Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 46: Text message

Chapter 46: Text message

As the rain poured down on the dark fateful night, a young boy of twelve with gray eyes stood silently outside the kitchen, his ears perked up as he listened to the raised voices of his parents. He had come down to have some water in the kitchen when he stumbled upon this scene he was witnessing at this moment. He had always believed that his parents were a loving couple, but the argument he was witnessing at th moment made him question everything he thought he knew.

Neil’s heart raced as he heard his mother’s usual soft and loving voice, sharp with anguish now, cut through the sound of raindrops hitting the windowpane.

"Noah, I have lived with the fact that I will never be the woman you love even when we got married, but how can you do this to me now?!"

The thunder rumbled in the distance, adding an ominous tone to the scene in the kitchen. Neil’s mind raced as he tried to make sense of the words he was hearing from his parents. What was going on with his loving parents? He tensed up in the kitchen corner as he looked at his father’s distressed face.

His father retorted, "Catherine, you need to understand that even though I used to love Ella, she holds no place in my heart now, but she needs my help. I can’t just overlook the fact that she’s being mistreated by that bastard of a husband; I need to help her and her child from his clutches!"

Neil’s gray eyes widened as he struggled to understand what was going on between his parents. He couldn’t understand why Ella, a woman living in one of the neighboring estates, was being brought into their argument. But It became clear to him that she was the cause of their first-ever fight. And at that moment, he realized his parents’ love for each other was not as simple as he had once believed.

As days passed by, Neil had watched as his father’s anger and determination to save Ella from her abusive husband grew, and his determined actions only made his poor mother depressed. He would frequently stumble upon their arguments, but they would quickly put on smiles as if nothing was wrong whenever they noticed him.

Unfortunately, his father’s determination to save Ella and her child from her abusive husband had only caused his parents death in the end. This was because the abusive husband was affiliated with the dangerous Da Kroll group, and his father’s interference in their lives due to his love for Ella resulted in the downfall of his family.

And on that day he watched the man pull the trigger against his father’s head, Neil’s heart was consumed by the belief that love was a downfall of a man, a trap that could lead to ruin and heartache. Before this Ella came into their life, Neil had looked up to his father and wanted to be like him when he grew up, and despite his father’s success in life, he had brought their family’s downfall in a night.

Even though his father had died trying to be a hero to his ex lover, Neil didn’t hate him, the person he hated and would never forgive was the man who killed his parents and the woman who brought such misfortune to their peaceful life. And he had sworn with everything in him that he would never be like his father, he would never be a fool in love and let it cause his downfall. He will bring justice to his parents death, and if he ever lay eyes on that woman, Ella, ever again, she would regret ever being alive while his own parents were under the earth now!

Neil’s fingers tightened around the burning cigarette between his fingers, he crushed the cigarette in his palm and then flung it into the trash can. He had used different methods to search for this Ella, but it was like she had vanished from the face of the earth, and he hoped she better be dead wherever she is now, because if she were to be alive, he would make sure to give her a terrible death along with her husband!

Neil’s expression darkened dangerously as those thoughts flicked through his mind. He stood rigidly before the floor-to-ceilling glass window In his room and stared blankly at the night skyline of Zen city.

He hadn’t been able to control his rage earlier when Liam was trying to convince him about love, he had snapped out in rage and slammed his door on his friend’s face. He just couldn’t stand the idea of himself being like his father; love was a weakness he would never welcome into his life. He was more stronger and capable being on his own. And he wouldn’t stand some woman coming into his life and ruining it for him. Never.

As Neil was staring out into the night, his phone on the nightstand beeped, drawing his attention away from the window. Annoyed, he glared at the device, wondering who would message him at such a late hour. Then it occurred to him that it might be Liam. Regret washed over him for sending Liam away from his condo an hour ago in a fit of anger. There was so much he needed to discuss with Liam about the man who had shot him, but he hadn’t gotten to talk about that before sending him away.

With a sigh, Neil reluctantly made his way back to his phone. However, as he unlocked the screen, he noticed that the sender’s name was not Liam’s, but a number saved as "Little Mi". It dawned on him that it was Mia’s number, which he had taken before leaving her apartment building in the evening.

Her message was simple: [Did you arrive home safely? And how is your wound?]

Neil frowned upon reading these questions. Why was she asking such pointless things? Of course he had made it home. No one had ever messaged him to check on his safe arrival, and now that he received such a message, he couldn’t help but find it foolish.

To most, it might seem like a caring question, but for Neil, who had never experienced such concern in years, it set off alarms in his mind.Why would anyone even inquire about him reaching home safely unless they planned to assassinate him on the way? It seemed absurd to ask if he had arrived home safely. Did she think he would be assassinated on the way?

