As she had expected, he would definitely come to her home.Camellia deliberately hid behind the curtains of her room and pretended to be deaf as soon as she heard the sound of the doorbell ringing. She even turned off her mobile phone to avoid him, and she also locked the entire access into the house.Luckily, Camellia had already replaced all the keys on her doors, so he wouldn’t be able to use the stolen keys.“Why doesn’t he give up?” Camellia growled as she closed the curtains and approached her bed.She waited until she couldn’t hear any more doorbells. After some time, the house finally fell into silence again, making her sigh softly. A little relieved, but there was also a disappointment that she quickly repelled strongly.Meanwhile, Blake Hagen could only wait for Camellia to open the door.He had been standing in front of the house ever since, but apparently his arrival was not welcomed.Though obviously, the girl was in the house.Hagen accidentally found her peeking out fro
“Did you see anything?” asked Hagen as he entered the room in his apartment.Frank was silent in a chair, watching a CCTV screen. Blake Hagen’s right hand man shook its head softly while the focus of his eyes never left the screen.“No one has been out of that house since morning,” he said as he fiddled with the pen on the table.“I’ll leave it to you, and I’ll be back later,” Hagen said, patting Frank on the shoulder quietly before he finally left the room.He was walking across the corridor leading to the second floor when suddenly his cell phone rang and Brandon’s name appeared on the screen.With a sense of laziness, Hagen picked up the call.“What? Isn’t it enough that yesterday’s events traumatized you?” he said coldly.Hagen glanced at the watch on his arm. Now it’s eight in the evening, meaning that Camellia has returned from work.He had been following her schedule since the morning, including her task of cleaning an apartment on the outskirts of town.It felt like he wanted
Brandon winced inwardly as soon as his gaze collided with Hagen, who was at the end of the lounge. Several times, he had to turn his head to avoid those sharp gazes.When the atmosphere around them felt even more suffocating, Brandon cleared his throat, which resulted in Blake Hagen’s eyebrows rising closer to his forehead.“Ahem...” Brandon said, trying to stare in all directions.For a moment, the room was quiet again, before finally Brandon sighed, sounding tired. Because obviously, Hagen would never let go of that sharp gaze.“Well, I’m sorry,” Brandon muttered with his shoulders bent listlessly. “I didn’t realize things out there could be this bad.”Instead of responding, Hagen simply gave a terrifying glare.Brandon’s personal bodyguard chose to get out of the way near the entrance to the corridor.Knowing Brandon’s nature, he would not be able to sleep well before he delivered his apology.Hagen closed his eyes while sighing softly.“Fine,” he murmured, and then he turned his g
Camellia’s face turned slightly scarlet as soon as she said the word. With her head turned away, she deliberately avoided eye contact.Hagen, who was at the door at the time as stunned as her. He was not sure of his hearing. However, upon finding Camellia, who blushed slightly, the corners of his lips twitched.“I went out looking for breakfast,” Hagen said, which made the girl’s cheeks flush even more, but he was not the least bit guilty because it was a rare sight. So he just enjoyed her beautiful face changing colors.To avoid awkwardness, Hagen asked, “Do you want porridge?”As much as possible, he diluted the atmosphere with a cautious tone. Hagen didn’t want Camellia to feel uncomfortable being around him.“N-no,” she replied in a reluctant manner.He showed an understanding smile and decided to leave right away. However, before passing the door, he paused for a while. Then he abruptly turned around to face Camellia, who was still lying on the bed.Her breathing was immediately
Camellia had just come out of the toilet when she was startled by the presence of a male figure in one of the chairs, right next to the bed. She almost screamed, but her lips were sealed as soon as she realized who was sitting there.“Uncle,” Camellia whispered, her legs standing restlessly.The male figure that had just been called turned his head from the mobile phone that was in his grasp.The 35-year-old man’s face lifted slightly, and his gaze was fixed on Camellia, who was frozen in front of the bathroom door in a hospital gown that was still wrapped around her body.“I heard you were injured,” said the man nonchalantly, not the least intending to stand up from the chair to greet Camellia. “And I didn’t expect there to be men standing guard out there.”Hearing this, Camellia’s head moved towards the entrance, but she couldn’t see anything from her position because the glass on her door was covered by curtains.“Ah, that...” she replied haltingly.She didn’t know how to answer be
When getting off the car, Hagen treated Camellia with caution. There was so much sadness playing on her beautiful face, as if the world had just collapsed. So Hagen tried not to say or do anything that could evoke her sensitive feelings.“You live alone in this house. Are you sure you will stay here? I could have told someone to accompany you,” said Hagen, who was walking right behind Camellia at the time.Hearing his suggestion, Camellia paused for a moment. She looked at him closely, and there was not the slightest smile on his face.“You’ve helped me a lot, but that doesn’t mean I allow you to go in and out of my house at will, so... no, I don’t want any strangers in my house.”The emphasis on the word ‘stranger’ seems to refer to him, who doesn’t seem offended at all.“Alright, I’m just making an offer,” said the man who walked her all the way to the door.And, without saying goodbye, the girl shut her front door without making small talk with Hagen, who was standing right on the
