She's Back

"What should I do with it, Mr. Allen?" The woman's soft voice snapped Rayan out of his thoughts.

"Who sent it?" He asked in an icy tone while tearing his eyes away from the black flowers.

"I have no idea. It didn't have a name on it. Someone came and delivered it a few minutes ago, saying it was ordered by your friend." His assistant cleared her throat before answering nervously.

"I see. How many days has it been since you began to work here, Ms.Garcia?" Rayan's sudden question sent chills down the woman's bones. She nervously bit her lips while grasping the flower bouquet tightly.

"Two weeks, sir!" She replied while stuttering because of the way Rayan's cold eyes were gazing at her.

"And yet you still don't know how to handle things like this?" Rayan questioned her dryly while shooting her a sharp glare. Layla's whole body trembled before her eyes went wide with fear as she quickly apologised.

"I'm sorry, sir. I will immediately throw this out and be careful next time." She said it in a rushed tone before trying to hurry out of the room. Rayan didn't bother to respond further, as he reached for his hand before grabbing the document he had previously dropped on the floor. Suddenly something crossed through his head, making him swiftly glance up.

"Stop." He commanded Layla, who was about to walk out of the office, to stop on her track before quickly turning around.

"Anything wrong,sir?"  She asked while swallowing her fear. She really hoped he would not fire her for this small matter. He has already fired two assistants before her in a single month. She couldn't bear to lose this job at this moment, as she was in a really difficult situation.

"Put the bouquet here." Rayan simply ordered before resuming his papers. His sudden command astonished the poor woman. She almost thought she heard him wrong. But somehow she pulled herself together before nodding her head.

"Y-yes sir." She quickly replied with a smile before walking forward and carefully putting the bouquet on the corner of his desk. Rayan slightly glanced at the bouquet again before putting on a nonchalant expression.

"You may leave now." He ordered in a calm tone, making Layla nod quickly.

"Alright." She replied quickly before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. Once she was out of the room, Layla heaved the breath she had been holding since the moment she entered the lion's den.

However, she couldn't help but wonder who sent him the bouquet of black roses. It's very unusual for someone to send black roses because everyone is well aware of the negative meaning they hold. Hatred and despair!

On the other hand, once Layla walked out and closed the door on her way, Rayan once again dropped the documents from his hand on the table. He then slightly pushed his leather chair back before standing up on his feet. His blue eyes were completely focused on the bouquet, which was placed on the other side of his desk. He slowly yet steadily walked to the other side of the desk before stopping a few centimetres away from the bouquet. For some unknown reason, he became intrigued by the black flowers. There were 17 flowers in total. They were all the same size and looked completely fresh. Rayan's eyes caught sight of a small black card placed in the corner of the bouquet. He reached for his hand before taking the bouquet from it first and then slowly taking out the small card from it. There was something beautifully written on the card with golden letters. His cold eyes were sharply fixed on the card as he read the message.

'I know black is your favourite colour, but still, Soyez conscient les épines'

Rayan instantly knew what it meant. It was written in French, and he had been fluent in it since he was young. The sentence's meaning was "Be aware of the thorns."

Rayan gripped the black card while trying to think of who could send something like that to him. He knew he had a lot of enemies, but it was not something they would usually do. There was something beyond it, and he was sure of it. He thought for a moment before looking down at the bouquet once again. After a few seconds, he put the bouquet down in its previous place before reaching out his hand to grab his phone from the desk. He then quickly opened the search bar on his phone before searching for what the black rose symbolised. It didn't take long for him to go all over the possible answers he got from the internet, but his mind stuck on the three words he found together.

Hatred, revenge, and rebirth!

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Anthea was sitting at her desk while going through some documents when she received a sudden call. She reached out to her phone before checking the caller ID. A small smirk curled up on the corner of her lips before she finally picked up the call.

"Is it done?" She asked in a soft voice while leaning back on the leather chair.

"Yes, Mam. I made sure his assistant would deliver it directly to him." A man's voice replied from the other side, making Anthea hum in response.

Good job, thank you!" She replied faintly before cutting the call and then putting her phone aside. A small smile bloomed on her face as she imagined his reaction after receiving her welcome gift. He must have liked it since black was his favourite colour.

Before getting out of the office, Anthea texted Emilia to go back on her own. She then walked out of the office and got in the car before driving directly to the place. She had to mark the first day of her new beginning, and there was only one place and one thing to do to make this day memorable forever. Anthea let out a smile as she reached the place in less than 20 minutes. After carefully checking the streets, she drove towards the parking lot, where a few more cars were parked outside.

After turning off the car's engine, Anthea rolled down the window before peeking outside. Her eyes quickly swept over the signboard of the shop before a small smile broke into her face.

"Etched in Ink." She mumbled the name before grabbing her bag and phone and then pushing open the car's door. She closed the door with a thud before making her way towards the tattoo studio. She was going to mark her new beginning with a perfect new tattoo, which would keep reminding her about her goal every time she looked at it.

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