The Billionaire Who Saved Me

A small relief flooded Elice’s chest. She did not want to hope too much, but Elice’s gaze suggested otherwise. In her heart, she prayed that Neva still remembered exactly what she had said that day. Neva was her only hope.

“If I remember correctly. That day you said I was followed by bodyguards,” Elice said, her heart pounding wildly. Her eyes stared at Neva. “Is that true?”

Neva answered a moment after Elice had asked her question. Almost without a pause. Because like reporters or people involved in the news industry, memory was one of the most important things.

“Yes. That’s what I said.”

Elice swallowed hard. Still trying to restrain herself. Not yet. She knew she still could not prove anything. Neva could have been wrong about what she saw.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“Why would you say something like that? It could have just been someone who happened to be around me or…”

Elice did not finish her sentence. Instead, she immediately gave Neva the chance to answer.

“I couldn’t have been wrong. When I left for the office that morning, I was only a few feet behind your car. At first, I didn’t know it was your car. I only found out when we reached the parking lot,” Neva opened her answer. “And as for the bodyguards, it’s because the car wasn’t far from yours either.”

Not yet. That was not an answer yet.

“That could have been someone else’s car that just happened to be going in the same direction as mine. Just like you were right behind me.”

Neva shook her head. “That’s what I thought at first, but it turned out not to be the case. Because the car actually stopped a few feet from the office.”

Elice was stunned. Her hands slowly clenched on the table. Elice tried to hide the tremors that were starting.

“When I had to leave with Freddy around ten o’clock, I still saw the car there. That’s why I concluded that you were being escorted from that day on,” Neva explained with a hint of guilt on her face. “And not just me. I’m sorry, ma’am, but since that day, the other colleagues have become curious, too. And they saw it too. The car was always parked in front of the office. And when you went home, the car followed you. It was like that every day until we stopped paying attention.

This time, Elice could not control the trembling that shook her body. Neva’s eyes widened when she saw Elice’s condition. She panicked.

“Ma’am, what’s wrong?”

Elice shook her head and said, “N-nothing.”

Neva knew that Elice was hiding something. Even as Elice shook her head, her face looked pale. So pale that Neva thought Elice might faint.

But Neva could not push any further. So instead of asking again, she sat down again after standing up briefly.

“Ma’am, I apologize for what we did.”

Smiling stiffly and trying to appear calm, Elice shook her head. “It’s okay. Really. I’m fine.”

Although Elice repeated it several times, Neva’s feeling of unease increased. Especially because before Neva left Elice’s room, her boss said.

“Neva, thank you.”

*

This time it was not just the pallor Garrett noticed when Elice came home. The woman’s body had suddenly collapsed. Almost on the floor if he had not caught her immediately.

“G-Garrett.”

Elice’s voice sounded so shaky. No. It was not just her voice that was shaking. Her whole body was shaking as well.

“Elice. What’s wrong with you? What happened?”

Garrett carried Elice. Set her down. Cradled her face. Seeing the clear fear in her eyes. And a few seconds later, the tears came.

Elice squeezed Garrett’s hand. Her tears fell.

“I’m scared.”

Without needing to explain, Garrett could tell. But why was Elice so scared?

“Someone has been following me the whole time,” Elice said with sobs she could not hold back. Her shoulders shook. “Someone has been following me the whole time, Garrett.”

Garrett’s body froze. He tried to think positively, that maybe it was the security Carolus had arranged for her. But a moment later Elice shook her head. This time her sobbing broke out completely uncontrollably.

“And it’s not the guards Nana arranged. I’ve been followed since the first day I returned to work after our honeymoon, Garrett.”

*

No. Of course not since the first day Elice returned to work after her honeymoon. It was long before that. Even as Elice and Garrett enjoyed the beautiful days in Hawaii, there were pairs of eyes that continued to watch them.

“Argh! Of course, they would put guards around Elice. After we attacked Garrett, they must be worried that Elice’s safety is in danger as well. Even though they don’t need to worry. I would never hurt Elice.”

Speaking at length, Ariel poured whiskey into the small crystal glass. He started to enjoy it in one gulp and offered some to Ruben as well. But his personal assistant shook his head.

“We’ll have to stop watching them for a while, sir. Besides, it seems we should keep quiet for a moment.”

“You’re right,” Ariel agreed. He nodded. “Although I didn’t mean any harm by watching Elice. I just wanted to know about her condition.”

Ariel refilled his glass. But this time he did not enjoy it right away. Instead, he played with it first. He turned it rhythmically.

“And more importantly…” Ariel lifted the glass in his hand. Paused in front of his lips. “… to make sure Elice isn’t around Garrett when I make this man disappear.”

*