Elara gazed at the passing streetlights, her mind going on and on over the way Daniel held her hand, pulled her close, and looked at her so intensely as if he knew something that she didn’t.
What was this feeling in her heart? She knew he was a dangerous man and shouldn’t be crossed paths with until you wished to die, but even after knowing all that, whenever he was around her, she always felt a sense of familiarity, as if she knew him, as if he knew her ...
And it was strange because she didn’t remember meeting anyone from the Macros family throughout her life.
She closed her eyes to relax. She had no intentions of moving out of that club without teaching Sean his place along with that lousy group, but after encountering Daniel, she knew it wasn’t best to stay there either.
Thus, after weighing the options, she chose to leave. She could make them pay later anytime, but entangling with Daniel... Even the thought made her shudder.
"Ifrit,"
She suddenly heard and jerked her eyes open, looking around, alert.
Antonio looked at her from the rearview mirror.
"Everything okay, Miss Elara?" He asked when he saw her dabbing her sweaty forehead.
He increased the air conditioner from one to two, waiting for her to reply.
When she didn’t say anything, he sighed and concentrated on the road, thinking she might’ve been startled because of the speed breakers.
Elara, who heard Daniel’s voice in her head, pressed her lips into a thin line as his smirk appeared in her head.
That man! He was corrupting her mind! How dare he?! Elara scoffed and picked up her phone to talk and check the news to distract herself.
She was about to open the entertainment news when her phone rang with an incoming call from Xylon.
"Hello?" She asked.
There was silence on the other side for a couple of seconds, and she was about to speak again when the man said.
"I didn’t want to ask this; I really tried to control myself, but I couldn’t control it anymore," he said.
Elara squinted her eyes in confusion.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
Xylon exhaled sharply from the other side.
"That’s what I want to ask, Elara. What did you mean there? What was all that? How do you know that man, Daniel Macros? Why was he acting that way with you, like you two knew each other, and what was the candy box secret you were talking about?" Xylon said in a single go, launching all the questions rapidly.
Elara couldn’t help but feel her lips stretching into a smile when she heard ’candy box secret.’
"Thank you for worrying about me, Xylon. I assure you nothing is going on here. I just happened to meet him at the horse riding arena and—" Elara explained everything that happened.
Xylon heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the backstory of the exchange, but it didn’t mean it eased his worries.
Daniel Macros was no simple businessman or business tycoon. That man ruled the underworld and black market, including all kinds of crimes at the whim of his little finger.
If he wanted anyone dead and hid the evidence, no police in the nation would be able to find that man. They go so far as to delete their history and make it look like that man never existed, depending on the crime.
He was beyond dangerous, someone no sane man would want his daughter to be associated with. And probably the reason why... Xylon cleared his throat.
"Whatever the reason might be, stay away from him, Elara. He isn’t someone you would want to associate with," Xylon said.
Elara looked at her nails, her nose scrunching when she noticed one of them was chipped. She liked her nails bare, but if she applied nail polish, she hated to see it chip. It just ticks her off.
"Don’t worry, Xylon. I have no plans of associating with any man as of now. Right now, my priority is to get divorced and earn my own money before I can show my face back to my parents. I have deeply failed them as a Frost," Elara said.
Xylon wanted to tell her that she was taking it all wrong and her parents would accept her because they really were waiting for her to leave that man and return, but he also knew that, being the proud woman she was, if she made up her mind, there was no stopping her.
"Let me know if I can be of any help," Xylon said before Elara hummed and ended the call.
Antonio, who heard the plans, looked up at her.
"Any plans you have in mind, Miss Elara?" He asked.
Elara looked up at him before she averted her gaze back to the scenes outside.
"Will you be able to manage an artist? A blooming actress or singer?" Elara asked.
As soon as Antonio heard those words, he nearly crashed the car into the barricade before handling the controls and stopping at some distance.
He turned around, looking at her with a wronged expression.
"I am not leaving the Frost family, Miss. I won’t serve anyone but Frost. If you find my services not worthy, I shall seek Mr. George," Antonio said, his eyes screaming rebellion.
Elara looked at the man for some time before her lips stretched into a smile as she supported her head on her palm.
"When did I say I want you to serve someone else, Antonio?" She asked.
"You said. Didn’t you just ask if I can—" Antonio paused when he realized what she meant.
Her words when she wanted to hire him—’You are easy on the eyes’—echoed in his head, and he raised his brows, his eyes almost glinting with excitement.
"I am going to be a superstar’s assistant?" He practically clapped his hands, jumping in his seat slightly, and Elara rolled her eyes, the smile on her lips stretching further as she looked away.
"It’s not final yet," she mused.
"But you are wondering about it, aren’t you? You should definitely do it. You have the beauty and the curves. All men would want to watch you and—"
"Have you been checking me out, Antonio?" Elara cut him off mid-sentence, and the man coughed on his own saliva before he shook his head.
"No! Never! I didn’t mean it like that, Miss. It’s just—" Antonio panicked, and Elara chuckled.
Her eyes slit into crescent moon shapes when she laughed, so free, so amused, so angelic, and Antonio felt his heart skipping a beat at her voice, not because he had a crush on her, but because she already looked like an angel, someone not everyone had the privilege to see like this, and she chose him.
A sense of pride filled his heart, and he promised himself to protect this lady with his life, no matter what happens. He smiled before starting the car and headed straight for her apartment.