Clara pursed her lips as she tried her best to free herself from his hold.
Adrian had become so unpredictable that she wasn't able to guess what was going on in his mind.
"Adrian someone might see us" she muttered gnashing her teeth in frustration.
She didn't want to feel his touch creep over her body reminding her of the moments they created in the past. It reminded her of her vulnerable state where she couldn't contain her emotions for him and flowed along submitting herself.
Trying to brush off the feeling she raised her eyes and looked at him. They were inside the company's lift and were just three floors away from reaching the main office.
Clara was afraid someone might see them like this. She wanted to work here without any gossip lurking around her name. And it would be a great help if Adrian didn't keep pulling her to him just as he wished.
"I said, let go..." This time she warned him with her eyes firmly looking at him.
Adrian's hands that tightly gripped Clara's shoulder suddenly loosened, slowly falling as his eyes found the same coldness engulfing her stare.
His heart felt heavy watching her look at him as if he was a stranger to her and his touch was some kind of dirty that she wanted to protect herself from.
"Clara.." his eyes softened and so did his voice. He reached his hand to cup her face when
DING!!!
The door opened and Clara took the chance to push Adrian before she dashed out without sparing another glance at him.
Adrian felt a stab inside his chest as he watched her run away from him. He shouldn't feel that way but, her being so indifferent to him made him question her behavior.
His mind and heart both were a mess. The way she tried to maintain an arm's length distance from him made him rack his brain and think about what happened to her and, how this change happened.
****
[Imperial Hotel: City P: Country J]
Abby stepped out of her with her phone resting close to her ear and entered the huge hotel furiously.
"Argh... I am going to kill this man" she muttered angrily under her breath and entered the elevator.
Reaching the 15th floor of the building, she walked to the right side of the corridor and stopped in front of room no 1789.
Again she pulled out her phone and made a call to the same number and just like earlier the owner didn't receive the call.
"Lazy log" she cursed and reached her hand towards the bell button before pressing it a few times.
After what felt like an eternity, the door finally opened and a man half-sleepy stood in front of her.
"James Adler" Abby gritted her teeth making the man snap his head up and his eyes grow wide like a bulb in shock.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked waving her hand and watched him gulp.
Before the man could utter a word Abby dashed inside the room, shutting the door with a loud bang, and pulled his ear dragging in deeper inside the luxurious hotel room.
"Why the hell you aren't answering my calls" Abby was pissed by James being ignorant of the calls she had been dialing since last night.
"Aaah... aaah Abby please not my ear please..." James cried in pain watching Abby cruelly twist his ear until it turned red.
Listening to him whine in pain, Abby finally let go of his ear and watched him shoot a glare at her.
"Don't give me that look. You should have thought about it before ignoring my calls" Abby rolled her eyes and walked towards the couch before taking the seat. She crossed her leg, giving James a grim look.
James' eyes softened and he quickly changed his expression from grumpy to love-sick fool and tailed behind Abby before sitting next to her.
"Were you worried for me?" he asked resting his arms on the backrest of the couch and leaning forward pestering a foolish smile on his lips.
"Worried! And that too for you. In your dreams" Abby scoffed and turned her head to witness his smile drop the very next second.
James let out a small pout and turned himself away from her before crossing his hand over his chest like a grumpy kid.
"Can't you for once be good with me?" he said with the same sullen expression and heard her scoff once again.
"James Adler, don't you think you are expecting too much from me?" Abby said keeping her face straight without letting his words affect her.
James quickly dropped his act and turned to Abby with a cheeky smile," Can't I expect that much after all you agreed to date me" he said twitching his brows like an excited kid making her scowl.
"I agreed because I wanted to keep your loud mouth shut" she stated.
Abby never thought she would have to seek help from James to hide her secret from getting caught by her best friend.
"But still you are my girlfriend and now that we are dating don't you think you should be a little sweet with me," he asked moving closer to her only to get pushed from the couch the next second.
"Ouch... Abby" James whined in pain and gave Abby a pitiful look but got blatantly ignored when she scoffed again.
"By the way, why were you calling me," he asked, getting up from the floor and sitting back on the couch.
Last night after having a conversation with Clara, Abby suddenly started feeling guilty for lying to her. She said she sought help from her friend to find the location of the owner who sent the letter.
But how was she supposed to tell her that the entire letter thing was a plan she plotted to send Clara back to city M, her hometown?
"Clara is too adamant about finding the person who is behind sending the letter and I don't know how long I am supposed to keep lying to her" Abby sighed, feeling guilty for lying to her one and only friend. But it was all for her goodwill.
The hardship she went through in these four years, she had to make up for it, and for that, she had to return to the place, she came from.
James noticed her disturbed self and rested his hand on her shoulder before he patted it," You lied because you want Clara to have everything that she is running away from" his words were simple but the meaning they held was deep.