She was about to go inside the store again but a voice stopped her from doing so. "Where do you think you are going?" She turned her face towards the source, only to find a scary looking man standing before her.
Stella shivered under his bone chilling gaze, cursing under her breath. "F@*#."
Taking in a deep breath, she straightened back further and looked at the strong built man before him. He was the definition of a thug. 'How could the security even let him in?' She thought to herself.
"I think you have the wrong person here, Sir." It took all of her courage to utter that sentence. After speaking her mind, she turned around to leave only to find four more men standing like talk pillars in her way. Even with her heels, she looked small before them.
"You aren't going anywhere little one." The man spoke again, causing her to shift her attention back to him. Judging from how he was taking the lead and his massive physique, she could tell that he must be the leader of these thugs.
She was regretting not listening to Adam. He did ask her to keep Edward, her driver, close to her. She looked at the blank screen of her phone as her mind ran into overdrive. She remembered her training, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to take on all of these men at the same time. They could easily over power her. If only she could call Edward somehow, then he might be able to handle these thugs.
A tall, slender figure was looking at the scene from around the corner with a heavy heart. After spending time with Stella, she knew that the girl had a good heart. And she meant every word she said to her. But if she didn't do this, she knew Taylor would ruin her life. She wasn't worried about her career, but her father. Taylor threatened her do this, saying that it will be the last time he was asking her to do something of the sort.
"I am so sorry, Stella." Rachel muttered to herself before putting on her sunglasses. She turned around to escape from the scene but stopped in her tracks when she saw three tall, well-built men standing before her and blocking her way out. Her eyes moved towards the breast pocket of their black uniforms where a single golden rose was embroidered in the top left corner.
"I will go with you guys." Even in her dreams, she could recognize the logo. She had seen Adam's bodyguards wearing the same plain black uniform with the exact logo a couple of times. The three men nodded and showed her the way. Without looking back towards Stella, she walked ahead following one of the three men, while the other two followed her to ensure she wouldn't run into some store to hide from them. Not that it would have done her any good.
On the other hand, Stella was wrecking her brain on how to send her driver or Adam a text without being conspicuous. She was lost in her thoughts when she heard a couple of click sounds which made her come out of her dazed state.
When she looked up, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. Around twenty men were surrounding them with their guns pointing at the thugs. Though most of the faces were new to her, she could still recognize a couple of them. And due to her recent visits to the base, she was all too familiar with their uniform.
Edward made his way through the circle and walked up to her. He narrowed his eyes at her and asked while suppressing his anger. "Shall we go home now?"
Stella only bobbed her head up and down in a yes without saying anything in reply. She could tell that he was angry and she didn't have any other choice but to follow him quietly to the car. Moreover, she wouldn't want to see whatever that was about to happen.
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"Are you okay?" Edward asked her as soon as they were seated inside the car. He was waiting at the entrance of the mall for her after getting her call when he got another. But this time it was one of the men who were assigned to watch over her. As soon as the call was connected through, the man on the other end explained the entire situation to him. His blood began to boil as he rushed inside.
"Yeah. Your friends arrived before they could even touch a hair on my body." Stella replied to him meekly while gazing down at her knotted fingers. "Does Adam know about what just happened?" She asked him, finally looking up from her lap.
"Yeah." Edward replied to her before turning on the ignition of the car.
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"What are you doing here Adam?" Liam asked him as he walked down the staircase. He was in his study when his housekeeper came to inform him about Adam's arrival. He was curious as to why he had come without informing him beforehand because it wasn't like his usual self.
"I have something important to discuss with you." Adam replied while he continued to stand straight even after Liam had settled on the couch.
"I am all ears, but have a seat first, my child." Liam asked him as he pointed towards the space next to him.
After sitting down, Adam started to explain the reason of his sudden visit to him.
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Liam was sitting quietly with a darkened expression after listening to Adam. Anger was written on his face in bold, capital letters.
"I have to go back home. Stella might be reaching there soon." Adam spoke up, breaking the deathly silence which was lingering in the surroundings.
He stood up when he didn't hear a reply from him and headed outside. As he was walking down the front porch, he saw his men arrive along with Rachel. She looked up when she felt a silhouette standing before the entrance of her home. Their eyes collided for a mere second as she quickly averted her eyes, hanging her head as low as she could.
Adam shook his head sideways when Rachel and his men had disappeared from his line of sight before walking towards his car.
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"You can leave." Liam spoke to the three men accompanying Rachel without looking at them. His head was hung low, resting on his propped up hands which were knotted together.
The three men bowed slightly before walking out, leaving them alone.
Rachel stood rooted to the ground, looking at her feet. She was dreading the silence more than her father's scolding.
"Why did you do it?" Liam finally spoke up after a couple of minutes. His voice was devoid of any emotion.
"I-I didn't have a choice. I'm sorry, Dad." She muttered softly while apologizing for her actions. She knew no matter how much she apologized, she wouldn't be forgiven this time.
"Sorry? Is that all you have to say? Liam yelled at her. He stood up from his couch and walked up to her. "What if those men weren't there to watch over her? Do you know the outcomes of that?" He questioned her, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I know my apology will change nothing, but I am really sorry. I wouldn't have done it if I had a choice." She finally looked up.
"You always have a choice, Rachel. I don't know what was the reason, but you could have told me about it. Even Adam would have helped you if you would have come clean before him." Liam added.
"I will apologise to the two of them." She added while biting her lower lip.
"I'm glad that mother isn't here with us today to see you like this. If she was, she would have been ashamed of you." Liam spoke and walked away towards the staircase which was leading to the first floor.
She remained rooted to the ground as her eyes began to rest up as his words resonated in her mind. She wouldn't have mind even if he had slapped her, but what he said hurt her to her core.
Liam stopped at the base of the staircase. "You will leave the entertainment industry and go abroad. I will arrange a place for you to stay in until you have learned how to be a better human being. You can complete your degree their which you left in between and get yourself a job. Until you get one, I will send you a limited amount of money enough for your monthly expenses. You don't need to worry about your security because you will live there as someone else, not Rachel Nelson. Go and pack your belongings." He spoke his words with absolute resolution, still facing his back towards her. His words didn't give her a room to argue over.
"Yes, Dad." She muttered under her breath as a lone year escaped her eyes.
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