[ Felix is thinking ahead, his gaze is elsewhere, and so he misses the moment that Rudbeckia's expression goes from the blank shock of a stunned rabbit to a deep, dawning horror. her slim hand grips his forearm with clawing desperation; when his focus returns to her, the look in her eyes is something he will recognise from experience, though perhaps he never would have expected to see it in a situation like this. it is the look of someone genuinely afraid for her life. ]
I'm sorry.
[ although it isn't the first time Ruby has apologised to him, this isn't simply demure or skittish. it barely seems voluntary, the way she gasps the words.
he's calm. he isn't angry with her, not yet. but violence is always sudden. the moment someone decides that she isn't telling the truth, or their patience with her runs out—Felix is the one staring down at her, but all she remembers is her father's kind expression going cold. the hand that had been stroking her hair, seizing a fistful of it to drag her from her bed. she already crossed a line the other week when she needed Kim Dokja's assistance with a curse; what if he really didn't believe her back then? it's only going to make things worse if he checks on her now and finds nothing wrong, no "symptoms" to back up her supposed illness. will Yoo Joonghyuk be the one to throw her out?
she can't let that happen. even if she has to beg, even if she clings to Felix until he raises his hand against her— ]
Don't tell anyone. [ there's no meek simpering. her sincerity is grave, a sharp-edged terror she is clutching with her bare hands. ] I just got dizzy and I fell, that's all. I'm sorry. I'm not sick, I swear.
cw abuse
I'm sorry.
[ although it isn't the first time Ruby has apologised to him, this isn't simply demure or skittish. it barely seems voluntary, the way she gasps the words.
he's calm. he isn't angry with her, not yet. but violence is always sudden. the moment someone decides that she isn't telling the truth, or their patience with her runs out—Felix is the one staring down at her, but all she remembers is her father's kind expression going cold. the hand that had been stroking her hair, seizing a fistful of it to drag her from her bed. she already crossed a line the other week when she needed Kim Dokja's assistance with a curse; what if he really didn't believe her back then? it's only going to make things worse if he checks on her now and finds nothing wrong, no "symptoms" to back up her supposed illness. will Yoo Joonghyuk be the one to throw her out?
she can't let that happen. even if she has to beg, even if she clings to Felix until he raises his hand against her— ]
Don't tell anyone. [ there's no meek simpering. her sincerity is grave, a sharp-edged terror she is clutching with her bare hands. ] I just got dizzy and I fell, that's all. I'm sorry. I'm not sick, I swear.