20
The moment Reik spoke, the white text feed exploded again, filling my vision with a uniform wall of question marks.
[I’d sooner believe he’s been possessed than believe he’s actually interested in this girl.]
[Wait… you weren’t interested in the beautiful ones, you weren’t interested in the emotionally intelligent ones, you weren’t interested in the one who looked exactly like your dead wife, and now you’re telling me you see something special in *her*?]
[Why?]
[The key thing is, this girl has been here for ages and hasn’t made a single serious attempt to actually complete the mission.]
[So, seriously, why?]
D
I was even more confused than the indignant text feed:
I didn’t understand the sudden shift in Reik’s attitude. I didn’t understand his strange words. I didn’t understand his sudden appearance. And I certainly didn’t understand the smile on his
face
Perhaps because he hadn’t smiled in so long, the curve of his lips looked unnaturally stiff, as if he had to practice the angle in a mirror just to get the muscles to move.
I didn’t give him any other reaction, not even as he led me into the elevator and we ascended to the 36th floor
