Chapter 19: Acceptance Alena FleurHow could I like Elian? He was a freaking murderer! He was a mafia leader! He was my rude boss!No way, it was absolutely impossible.My heart definitely didn't flutter when he handed me my espresso every morning. It most definitely didn't race whenever we were alone and he was close to me. It surely also didn't skip a beat when he smiled. I obviously didn't ogle his body when he worked out in the gym. I certainly didn't stare at his lips in the middle of conversations. I clearly didn't want him to stay longer with me anytime we had to part.Those were just delusions my periods caused.Now, after five days, my periods were over, and I wasn't going to care a single bit about Elian—"Ouch!"I ran to the kitchen to find Elian hissing in pain. "What happened?""I touched the bowl without wearing gloves," he said, motioning at the microwave where he was supposed to be heating up our lunch."You're only clumsy when you're stressed out, so tell me, Elian,
Chapter 20: Perfect Chance Alena Fleur Later that night, Elian got a call from Jace that he managed to retrieve all of our files in our laptops and that he was sending them over with Ashton. When Ashton arrived, he informed, "Guys, I think we discovered who is behind all of it." "Which company?" Elian asked. "Not a company. It's a gang. Remember the XS gang?" Ashton asked. Elian clenched his jaw as he spat out, "Yes, what about it?" "XS gang leader's son, Xavier, joined the Blacklist gang and took control over it, and now, he's seeking revenge from you." I was totally lost in the conversation, but I at least wanted to understand a little bit of it, so I asked, "Why does Xavier want revenge from Elian?" Ashton shot a wary glance at Elian before replying, "Because he annihilated the entire XS gang." "Why did you do that?" I asked Elian. His jaw hardened as he spoke, "They started it first. They hurt my—" He closed his eyes as if he was recalling something horrible, and I place
Chapter 21: The TruthAlena FleurI blanked out for a long moment before I realized I had to say something.But my voice wouldn't come out like there was a big lump stuck in my throat, and my eyes were stinging like if I looked at Elian once more I would cry.Speak, Alena! Or move! Do something, at least! Don’t be pathetic!I force myself up from the chair and turn around, managed to say, "Yes, um, I, uh, I get it. I'm sorry.""Alena," Elian murmured, his voice giving away that he had something more to say. But I didn’t want to listen right and made my way straight for the main door.I wasn’t in the best mood to stay in a room that used to belong to the person who just rejected me or stay under the same roof as him at the moment. I decided to let my feet guide me somewhere far away from him.Once I stepped outside the apartment complex, my tears started falling freely.I knew that Elian had every right to reject me, especially when he didn't return my feelings, but it still hurt. And
Chapter 22: Being ChasedAlena FleurI was being dragged through the parking lot of the apartment complex by three men.I had opened the door after texting Elian that I was in trouble and tried to stall as much as time I could without those men blowing off the innocent delivery girl's head. They let go after I came out.Now, they were taking me to their van.I had tucked in the gun that Elian left for me just in case. If worse came to worst, I had to shoot. Though I really hoped I didn't have to.I needed to stall for more time for any help to get here."Hey, mister, why are you trying to kidnap me?" I questioned.
Chapter 23: Move OnAlena Fleur"I'm sorry, Alena. I can't," Elian replied.I gritted my teeth and spat out, "I can't believe you're rejecting me again, even after knowing that I'm now aware of our past!""I'm sorry, but I can't afford to bring you back into this life and hurt you again. Last time, they were going to kill you. The accident kind of saved you, to be honest. Otherwise, who knows what they were going to do to you? And this time, I didn't mean for you to get involved. I thought this was a company problem, but—"He stopped talking when he noticed that our backup had arrived. A few sedans came and tackled our chasers."You can park somewhere now, and I can take over the driving," Elian
Chapter 24: ChallengeAlena FleurI was hugging the orange teddy bear, which Elian had in his room, while sitting against the headboard when Elian entered the room."Why are you in my room and why are you still up?" he asked and went towards his dressing table to take off his wristwatch and cufflinks."I was waiting for you," I mumbled.I was scared that he would get hurt while finishing off the Blacklist gang, but he seemed fine, which was a huge relief."Is the Blacklist gang over now?" I asked, and he nodded. "You aren't lying to me again like last time, are you?""Nope. Xavier is now our captive. Ash will hand him to the police tomorrow after torturing
Chapter 25: CongratulationsAlena Fleur"When can we start working again?" I asked Elian when we were eating our brunch on the patio of his estate."We will get the clearance today, so from tomorrow, but it's Friday. I don't want the opening day to be the last day of the week—""So, Monday. Great," I said happily. "I can spend the next three days, warming up your heart."Elian glared at me and said, "You can forget about that because you are going back to your apartment after this meal."I gasped dramatically. "How can you kick me out after sleeping with me last night?"He flashed me a tight-lipped smile and said, "We just slept on the same bed,
Chapter 26: Mission JealousyAlena FleurOn Monday morning, I entered the office with a confident smile.I didn't avoid the private elevator like the plague I had been for a week before the office closed down. I was pleasantly surprised to see Elian and the CFO of our company, Kevin Williams."Good morning, Mr. Storm," I greeted professionally, then gave Kevin a less formal smile and said, "Hello, Kevin."Elian arched an eyebrow at the use of the first name. He knew I didn't call anyone by their first name, except Anya. But it was part of Lance and my plan.When I talked to Lance on Thursday night, he gave this brilliant idea that I just had to flirt with someone else to make Elian realize what h