Adira continued taking light sips from her cup, the whole time, praying silently that Jared would leave. Even if he means no harm, she still felt uncomfortable sharing a room with him. "You know, growing up, I was almost like you." He suddenly said, a wistful smile on his face. "Always lonely and having no one to talk to. I was very lonely 'cause I grew up with a man who was unfortunate enough to be my father. Man was always so busy and I bet there were times he forgot he had a son. "In high school, there were a group of boys that grew fond of bullying me. I'd go home with bruises and try to tell my father about it, but man would hardly look at my face or care. I kept bugging him and one day, he snapped at me - told me to fix my own shit myself." He paused and chuckled, like he was drawing in on a memory. "Next day at school, wanna know what happened? Every one of those bullies were rushed out to the hospital. One of them nearly died. I beat the hell out of them and pushed the last one off the building. It was ugly, you know? I got arrested and my dad let all hell lose on me. For the first time, he got my time. But that was to tell me how disappointed he was in me. Crazy, isn't it? That old man didn't have time for me when I brought up the complains, but he finally had time when I did something crazy." Adira had stopped drinking from her tea, just listening to his story. Behind his intermittent smiles was a hidden pain. And the whole time he spoke, she noticed he looked everywhere, but her. "What's the essence of this story?" He finally looked at her. "It's simply means we get ignored by the world no matter how good we are, and no matter how hard we try to get their attention. But the moment you become a villain,the moment you take the wrong step, they come glaring at you." He emptied the last of his tea into his mouth and rose to his feet. "I believe I should give you that privacy now. Goodnight, Adira." "Your father," she suddenly said, making him pause. "What happened to him? And how did you end up as Mr. Wyatt's adopted son?"Jared, his both hands in his trouser pockets, looked at her with a smile. "That's a pretty long story. We should tell it another day." Adira watched him get to the door. "If you need anything, do not hesitate to give me a call." "Yeah." she muttered, dropping her gaze to her tea cup. Finally, he left. For a long time, Adira continued thinking of the story he's told. It appeared she wasn't the only one who had a rough childhood. Done with her tea, she undressed in and went in for a shower. It wasn't until she finished bathing that it dawned on her that she didn't have to wear. There was no way she could sleep in her office wear. Even if she wanted to, what would she wear by morning? Well, she was the only one in the room. Besides, the room was secured, wasn't it?With the towel around her, she laid on the bed, going under the duvet. She didn't know for how long she slept before her phone awakened with a ring, pulling her out of sleep. She dazily reached for it and instantly, every haze of sleep she felt vanished from her eyes when she discovered the caller was Nikolai. She sat up at once, as fast as lightening. Was she dreaming? Nikolai? Nikolai was calling her? Why was he calling? Does it have something to do with her absence from home? So many questions flooded her mind at once, she couldn't bring herself to receive the call before it rang to an end. "No, no," she mumbled and tried calling back, but he beat her to it. He was calling again. Since she got married to him, she was certain he's never given her a call. Whenever he had an information to pass to her, it usually came through Bonnie or Yvonne. This...This was new. Holding her breath, she picked the call. "H...Hello?" She couldn't stop her voice from cracking. "Come out." With voice thick and cold, he gave the order. Adira was perplexed. Come out? To where? "I... I don't und..." "I'm outside the tower. Come out." He interrupted brusquely. That was when her heart jumped out of her chest. With eyes wide with shock, she jumped out of bed and ran to the window. Oh, no; her window wasn't facing the facade of the building. So, she couldn't tell if he was there or not. But there was no way he'd lie to her about it. Her phone beeped and she knew he'd dropped the call. But was she dreaming? Nikolai was outside the tower? How did he know she was there? Did Bonnie tell him? And... why would he come? That was the last thing she expected from him. With jagged breath, she dressed quickly, picked up her bag and glanced round the room to bed sure she wasn't leaving anything behind. Then, she hurried out and continued taking deep breaths as she stood in the elevator. He'd sounded a little angry on the phone. Not just cold, but angry. She could sense it. But, wasn't it dangerous coming here? What if something had happened to him? In a few seconds, she was out to the first floor and hurried out the door at once, ignoring the stares she got from the few people around. It didn't take long before she found him - standing right there by the roadside. She halted temporarily, just throwing a stare at him. About six armed men were around him, looking around and probably scouting the place for any threat or danger. And in front of them, Nikolai stood their like Lord - one that could not be harmed. The intensity in his gaze sent shivers down Adira's spine, like a storm brewed within him. Clad in a sleek black turtle-neck and a black pair of tailored pants, he exuded an air of power and magnetism. But the look in his eyes was frightening. Adira forced herself to keep moving, and even tho she glued her eyes to the floor, she could tell he was almost eating her up with his. She got close enough and stopped walking. "H...Hi." She didn't know what to say, or what to do. Looking up at his face, she noticed his eyes were staring pass her. So, she looked behind and found Jared at the door, which was a little far from them. Good Lord! Why did he follow her? "What're you doing here?" Nikolai asked. The chill in his voice painted a bleak picture, as if winter had settled in his words. For the first time, Adira was scared in front of him. Not nervous, but scared. "I... I um..." she paused and glanced at Jared before looking back at him. "I came over for a meeting with...""A meeting outside the office?" He cut her off. She couldn't even look him in the face as she feared they'd freeze her. "Yeah, it...it was urgent and I..." "And Bonnie had to leave without you?" Her heart skipped a beat. Why does he keep interrupting her? "It's not what you think." "Then, what is it? If it was just a meeting, why are you here and your secretary isn't?" Her lips moved to explain to him, but her words clogged in her throat. How does she explain to him that Jared had asked her to stay back so she could tell her personal problems to him? How does she explain the fact that she didn't reject his offer and actually stayed back 'cause she really needed someone to talk to? He'll never understand. But hold on, why was he interrogating her this way like he just caught his wife cheating? And why was she equally bring so scared? Based on the rules of their marriage, this shouldn't be happening. "You really have nothing to say?" Nikolai asked again, numbing her senses. She had no idea Jared was coming behind her, not until she heard his voice. "Hey, man. I think you should stop scolding her. She did nothing wrong." Adira gasped and cocked her head to look at him. Goodness, no! He shouldn't get involved!