A MAZE OF GREED

Edwin was waiting in nervousness in his office. He was pacing around the room. Damn!

He had fought many wars, he had been in many dangerous situations where the only available option was to survive or die. He had tackled hundreds of political battles. He had survived many betrayals.

He was expected to save the world from the great disaster. And yet, he was fine with all of that.

But today, for the first time, the feeling of nervousness had touched his heart. Blowing air in and out of his mouth, he waited till he heard a knock on the door.

Suddenly his fingers turned cold, and his heart skipped a beat.

Clearing his throat, he nodded at himself in encouragement and said, "come in."

The door slowly opened and, he realised, he was awkwardly standing in his own office. With his supernatural speed he plopped down on his chair before the door was completely opened, and Ruth stepped in.

Ruth stepped into the office with confused eyes and a thudding heart. The guard closed the door behind her. Many things were running in her mind.

Why did he ask for her? Did he get to know about what she did the last night? Did Henry inform him about it?

Her heart thudded more, which made Edwin wonder. What was going in that pretty head of hers? Why was she so scared?

Was it because of Harold again?

Edwin's blood boiled instantly at that possibility. Only he knew how he was restraining himself from killing that moron with his bare hands.

"You... you asked for me?!"

Ruth inwardly cringed at how she sounded.

Controlling his bubbling anger, Edwin nodded. "Please come in." He said.

Ruth walked near his table and waited for him to say something. As soon as she came near, her flowery scent entered his nostrils. He dragged a long breath in, that was filled with her enchanting smell. His wolf purred in delight, his mouth watered at the thought of her taste.

Ruth always found it weird, to say the least, that these men had some inappropriate habit of sniffing around people.

Sensing her wariness, Edwin again cleared his throat.

"How are you Miss Moore?"

She was taken aback by his sudden question.

"I... I am fine?"

Edwin narrowed his eyes at her. Why does it sound like more of a question than a statement?

"Very well. I called you here because... I have something for you." Saying that he did not wait to see her reaction and, opened the drawer of his table.

He pulled out a velvet box from inside and put it in front of her.

Ruth stared at it for a long minute, meanwhile Edwin's heart thumped in anticipation.

"What is it?" She finally asked.

"You may want to open it and find out for yourself."

Hesitantly, Ruth took the velvet box in her hands and slowly opened it. Her eyes went wide when she found two blue stoned earrings inside. They were magnificent!

Her wonderment turned into confusion soon.

"What is it? I... I do not understand."

The questioning look in her hazel eyes made Edwin more nervous. Pulling himself together, he answered, "I thought these will go well on your bridesmaid dress."

He hoped and prayed that she liked them. Even if she did not, he was ready to buy new ones even though it cost more than her one month's salary.

Ruth kept silent as she stared at the beautiful piece of jewellery. Edwin tried gauging her expressions, but her face did not give away anything.

What felt like hours later, she finally looked up at him.

"You bought these for me?"

Matching her gaze, Edwin nodded in affirmation.

"Why?"

Of course, she would ask that question! Edwin should have thought about it thoroughly. But he was too excited to see her reaction that he did not give much thought to it.

He shifted his weight to the other side and searched for a logical answer because -I bought them because you are my mate- did not make any sense in the given circumstances.

"Do you like them?" He asked instead.

When she did not answer immediately, he added, "If not then that is alright. I can replace them with-"

"Shut up!"

He clamped his mouth shut. All the excitement ran away from his face.

Ruth glared at him with an inferno burning in her orbs.

"You think that I am a fool to not understand your intentions?" She spat in anger.

"Miss Moore..."

Edwin was speechless. He did not understand what went wrong. He thought she would hesitate, bombard him with questions but would accept the gift at the end. He thought they were making progress after the moment they shared that night when he found her wandering alone in the late night.

The touch and feel of her cheek under his lips were still afresh in his mind.

"Mr O'Dell, you might have fancied countless women with these cheap tricks, but I am different! I have been tolerating your advances for a long-only because of the respect you have in the mind of people.

You recommended my name for this job, and I am very grateful for that. But it does not give you any right of treating me like a moralless woman."

Ruth's chest heaved up and down as she breathed in anger.

"Miss Moore, you are misunderstanding my actions. Let me explain." Edwin stood up from his chair and, took a step towards her, but she stopped him by showing her palm.

"No, Mr O'Dell. I have indeed misunderstood your actions as the change of your heart. I thought it was wrong of me to look at you in an only bad light. I thought there was more to you that you preferred to not show to the world.

But I guess I was over-optimistic. You are exactly what people think about you- a womanizer with no heart!"

Tears of frustration gathered in her eyes as she vent out all her anger.

"This", She closed the box and held it in the air. "Is not only a gift but your evil way of luring me. Tell me, how many times have you done this before? Oh, I know one particular name- Florence!

Were not you showering her with such expensive gifts?! And now you are trying to do the same with me! But let me tell you that even though we were friends at some point, I am nothing like her.

I do not need a man like you to get what I want. I have the brain and will of working hard. I can achieve whatever I desire, and for that, I do not need to sell my body to a characterless man like you!"

With that said, Ruth flung the box at Edwin, which he did not duck or caught. It hit him on the chest then fell to the ground.

Ruth swirled around and, stomped out of his office, wiping her tears angrily. She did not wait to hear his explanation. She did not wait to see how shocked he was. And, she did not wait to see the hurt clouded in his eyes.

Edwin did not realise how long he stood there like a statue. Ruth was probably over this incident and might be running some errand for Elsie while cursing him to death.

But, his eyes were still locked on the door through which she left. Not only his human but his wolf was also in pain. The act that their mate could think so low of them made them upset.

Edwin was no saint, and he never claimed to be one. He had his own flaws. He enjoyed the female company too much because it helped him take his mind away from things. It offered him an easy escape, and fulfilment of his manly needs was a bonus.

It also helped him get his plans done through the women from every class of society as they were ready to loot the whole world, just to spend a night with him.

He was well aware of his appealing features as a man and, he never shied away from using them to his benefit and, it always worked- every freaking time!

He was a bad person with his own demons. He never tried to hide them or chase them out. He accepted them and used them every chance he got.

But never in his life, he had ever thought that the things he thought were beneficial for him would someday push him down in his mate's eyes.

Every word that Ruth accused him of, tore his flesh and penetrated deep in his soul, burning everything on its way. He felt like stabbing himself than receiving the disappointment and resentment from her.

When he saw her in that blue dress in the shop, she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid his eyes on. While leaving the shop, his eyes caught these earrings and, he could not stop himself from buying them.

They would have looked so better on only her!

But in his excitement, he forgot who he was. He was just a spoiled rich brat whose world started and ended only on himself.

And his mate, she hated him!