Edric’s lips thinned as soon as he heard the way Hagen called him, as if the man refused to mention the word ‘Winston’ embedded behind his name.However, as much as possible, Edric ignored Hagen and let him into Winston’s long-unoccupied residence. But after the Duncan family affair scandal, Amanda and some of the woman’s relatives moved back into the house.Not everyone knows about it. Therefore, they also closed everyone’s mouths and asked the media to be quiet.In fact, Camellia didn’t know either.The girl was an outcast who was left to live on her own.Remembering how the Winstons treated Camellia, Hagen’s hands clenched unconsciously, but he quickly let it off, and then he returned Edric’s gaze with a bland smile.“I heard you asking Amanda to meet,” Edric said, to which Hagen gave him a blank stare.It was as if Hagen hadn’t listened and chose to look around at some antiques as well as paintings lining the walls.Again, Hagen’s memory was cast by the shadow of the Duncan family
Camellia sipped her milk shake very lazily. The girl even looked pensive, with blank eyes looking towards the wall.Every now and then she took a breath, and then exhaled slowly, like a tired person.She leaned back in her chair after a long time, her gaze shifting to the visitors around her.It seems that Lancester is very crowded with visitors from different cities. That’s because of an underground boxing match that will be held later tonight by the Red Cage organization at one of their clubs, Magnolia.Unfortunately, Camellia didn’t have access to it, though she also wanted to see the most-awaited event by half the Lancester residents.“What a pity,” she grumbled.She changed the position of her legs before finally returning to exhale heavily.“Hhhh...” the girl said with a slightly sullen face.Camellia glanced at her phone a few times, just to make sure Brandon was replaying her message.“Why should he send me to this place?” She whined, annoyed with her boss’s attitude of asking
Camellia’s head dropped as she stepped off the bus that was taking her to the bus stop on the way home. She didn’t look around because she had been thinking so much about the woman earlier.She didn’t even look up when she accidentally bumped into someone in front of her. She just said sorry without even turning her head. Then she walked past the burly body in front of her.However, her steps stopped as she heard a masculine voice call for her.“What’s in your beautiful head, Princess?” asked the man who instantly made Camellia freeze before she finally turned to the source of the voice, which was now standing right behind her.Camellia just stared sadly at that handsome face that seemed to be looking for an answer for a moment. But, of course, she surely wouldn’t say anything after everything happened.After all, it wasn’t his business if she felt dumped.The truth, Camellia felt saved by the incident with the woman earlier, because she could be more aware of the intentions of the ma
Camellia opened the door of her house, where Frank was already standing at the front with both hands full of gifts. The man’s straight face showed that he didn’t agree with being given such an unreasonable task, but his loyalty kept him from saying anything.With a passive gaze, he greeted Camellia with no enthusiasm.“Mr. Hagen asked me to deliver all of these.”Camellia, who was stunned by the man’s many belongings, could only freeze at the doorway. She just stood there for a moment, glancing at all the gifts.“He said... that party is in two days,” she whispers in a confused tone.It seemed that Hagen had predicted that she would ‘agree’, so he was so confident that he sent all of the gifts and deliver all the clothes and other items for the party even before Camellia answer his called.Camellia took a deep breath after realizing his intentions with all the things delivered to her house. She just exhaled slowly; don’t know what to do with the situations.“He’s too confident,” she m
Camellia looked reluctant when Hagen opened the car door for her. She looked around, looking for a way home other than the ride Hagen had offered, but knowing that the money in her purse would not get her home, Camellia sighed and looked witheringly at the man’s car.“Going home alone is not a good solution right now. It’s too late, Princess, and I can’t leave you alone,” said Hagen, who opened the car door wider again.With a head gesture, he told Camellia to come inside. She thought for a long time before finally letting her inner voice overcome her logic.“I’m not going in until you promise me something.”Seeing Camellia’s serious gaze, Hagen waits patiently with one hand in his trouser pocket. His eyebrows seemed to invite Camellia to continue.While swallowing and looking straight at his obsidian eyes, Camellia said, “Don’t follow me into the house. You just walk me to the front door.”Hagen paused to think about her request. He was going to say something but finally pursed his l
