“Good afternoon, Mr. Demetri!” Jaslene greeted timidly. She kept her head bowed.“Sit!” Christian responded firmly. Hearing Christian’s stern voice made Jaslene even more nervous. She was now certain that Christian was angry with her. Hesitantly, Jaslene sat down in the chair directly in front of Christian. Her face looked extremely tense, and her heart was pounding. Cold sweat began to trickle down her temples.For a while, the atmosphere was silent. Neither of them initiated a conversation. Christian observed Jaslene’s face, which was unlike her usual self; this time, the woman kept her head down.“Sorry, Mr. Demetri! Why did you call for me?” Jaslene asked hesitantly. Finally, she mustered the courage to speak. Despite her heart being filled with fear, she realized that, like it or not, she had to face this.“How is your relationship with Ambrose?” Christian asked.Jaslene let out a sigh of relief. It turned out her fears were unfounded. What her boss asked was very different from
“I’m sorry, Blake! I think you’re right, it’s been too long. If you have important matters to attend to, you can go back to USA first!” said Christian. He didn’t want to keep someone who wasn’t comfortable here, as it would also unsettle them.“No, Sir! I will not leave you. I will remain loyal by your side until all matters are settled. I just wanted to inquire about this. I want certainty whether we will be here much longer or not, that’s all!” Blake responded, giving his explanation.Christian nodded in understanding. “For now, I still can’t determine when we will move. I haven’t seen favorable signs for making a move!” Christian said. As a leader, he had to decide as wisely and maturely as possible—no rushing decisions that could result in suboptimal outcomes.“Yes, Sir, I understand. Issues like this cannot be rushed. You don’t need to hurry just because I asked for certainty. I understand that in this matter, we cannot move hastily. We must consider everything carefully. A sligh
“I actually understand what Blake is thinking. I myself feel like this is taking too long. Initially, the plan was that everything would be resolved in less than fourteen days. But in reality, it’s been over a month now, and there’s still no clear progress!” He said to Master Lee.“I understand your position too. We have to consider everything thoroughly before making a move. We’ve been delaying for this long, there must be something that’s still bothering you!” he added to him.“Master is right. Shouldn’t I be cautious? There are many lives at stake!” Christian replied. He was still uncertain about the next steps he would take. That’s why he continued to delay. It wasn’t because he didn’t miss his family in USA—quite the opposite. But everything had its process, and this time, the process couldn’t be rushed.“Don’t risk the lives of your men. Their lives are as valuable as ours. Back home, they too are awaited by their families! Try to minimize the number of casualties!” replied Mast
“Did you hear what I just said?” Jaslene said with an intimidating look. Elvira started to feel scared, but she tried to remain calm. She didn’t want to appear defeated, especially in front of Jaslene.“So what if Miss Yve finds out? It might even be better, right?” Elvira replied.“What? Don’t tell me you intend to take Miss Yve’s place!” Jaslene was not happy; she wanted to grab Elvira by the hair but restrained herself.“That’s exactly my intention! Who wouldn’t want to be by Christian Demetri’s side?” Elvira retorted with a mocking smile.Jaslene stared at Elvira with frustration. “You’re really ambitious, aren’t you?”“I’m just fighting for what I want. Don’t we have to fight to achieve our desires?” Elvira replied.“By demeaning yourself and flirting with Mr. Demetri?” mocked Jaslene. She shook her head in disbelief at Elvira’s behavior.“Well, at least I’m honest about it! I don’t care about your judgment. I know you say these things out of jealousy!” Elvira boldly showed her t
Valerio meticulously checked Elvira’s phone. He had opened almost every possible app, but after a while, nothing suspicious came up.“Weird! Nothing suspicious at all. The password is still the same,” he muttered to himself.Switching to the gallery, he was sure there must be something there. Yet, even in the gallery, there was nothing unusual. He grew curious about where Elvira might be hiding her secrets.“I’m absolutely sure she’s hiding something. But what?” Valerio continued his monologue in his mind. He resumed his cautious inspection of his lover’s phone. Valerio didn’t want to be caught red-handed snooping on Elvira’s phone. Despite being in a relationship, a phone remained a personal item.This time, Valerio opted for the messaging app. He began speedily scrolling through the messages from the top.“Nothing suspicious. Just regular chats,” he noted inwardly. He kept scrolling through the messages until he finally found something suspicious.Valerio was stunned for a moment w
Valerio ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He was puzzled about which option to take, as both carried their own risks. He spent quite some time trying to figure it out alone in his room. But in the end, he couldn’t make a decision.There was something hidden by Elvira, and he was certain of it. The problem was, why hadn’t Elvira been honest with him and instead chose to keep it to herself? He couldn’t even find any trace of her, except for one suspicious message. That surely meant there were other messages that Elvira had already deleted without him knowing.“Argh, damn it. Why lie? What exactly is being hidden? Why am I not allowed to know about it? Could this have something to do with Mr. Demetri? If so, it must be more than just a trivial matter, for Elvira to be so meticulous about keeping this secret,” Valerio muttered to himself. He recalled everything Elvira had done while he was sick yesterday, and nothing seemed suspicious then.Now he felt anxious and had lost so
Valerio fell silent again for a moment, but eventually he began to tell everything. Hopefully, by sharing his issues with Christian, it could alleviate some of his troubles.“Earlier ... I unlocked Elvira’s phone, Sir!” Valerio started recounting. He vividly remembered the moment he accessed everything that might contain secrets inside Elvira’s phone, finding them in the unread messages that were probably forgotten to be deleted.“And then?” Christian couldn’t wait for Valerio to continue his story.Valerio took a deep breath.“Initially, I didn’t intend to do it. But seeing Elvira’s strange behavior, I felt she was hiding something!” Valerio continued.Christian listened more intently. He was starting to get intrigued by the story of the man in front of him. He hoped Valerio hadn’t found anything suspicious about what had happened between him and Elvira.“So, did you find something that you think is suspicious?” Christian asked, squinting, trying to find out through Valerio’s gaze.V
“I have to tell Elvira that Valerio knows about the message Tavares sent,” Christian muttered to himself. He looked back to ensure Valerio wasn’t following him. If Valerio found out he was going to Elvira’s room, it could become a problem later on.“Ah, why do these problems keep piling up? The issue with Yve isn’t resolved yet, and now Elvira forgot to delete the message,” Christian grumbled, rubbing his face harshly.After making sure the coast was clear, Christian sneaked into Elvira’s room, hoping she was still awake so they could talk about the problem they were facing.Knock, knock, knock.Christian knocked softly on Elvira’s door. After waiting for a while with no answer, he knocked again.‘Where could she be? Is she already asleep?’ Christian grumbled to himself. He reached for his phone from his pocket, intending to call Elvira. Before he could dial, the door opened.Meanwhile, Elvira, who was playing on her phone, was startled.“Who could it be at this hour?” she wondered a