Maria grew increasingly impatient as Bernard kept smiling at her for no apparent reason. She finally snapped, her voice edged with irritation.
"Bernard, what's going on? Why are you smiling at me like that?"
Bernard's expression shifted in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected her to confront him so directly.
"I'm smiling because I'm happy. I don't think that's a crime, is it?" he said, a hint of displeasure in his tone. His eyebrows lifted slightly as he countered, "Do you have a problem with my smiles?"
Choosing to avoid further argument, Maria turned away from him and kept silent.
There must be something he's hiding... she thought nervously. Maybe he knows I was in his room at midnight?
Maria felt a surge of panic but quickly masked it. She knew she needed to double her efforts and move faster to uncover Bernard's plans and retrieve the documents she had failed to find.
