Chapter 117: Chapter 117

At first, Christian hadn’t planned to kiss her.

He wasn’t an impulsive man, but in this particular situation, he found that the urge to do something reckless was quite strong.

Not exactly a reckless move, per se, but one that came along with his irritation.

It was just that, as he watched Camille’s expression and heard the subtle change in tone in her voice when it came to Michael, Christian felt a growing urgency inside of him that he couldn’t bear to ignore.

He could feel it, that her heart was drifting towards another man, that her feelings were growing until they became a big part of her.

He felt that time was running out and that if he didn’t act now, she might belong to him physically, but not emotionally.

And he would never be able to make her heart waver in the slightest.

And oddly enough, despite his pride in the fact that he was not the kind of man who would be carried away by his emotions, the thought of Camille never being able to be completely his unsettled him greatly.

So, instead of letting her first kiss be wasted on another man, he decided to claim it for himself.

So that every time she remembered this moment and this new experience, she would think of Christian, and Christian alone.

Well, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that this was really her first kiss, but he was certain that she had never been on a date before.

Based on the results of the background check that he did on her back then, she lived a pretty simple life and was mostly focused on her own goals. It seemed that she either didn’t have time for romance, or simply wasn’t interested in dating.

It was ironic in a way. She was a year older than him, already in her thirties, and yet this was probably her first kiss.

Which made the moment even more satisfying for him.

Then, as if deciding that she had endured enough, Christian slowly pulled away, finally ending the torment.

The two locked eyes, neither submitting to the other in a silent battle of wills.

‘Interesting as always,’ he couldn’t help but think to himself.

He had to hand it to her, though. She was quite the brave and stubborn woman.

Even though she hated him and definitely didn’t enjoy the kiss, she didn’t cower, and there were no tears in her eyes.

If it were any other woman who despised him to this extent — no one, perhaps, but just hypothetically — she would probably be crying in anger right now and slapping him hard.

It was one of the things Christian liked about Camille. Sometimes she was like an open book, wearing her emotions on her sleeve. However, she always made sure to never show weakness, especially in front of him.

“Why?” she asked, fighting to keep her voice under control. “Why did you do that just now?”

Christian smiled. “Because you’re my fiancée,” he replied simply.

A tremor of anger crept into Camille’s voice. “Fiancée or not, Mr. Callahan, you have no right to kiss me like that, especially without my consent.”

“Since when did I ever ask for a woman’s consent? Girls like you should be proud to share your first kiss with me. Consider it your privilege.”

Christian’s sadistic grin widened as he watched her bristle at his words.

She fell silent the next moment, but judging by the angry look in her eyes, she was probably cursing him incessantly in her head.

He shrugged. “If it makes you so upset, then all right. I can attempt to make it up to you instead,” he said nonchalantly. “I can learn to love you the way you women always want. There’s no harm in trying it out anyway since you’ll be the first and last woman that I’ll ever marry. If I do that, you won’t complain anymore, right?”

The silence seemed to stretch on for eternity as she gave him a long, incredulous look.

Finally, she had the strength to speak. “Love doesn’t work that way, Mr. Callahan,” she said indignantly.

Christian raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. “Who says it does? Love can work any way you want it to.” He smiled at her reassuringly, as if he suddenly pitied her. As if she was needed his sympathy. “Do you really think that there’s a pure kind of love in this world? That’s just a fantasy, my dear. This is real life.”

Camille’s expression turned stormy, as if dark clouds were gathering over her head. She opened her mouth as though prepared to make a retort, but no sound came out.

She looked like she was having an intense conflict in her head, like she was thinking about either snapping at him or punching him in the face, both of which were tempting options for her.

Unconsciously, Christian glanced at his wristwatch. His next meeting was approaching.

Camille caught his gaze, and it seemed that she had the same thought in her head as well.

“…I’ll be going then,” she said stiffly before walking past him to the door.

In the end, she didn’t do anything. She was more focused on getting the hell out of here than putting up a fight.

Then again, he had told her not to resist, so…

‘How boring,’ Christian thought as he made his way to his desk, shaking his head. ‘That’s all? I expected a more thrilling reaction from her.’

All the excitement he had felt during the kiss was now gone, replaced by a disappointing kind of boredom that permeated his mind.

He had expected more from her, to be honest. More screaming, maybe even a slap for good measure. That would have been interesting and given him more material to threaten her with.

While it was good that she wasn’t as dramatic and emotional as all the other women he had been with, it would also be nice if she didn’t become submissive after all this.

A woman with a submissive personality was the worst. Christian found this kind of woman to be extremely boring.

He preferred that Camille keep her stubborn personality and defiance no matter how much he tormented her. That way, she would still be a challenge for him.

Since Camille was different from the other women he knew, he wanted her to be as consistent as possible in his life.

‘It’s too bad that she didn’t try to resist a lot today.’

He sat down at his desk and watched her absently as she reached for the doorknob, wondering if his plan was already in motion.

He still had to deal with Harold Huckington. Michael McGregor could wait for now because the plans Christian had for him needed time and precision to be carried out.

He needed to be meticulous about this. Otherwise, his plans would backfire and eventually blow up in his face.

After all, he was dealing with one of the most prominent families in the country.

In order to begin dismantling them, he needed to sow discord from within. He had to plant seeds of doubt in those familial and emotional bonds. That was the most effective way to destroy the people at the top.

While Christian was temporarily lost in thought, Camille suddenly stopped before she could turn the knob.

She turned and looked back at him with a withering gaze, those steely olive-green eyes that were the one unchanging feature of her over the years.

For a brief moment, he could see the appearance of her younger self, so brave and defiant, yet calm and elegant at the same time.

With those green eyes that had lit up with a cold fire when she told him, all those years ago, that he was an asshole, which was the first time anyone had ever dared to call him that.

“Let me tell you something before I go,” Camille said icily. “People who have been loved know best how to love themselves and others. But you? You’ve never been loved, so you can never truly love anyone. So don’t even think about ‘learning’ to love me, you arrogant bastard.”

With these words, she turned the knob and walked out the door, leaving Christian staring after her with a changed expression on his face.