Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Be mine” He said with a straight face and zero emotions in his eyes. 

What did I hear? If her ears were not wrong, did he just propose to her? God damn her delusional state! Her eyes were in a vortex. Everything that she imagined about him was going on right before her. She hated being drunk. And that moment she needed nothing more than to head home and fall into a deep sleep. 

Celeste walked back into the club with no reply to Anthony. She did not want to make a fool of herself for her hallucination. 

Anthony was right behind ready to hold if she was about to lose her balance. 

"You're leaving?" Mr Cold asked her from behind. 

"Ugh, I can barely stand up straight. Seriously, am I not allowed to leave this place either?" 

"Nope, no restrictions on your exit,” he retorted, his eyes rolling dramatically. “But, you-know-I was asking for a dance with me." 

“You know what Mr Cold, you give me the creeps. I'm steering clear of you. Your persistence for a dance all week is unsettling. What if you're straight out of a thriller movie, lurking in black, or worse, a cultist who gets off on...you know, sinister stuff?" In her tipsy state, Celeste failed to notice Anthony was eye fucking her, his orbs stationed on hers were dark with desire.

Anthony chuckled. "Relax, Celeste. You are only exhauserating. I am not a regular customer here. I just started showing up when you did. This club scene isn't my vibe. I am here for you." He was too soft to her but that was only for her. For the other people he is a beast who drinks their blood when they fail him.

‘Why are you here only for me? Do we have a past birth relationship?’ She wanted to joke. But Celeste was too tired to probe the matter further. Her eyelids drooped, and her limbs felt heavy. "I just can’t. Please go away. You're giving me the creeps." 

Anthony reluctantly agreed and cleared a path for her.

Half an hour later Celeste was rocked awake by her friend and coworker Sasha who occupied a seat beside her. “Are you going to sleep here till the end of the universe? Girl, your house is about to arrive in ten minutes. Sober up before that.”

And then her orbs were as wide as saucers looking around. “Oh wait, where are we? Are we not on a bus? This is a car.”

Sasha giggled. “Correction. An impeccable luxurious car with massaging and heated super soft plush seats and wood paneling. Your Romeo Mr Cold sent you home in one of his chauffeur driven cars so that you could reach home safely.” 

“Here you are, madam” The driver called for their attention unlocking the privacy. 

“Damn, he and his men even know my home.” She managed a short uncomfortable laugh. Opening the car door, Celeste clambered out, swaying her head to the song playing on the stereo of the car. ‘Sweet Chills’. 

The alcohol still had her off-balance and Sasha left her a reminder. “The Micromax owner is coming tomorrow to see you…your erudite and special client.” Stirred and conflicted thoughts ruled Celeste's mind. Despite the promise of substantial tips, she hesitated, torn between financial desperation and her sneaky Mr. Cold. 

Would he allow her to make some money at least tomorrow or poke his nose like today as if she was his property in his customary solid monsterly mode?

The next evening Dave, the Micromax CEO, was on time. His grin was charming, his voice soothingly melodic. Clad in a charcoal suit with a crisp white shirt and shiny black shoes, he resembled every bit the confident businessman. He looked...expensive.

Just thirty minutes of chatting with him gives her 1000$. “I count my hours in the office until the time I reach you.”

Before she could reply the table tumbled before making a harsh squeaking sound and her dangerous stranger was right in front of them who stood radiating a deathly stare at her. “I have been here every night since the last fifteen days expecting just ten minutes of time to dance with you and you cannot give me even that while you can chat for a whole thirty minutes with this Grinch.”

He is a cold hearted devil with a reputation of violence. That much she knew of him after the previous night’s event. But is he jealous too when she talks to other men? It was a novel realization she was having which got her butterflies of pridefulness at the same time cold creeps of being under his command without even knowing him. “You cannot dictate terms to me with whom I can speak. You do not rule my life.”

He chewed on his lips with a gale of several emotions in his eyes, one of them was pain if her eyes were not delusional. “Your father stole from me and you think I'm going to keep my lips sealed about it? He owes me and I'm going to extract my money from you one way or the other.”

“My father owes you? What are you talking about?” Celeste narrowed her eyes in question.

“Oh, so he did not tell you about it till now?” There was a tease in his tone before he took just a step forward and locked a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

With just the simple touch there was a whirlpool of adrenaline pumped up and her face. His touch branded her and there was a thrill of being possessed.

“Don't worry Celeste. I will take care of this scum.” Dave piped in looking at her confused cataclysm.

Before he threw a blow, Anthony was on time to hold his arm and bend it backwards. He brought repeated pummels in his belly, making him vomit blood. “This is my territory and my girl and I don't like sharing what is mine with others.” That was a menacing growl coming out of Anthony which brought wild tremors at the back of his head. Dave called in translucence. “You are…you are…Anthony Rodriguez, a predator CEO who rules his criminal empire Night Eagles with an iron fist.”

And with that statement Celeste went as pale as a sheet of paper. ‘To what sort of an anthropoid had her father rubbed his nose with?’