The Billionaire Who Saved Me

Ariel ran his hands through his wet, sweaty hair. His breath was heavy and his heart was racing. His body felt like it wanted to explode in the burning heat. As time passed, the fire inside him seemed to burn even brighter.

“Ariel, please. Stop!”

“No, Ariel. Please don’t do this.”

“Don’t, Ariel. I beg you, don’t do this to me.”

Ariel closed his eyes tightly and shook his head repeatedly as his hands clenched and pulled at his own hair. His body became even more drenched in the pouring sweat that poured over him.

“No. No. No.”

Elice’s image flashed through his mind. The terrified face could not be erased from his mind. Even when he closed his eyes, the scene became even clearer.

“I truly regret ever loving you. You are never worthy of love.”

And among those haunting memories, it was those two sentences that made Ariel lose control. Suddenly, with a menacing tone, he rose from his seat and swept everything on the table in one swift motion.

The computer, the books, and the other objects surrendered to Ariel’s attack. Everything was thrown, powerless and floating in the air, only to crash violently to the floor. Breaking and scattering.

Ariel’s fists clenched. Both hands then slammed down on the expensive wooden table, making a terrible sound, and leaving wounds on his knuckles.

It should have caused pain. But it felt like nothing to Ariel.

“You love me, Elice! You only love me!”

Ariel uttered the sentence with her eyes wide open. There was a hint of red in them, but no tears.

*

As she fastened the last button in the hole of her shirt, Elice took a deep breath. Her face looked tired, in a restlessness that prevented her from sleeping soundly.

Once these wounds and bruises heal, everything will return to normal, Elice. No need to worry. Everything will be fine.

It might take five to seven days for the wounds and bruises on her body to disappear, Elice said. And during that time, she hoped that everything would return to normal. She tried to keep her mind busy so as not to remember the bad incident.

In the morning, Elice used a taxi service to take her to the subway and thought about when would be the right time to get her car back from her apartment. Garrett, who had really provided facilities for her last night, made her leave her car there involuntarily.

“Good morning.”

A greeting reached Elice’s ears when she had only taken four steps into the office. It was Freddy who greeted her, and Elice answered.

“You seem unwell,” Freddy commented as he observed Elice’s face that morning, causing a slight furrow in his forehead. “Are you sick?”

Elice swallowed hard, trying to regulate her breathing, which felt a bit chaotic for some reason. As if she felt tired, even though she hadn’t moved or even walked much that morning.

“Not sick. I just feel tired, I guess.”

Elice’s answer was met with a nod from Freddy.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t stress yourself out.”

A smile appeared on Elice’s face. “Thank you.”

Continuing on her way, Elice gave a quick smile to Yonna, who happened to be passing by. Without saying a word to her colleague, Elice continued on to her cabin, while Yonna approached Freddy.

“Are you in on the bet with the others?”

Freddy’s freshly smoothed forehead immediately showed faint lines.

“What bet?”

Yonna smiled faintly with a teasing expression, creating a not-so-substantial distance between her and Freddy. Just enough to whisper close to the man’s ear.

“The bet on whether Elice will have another visit today or not.”

Freddy’s eyes widened while Yonna burst out laughing. Her hand patted Freddy’s lightly.

“Just for fun. Don’t take it seriously.”

Although Yonna said it lightly, Freddy did not take it that way. On the contrary, he clearly showed an expression that did not agree with Yonna’s thoughts.

Not being there and not hearing directly what Freddy and Yonna were talking about did not diminish Elice’s conviction that she was the current topic of discussion. But it didn’t mean that she cared. Because there were many other things, she had to think about besides office gossip. Like what had happened that afternoon when break time came and she was called by Hollis.

Hollis looked uncomfortable. The conflicted expression on his face was obvious, especially coupled with the presence of a few beads of sweat on his face.

“I didn’t want to say this, Elice. But the office atmosphere has been really unproductive lately.”

Elice remained silent, trying to keep her negative thoughts from spreading everywhere. For when Hollis called her, it was without the presence of Daphne. Enough to let her know that it was Hollis who was interested in her. Warning signals immediately rang in Elice’s head.

“I’m not looking for a scapegoat, but the presence of other journalists around our office and the excitement among other employees, whether we like it or not, has an impact on the performance of the office.”

When Metro journalists were there, it was certainly normal. But when there were journalists from other media, it was definitely unusual.All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

“Do you want me to resign?”

This time, Hollis seemed silent. And when he was about to speak, Elice had already taken the opportunity to continue her words.

“For other journalists who used to come here frequently, I think it’s all settled, sir. There have been no journalists from other media guarding our office lately.”