The men in the room all grunted at the same time, which made Camellia jump in surprise and make her shoulders tense. Meanwhile, Hagen, who kept his eyes on her, seemed deaf to the subtle insinuations of his friends.“Yes, he can throw us out, Miss Duncan.” A blonde-haired man named Gavin threw his joke, causing laughter from all the men there. “Isn’t that so, Jax? Mr. Hagen can expel me, you, Rey, and every Red Cage in this room!”The man who had greeted them, Rey Fredrick, only glanced briefly at his friend, Gavin.Meanwhile, Jax, also known as Jaxon Bradwood, the owner of the white chair that Camellia almost sat in earlier, didn’t respond at all. And the man with a friendly smile who was sipping his drink in the corner of the room, Connor Black, seemed to laugh softly.“He’s a man with a great sense of humor,” replied a man who had been sitting quietly on the opposite sofa, Nicko Anderson.Hagen just glanced lazily at the man who had spoken. Meanwhile, Camellia, who didn’t know the
When their kiss broke, Camellia’s body shook slightly until she almost lost her balance, but Hagen quickly held her waist, which felt right in his grip to support her body. She tried her best to hold onto Hagen’s arm as he hugged her from the front.The red hue on her cheeks now seemed to spread to her ears, making Hagen bite inside of his lip and hold her between his palms.For some reason, he wanted to brush her long hair back, then play with it a little and admire the slight change in color on her sensitive skin.When Camellia saw that Hagen was looking at her, she quickly turned away to hide the shame that was starting to take over her.“I-I want to go to the toilet,” she muttered while lowering her head and trying to look away.Camellia was about to turn around and walk the other way to avoid touching him. However, Hagen, who knew that Camellia would not find a nearby toilet without someone helping to point the way, finally followed her from behind.“The toilet isn’t over there,
Camellia held Hagen’s arm tightly as her head spun around, especially at the crowd of people around them who were about to enter Magnolia building.When a big man was about to bump into her from behind, Hagen reflexively hugged her feminine body. He directed a burning gaze at the half-drunk man, who began to realize his mistake.“I-I’m sorry,” the stranger muttered as he walked backward and away in a hurry.Meanwhile, Camellia, who was still in Hagen’s arms, seemed to be squeezing his shirt to keep her balance, which made her almost fallen.“Stay by my side,” Hagen said in a low voice, right in her ear. The noises around them made it difficult for them to communicate. Then Hagen pulled Camellia to his side, one arm around her waist.“I don’t want you to get lost, Princess,” Hagen said lightly, but Camellia didn’t respond at all. She resigned herself to being led by Hagen past the two doormen in front of Magnolia.“Boss,” said one of the bouncers on the left side, so that his friend a
Both Camellia and Hagen ate in silence. However, not long after, Hagen grabbed Camellia’s hand as soon as they finished eating their burgers about ten minutes ago.Hagen was eager to take Camellia somewhere, but Camellia looked confused at him.“Let go of my hand first, then I’ll follow you,” she said, but Hagen didn’t even listen, making Camellia throw a glare, which he didn’t respond to.“What about watching a show?” asked him suddenly, which made Camellia silent immediately.She glanced at the deserted street of Magnolia. It seemed that everyone was already there, making her curious.Knowing Camellia’s gaze, Hagen gently tugged her hand in his grasp, cueing her to follow him.With a doubtful gaze and a bit of confusion to decide, Camellia looked as if she were at war with her own mind, but Hagen immediately encouraged her.“As long as you’re with me, you’ll be safe. No one will dare bothering you.”Camellia was only eighteen, so she was forbidden from entering places like Magnolia,
Camellia’s eyes rounded when she saw Hagen walking towards the café where she was. With her head turned around, the girl was also looking for a way to get out of there.However, she still didn’t find a way, so Camellia felt trapped as soon as she heard the sound of the bells on the door starting to ring, and Hagen’s figure was already in the doorway with his attention focused on the table she was occupying.With an uneasy gaze, Camellia watched Hagen, who was walking slowly towards her.Now, she felt deja vu because she remembered her mother, who had also passed through the same door and path when approaching the table.And when the man arrived, the first thing Blake Hagen said was, “The woman you saw with me earlier is nothing.”Instantly, Camellia’s lips thinned. She didn’t think the man in front of her was so confident.Without being told, Camellia was also not interested in asking about or snooping into his personal life.“There’s no need to tell me anything about your private lif
Camellia sipped her milk shake very lazily. The girl even looked pensive, with blank eyes looking towards the wall.Every now and then she took a breath, and then exhaled slowly, like a tired person.She leaned back in her chair after a long time, her gaze shifting to the visitors around her.It seems that Lancester is very crowded with visitors from different cities. That’s because of an underground boxing match that will be held later tonight by the Red Cage organization at one of their clubs, Magnolia.Unfortunately, Camellia didn’t have access to it, though she also wanted to see the most-awaited event by half the Lancester residents.“What a pity,” she grumbled.She changed the position of her legs before finally returning to exhale heavily.“Hhhh...” the girl said with a slightly sullen face.Camellia glanced at her phone a few times, just to make sure Brandon was replaying her message.“Why should he send me to this place?” She whined, annoyed with her boss’s attitude of asking