No sooner than they reached the parking lot did Axel's phone ring. He looked at the familiar strings of numbers before turning around to look at Hannah who was still walking slowly behind him. She was yet to realize what was going on.
He slid his thumb across the screen to take the call and as he listened to what the caller was saying, Hannah suddenly stopped and her body was slowly turning rigid.
Hanging up, Axel walked back to Hannah and took her hands in his. "Let's go". He did not want a blood bath in the parking lot of his company!
Hannah tried to release her hand from his but axels grip was too strong. If she doesn't fight now, they were going to keep following her.
Axel stared at her for a while and realized that she was not going to move till she fought but he didn't want that. Was it not better to avoid it? Plus, it was only her against… heaven knows how many assassins.
Without thinking, Axel picked her up in his arms and carried her toward his car. "Don't worry, my people would take care of this".
He sat her in the car and turned around to the other side before climbing in and starting the car almost immediately. He drove out of the parking lot and went into the road at full speed.
…
Half an hour later, Axel slowed down as they had now outrun the assassins. He looked at Hannah, who was sitting quietly, her face pressed to the window trying to find the assassins even though she knew that they were no longer there.
"I am really starting to think that there is a bounty on you. Why the hell is everyone after you?!" Axel suddenly spoke, breaking the peaceful silence in the car.
Hannah, though not willing to respond, answered, "Because I am Hannah".
Axel appeared genuinely confused for a second and he slowed down to look at Hannah. "So… they hate the name…?" He was met with Hannah's silence as she had already leaned back on her seat and closed her eyes. "I think it's a beautiful name though".
Again, all he received was silence as Hannah seemed determined to ignore him. Axel was going to drop the topic but his curiosity was eating him up. "At least tell me why they are after you". He asked, almost pleadingly.
"I told you already. Because it's me! Everybody wants Hannah okay? Do you understand?!" Hannah yelled angrily, leaving Axel shocked for a while. All he did was ask a question and Hannah was this mad.
Oh well…
Axel turned back to the road and drove quietly till they got to the estate where Hannah lived. Neither of them said a word for the rest of the ride as Hannah was still angry and Axel was seemingly lost in his own thoughts to care about what she was doing.
When Hannah got down from the car, she walked away without sparing him a glance. She didn't even bother thanking him or maybe she forgot?
When she passed by his side, Axel grasped her wrist, making Hannah pause and she turned to look at him angrily. "What do you want?"
Axel closed his eyes and sighed loudly. When he opened his eyes, he tilted his head to look at the sky and he sighed again like he was having an internal battle with himself.
"From now on…" Axel sighed again, "You are my responsibility. I will protect you, so you don't have to worry about anything".
Hannah looked at Axel weirdly after he finished speaking. She would have thought he was joking, but he sounded and looked so serious that she was starting to think she was imagining things.
Why else would he say something like that? Was he drunk?
Hannah threw her head back and sighted with her eyes closed. "Stop saying things like that. I am Hannah. You won't be able to protect me. Focus on protecting yourself, having me around you is more dangerous than you think". Even though she was the one saying it, she still felt a pang in her chest. But it was the truth.
Being around Axel was dangerous for him.
"Who said I care about that? I said I would protect you and that's that". Axel's words stunned Hannah but before she could lose herself in what his words meant, reality struck her again.
Axel was speaking about protecting her when he barely knows anything about her. As much as she wanted to believe that he would protect her, she knew it would only be a matter of time before he turned his back on her.
Just like Raymond.
Not that she minded, but Raymond had always promised to protect her no matter what. He would follow her everywhere and make stupid promises of always being by her side and protecting her but… he kicked her out of the guild and left her to herself.
Raymond knows everything about her and they practically grew up together. Even though she hated him, it was understandable that he wanted to protect her.
But Axel…
He barely knows her, heck, she almost killed him today and now he wants to take responsibility for her. Maybe he was just trying to be nice or was it because of her earlier outburst in the car?
"I don't want it. You don't have to take responsibility for me and you don't have to protect me. I can take care of myself". Hannah said flatly.
"It's not your decision to make. I already see you as my responsibility so whether you accept it or not, I will protect you".
Hannah frowned at his stubbornness. Being obsessed with a watch was one thing and now, he was going on about protecting her and being responsible for her? What was wrong with this man?!
Knowing that arguing with him will only drain her mentally, she gave up. "Do as you wish! I don't care. But don't come crying to me when you get attacked!" Hannah huffed angrily while waving her finger in front of his eyes. After making her point known, she turned around to walk to her house but her body swayed, and in the next second, everything turned black in front of her eyes.
Axel caught Hannah before her body could fall to the ground and carried her up. He looked at her sleeping face and frowned. He had drugged her food because he thought she needed rest after what happened in the company. Any normal person, with a normal working body system, would have passed out after eating but Hannah… the effect of the drug didn't kick in till they got to her house. At one point, he thought he got the wrong drug instead.
"Sigh Hannah… what am I going to do with you?"