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,
Javier's parents were overseas all year round.At this hour, he was the only one living in a villa near the Mason Estate. He sat on the carpet on the bedroom floor with a gamepad in his hand, killing monsters on the LCD screen that hung on the wall.He kept yelling as he played as if venting out his anger within.This was when his phone started to ring, but with him so immersed in his game, he had no intention of picking up.Alas, the phone kept ringing, and even when it stopped, another round of ringing would start.In the end, Javier threw the gamepad in annoyance and went to get his phone.Just as he wanted to start swearing as he picked up the phone, he saw the number on his phone screen.It was Catelyn.Javier almost dropped his phone at the name, but he cleared his throat and stammered, "C…Catelyn? You're still up so late?"With an obvious guilty conscience and flattery in his voice, Catelyn was almost certain that Javier was up to something.She could feel the blood in
Catelyn could feel someone watching her in her sleep, perhaps even kissing her. However, all she saw when she woke up was Ollie.It was just a dream after all."Mommy’s foot was injured, and your father is afraid of hurting me," said Catelyn to Ollie.Hearing these words, Ollie scurried around with her, trying to lift her quilt. He did so cautiously, however, fearing that a slight wrong move would make Catelyn’s wounds worse.Catelyn quickly stopped the boy and pulled him to her. "It’s not that serious, don’t worry! It’s just… Ollie, have you considered what I’ve told you?"Suddenly, Ollie’s drooping eyelashes trembled as he tightly grasped the hem of Catelyn’s clothes. Solemnly, earnestly, he said, "I want everyone to stay here with me."Catelyn looked at Ollie. He had always been a sensible boy and never demanded more from her.This request, however, was something Catelyn could not fulfill.Moreover, she also did not want to be entangled in the Mason family's mess anymore."