"It was almost enough to make me feel emotion."― Jeff Lindsay, Darkly Dream Dexter 

"Why do you hate me?"

She heard Oliver spoke in a clear voice but she couldn't comprehend the meaning of his question. Since their respite at the tavern, there was a change in his demeanor. He kept staring at her which set all her nerves on fire but she couldn't feel any anger radiating from him anymore. And now he voiced such an absurd question at her out of nowhere.

"Hate!" She chuckled at the absurdity of his question, "How can anyone ever hate you, milord? You are the kindest and most charming noble so far, not that I have encountered many. I never heard anyone speaking ill about you, everyone admire you and respect you. You live up to the standards of the heir to Kentshire. People in your employee revere you, milord."

"Yes or no?" He asked once more.

The smile on her face faded. She spoke about him so highly and he was still stuck on his question.

"Milord, I told you ..." She said.

"No, you told me what everyone thinks about me. I do not want to know what everyone thinks about me I want to know if you hate me or not," He asked impatiently.

"Don't I come under everyone, milord?" She asked not understanding what was going through his mind.

"No," He said simply.

Hannah's heart fell in her stomach. So, he saw her as everyone saw her, an abomination, a product of promiscuity, a prostitute's daughter. She thought he saw her as nothing but an ordinary woman but that wasn't the case at all and she felt her heart cracking.

"Hannah," He said bringing out of her reverie, "You did not answer my question."

"No, milord. I do not hate you," She said unable to keep coldness seeping through her tone.

"I do not believe you," He said his arms folded his eyes scrutinizing her.

"Does it matter?" She said calmly, "Once we reach Raymond you will never see my face again."

"See, this is why I don't believe you," He said irritated.

She didn't say anything. Time passed slowly while she looked at her feet and he kept trying to figure her out. She was like the most complex puzzle to ever exist.

"If you don't hate me then why are you always annoyed at me?" He asked.

"Because you annoy me," She blurted looking up.

Oliver's jaw dropped at her blunt answer and he burst out laughing once he collected himself. His laugh tugging at her heartstrings. With the very limited time she spent with him, she knew he rarely laughed so freely. He was always smiling, always being his charming self but his laugh revealed his true self. And she felt losing herself a little bit more.

"No one has ever complained that I annoy them, no one except you," He said still laughing softly, "Everyone always liked my company."

"As you pointed out, milord, I do not come under everyone," She said huffing. Her eyes once again staring at her feet trying to control the increasing disgust she felt for herself.

"No, you don't. You are special," He said softly smiling at her.

"Like an abomination," She said oblivious to the look in his eyes.

Oliver was shocked to his core to even utter another word. His brain was a jumbled mess. He tried to speak but couldn't come up with anything to say. He fell lax against his seat and tried to get a grip on himself, he realized saying anything now will only make everything worse

Hannah hated the silence between them but every time she thought it was the worst one she was proved wrong. This hurt her so much, she didn't know how a drop of tear fell from her eyes to her cheeks and on her entwined palm. Before she could realize tears started hitting her palms rapidly but the hurt rendered her immobile.

She felt her cheeks enveloped in warm hands, her eyes closed instinctively. Her head tilted up, thumb brushing the tears away from her cheeks. The smell of the forest after the rain with something in the mix invaded her nose making her gulp.

"Hannah," She heard the enchanting voice.

"Open your eyes," He said.

She closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to look into the obsidian eyes that make her forget everything. The darkness doesn't scare her but beckons her to drown in it without a care.

"Hannah," He whispered his breath fanning her cheek. Her eyes opened without her permission, her blue pools meeting his obsidian ones. His eyes like always arrested her entire attention, her heart started beating faster when his eyes left hers and passed over her lips.

They were instinctively set in motion towards each other, his head tilting slightly, their eyes fluttering close with only one destination.

Their lips hovered over each other, their breath coming out ragged. Their lips brushed over each other slightly, the spark starting the scorching fire that spread through their entire being.

The carriage jerked, Hannah falling on the feet of Oliver while he tried to catch her.

"Hannah," Oliver called out worriedly, "Are you okay?"

He helped her sit back, checking for any injuries.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked fusing over her.

"I am alright," She said softly her eyes still downcast.

"Hannah, look at me," He said lifting her chin up.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked seriously.

"No," She replied her heart beating erratically as his eyes stare down at her. He smiled his angelic smile while tucking away a loose curl behind her hair.

"Stop," She said jerking back away from him.

"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"You need to stop, milord, whatever you are doing," She said distressed.

"Alright, I will stop, please calm down," He said trying to calm her, "I apologize if I made you uncomfortable."

Hannah fought hard with herself trying to gain hold of her senses, the reality of what might have happened sent her nerves to overdrive. Her emotions were in turmoil, she never experienced such an intensity of emotions before. 

The flashes of nightmare passed through her eyes, the disgust of her mother's scandal slowly swallowing her. She was going to kiss him, make the same mistake of getting tangled with a nobility that murdered her mother.

Her fear overtook so vehemently she forgot her surroundings when she finally able to wake up from the dreadful pit she fell in, she noticed the warmth enclosing her, the soft whispers of her name.

She shoved him away as soon as she realized she was in Lord Oliver's arms, her arms coming around her as a way to shield her away from him.

"I apologize I was only trying to help you," He said apologetically, "Please, have some water."

She awkwardly drank the water he offered. He sat looking out the window on the other side leaving her to her own devices. After she calmed down, she was embarrassed at losing her senses like that.

She was flushed when she realized they almost kissed each other which would have been horrible considering he was already spoken for. She wondered how it would feel to be kissed by him and immediately admonished herself for thinking in such a way.

But her thought kept wandering to his obsidian eyes piercing her. Their lips almost touching. The kiss would have been a once-in-a-lifetime moment and she didn't know if she could have been able to survive it. She was already smitten by him and the way he looked at her didn't help her curb her desires. She needed to stop herself before she led down the path to her destruction.

She couldn't help but wonder even if they have kissed, it wouldn't have amounted to anything for him. After all, he was a Kentshire and she was a prostitute's daughter.