The Target

Chapter Seven

It was a bit early in the morning as Jason was just about to go to work. He did not have breakfast he intended to grab brunch by afternoon. Just as he prepared to put on his shoes, he heard a knock on his door.

“A visitor this early? I wonder who that is,” he said before walking towards the door and opening it. However, he saw a familiar but unexpected face looking at him coldly and standing by his front door.

“May I come in?” Karen asked and Jason sighed. He wasn’t one to keep grudges, but he was no longer going to remain the same to her. He would normally want to invite her in and have a brief chat with her, even though he was already late for work, but not today.

“Nope. I’m just about to go to work.” He said and the latter frowned. She simply groaned inside herself but didn’t complain.

“I brought you breakfast again.” She said but Jason sighed.

“Well, you’re gonna be eating it on your own because I’m not hungry,” he said before going back inside to pick up his bag and head to work. Karen groaned inside and she was reaching her limit. She didn’t want to be here but her grandmother forced her, saying that a wife should always prepare her husband breakfast. Also, she was partly feeling guilty for yesterday, even though she didn’t want to admit it.

However, her pride wouldn’t allow her to. Jason didn’t care about her conflicted feelings. It was obvious that she didn’t like him and it was the same for him too. He only did this because his benefactor insisted, otherwise, he would probably not waste his time with someone as arrogant as she was. 

He left her where she was and went on his way to work. Karen couldn’t take it anymore.

“Would you leave a lady by your doorstep and ignore her?” she growled but Jason didn’t even glance back at her.

“If the lady is the Karen that I know, then yeah,” he replied nonchalantly and didn’t stop in his tracks. Karen pursed her lips and grunted as she watched Jason leave. She wanted to turn her back too but she wasn’t the type to. 

‘People have always chased after me and no one turns their back on me. However, you turn your back on me and don’t even bother coming after me. Why?’ Karen thought to herself as she clenched her fist on the paper bag. 

“I’m sorry.” She suddenly blurted even though that took her an awful lot of courage to do. She wasn’t one to apologize so willingly like that but she did it anyway, and that was what Jason wanted.

He suddenly paused in his tracks but he was grinning. ‘It’s nice to teach these spoilt kids a thing or two about life.’ He thought to himself like he wasn’t also young himself.

He turned to glance at her revealing the smile on his face. “Isn’t that cute? The Princess apologized to a lowlife like me. Quite a surprise for me.” He jested but Karen’s brows began to twitch.

“You asshole… I’ll kill you.” She grunted but Jason only laughed before going on. Surprisingly, Karen followed.

“Won’t you have your breakfast?” she asked after catching up to him but he waved.

“No need. I already had something.” Jason lied but he was immediately exposed by the loud grumbling of his stomach. Both he and Karen were stunned a bit before he suddenly burst into laughter. “Hahaha. Would you look at that, my tummy seems to want more.” He claimed and Karen frowned before pushing the food against his chest. 

“You work in a restaurant so you can have your breakfast there. Make sure to eat before you begin work.” She claimed and Jason was suddenly surprised.

“Wait… how did you know where I work? And why are you showing concern all so suddenly?” he asked with raised brows but Karen suddenly blushed and she turned her face away.

“Tsk… you’re not worthy enough to know.” She replied but Jason was even further confused. However, he didn’t bother probing further. They kept walking but didn’t say a word to each other. Jason would often take glances at her and she did the same. At the same time, Jason was asking himself lots of questions about this lady.

‘Why is she walking with me? Is she going to follow me to work? What’s with the sudden interest in my life?’ lots of similar thoughts went through his mind, but little did he know that Karen was also asking herself the same kind of questions.

‘Oh god… what the hell am I doing? I’m going to follow him to work? I’ve given him lunch but I’m still walking with him. Ugh… grandma what have you done.’ She thought as she began to imagine Mrs. Jamie’s grinning face for matchmaking them. At the same time, she was feeling extremely embarrassed.

“Uhm… why are you following me to work?” Jason took the initiative to ask but the look he got from Karen almost made him shrink back in fear.

“Do not ask any questions. Just keep moving.” She uttered with a threatening look and a threatening voice that Jason couldn’t help but just nod and continue. However, he suddenly sensed something ominous. He paused in his tracks and Karen who kept walking at first was forced to stop when she noticed she had gone past Jason.

“Huh? Is something wrong?” she asked but Jason didn’t bother with her.

‘Such killing intent. He’s a professional indeed. How many? Two… three… six of them. All targeting me, but that’s kind of overkill. I can deal with them on my own but… Karen is with me. I can’t afford to get her in the middle of all this. Damn it, Karen, you sure chose a bad time to reconcile with me…’ he cursed under his breath. 

Meanwhile, he merely stood in place, while Karen was even more confused. ‘Did something happen to him?’ she thought to herself. Jason suddenly began moving and Karen was surprised. 

“Hey, what suddenly ha—“Before she could complete her sentence, Jason suddenly grabbed her hand and pushed his fingers between hers, and this shocked Karen to the point of her face turning completely red. She quickly tried to pull her hands away but Jason quickly passed across a message.

“Act normal, like we’re a couple. If we don’t we might as well be dead. We have assassins on us.” He whispered and Karen felt her heart skip. 

‘A—Assassins?!’ she blurted in her mind but Jason couldn’t possibly wait for her to wrap her head around it before he made his move. They both began to move like a couple and they kept walking. However, Jason was calm on the outside while he kept calculating inside his mind. 

‘Six men, one target. Three men would already be enough to finish the job but six men is already overkill. These men don’t look like amateurs either and they are lurking in the shadows while some are even walking around and acting so normal. I am a bit open so I can be taken out. However, Karen is with me so whoever sent these men might and might not harm her, this depends on the person who sent these men. In any case, her safety comes first.’ Jason analyzed before quickly entering the restaurant where he works. 

“What’s going on? Who is after you? Did you do something dirty that someone wants you dead?” Karen frantically asked but Jason acted calmly. 

“What does a useless person like me want to do? Who do I want to offend?” he replied before looking around. “We have to sit somewhere with fewer windows. Over there.” He pointed to a corner and took his seat there together with Karen. He made sure that Karen was less exposed than him. 

“What are you gonna do now?” Karen asked again.

“Calm down, I’m thinking. For starters though, act calm and don’t let your assassins know you’ve spotted them. Also, you are my priority now so I have to consider your safety now.” Jason claimed casually but little did he know that those words hit Karen deeply.

“My… safety?”