Chapter 102
“Where are you taking me?” Elara asked when she saw the car taking a swift turn, exiting the highway to what looked like a countryside area.
The only difference was that the area’s maintenance and the number of checkpoints said otherwise.
“My base,” Daniel said as if it were something normal.
“Your base?” Elara asked, surprised.
Daniel nodded.
“I have never brought a woman to my base or any place personal to me. It’s about time I let my house see and meet the person who will make it home,” Daniel said.
His words made Elara look out of the window. For the first time, she didn’t feel like resisting the idea of being with him.
Daniel looked at her from the corner of his eyes, his lips lifting in a lopsided smile because he knew he was winning her heart.
It wasn’t long before the driver stopped the car at the gates of the large mansion, and to say Elara’s eyes widened would be an understatement.
“You live here?” She asked, amazed by its grandeur.
“Sometimes,” Daniel said casually before he stepped out of the car, not before slapping her hand that was about to open the door.
“Let it be my honor,” Daniel said and walked around the car before opening the door for her.
As soon as Elara stepped out of the car, she saw rows of security guards and servants rushing toward them, forming two lines on either side, their heads bowed.
“Boss,” The butler stepped forward with a confident poise, his gaze flickering to Elara.
“This is p>
“Our lady boss,” The butler finished the sentence for Daniel.
“No woman has ever entered this mansion. No one was ever that important. We know who we are looking at by the way our boss looks at them,” the butler said.
Daniel nodded.
“Elara Frost, your future lady boss,” Daniel said, and before the butler could ask anyone to attend to her, Daniel raised his hand to stop him.
“Don’t disturb us,” he said, and everyone froze.
“Sir, are you going to have a honeymoon before even marrying the lady? That’s such an unholy thing to do. You must get the permission from the parents and prepare for the—” the butler started to lecture Daniel.
Elara, who would’ve usually gotten angry at such words, pressed her lips into a thin line, barely controlling her laughter.
She could see that this butler was really important to Daniel from the way he patiently listened to the nonsense without interrupting him.
“Mr. Gin, sir, is just giving her a tour of her future home,” Alen interrupted helplessly, and the old man finally stopped.
“Oh, in that case, please come.” He immediately turned from the cranky elder to an inviting butler, and Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Yeah? And here I thought I would never be allowed in my own house,” Daniel said sarcastically, earning a light chuckle from the butler.
Daniel held Elara’s hand and pulled her inside the house.
He took her straight to the hall, and she looked around, feeling strange.
She was supposed to feel happy, relaxed, or just nothing because it was just another property. But the moment she stepped inside the property, her heart skipped a beat.
The smile she had earlier vanished completely, replaced by a sudden shock that was followed by horror.
Time felt like it had frozen for her. She swallowed hard, looking at the walls with a wavering gaze.
“Come inside. Let me show you the—” Daniel stopped talking when he looked at the expression on her face.
“Hey—” Daniel was speaking, but nothing registered in her mind.
All she could think of was these walls. Vivid memories began to form in her head.
“This is your humble abode, ET. We will live here together, always, forever.” Someone grabbed her chin, and when she resisted, she was pushed against one of the walls.
The man rushed to her.
“Hey. I didn’t mean to hurt you, ET. You just make me angry sometimes. Why can’t you give in and accept me? Must you struggle against me? I love you; can’t you see that?” The man asked before he cupped her cheeks.
She has been here before. She remembered it vaguely. The memories didn’t belong to someone else. They belonged to her. And this place was the same horror cage she had once been captured in.
“Y-you,” Elara looked at the man in utter disbelief, tears welling in her eyes.
“You are one of them,” she hiccupped, stepping away from him.
Daniel looked at her in surprise.
“My ifrit, what are you talking about? Am I one of them? Who are you?” Daniel tried to step close to Elara, his hands extended.
However, Elara flinched from him as if she were poisoned, and if he touched her, she would die the very moment.
The pure horror and fear in her eyes couldn’t be faked. It was real, so real that it made Daniel’s heart twist painfully in his chest.
The very woman he vowed to protect was fearing him. And he didn’t know, goddamn why p>
His anger surged.
“Elara! Snap out of it! I am Daniel Macros! The man who vowed to love and protect you through life and death!” Daniel said.
But his words didn’t even register in her mind. The same reason she had taken therapy for, started resurfacing, and her hands started trembling.
“He had said the same. He said he loved me. But can someone who loves you drive a knife into your abdomen?” Elara asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
Daniel paused.
Was she talking about Andrew? No. It couldn’t be him. As much as he hated the man, he knew that man didn’t have that kind of bone in his spine to pull something like that… But if not him, then who?
“Who are you—” Daniel started but stopped when Elara grabbed a random vase from the shelf and broke it on the wall.
She grabbed the sharp shard and placed it on her neck.
“Don’t come near me, or I’ll kill myself, Arnold!” She only saw the man who had driven her mad four years ago.
Alen, who was coming to report the urgent case to Daniel, froze when he took in the scene.
He was about to open his mouth when Daniel shook his head at him.
He signaled his subordinate to walk behind Elara softly without letting her know.
Alen understood the assignment and walked behind her.
Slowly, ready to grab her hands so she won’t hurt herself.
However, as he walked behind her, his foot on the shard made a sound, and Elara immediately looked back.
“You are—” She couldn’t react when Daniel pounced on her from behind and grabbed her hands.
“Let me go! Let me go, you bastard!” Elara shouted, struggling so hard as if she was fighting for life, and Daniel did something he never thought he would do to Elara in his life.
He hit the area behind her ear and neck, rendering her unconscious immediately.
The girl’s limp body fell into his arms, and he looked at her tear-stricken face with dark eyes.
“Sir, what was this all about?” Alen asked, horrified, when he saw the man picking up their lady boss.
“I don’t know. But someone definitely does,” Daniel said darkly.