CHAPTER 3- KYLIE'S NEW BOYFRIEND

Kylie’s POV

My heart smiled when I heard the whisper stir around the room, all of them were taken in awe by Elijah’s handsomeness. The man, however, was indifferent to the chatter going on around him as he was long used to it. He looked down at me and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am fine.”

Lisa's eyes lit up when she saw Elijah. Who was this handsome man? How come she isn't familiar with him yet?

She immediately adjusted her composure and hugged Justin's arm, asking, "Babe, who is this?"

"This is Elijah Crawford, the captain of our football team."

"I see…" She cast a shy smile before addressing him, "Hi, my name is Lisa Wade, I am Kylie's sister. I hope we can be friends from now on." Lisa raised her glass to clink a toast with him. Even though her tone was friendly, the seductiveness in her eyes said otherwise.

Elijah didn't bat an eyelid at her, he ignored her existence as if she was a speck of dust, unworthy of his notice.

Lisa's hand was left hanging mid-air and her face flushed red with embarrassment. She took a quick look around to see people giggling at her, even I let out a chuckle when I saw her standing there like a fool. She quickly withdrew her hand and walked away, leaving the three of us alone.

Justin asked, "Elijah, why are you here?" The man shoved a hand inside his pocket while draping the other around my shoulders. Pulling me in a ginger hug, he said, “Accompanying my girlfriend. Congratulations on your new relationship, by the way.”

Disbelief clouded the couple’s face when they heard Elijah’s words, especially Justin who asked, “You two are dating? Since when?"

"Last night. We met at the bar." The man announced proudly.

Justin was not a fool, he knew what kind of person Elijah was and by the look on his face, I could say that he had a rough idea about what must have happened last night.

He couldn't stop the smile from disappearing from his face, "I think you said you don't believe in dating."

“Yeah but after I met Kylie, my perspective changed.” Elijah looked into my eyes as he said those words. I was surprised to see how well he was carrying this role, he was really good at it!

Justin turned his gaze at me, betrayal painted all over his features. He muttered, "I did not expect that you would move on so fast."

Elijah's phone rang and he had to leave to answer it; as soon as he left, Justin grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the banquet hall.

"Justin, what are you doing? Someone might see." I snapped at him as soon as he let me go. He looked at me and said, "I don't care about them but what the hell are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, rubbing my wrist which was currently sore.

Justin said, "Why are you with Elijah? Don't you know what kind of guy he is?"

"I don't care about his reputation. I like him!"

"No, you don't like him." Justin grabbed my hand and made me look at him, "I know you! You are doing this all to get back at me."

"What? Phfttt-" I broke down in a cold shrill of laughter when I heard his words, "Justin, you must really think too highly of yourself to believe that I still care about you."

"Are you for real? Have you forgotten me already?"

I glared back into his eyes and said, "Yes. I don't like you anymore."

Justin let go of my hand and stepped back in disbelief, he could not believe the person in front of him was the good girl who once listened to everything he said. The corner of his lips twitched violently as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. After a long time, he finally spoke up, "Gosh, I used to believe that you were a good girl but you are already warming someone else's bed right after the breakup. Kylie, you are a slut!"

"What did you say?" My whole body trembled in anger, "You cheated on me first."

"So? I told you it was a mistake, we could have gotten back but no, you had to spread your legs for some other man." Justin screamed before sushing himself at once when he remembered that there were guests in the house. He touched his temple and said, "You know what, I no longer regret breaking up with you! I hope you rot in hell with that bastard, he is just gonna toss you after he is done using you anyways."

The man did not stay there any longer and stormed off, leaving me devastated. I leaned against the door behind me and dropped on the floor. His words rang in my ears, even though he said those out of anger, was he wrong?

I did sleep with someone else just to get back at him. How would it not make me a slut!

I blinked my eyes vigorously to prevent the tears from falling from my eyes- was making a deal with Elijah a mistake?

"Lisa, are you out of your mind again? Justin just announced that you are his girlfriend and you want to break up with him already." My thought process was hindered when I heard my mother's voice come from the room. My eyebrows furrowed, did she just say Lisa wanted to break up with Justin?

Lisa replied, "Mom, I made a mistake! If I knew about Elijah, I would have dated him instead."

Hannah sighed in disappointment and replied, "You are still young. When you grow up, you will realize that looks are not important to live a comfortable life, money is. The whole world knows that the Crawford family is poor. Do you really want to marry a loser like Elijah who doesn't even have a secure future?"

"I… You are right…" Lisa said, her tone hinting at her thoughtfulness.

I was so invested in listening to the conversation that I did not notice a shadow tower over me. The person kept his hand on my shoulder, startling me but before I could scream, he covered my mouth with his wide palm.

Elijah had a mask of worry on his face when he asked, "What are you doing here? Were you crying?"

The man took me to the balcony where I told him about my argument with Justin. He listened to it carefully and followed it with a grunt, "He is wrong. You are not a slut."

"What?" I lifted my eyes to meet his solemn gaze. He nodded his head and said, "He cheated on you first and you two broke up, you are free to do whatever you want. Don't ever feel guilty about doing something that makes you happy."

I wiped the corner of my eyes and asked, "So… You don't think I am a slut?"

"No." He said and added, "I think you are a brave woman. I really admire that about you."

Warmth crept all over my heart, I never thought that Elijah had this side of himself. Even though his tone was devoid of emotions, he still managed to light a day of hope within me. This was the moment when I realized that I did not make a mistake in choosing him as my partner.

Elijah pulled his handkerchief and handed it to me, "Here. Clean yourself.

"Thank you." I accepted the cloth and started to wipe my mascara.

He said, "I don't think you have to work too hard. Your sister is already in love with another man and wants to break up with him. Their relationship won't last too long."

"Yeah, even I was…" I chuckled and was about to say something when I realized something. I asked, "Wait, how do you know about this?"

"I heard your mom and sister talk about it when I was coming to get you."

"But… They were inside the room."

"I know. I have a very sensitive hearing." Elijah replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, I see…"

"Let's go back to the party. It won't look good if we are gone for too long." He remained and led me back to the banquet room.

Lunch was served and we went to the dining room to grab ourselves a plate. "Wait here. I will be right back." Elijah said before walking away.

Lisa was already downstairs and was happily chatting with her friends. Next to her was Justin, the man was sulking and not really taking part in the conversation.

I saw Elijah standing at a distance and talking to someone on his phone.

I took my eyes off him and started looking out of the window, lost in my own thoughts when suddenly, I heard a voice scream at me, "Kylie, watch out!"

I turned around to see a dining cart rolling down at me.

"Ahhh!" My mind went blank and I seemed to have frozen in place. The cart was just about to hit me when suddenly, Elijah intervened and pulled me in his arms for cover.

With one arm protecting me, he used the other to push away the cart.

My eyes went wide in shock, how did he manage to push away the cart with just a hand?  The dining cart was heavy and required two people to move it around. Not only did Elijah stop it with just a hand, it seemed to not affect him either.

Also, the last time I saw him, he was on the other side of the room. How did he manage to reach here in time?

Even at his full speed, no ordinary human can cover that distance in such a short time.

"Kylie, are you okay?" The guy started checking me and once he made sure that I wasn't hurt, he said, "Are you stupid? Why didn't you move?"

"I… Yeah, I am okay." I replied absentmindedly but my thoughts revolved around what had just happened.