Christian, now fully aware that an assassin was coming for him, spent some time debating whether to confront her immediately or wait for her to make the first move. He weighed the options carefully, but as he tried to focus on the assassin, his thoughts kept drifting toward the man who had sent her, Damian Slate, and the more he thought about him, the angrier he became.
How had he become so deeply entangled with this man? He couldn't help but question it.
First, there was Damian's history with Eva, something twisted and forced, linked to the Ashvale family's schemes. Then there was the murder of his parents, a crime he now can't forget or forgive. Next, Damian had sent an assassin after him long before Christian had even uncovered these truths, and as if that wasn't enough, the man had dared to target his sister.
And now, once again, another assassin.
The sheer audacity to do all that, even if Damian was unaware that some of it were related to him, combined with the endless attempts to ruin him now, fueled Christian's rage. It surged within him, an undeniable urge to put an end to Damian Slate's meddling once and for all.
Even so, Christian knew the current situation demanded patience. He needed time to craft a foolproof plan, one that would eliminate Damian without exposing himself to the consequences.
So, for now, he forced himself to focus on the things he could do. To him, this fucker was already as good as dead in his mind, anyway. After all, Damian Slate had crossed too many lines. Most importantly, Christian didn't want the actions of this piece of shit to continue affecting him or the people he cared about; his sister and Eva, any longer.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Christian refocused on the current assassin and the situation at hand. After checking her location and realizing that it wasn't an ideal spot to engage her, he decided to wait. However, simply waiting wasn't enough. So, after some consideration, he came up with a plan to intercept her at a location that was suitable for him to take decisive action.
Still, with the seemingly ample time remaining before the assassin would make her move, Christian decided to shift his focus back to investigating Eva and the Ashvale ancient family.
He hadn't spared anyone around Eva from scrutiny, checking if they might hold any useful information. Yet, even then, he hadn't actually attempted to obtain information directly through Eva herself.
He hadn't touched Eva's or Olivia's phones, accounts, or anything of the sort. As for the maid, Sophia, his investigation only went as far as confirming that she wasn't a spy, nothing more.
Because after going through all these people, even with only minimal effort through Iris, Christian knew that the information he had uncovered was probably the limit of what hacking could provide him. So, he finally came to a decision, to stop at this point.
Even if he were to cross that line, a line Eva herself had said she was okay with, that she was prepared to be bare before his eyes, and he look through her accounts, chats and personal other things…what could he truly gain? What confidential or related information would he uncover?
Christian doubted he'd find much, even if he did. So, he no longer wanted to continue. Instead, he just wanted to hear things directly from hear, to hear her side of the story.
More than that, when investigating the Ashvale family, he also didn't find anything of significant importance, just information about them as individuals. As for the kind of relationship they had with Eva? He only found that she wasn't liked. And the details of the deal they had made with the Infinitel company? That remained shrouded in mystery, with no leads to follow at all.
So, arriving at this point, Christian really felt that hearing the rest directly from Eva was the best choice. He had already uncovered enough; the rest should come from her. He also decided to have this talk with her tomorrow morning, as soon as the day began.
Standing up and stretching after he was done, Christian finally left his room, heading toward his sister.
Knocking on the door and not waiting for a response, Christian opened it himself, mirroring her actions, only to find her sitting at her desk, seemingly still engrossed in something on the screen.
Then, as she turned her head toward him and motioned for him to sit and wait, still focused on what she was doing, Christian was suddenly struck by the urge to do a little mischief.
Even with everything unfinished, even with the voice recording of Damian still echoing in the back of his mind, Christian felt that acting normal, as if nothing had changed, was the right thing to do. It wasn't that he was forgetting it or pretending nothing had happened either. He knew, however, that for now, there was nothing he could do, and a decision would have to be made tomorrow anyway.
So, while trying to push aside his chaotic thoughts, Christian walked toward his sister.
He looked at her exposed nape, framed by the ponytail hairstyle she was wearing, and lowered his head. A sense of embarrassment crept in, even though he had no intention of leaving anything like a hickey.
Still, as he gazed at the smooth, enticing curve of her white nape, he overcame his hesitation and kissed her.
Seeing his sister suddenly take a sharp breath and turn her head, her cheeks flushed red, Christian couldn't help but feel that something had gone wrong now that it was his turn to act.
Annabelle, with butterflies fluttering in her stomach, didn't say anything. She simply returned to reading the documents in front of her, pretending everything was normal, though she secretly hoped he would continue.
And luckily, he did just that. However, after showering her with kisses, he felt like he couldn't continue anymore, and finally rested his chin on her shoulder, then, glanced at what she was reading.