Neil scoffed internally, people really like to ask unnecessary question and he wasn’t the right person to reply to such pointless question that would lead to small talks. Just as he planned to throw the phone back on the bed and ignore the message, the phone beeped again.

[Have you gotten to see a doctor to check your wound for any signs of infection? I hope you’ve eaten as well?]

Neil scowled at her message again. Why was she really asking him questions about himself? He normally didn’t talk about anything personal but business related matters with people, and even his only remaining relative, his uncle, would never probe him about trivial things like whether he had eaten or not. So why was she asking him that? Neil thought to himself while glaring down at the message as if to see through the sender. And after a few minutes of contemplation, he replied with a simple,

[Yes.]

Though, he hadn’t really eaten after the meal he’d had in her room, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t used to eating in the late hours of the night, and he wasn’t ready to change any of those habits because Davina instructed. Neil thought as he stared down at the screen as if waiting for her to reply to his simple yes, but she didn’t. And after a few moments of silently staring at his screen, he remembered why he’d took her number in the first place and found himself typing another message.

***

Back in whispering way. Mia laid curled up on her bed with her phone in hand and her cat sleeping beside her head, she stared down at her phone screen. What could she possibly reply to a simple yes? She had been worried ever since Mr. Ice cube had left their apartment building, and because she hadn’t been able to see him off to his friend, she had felt bad and strangely restless.

After eating supper with her mother and Owen, she had come straight back to her room, and seeing the expensive guitar peeking from the corner of her bed, Mia had felt the urge to return it to him, she didn’t want to be indebted to him for this, and she didn’t want to keep it because people would suspect and accuse her of how she got to possess such expensive thing if they were to see her with it. Moreover, she couldn’t bring herself to sell it, as it felt ethically wrong considering it was given to her and she liked it.

Although she desperately needed money, selling it was not an option. She couldn’t insist that he take it back either, as Mr. Ice Cube had made it clear that if she refused to keep it, it would result in the guitar being destroyed. With how serious he looked when he told her to keep it, if she dared return it to him on Monday, he would certainly break it. And how could she stand such beautiful thing being destroyed?

Thus, she would better keep it and find a way to pay him back for it someday so she wouldn’t feel indebted to him for anything. However, by keeping it, she would be left with having to only play it inside her room because she mustn’t allow even Owen see it.

After making that decision, Mia had also picked up her phone and messaged him to know how he was doing and if he’d seen a doctor. And the reason she asked if he’d eaten was because she noticed he was the kind to neglect food with how much his stomach had been growling repeatedly when he was asleep in her room.

Upon receiving a simple "yes" in response now, she found herself at a loss for words. Deciding to go to sleep now that she knew he had returned home safely and sought medical attention, she was interrupted by a beep from her phone, drawing her attention back to the phone once again.

[Why are you still awake by this time of the night?]

She read his message with a faint smile playing on her lips. She checked the time and noticed it was indeed late, it was 2:45 A.M. in the morning. She hadn’t been able to sleep because his scent still lingered on her bed and every place she turned to, his scent was akin to a warm spring breeze, carried with a delicate hint of woody fragrance infused with the richness of rare orchid blossoms. It was an expensive scent that could drive someone crazy, and just by laying on th bed he had been laying on the whole day, made her own body scent like his.

Mia smiled as she responded to his message and posed the same question.

[I couldn’t sleep. What about you?]

It took a few minutes before he replied once more.

[You couldn’t sleep? Or are you anticipating another intruder to enter through your window at night? Get up and close your window.]

Mia’s expression turned into a frown as she read his message. Even though she couldn’t see his face or hear his voice, she could sense the commanding tone in his final sentence. How did he even know that her window was open? Mia wondered as she got out of bed and gently shut the window, making sure to glance downwards to ensure there was no one spying on her.

[How did you know my window was open?] She typed and sent the message to him. She lay back on the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chest as she waited for his response. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long as he replied within seconds.

[It’s obvious you’re a careless person.] He replied without any further explanation on how he came to a conclusion of her being a careless person. And before Mia could type her own retort, another message came in.

[After your classes on Monday, you will meet me in my office. Now drop your phone and go to sleep.]

Mia stared at her phone screen with a deep frown. "Why the hell does he always have to command me instead of talking politely? Even though it’s just a message, I could senses his authoritative tone even from the message." She mumbled to herself and sent another message to him.

[Meet you in your office? Did I do something wrong?] She asked, but unfortunately he didn’t reply again. Even after ten minutes, his reply didn’t come. Thus Mia sighed and put her phone away and lay properly on the bed. Why would he want her to come to his office on Monday?