The third round concluded much earlier than everyone had anticipated, all because the director got a call from someone important who threatened to end the stream unless the director did so, or else the man would see to it that the director’s life ended.
The director wouldn’t have gotten scared if he hadn’t noticed the untraceable private number. Such numbers were owned by the top seven elite families in the nation, and their holders were untouchable by local cops, too.
Most importantly, the servers were crashing repeatedly due to Elara and Mr. Daniel, and handling it was becoming a chore for the technician.
The winners were announced, and three contestants made it to the final round: Carla, Elara, and Tasha.
The final round was supposed to take place the next day, and Elara took her leave from the terrace the moment the drama ended, not wanting to attract any unwanted conversation from anyone because she caught Andrew looking at her earlier.
"Are you running away from me, my ifrit?" The man grabbed her hand out of nowhere, and before she could move, he pulled her in front of a car, Elara’s back meeting the car with a thud.
She looked at him with wide eyes.
Antonio, who was waiting for her, quickly rushed when he saw someone pulling his boss behind a pillar.
However, as soon as he saw Alen walking forward, shaking his head in some kind of signal, Antonio heaved a sigh of relief before stopping.
"What’s going on?" Antonio asked with arched brows.
Alen looked at the bodyguard before briefly looking in the direction where his boss was with Miss Elara, or should he say, their future lady boss?
"Well, my boss just wants to know if Miss Elara liked his cooking," Alen said.
Antonio nodded, not asking further.
They both knew it was a lie, or at least an excuse the man was using to get close to Elara.
At the same time, Andrew, who had rushed to the parking lot when he heard Elara had already left, witnessed the scene where Daniel’s hand was covering Elara’s mouth while he cornered her behind a car.
Usually, Andrew would’ve never dared to mess with a man like Daniel, like he hadn’t even bothered to help Elara in that arena, but for some reason, he couldn’t bear it today and walked towards them in long strides.
"Is everything alright?" Andrew asked.
Daniel, who was about to ask Elara if she would like to have dinner with him because he had practically helped her in the contest, closed his eyes for a brief second to control his emotions.
"Yes, Mr. Lloyd, everything is alright. Do you need anything from her?" Daniel turned, all traces of any softness that was earlier on his face completely gone.
Andrew looked at the man, who stood before Elara as if he were protecting her from him, and the thought made him scowl.
"I won’t hurt her," he said instinctively.
Daniel arched his brows.
"I never said you would," he said.
Elara rolled her eyes and stepped forward. She had rushed out just to avoid any conversation with him, but it looked like she couldn’t run away just like that.
"What do you want?" She asked.
Andrew looked at Elara before pressing his lips into a thin line.
"Grandpa was asking for you. If you can... I mean, I know my family hasn’t been the best to you, but can you please make some time and come visit him?" Andrew asked.
"I’ll think about it," Elara said.
Andrew opened his mouth to add more, but apart from this, he couldn’t think of any other excuse to stay and talk to Elara.
"About the fourth phase, if you need any help—" he started.
"Your sister is also a participant. Do you think Elara is naive enough to take help from someone who would want to destroy her for his sister?" Daniel interrupted before Andrew could say anything.
Andrew’s nose flared a little at the words.
"I said I wouldn’t hurt her. And with all respect, please stop coming between us, Mr. Macros. She is my wife, and I don’t want anyone sowing discord between us," Andrew said.
Daniel’s eyes darkened.
He had been taking it lightly earlier, but now the man called himself her husband and tried to join his name to Elara’s. Daniel couldn’t let it go.
He stepped forward, tilting his head as he looked straight into Andrew’s eyes, his gaze screaming of the danger that he could rain on his entire generation if he made any wrong move.
Andrew swallowed hard. He didn’t want to look down or show any submission to this man. It was true that Macros was a renowned name, but Lloyd’s wasn’t any less either.
They were on par with each other. It was just that Macros’ family was deeply involved with the mafia and was feared by the masses.
However, the more he looked into Daniel’s eyes, the stranger he felt.
It was as if someone was choking him, grabbing him by the neck, and pushing his face under the water. That was the kind of suffocation he felt, and when he couldn’t take it anymore, Andrew looked down.
The slight lift of Daniel’s lips was a clear indication of who had won this face-off without even touching each other.
"I don’t have the habit of repeating myself. So listen, Andrew, very loud and clear: Elara is under my protection, and I would stand between her and anyone who would come to disturb her peace. She took a bullet for me, and I will repay it with my protection for life," Daniel said, not wanting to add anything regarding his feelings.
The last thing he wanted was for a bastard like Andrew to taint Elara’s reputation by calling her disloyal and hindering the divorce.
Once they get the divorce, he wouldn’t think twice before announcing to the world who she belonged to.
"I think we should go. I need to check up on Candice. She called me earlier. Mr. Daniel, till next time," Elara said to Daniel respectfully before throwing one last look at Andrew and leaving.
The fact that she didn’t even bother to say anything to him was enough to tell everyone how much importance he held in her heart.
And as much as Andrew would’ve hated to admit it a couple of months ago, he was starting to miss his wife, the same person who used to love him unconditionally.
He was about to walk behind her to talk to her when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and ended the call.
However, the person kept calling repetitively, and Andrew huffed in annoyance.
"What?!" He snapped at the man.
"Andrew, something has happened. It’s all gone. Everything is ruined," the man’s trembling voice came from the other side, and Andrew’s eyes softened before he rushed to the site where the man called him to see what exactly happened.