"There is no need for you to keep trying to placate me or remain in my good graces. From now on, you are not to appear in front of me again, especially in private settings like this."
His words fell like a final verdict.
"Is there no way we can salvage this, Raymond?" Lena asked softly, throwing away the last bit of caution she had been holding onto.
Her voice trembled slightly despite her effort to remain composed.
"I promise I will never mention love in front of you again. Just… don't end the contract."
The last part of her sentence came out as nothing more than a whisper, almost lost in the quiet tension that filled the room.
Raymond simply shook his head.
"Too late. You could have thought about that before breaching our agreement."
His response was short and merciless.
"Refrain from calling me by my name. We are not close," Raymond added coldly, his eyes completely lacking any warmth.
Those words seemed to strike Lena harder than anything else he had said.
