The unmistakable masculine scent from Anthony entered her nostrils and occupied her senses. With her heart picking up the pace, Charmine was angry and embarrassed altogether.

‘Ugh! Nial must’ve done it on purpose!’ she fumed internally.

Just as she was about to lash out, she heard Chris from the passenger seat, his voice pleading as he spoke, “Sorry, Mommy, please bear with us. Uncle Nial likes drifting, you see. He was an F1 racer last year.”

“Nial, please drive carefully. This is a highway, not a racing track,” Anthony huffed in a low and authoritative tone.

Charmine’s voice was lodged in her throat when she heard him. Anthony then held Charmine by her arms and—with a much gentler and concerned voice—said, “Are you hurt?” 

He had a genuinely concerned face, and Charmine thought she was overthinking things again. She pulled herself up and distanced herself in an instant. “I’m fine,

Charmine walked into Violet Villa with the man’s shirt still on her. She could not fight back the incident that kept looping in her mind nor calm her burning cheeks. Anthony was not the ideal man in mind, but she could not deny that his muscular physique was rather beguiling, especially those abs, so firm and hard…

All caught up in her thoughts, she never noticed a figure approaching her.

Slap!

Charmine did not see it coming. She was slapped harshly at her cheek and it began to burn.

At that moment, a few guards hidden around the perimeter wanted to step out from the shadow they were hiding in. Kay, their leader, stopped them. “Wait. The boss asked us to stay out of it, and it’s best we respect that.”

“We can’t just stand here looking at Boss getting attacked? She’s so precious, and everyone in our organization treats her with utter respect. The person can’t just hit her and not fac

Chris did not expect Charmine to be so dull; he thought he would have impressed her with what he said about Anthony. 

He wanted to say more, but Charmine merely carried him and put him aside. “Momo, go back to your father. I have some important things to attend to,” she spoke. “Go home, will you?”

“Mommy…” Chris looked up at her with his puppy eyes, in an attempt to change her mind with his pitiable look.

Charmine would be lying if she claimed this had no effect on her, but she was reminded of the reason why she made her return.

With her focus returned, Charmine hopped onto her motorbike.

Poor Chris was pouting so much that his lips might reach the sky; his plan had failed. He had to think of another way.

He swung his meaty hands carefreely as the engine ignited. 

Click!

The tire at the back was deflated, slanting the front.

“Mommy, your tire was shot by a dart!” Chris yelled as though stricken with fear. “Someone tried to attack you!” 

Charmine quickly got down from the bike and, sure enough, saw a silver dart embedded in the tire. Who would play with darts these days? With a dart, no less. This seemed strange to her.

When he noticed she was growing suspicious, Chris hastily went up to her and held her hand. “Don’t worry, Mommy. I’ll ask Daddy to send you home!” With that, he yelled into his phone, “Attention, Daddy! Attention!”

Her suspicion grew even more, but it still did not add up. Chris was just a five-year-old, and he could not have thrown that dart… Or so she thought. His convincing ‘terrified’ expression made it less likely that he was even involved.

A black, low profile-looking van pulled over. Rolling the window down, Nial quickly spoke, “Miss Jordan, Momo, get in the van!”

Chris opened the door to the passenger’s seat and got in quickly. “Mommy, get in! We’ll give you a ride, nothing else. I promise!”

Charmine noted that only Nial was in the van and, if that was not enough reason, her bike needed repair anyway. Without thinking too much of it, she went into the van.

She regretted her decision the second the door closed. Anthony was in the van, too.

‘What can I do now? Can I still get out?’ she thought.

Seeing her expression changing by the rear-view mirror, he hastily stepped on the accelerator before she could change her mind.

‘Alright, it’s now too late,’ she sighed internally, staying as far away from Anthony as possible. 

Luckily, Anthony was reading his newspaper and did not seem to pay any notice to her. As usual, he exuded aristocracy laced with indifference and coldness, an aura so uncommon yet so unperturbed by its surroundings.

Everything seemed fine. Perhaps she overthought things.

Suddenly, the van made a sharp turn. Caught off-guard, Charmine fell against Anthony.

Rip!

The newspaper Anthony was holding onto got ripped apart as Charmine fell against him.

“...” 

Awkward silence blanketed them. It was as if the entire world went quiet. 

Damn the angle. Anthony had such handsome side features, so much so that her heart started beating loudly against her ribcage.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

This was not right. Why was her heart beating so quickly? She hastily held onto the front seat as she tried to get up.

Just as she was about to get up, the van made another sharp turn, and Charmine fell right back onto Anthony.

This time, she fell right into Anthony, face-to-face with his clothed rock-hard abs.

The unmistakable masculine scent from Anthony entered her nostrils and occupied her senses. With her heart picking up the pace, Charmine was angry and embarrassed altogether.

‘Ugh! Nial must’ve done it on purpose!’ she fumed internally.

Just as she was about to lash out, she heard Chris from the passenger seat, his voice pleading as he spoke, “Sorry, Mommy, please bear with us. Uncle Nial likes drifting, you see. He was an F1 racer last year.”

“Nial, please drive carefully. This is a highway, not a racing track,” Anthony huffed in a low and authoritative tone.

Charmine’s voice was lodged in her throat when she heard him. Anthony then held Charmine by her arms and—with a much gentler and concerned voice—said, “Are you hurt?” 

He had a genuinely concerned face, and Charmine thought she was overthinking things again. She pulled herself up and distanced herself in an instant. “I’m fine,” she replied as she held tightly onto a handler in the van, securing herself.

With such a strong g

Chapter 15