"Okay, okay, chill! I'll leave you don't have to blow my head off" Noah said to the security guards.
"Now move it!" the security guard with the gun said in a husky tone.
"Yeah but zip up your pants, it's so unattractive down there" Noah lied to distract the security guard from looking at him.
The foolish security guard with the gun immediately looked down at his trousers and Noah used that chance to throw a heavy punch in his jaw. The security guard fell to the ground with the gun falling from his hands.
The other two security guards tried to punch Noah but he dodged their punches and they ended up hitting themselves. While they were both groaning in pain, Noah swiftly kicked one of them in the tummy and hit the other one's chest with his elbow.
Meanwhile, the first security guard who was on the floor was crawling to reach for his gun but Noah quickly untucked his handgun from the back of his trousers and pointed it at the security guard before he could reach for his gun.
"Don't even think about it" Noah yelled, breathing hard.
The three security had no other option but to surrender.
Suddenly, Noah felt the metal tube of a gun touching the back of his neck. That was when Noah knew he was in trouble.
"Drop your weapon or you die where you stand,"
Noah heard a husky voice behind him. The voice wasn't familiar to him but he guessed that whoever was behind him would be dangerous for pointing a gun at him.
Noah let his gun fall from his hand from where he stood. He couldn't afford to play smart since a gun was at the back of his neck.
"On your knees now!" The voice echoed and Noah knelt because he was totally unarmed.
"Keep your hands around your back,"
Noah heard the voice loud and clear and he reluctantly obeyed with a sigh.
The man behind Noah tucked his gun into the back of his trousers and handcuffed Noah's wrists together.
"I can't believe you three incompetent fools let this old man beat you all up" The man yelled at the security guards.
"For the last time, I'm not an old man" Noah whined.
"Shut up!!" The man said and punched Noah in the face.
"Ow! take it easy man..." Noah said with furrowed brows. He took a good look at the young man who just punched his jaw but he had no clue who he was.
The man's name was Robert. He was dressed in a fine tuxedo suit, looking so formal that no one could ever suspect that he was harboring a gun.
"Who are you and why are you hurting my men?" Robert yelled at Noah.
"Your men?? Pff I knew they weren't security guards" Noah said.
"Answer the damn question" He brought out his gun from the back of his trousers and pointed it at Noah's face.
"Okay, okay! I'm just a regular man Mr. Ross invited to his birthday party," Noah said feigning a serious face.
"You're lying," Robert said.
"Check for his ID card to know who he really is," The first security guard said, smirking at Noah, and Noah rolled his eyes.
"For once you said something smart," Robert said and started checking for Noah's ID card in Noah's pockets. He eventually found the ID card and he slowly read the name on it. "Detective Noah Grimes... nice name"
He took Noah's phone with him and luckily, it was locked.
"Hey! Unlock your phone," Robert said to Noah in a husky tone.
"No can do. My hands are tied" Noah replied.
Robert let out a frustrated groan feeling agitated. He almost forgot that he handcuffed Noah. He wanted to know more about this detective and why he was lurking outside the hotel. The only way Noah could unlock his phone is if he drew a pattern on his phone but now he can't and Robert couldn't afford to lose his handcuffs. He sees Noah as a tough man and he didn't want to underestimate him.
"He was here to stop us from killing Mr. Ross," Robert casually said to the security guards. He figured it out because he was a detective and he took down the three security guards with ease all by himself.
Mr. Ross must've hired him to protect himself. Robert thought.
Noah's eyes widened out of shock. He wasn't expecting such an average man to be after Mr. Ross's life. He had so many questions but he held his peace. He guessed that Robert must've probably paid these assassins disguised as security guards to kill Mr. Ross and anyone that tried to stop them.
Noah began to feel anxious about what might happen to Mr. Ross and everyone celebrating the party. He hoped that Carl and Sasha would be alert and be able to protect Mr. Ross.
"You, come with me," Robert said to the first security guard "...and you two, keep your eyes on the detective and make sure you do your jobs correctly" he ordered the other two security guards and left them to watch Noah, side by side in the backyard of the hotel.
....
Carl took Anne to one of the doors in the hall that led to a less noisy corridor. It was just the two of them standing opposite each other.
Anne's back was resting against the wall staring at Carl who was a few inches away from her. She saw anger and pain in his eyes and she suspected that she was the reason for it.
Carl was busy giving Anne a bitter stare like she was the biggest traitor in the world. His anger would've lessened if she had danced with any other guy rather than Angelo who he despises so much.
He wondered if Angelo was intentionally flirting with any girl he falls in love with or if history was just repeating itself. Another thing that got Carl more upset was that he expected Anne to be different from Aurora.
Amid their staring contest, Anne managed to utter a word.
"Carl,.."
"…Tell me how you felt when you danced with Angelo under the spotlight in front of everyone" Carl cuts in before Anne could speak up.
Anne gave Carl a confused look feeling tongue-tied. How does he expect her to answer such a question? She was clueless about what to say.
"Do you find him attractive??" Carl voiced out making Anne shudder. She panicked because of his harsh tone and the glare on his face made her nervous. Her eyes were fixed on Carl's cold eyes with fear because he looked like a different person.
"Is he better than me?" Carl yelled. He was getting impatient with Anne because he wanted a quick response from her.
Meanwhile, Anne was in a state of shock. Carl has never raised his voice at her let alone yell. It seemed as if Carl who used to look at her with smiles all over his face has went on a vacation and there was a completely different Carl standing in front of her. This Carl was angry and was about to explode.
