''Call you here? When did I call you here? Utter nonsense!'' Ella pushed the man away with all her might.
Max had a lean stature and he barely worked out so his posture shifted and he staggered a bit under the force. His handsome face even looked a little pitiful in the dim lighting. Like a lover who had been betrayed.
In her past life, Ella had been moved to tears when he still showed concern to her after she spent a night with Adrian, thinking it was Max.
Her relationship with Adrian worsened because she had uttered Max's name. But Max consoled her through it all, saying that he knew her heart.
And her past self felt was the man she would carve her heart out for. Now, she found it laughable.
The man who got engaged yesterday was here to question somebody else's wife's faithfulness. She was not righteous and she had never pretended to be but the self-proclaimed righteousness of this white lotus man was as laughable as it got.
''I had left three roses on the gate. And all of them were on the ground. That's your way of telling me that it is safe for us to meet. Now you are pretending that you know nothing?" His brows furrowed as he looked at her in disappointment.
''Heh~ What roses? What signal? How hard is it for roses to drop on the ground in the wind, Max? Are you being silly now?" She rolled her eyes.
''I am not being silly. You are. Are you so blinded by his wealth and background that you cannot see things clearly now? What happened to our promises of forever?" Max could not understand why the woman whose world revolved around him suddenly acted like he did not matter, ''Adrian King is a beast. I know what he did to you to make you this docile but it's time that you wake up now. If not, don't come crying to me later...''
To Max's endless preaching, Ella rubbed the corner of her eyes lazily and stretched her arms, ''Nonsense. Adrian is like a pampered princess, a little prickly, but delicate, rich and beautiful. And what more, he has no other woman staking claims on him so he is completely mine. What would he need to do to me? I am willing to give myself away to such a rare treasure!"
''You... You... Fine! Remember what you said today,'' Max stormed off.
In the darkness, Ji Yan nearly suffered a stroke. P-Princess? Delicate and prickly? Rare treasure?
He doubted if this woman had started doing drugs as a new hobby.
What nonsense was she spouting?
He did not dare to look at his Boss, but when he did... he was struck speechless again.
Even for a man, he realized that their Boss was a rare beauty. But still, was it alright for Miss Yu to put it like that?
And why did it seem like his Boss wasn't exactly as angry as before?
Ella stood in her spot for some time even after Max left.
Whether it was her illusion or not, she felt like the deathly aura in the air had also dissipated.
Her body turned a little soft, finally free from the pressure.
In the past life, all these incidents had resulted in violent outbursts from Adrian—not directed at her—and violent responses from her that were directed at Adrian and everyone around him.
Max was not lying. On her way out, she had seen those roses that were their form of communication during her stay in the mansion. And she knew the meeting between her and Max was eventual.
If not today, it would happen anytime soon.
And even if Adrian was not there, he would receive the news and details of their conversations from his people in the mansion.
But everything played out in a better way than expected. Things transpired in front of Adrian's eyes only.
This... should work for now, right?
When she entered the mansion, the familiar deep voice tingled the little hairs on her entire body.
Ella walked towards the dining table where the man was seated.
It was evening time. Didn't she ask him back for dinner?
The questions remained in her mind because the moment she got close to the man, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his lap.
Ella gasped, lightening her weight a bit so as to not crush him.
''Sit properly,'' His one hand still held her wrist while his other hand pressed down on her thighs.
And just like that, she was fully seated on him like he was a chair.
She gulped a little, ''You are back so early...'' Her fear towards this man was ingrained in her bones.
But now that she thought of it, he had never really harmed her. Even at the moments when his rage touched the peak.
Perhaps her fear stemmed from her not being able to escape him. She knew that no matter what she did, or where she went, she could never run away from this man. She feared the shackles he put on her.
He pressed his chin on the crook of her neck, ''Mm...''
She watched the servants rushing around, bringing dishes to the dining table, ''Are you hungry?"
"Dinner,'' The man responded with one word while his paws sneaked to her long hair, playing with the hair strands.
''Isn't it too early for that?"
His assistant, Ji Yan, who had been standing silently till now, responded to her, ''Miss Yu, Second Master has not had proper meals for the past week due to work.''
"Ah! Sure, Let's have dinner then,'' This was expected from a workaholic like Adrian.
He had probably starved himself for too long. And now he wanted to wolf the food down. She totally found it relatable!
Yet, once the dinner was served, the scene at the table defied her expectations completely.