Hollis gave a slight nod, consciously or not.

“But when it comes to visits from Madam Daphne, there’s not much I can do,” Elice continued. “I will try to contact Madam Daphne and ask her not to come here anymore as it might make the office uncomfortable.”

Hollis’ eyes widened suddenly. “Wh-what?”

“I’ll do anything, sir. But I hope you won’t pressure me to resign.”

“W-who asked you to resign?” Hollis asked quickly, then shook his head hastily. “No, I didn’t ask you to. So, you don’t need to contact Madam Daphne.”

Elice stared at Hollis. Her superior seemed to take a deep breath. An attitude that aroused suspicion in Elice’s mind, even though it was not something certain.

“I think Madam Daphne understands my situation.”

Hollis shook his head. “Not necessary.”

Trying to maintain her expression, Elice guessed that Hollis probably would not dare do anything about Daphne. Whether she should be grateful or the other way around. Because thanks to Garrett’s grandmother’s name, she could make sure that she did not have to hand in her letter of resignation.

“You don’t have to contact Madam Daphne or even resign,” Hollis said again, emphasizing his words. “I think it’s only a matter of time. Things will surely get back to the way they were.”

“Of course, sir. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Hollis shook his head. “Nothing. You may rest.”

“Thank you, sir.”

After Elice left the office, Hollis took a deep breath. Impatiently, he pulled some tissues from his desk and wiped the sudden flood of sweat from his face.

*

There was a new routine that became an unwritten agenda for Garrett from that day on. It was to always meet Elice at her unit when he returned from work. Without a driver or a secretary, he would drive his car to her house alone, no matter if he had to keep driving, even if it was half past nine at night.

“There was a meeting with Mr. Hugo. And it turned out to be longer than I expected,” Garrett explained. But a moment later he chuckled. “You don’t know who Mr. Hugo is.”

Elice smiled and served tea in front of Garrett, who took off his jacket and loosened his tie.

“You don’t have to be like that, Garrett.”

Garrett, who was about to reach for his cup, decided to postpone his intention for a moment. Instead of clearing his throat immediately, he turned to Elice. Only to find that she was still talking.

“I’m fine. You don’t have to come every day to check on me.”

That was indeed Garrett’s intention. He had to make sure that Elice was okay. To see with his own eyes that Elice was really okay. And even though Elice often reassured him with words, it did not mean that Garrett did not believe her. It’s just that he knew that Elice was still trying to appear fine. Thanks to the long sleeves and long pants Elice had been wearing lately, Garrett was sure of what she still felt.

Especially with the reflexive gestures Elice had been making lately. She often touched her neck, running her fingers through her long hair, trying to cover her throat and the area around her collarbone.

“I came to enjoy your homemade tea. There’s no other intention because I’m sure you’re fine,” Garrett said, reaching for his teacup. “Besides, I need someone to be a casual conversation partner.”

Elice nodded. “You must always be busy.”

“Always,” Garrett said. “I’ve never been this busy. Even when I was still at Apex Builders and Co., I never went three weeks in a row without getting home late.”

Elice’s face showed sympathy. She wasn’t sure what Garrett was working on. But looking at the bags under his eyes and the signs of fatigue on his face, she would not doubt what Garrett said. Even though office hours were over, that didn’t mean his workday was over.

“But at least I can breathe a little easier this weekend.”

“Nothing important?”

Garrett shrugged briefly. “There are always important things. But at least my schedule is a little looser.”

“Oh, thank God for that. You can rest.”

That was indeed Garrett’s wish. But compared to that, there was one more thing that became his priority.

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?” Garrett asked. “Do you have a date with your friend or any other event?”

Elice was silent for a moment. Thinking. Then she shook her head.

“No, I don’t. Why?”

A faint smile appeared on Garrett’s face. He set down the teacup, which had lost half of its contents, for a moment.

“I want to take you out,” Garrett replied with a beaming face. “To accompany me.”

It seemed as if Elice hadn’t received an invitation from a man for a long time. She didn’t even expect that there would be a time when she would get one again.

“Go where?”

“A friend of mine is having a birthday party. And I thought it would be fun if I could take you.”

Elice was stunned. If she had been flattered by Garrett’s invitation earlier, now it was the opposite. Garrett’s friend?

Then she thought of upper-class people she had never met before. Maybe more or less like Daphne. And that, of course, made her a little hesitant.

But when Elice started to show a little hesitation, Garrett decided to act a little more urgently. He had to convince her that everything was fine and that there was nothing wrong with going to the birthday party with him.

“Do you want to go with me?” Garrett asked. “As… my date?”

*