The question that Marissa wants to ask Adam is on the tip of her tongue, but she doesn’t know how to ask it.

Especially with Adam remaining so composed.

It’s definitely a unique experience for Marissa, as boys around her son’s age are always nervous around her given her status, so it’s quite refreshing to see someone like Adam, who seems to remain calm and composed no matter the situation.

She likes to see this, given her taste in men, who are usually young and handsome, but right now, Adam poses a dilemma she is not used to.

Usually, she is the one who is always in control, given her age and experience, but she can see that her age, status, or beauty does not influence how Adam acts and behaves around her, making it hard for her to take control of the situation and be free about the words she wants to use.

Adam, who is always the observer, notices the micro expression on her face, which makes him realize that she wants something from him, but what, he has no idea.

’I wonder if I should take psychological classes to understand people a little better,’ Adam wonders.

After all, he is already very good at observing people, but there is so much more he can learn. Maybe taking classes on how to read people and apply it to his own life would make his ability to have control over people even better.

"Marissa, I can see that you clearly want something from so, so out with it. I think we already know more about each other than most people, so we should not be hindered by awkwardness," Adam says, giving Marissa a positive smile.

The edge of Marissa’s lip twitched, hearing Adam’s words. ’Easy for you to say, you are a young man who has no burdens to bear. I am a married woman having an affair,’ She thinks.

But then again, what Adam said is not half wrong. Adam already knows about her infidelities. Any question she asks him won’t be more shocking than what he already knows about her.

"Fine, I want to ask, have you told anyone about my affair?" She asks, getting to the point as Adam asked.

Hearing her question, the smile on Adam’s face grows a little, complete involuntarily as he is a man who likes to derive pleasure out of other people’s misfortune, of course, he has some standards regarding this, like when it comes to innocent people, he would rather leave them out of it, but he does love to exploit people who are bad or shitty because they are the ones who are the easiest to control.

Example, Marissa herself, for as rich and powerful as she is, she is a cheater who fucks other men outside her marriage, and from the looks of it, her husband clearly has no idea, so it’s not an open relationship.

So whatever Adam does with Marissa, he is not to blame because she has already crossed the line multiple times; she is no longer innocent.

Marissa sees that smile on his face and feels a chill down her spine, but only for a second, and it’s enough to put her on edge.

She nervously sits, waiting for Adam to talk while expecting the worst.

"No," Adam finally speaks up. As she hears that word, a sense of relief washes over her, and the feeling is even more intense than it normally should be because of how nervous Adam made her feel a second ago.

She sees that he is messing with her, but also glad that he has kept his mouth shut.

"What do you want? Is it money?" Marissa immediately gets to the point.

She knows how the world works. Adam’s silence must cost something, so she asks him without beating around the bush now that Adam has taken the awkwardness out of this conversation with his previous statement.

The smile on his face remains as he meets her gaze; the longer he keeps it, the deeper her frown gets. Getting annoyed by Adam’s silence, Marissa opens her mouth to speak, but stops as she notices the butler approaching.

The butler steps into the gazebo and puts down the tray on the table, on it, a few cups and a teapot.

Without speaking a word, he grabs the teapot and begins pouring the tea into the cups before placing them before Adam and Marissa.

"Thank you, you can leave," Marissa quickly sends him away as she wants the conversation with Adam to get back on track.

The butler doesn’t overstay his welcome and quickly leaves as ordered.

With the butler far out of their sight, Adam and Marissa look at each other again.

"Again, I will ask you, what do you want?" She asks. She knows Adam’s silence isn’t free, and she is very nervous to learn his demand, what if he asks something she can’t give?

As rich and powerful as she might be, there are still a few things out of her reach; there are certain limits to the money she can sacrifice without alerting her husband. She hopes the amount Adam wants isn’t so high that the above scenario happens.

Amda doesn’t answer immediately. He takes his time, having a little fun with the tension he is creating between him and Marissa. A bad habit he picked up recently, to mess with people when he has an upper hand.

He reaches for the teacup, picks it up, and takes a sip, savoring the strong flavor on his tongue and taking in its aroma.

After a gulp, he puts the cup down and looks at Marissa again with his signature calm smile. "Nice tea," He comments, earning a deeper frown from Marissa.

If Adam continues with this, she is going to retaliate; there is only so much a woman of her standing will tolerate.

Adam, being the ever observant, notices that Marissa might explode any second, so he gives her an answer she doesn’t expect.

"I don’t need anything," He says.

His answer is indeed an unexpected one. Every time Marissa has been in a similar sort of situation, the other party has either asked her for money or a favor, but Adam says he doesn’t want anything. It’s even more suspicious than blackmailing her.

Marissa’s trust in Adam drops.

She has lived enough to know everyone has an agenda.

"Bullshit," She says, immediately calling him out on his lie.

Adam chuckles to her face. "I am being serious, I don’t want anything," Adam says.

"Hmm, you might fool others with this, but not me, so stop playing games and get out with it already. What do you want? Money? Connections? Favor? If it’s within my limits, then it will be done," Marissa says as she too goes for her cup and takes a sip.

Adam mirrors her, going for another sip.

As they both take a sip, Adam speaks again. "Marissa, there is nothing in the world you can give me that I can’t get for myself. I truly don’t need anything from you," Adam says.

Marissa doesn’t like what she is hearing. If Adam really doesn’t want anything from her, he will not be bound by anything and will be free to speak about her affair to anyone he wants.

She needs to find something to bind Adam into a verbal contract and some sort of exchange; only then will she feel at ease about him keeping his mouth shut.

"I don’t believe you," Marissa says.

Adam stares into her eyes, losing his smile and getting a little more intense with his gaze. Marissa can feel it, the seriousness in his eyes.

"Look, you might have a hard time trusting strangers, given who you are and experienced enough to know how the world works, but I really don’t need anything from you. As for your secret, don’t worry about it. It’s going to stay between you and me," Adam says.

Even though Marissa can feel that Adam is telling the truth, her nature itself rejects the idea because she has never met someone whom she can trust. Not even her husband.

"And why would you do that?" She asks. Genuine in her curiosity, as no one has ever done something for her without something in return.

"It’s simple, Danny’s my friend, and I don’t want to fuck up his life by exposing his mother for being a cheater," Adam says as he goes for another sip of tea.

Marissa sits in silence as she tries to read Adam; he doesn’t seem to be lying, but again, her nature itself is unable to trust.

’Does he really care for my Danny?’

"And you would do that for Danny?" Marissa asks.

"I look after my people," Adam says without hesitation. "Danny might have his quirks. He’s a little weird, antisocial, and doesn’t know how the world works, but he is clearly someone who is loyal. Friends like him are hard to come by. So what kind of friend would I be if I destroyed his mother’s image in his eyes?" Adam says, sounding serious and genuine. But it’s a lie, a lie so good that Marissa can’t tell if he is lying or not.

Marissa’s eyes flicker as she hears his words. His words stir something inside her. She goes silent.

Adam continues to drink his tea.

"Marissa," He calls for her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"It’s clear that you don’t trust people. I am the same as well. I don’t trust people either, so I am going to do you a favor. Give me whatever you think is appropriate to keep my mouth shut about your infidelity," Adam says, putting the cup down.

A masterstroke from Adam.