Amanda turned with a horrified expression to see the man staring at her with a cold expression on his face, his jaw as hard as the fury in his eyes set on her.
"Oh My God! I'm so sorry Mr.... " Her voice wavered when she realized she didn't know his name.
"Carter." His voice sent chills to her body, causing her to freeze. He looked so angry It was possible to tell what he was thinking of doing to her at that moment
She swallowed and tried to calm down as she let the girl down Infront of the man and stepped back with her hands up like she had been commiting a crime.
"Mr. Carter." She tasted the name in her mouth, letting her tongue roll over as she pronounced it fluently. Why did that name sound familiar? And yet, her mind was blank and fuzzy, probably because she was focused on not getting knocked out by the man. "Look, I'm really sorry for the misunderstanding and I'm sorry for... hitting you. But you have to understand that you would have actually done the same If a man you've never seen before attempts to... "
She suddenly flinched as Mr. Carter approached her and grabbed her arm. When she didn't feel anything like a slap or a kick- but just a firm grip around her arm, she carefully looked up to see the man glaring at her from the rims of his glasses.
"Did you really think I would hit you?" He looked more surprised than angry right now and Amanda was confused.
When she did something wrong, her dad hits her to punish her so she would learn from her mistakes. He said It was the only way she'll ever learn.
"I... I.. almost took your own daughter away from you," Her voice was shaky as she replied him. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."
She suddenly bowed her head, shaking.
"Please don't punish me!"
Mr. Carter looked like he wanted to say something, but his younger brother chipped in. His name was Caleb.
"Punish you? We should even be thanking you. Hugo here didn't see It, but we saw the stunt you pulled earlier to save his daughter's life. We actually owe you."
"And you're hurt." Hugo stiffly said, referring to her arm which he had grabbed.
"Oh... " Amanda bit her lip as she stepped away from the two brothers with a polite smile. "It's okay. It's not serious. I'm just happy she's safe." She cast one look at Angel who was standing there, giving her a blank stare. "I'll get going now. My mum might be worried sick."
"Wait.... " Caleb said, but she just turned around and ran away, wondering why her heart was beating frantically and why she was trembling.
"Did you see that? It's like she disappeared.. I've never seen a girl run so fast." Caleb mumured, looking disappointed to see that the woman had run out of eye sight. "We didn't even get to know her name or thank her probably."
However, when he didn't get a reply, he turned to see Hugo standing there, his eyes staring at the same spot where the girl had run off in.
Caleb smirked, about to make a remark when Hugo suddenly said, his face creasing into a frown.
"Did you notice that?"
"What?" Caleb turned to the same spot his brother was staring off into, wondering If she was still around. "Notice what?"
Hugo finally turned to him, pushing his glasses back to adjust It.
"How she flinched when I grabbed her arm."
"So? It's a reflex, and besides, you weren't really going to hit her."
"Yes but, I could see the fear in her eyes- like she thought I was really going to hit her." Hugo said, his mind wondering off to how her brown pupils dilated before she shut them and flinched back in fear, bracing herself for the hit.
However, when he realized he was thinking too much about It, he brushed her off his mind and turned to Angel who had moved to Caleb's side.
"Don't even think about It." Caleb came between the two when Hugo made his way towards his daughter.
"Why would she run off like that? Does she realize how dangerous It Is? Does she... "
"Hugo, calm down." Caleb said, ensuring he was shielding Angel. "She's just a child and we were close to a park. She probably saw a butterfly or something.. "
"She was on the road... If It weren't for that girl, God knows what could have happened to.."
"But nothing happened. Look Hugo, I get It. You're scared. You're worried, but you won't admit It, so you try to be stern and strict on her, but you're forgetting that you're not just a parent but her father. She's scared of you even as a child. This is not the first time she goes out there denying you.. do you realize what she's capable of If she grows up with the mentality that It's okay to just to tell random people that you're not her father?"
Hugo tried to calm down hearing Caleb's words, but no matter how right they were, Hugo could never accept It. He was a proud, stern, Independent man who believed everything should go his way.
Right now, Angel had committed a great offense by flaunting his order and had not only put her life on the line but another.
His eyes bore a hole through the lenses of his glasses as he lowered his head to the small girl standing there with her curly dark hair standing on her head and her black eyes staring right back at him without wavering.
For a girl who couldn't talk, she had guts when It came to locking eyes with him and holding her gaze like she wasn't scared of him.
"No T.V for a week."
Angel's brows shot up and for a second, she looked like she wanted to cry.
When Hugo saw Caleb about to butt in as usually, he raised a hand.
"One word from you and I'll burn the T.V in her room and make sure her barbie doll collection go with It."
Saying that, Caleb literally zipped his mouth shut and threw the key away. His brother didn't make empty promises.
At that moment, a slick black limousine which blended in with the night pulled up beside the park and after a man stepped out from the driver's seat and held the door open, Hugo cast one glance at his daughter who glared at him before he walked away.
Caleb carried Angel in his arms and walked away, her men behind them, looking intimidating and cold towering over them.
The men waiting till the Carters were safely in the vehicle before they sat in the back.
Once the Limousine drove away, a fleet of midnight black cars- a dozen went after the Limousine with men wearing tuxedos and dark shades. These were the security men of Mr. Carter.