Javier pursed his lips together and hopped out of the office.He did not resume his work right away, instead sitting in front of his computer and taking out his smartphone to type out a text.[Be more alert tonight. Make sure everything goes smoothly.]He quickly received a reply.[Consider it done, sir.]Javier thus clicked out of his messaging app to his camera app, switching it to self mode to look at his reflection. He rubbed his chin and was pleased with how handsome he looked from this angle.…The sky grew darker, while the clouds were blacker than usual like it was brewing for a storm.It was 11 p.m. when Catelyn finished her work. She had done verifying all the numbers and cleaned them up before handing the flash drive back to Winnie."I'm done with these, Miss Winnie.""Alright, you can leave the office," said Winnie as she accepted the drive."Aren't you leaving? It's after eleven," Catelyn asked, surprised."I'll leave shortly. Don't wait up." Winnie did not exp
Catelyn did not reply."Maia was with him for four years, yet you came out of nowhere and snatched him! I warn you: if you dare betray him in any way, I'll feed you to the sharks!""...""Are you listening to me?"Catelyn sensed danger at that moment and, grabbing onto Javier's arm, sprinted toward the parking lot. "These people are dangerous. Run, and don't look back!"Javier leaned forward from the sudden impact.He turned around to find that the bikers were getting closer to them. The bikes stopped and a few men in leather jackets and helmets got down from their bikes with bats in their hands.Javier wanted to curse at the riders but stopped himself when he saw them.He internally cursed himself. These men were not whom he had called for!They looked far too intimidating and ruthless.Where did they come from then?Catelyn dragged Javier away, which prompted the men to chase after her."Stop running!"Catelyn merely picked up the pace. It would be stupid for anyone to s
The yells and footsteps of the men disappeared in another direction.Javier held his breath and hid quietly under the trash can.At that moment, he felt a sudden rush of regret. If it was not for him, this might not have happened.Still, how did the men know that Catelyn would leave the building at this hour?Javier fell into deep contemplation.…Catelyn kept running barefoot on the gravel road, and the soles of her feet had been cut open by the rough sands, so much so that it was excruciating.She could not stop running, though. She could not begin to imagine what would happen if they caught her.Once Javier was safe and managed to get help, she would be fine.Catelyn summoned every bit of her zeal solely from that belief alone and kept on sprinting, but outrunning the gangsters was impossible.Soon enough, Catelyn was surrounded.…Cedrick returned to Mason Estate once he was done with the gathering, but at this moment, he was quite tired yet.Sweat rained from his body
"Don't play dumb with me! You're Cedrick's woman, so you should know what I'm talking about," sneered the man with a sinister smirk.Catelyn felt her soul leave her body when she realized that they knew about her relationship with Cedrick.Who were those people? Were they David's men?"I really don't know… You got the wrong person!" She vehemently shook her head."Oh, you don't know?" The man scoffed coldly and growled, "If you don't tell us, I'll cut your face up and ruin your beauty! Cedrick would surely dump you then."The man traced the back of the knife along Catelyn's skin, the icy-cold metal sending shivers throughout her body as every hair on her body raised. Her neck was strained as she leaned her head back, and the back of her shirt had been completely soaked with cold sweat.Still, her answer never changed."I don't know, I swear! No matter how many times you ask, my answer will be the same!"She could not do it, whether it be for herself or Cedrick.If she refused
"Cedrick, can I participate in getting the reward?" Javier raised his hand up greedily, traces of guilt evident on his youthful face.He had joined Mason Group without telling his mother, and because of that, she punished him by cutting off his pocket money when she found out."If it wasn't for the fact that you're my cousin, you wouldn't even be here right now." Cedrick glared at him coldly.Javier felt a chill down his spine.He had never seen Cedrick acting the way he did.Cedrick had never looked at him with such a cold look before; it was like he was looking at a stranger."Cedrick, Catelyn and I really had been played! All I did was call a few friends to capture her and put some fear in her to see if she'd betray you. I didn't expect actual gangsters to show up!""The consequence is what matters to me!" Cedrick cut him off coldly, sounding like he could barely tolerate him.Javier dared not to look at Cedrick and hung his head low like a child that had been punished."I'
Even though Catelyn did not want to admit it, it was obvious that she had slowly fallen for how Cedrick cared for her and pampered her.The moment she saw him walking toward her, back-facing the light source, he looked like a hero that had just descended from above, coming to rescue her from the darkness. There was a voice in her head that was telling her that—She had fallen for him."What else am I doing here? For the view?""..."Catelyn's gratitude vanished within seconds.Cedrick stared at her battered, dirt-covered feet. Her toes were curled up, and traces of dried blood were seen in between her toenails, along with specks of sand and dirt.Catelyn felt him observing her feet and rubbed her feet together in an attempt to rub the dirty leaves and dirt off.He put his arm behind her back and thighs and hoisted her up in an instant.Catelyn's lips parted slightly as she hesitated for a brief moment before looping her arms behind his neck and nuzzling into his chest as if sh
The biker gang went as far as kidnapping an employee from Mason Group's building and dragged her to the city's outskirts, only to release her eventually.Not only that, but they even believed that she was telling the truth, or better yet, afraid of getting arrested for murder?Why would men like them be afraid of death if they dared to do all that in the first place?"Did you manage to see their faces? If you did, I'll ask the policemen to come take a statement from you once you've recovered mentally," said Winnie, trying to lighten the mood. "It'd be for the best if they could be arrested so you don't have to worry about them anymore in the future."Catelyn fell silent.Winnie saw how pale she looked and felt her forehead. "Why do you look so pale? Did you get a cold?"She then looked at Cedrick and said, "Cedrick, Miss Catelyn's hands are freezing. Please turn the temperature up."Cedrick looked at Catelyn, his gaze darkening with conflict and his lips pursed tightly.Catelyn
Catelyn's eyes never left Cedrick the entire time.His facial features were already well-defined, but his face looked even sharper with him being tense.Cedrick might look composed from the outside, but Catelyn could feel that he was not all that calm at the moment."Cedrick, I didn't betray you..." Catelyn spoke up after having mustered her courage."Mhm," Cedrick replied loosely.Catelyn quickly stretched out her slender fingers and held his hand, her eyes focused on his. "I know that I slip up sometimes, but I'm serious this time—please believe me!" cried Catelyn. "No matter what happened, I didn't reveal any of that information to the outside world!"Catelyn was so anxious that her explanations were a little incoherent.She used to not care about what Cedrick thought of her, but things have changed."Think about it: when Javier and I came out of the company, those motorcyclists were waiting for us since morning! Also, they were just trying to intimidate me into confessing,