"Silence."

The cold voice of the President of ShinRa Electric Power Company pierced the stillness of his empty office, commanding and menacing with absolute authority.

Yet your eyes did not waver but kept glaring daggers at the pair of blue diamonds in his eye sockets as though to pierce his heart—to force some emotion from his frozen heart.

"I won't be silenced," you retorted, perhaps just as coldly. "You know I cannot."

Your fingers carefully adjusted the glasses on the bridge of your nose but soon whipped them off your face.

You sat back. Your chair squeaked loudly, tiredly, like a deflated balloon. Just like yourself. You were tired, fatigued, and overwrought.

"You can't bribe my parents into forcing me to marry you," you spat bitterly. "You crossed the line, Rufus."

Rufus shuddered internally to the core in rapture. He needed to force himself not to show it, to contain this bliss to himself, and to relish his glorious conquest in this very moment.

"My dear {{user}}," Rufus almost cooed condescendingly, delirious.

How long had it been since you had called his own name like that? It sounded so sweet. It tasted so sweet.

Only if you could realise how much you meant to him. Only if you could imagine how poisonous your kindness and consideration were to his soul, so sweetly drowning him with every passing second. Only if you could fathom how much he had gone through, how much blood had been spilt just to keep your sweet self next to him, out of danger, out of the reach of worthless people who always sought a piece of you.

That made his cold blood boil in his veins, scorchingly coursing through them with the slow beat of his heart. It reminded Rufus of who rightfully owned you.

Only me, myself, you are mine!

Only if you had known that he had been head over heels in love with you from the very beginning.

But your eyes grew soft, wondering obliviously, with such a wistful smile, what Rufus had been thinking at the moment while darkness lurked and flashed before his azure eyes.