigh, and a moment or two later, he slowly nodded his head. “That’s right. My plan was to locate the jade bracelet and take it away.”

Grace showed no change in her expression and just sat there studying him. “Was it what you master wanted? Or something you planned?”

Once again, he took a moment before answering, “It was my plan. I wanted to take the bracelet for my own business.”

There was silence in the room as the two of them didn’t speak for next few minutes. Grace tried to recall everything that happened around Rune ever since she met him.

Even she wasn’t sure why she was asking the next question, but something told her that she was closer to the truth than she expected. “That group of cloaked people… did you kill them to save yourself?”

This time, he wasn’t quick enough to hide his surprise and it more or less answered her question. Still, she waited to hear what he had to say.

Finally, after what felt like several long minutes of silence, he finally spoke…!