"Answer me Anastasia!!!" he yelled again.
"What is wrong with you?" Anne snapped, looking at Carl with squinted eyes.
"What is wrong with me?? You're the one who's messing with my head... with my heart" Carl pointed to his chest.
"Do you get paid for constantly hurting me?... Huh?" he said in anger
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry" Anne muttered. She wasn't sure why she was apologizing but if it'll make Carl feel better then it was okay. Besides, she has hurt Carl times without numbers in the past but this time, it wasn't intentional.
"No! don't start apologizing. I want you to answer all my questions" Carl said and walked closer to Anne's face making her gulp. "Did you and Angelo plan to come to this party as a couple behind my back?"
"Of course not," Anne replied swiftly.
"Oh, my God!" Carl exclaimed "I can't believe you're lying to my face... you two dressed in uniform and.. and you danced with him so romantically like two love birds. The emcee also called you both a beautiful couple?" he scoffed at his last sentence.
Anne mentally slapped her forehead. Carl was getting it all wrong. Yes she danced with Angelo and it must've made Carl jealous but her similar outfit to Angelo was just a coincidence. The emcee must've also thought that they were a couple that's why he announced it.
"Carl, if you would just let me explain..."
"…How did you get to know Angelo?" Carl interrupted Anne. He couldn't wait for her to finish her sentence. He had a lot of questions in his head and he needed answers.
Carl added "I left you for two minutes and you're already drooling over him. If I had left you for five minutes, oh my God! who knows? You probably would've kissed him since you're like the other girls and look at how you're seductively dressed"
SLAP!
Anne gave a resounding slap on Carl's cheeks. Unknowing to Carl, he had crossed the line and Anne has had enough of his bullshit. Anne understood that Carl was angry with her probably because he felt betrayed but talking about her dress like she was a slut got on her nerves. She couldn't take it anymore so she had to slap some sense into him. There was no way on earth Anne would allow anyone to talk to her like she was trash.
Why is he so possessive? They're not even in a relationship yet and he's already acting like he owns her.
Anne was very upset. And no matter what, Carl didn't have the right to act like he owns her especially now that they were not even dating.
Carl clicked his tongue and turned his head back to her after the slap. "Do you like him that much to hit me because of him?"
"Just shut up!!" Anne yelled.
"No, you shut up and listen to me Anne," Carl yelled back.
"NO! I WON'T!! how I dress, who dance with, shouldn't bother you at all" She said, glaring at him.
"It fucking bothers me Anne, or are you forgetting we came here together as a couple?" Carl questioned her.
"PRETENDING to be a couple" Anne corrected him with gritted teeth.
"it was your idea anyway," He said with a straight face but felt his heart squeeze when he heard the word 'pretending'
"Then it seems I made a mistake," Anne said in a shaky voice, trying her possible best not to tear up. She felt heartbroken at Carl's response.
The only reason she wanted to come with Carl to Mr. Ross's birthday party like they were a couple was that she enjoyed Carl's company and she wanted to be close to him at all times. Carl makes her feel comfortable and she's herself when she's around him. But now, Carl just made her feel bad about herself. Yelling at her and disrespecting her like she was nothing really hurt her a lot.
Carl took a deep breath.
Hearing Anne say the words 'I made a mistake' made him realize that he must've gone too far in being overly possessive of her. He immediately felt regretful for letting his anger and jealousy get the best of him. He felt remorseful for the harsh words he said to her but it was too late to take them back.
"Anne please listen to me, I…" Carl said calmly but Anne interrupted.
"…listen to you? so you can slut shame me?" She said in a high-pitched voice, glaring at him.
"So you can tell me how I drool around every man I see because I'm like the other girls??"
"Anne I didn't mean it that way," he said in a low tone.
"Of course, you meant it that way, Carl. Else, you wouldn't have said those hurtful things to me. You wouldn't have disrespected me like that… how dare you feel so entitled to me when YOU DON'T OWN ME!!" Anne said angrily.
"That's because I'm crazy... I can't think straight anymore and it's because I'm shamelessly in love with you Anastasia" Carl said in a broken tone.
"Well, that's your headache, not mine," Anne said harshly. She was just about to leave but Carl held her waist firmly with his both hands.
"Don't leave. Please don't leave me" Carl pleaded. He hoped that she wasn't going back to Angelo.
"Actually, I wanna go anywhere you're not and get your hands off me," she said vehemently.
"Anne I'm sorry" he sincerely apologized. "I'm sorry I disrespected you, I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me…"
"…Carl, let go of me!!" Anne screamed, ignoring the fact that Carl was apologizing to her.
She tried her best to break free from him but he was just too strong for her. Struggling to let go of him was totally pointless.
"Anne, I want you to know that Angelo is not a good guy. He uses women and dumps them and I don't want you to be a victim" Carl said, still holding her waist like he was afraid of letting her go. He was scared of losing her, let alone, losing her to Angelo.
"You still think this is about Angelo? Do you think I'm interested in him?" Anne questioned Carl but he couldn't say a word.
He knew that Anne was right. He doesn't own her and he has no right to act entitled to her. The thought of that made him release Anne from his grip.
"...From now on, I want you to stay out of my business and I don't want you to get close to me ever again" She warned and walked out of Carl's presence.
"Anne please wait" he called but Anne didn't look back.
She went towards the edge of the corridor that led to one of the doors of the ladies restroom to calm her nerves.
"DAMN IT!!" Carl screamed as he punched the wall with his might causing him to have bruises on his fingers.