Alicia noticed Erin’s actions but did not leave. Instead, she joined the latter in waiting by the door. However, that only lasted a few seconds before Erin could not help whipping her head in Alicia’s direction, annoyance flickering in her eyes. “I think you should improve your wits if you wish to stay in West Atlantics Int’l or serve by Mr. Reid’s side. For instance, you shouldn’t be standing here! Your continued presence beside me is getting on my nerves! Not only that, but you’ve also used plenty of my time and still insist on staying here even though you already got the answer you wanted!”Several guests, hotel staff, and security members stood in the lobby. When they heard Erin telling Alicia off, they collectively cast a confused look at the latter.Being the center of everyone’s attention made Alicia’s face turn as red as beets. It also dimmed the sparkle in her eyes as she took two steps back and bowed. “My sincerest apologies.” With that, she did not stick around; her feet
Darius’ eyes narrowed to slits just then. Although he did not know why Edward would behave so abnormally, his instinct told him to trust the latter.Edward sprinted forward into the room. Once he got there, he glared daggers at Kate and Felix. The two responded differently, with Kate’s features blanking while Felix’s darkened. Felix slowly held the spot behind his neck while abruptly craning his head from side to side. The crisp sound of bones cracking then reverberated around the space.It was so jarring that even Darius’ heart skipped a beat. What happened next shocked him even more; although it sounded like Felix’s neck was broken, Felix still managed to raise his head as if nothing had happened. Darius did not bother hiding his disappointment at that instant, hardening his gaze before everyone there.Felix noticed it almost instantly and frowned. “Among everyone I know, you’re quite the arrogant man—”“Stand guard at the door for now,” Darius interrupted, turning to face Edward
Not only did Darius continue to approach Felix, but the former’s icy sneer did not lessen one bit. At that point, the two had just begun confronting each other, but Felix felt he had already lost to Darius. Thus, Felix fell so deep in thought that anyone could have heard the gears grinding in his head. He gathered every last drop of his strength to slam the table with his hands.The noise thundered throughout the room so much so that it jolted Kate and Edward. It took the two a moment to gather themselves, but even after, fear continued to burn like wildfire in their eyes. Contrarily, Darius did not even bat an eyelash despite standing opposite Felix, where the noise was the loudest. That baffled Felix so much that all the color vanished from his face. Since he got into the driver’s seat earlier, he’d studied Darius’ every move, hoping to find Darius’ weakness. Sadly, he failed even until now, and it crumbled every inch of his confidence. He took a few seconds to ponder his next m
All eyes were on Darius, including those of Felix, who was still searching for an escape route. Just as Felix glanced at the former, his pupils constricted in fear. He then watched as Darius held the checkbook with both hands, each pulling in the opposite direction until a loud rip rang through the air. Felix paled like a ghost just then. His gaze trembled as shredded pieces of checks rained onto the floor. Even the sound of the checks ripping disintegrated his heart into a million pieces. That was only natural since that was a custom checkbook from the bank. Still, one should note it was not willingly given to him by the bank; he had paid a massive price, sacrificing much of his wealth to obtain this singular checkbook.Felix’s fists balled when he recalled all the trouble he went through to have the checkbook made. His bloodshot eyes stared straight at Darius, taking in the latter’s calm smile.“There’s no use glaring at me like that. The only outcome you’ll achieve in doing that
From the corner of his eye, Darius caught Felix sighing in relief at Erin’s arrival. He raised a brow and shared the same suspicions Edward had earlier; his grandfather would not have selected a fool like Felix to serve by his side. Yet, that was what had happened, and Darius had no clue why. His doubts only multiplied in his gut when he saw Erin and Felix’s slight but significant interaction.“There’s no questioning it—Erin is 100 percent loyal to me. If so, what’s the problem here? Why does she seem to know Felix?” Darius thought while tapping his knuckles against the table. Seconds passed, but he still could not figure things out, so he spoke calmly. “Erin, take out one of my checkbooks—the one where each check is worth ten thousand dollars.”Erin’s eyes grew larger with shock, thinking, “Mr. Reid has never asked me to prepare that much money throughout the time I’ve served him!”Nevertheless, her startled look soon vanished as she snapped to her senses, reached into her pocket,
“He told me that you needed help but there weren’t many people in Almiron City that you could trust. Moreover, the Reid family hasn’t looked into the people in Almiron City for many years, which means that there’s no way to prove their loyalties still remained. However, one of them underwent and passed the test, so he could definitely be trusted—I’m referring to Felix. The man told me that Felix would appear before you at 1.00 am tonight and give you the help you needed.” Erin stopped here and glanced at Darius, trying to discern his feelings about this. Then, she cleared her throat and continued, “I didn’t think anything was wrong with that, so I agreed to it. Then, he told me that nobody knew you here and that he wanted to see how alert you were, so he decided to approach you as a stranger first. He needed my help for this, which is why he came to me.”She looked at him again, cautiously this time, wanting to read the emotions in his eyes. To her dismay, Darius had shut his eyes.
The words were on the tip of Erin’s tongue, but she held them back at the very last second. As she shut her mouth, she locked her thoughts into her heart. There was no concealing her reddened eyes, though. She could only lower her head and hurry away.Edward watched her with his arms crossed, eventually letting out a long sigh. He couldn’t deny that Erin had made a mistake this time, but he knew that it had nothing to do with her original intentions. If he were to look at this matter objectively, all he could say was that she was also a victim. So, just before she was out of his sight, he said loudly, “At the very least, I hope you don’t show up here while I’m around.”He saw her falter, but it only lasted a second before she was gone. As a martial artist, he still clearly heard her say, “Thank you.” Edward relaxed. He stood guard by the door, looking everywhere except inside the room because he could sense Darius’ eyes on him. There was something in Darius’ eyes that he couldn’t dis
Felix lay on the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. He was positive that Darius was standing before him, and there was no way he could’ve physically touched the stool. His eyes suddenly bulged, and he scrambled backward, shouting, “You’re an enlightened martial artist!” His face turned ashen from his horror, and his voice became sharp and shrill. It was the complete opposite of his usual self, but this just showed that he knew what he was dealing with.Darius straightened up and leaned forward. “Do you still think we’d be good friends?”Edward laughed. It was funny to hear Darius saying that. At this moment, he suddenly recalled why he’d felt Erin’s pleas were so familiar—he’d heard another woman say the exact same thing to her earlier. In that instant, his pity for her lessened by half.His laughter attracted Darius’ attention, making him turn to glance at Edward. Darius said, “Put the checks away and make sure Erin’s safe.”Edward looked lost. He didn’t expect Darius to give h