Henry was silent for a moment. He released a breath and raised his gaze again.
"It's about your safety Cara, what happens if those kinds of guys attack you on the road or somewhere else?" He asked.
"This is El Deols Henry. No one dares attack any other publicly. They'd be put behind bars in no time."
She was still talking when her phone began to ring, she took out the phone and answered.
"Hey, Dad."
"Cara, are you okay?"
"Of course, I'm okay, Dad." She replied.
"I just got a call, and I was told what happened at the gym, I hope no one laid a finger on you."
"I'm fine, Dad. I wasn't touched." She replied.
"Good, we do need to talk. You come to my place this evening," the man offered.
"No, Dad, that won't be possible."
"Okay, I'll come over to your apartment this evening."
"No, Dad! I have plans for the evening already," she lied.
"No? Cara, No? You know you can't…"
"Don't worry about me, Dad. I'll come over to your place tomorrow when I'm free."
"No, I won't wait for that. I'll take action right now to make sure you're safe at all times."
"Oh, Dad, you worry too much."
"Not as much as your safety is important to me."
The call ended a few seconds later, and Cara heaved a sigh as she dropped the phone.
"He already found out, and he's worried," Cara said to Henry.
"I think you should listen to him," Henry advised.
Cara shook her head and looked away. She didn't think a bodyguard was necessary. She had never gotten into trouble without a guard except for the recent issues with Tom.
She remained silent and decided to end the discussion.
"Cara," Henry called softly after some seconds of watching her reflect.
"Henry," she called back, raising her brows.
"You know I saw those men watching me earlier, I was afraid that they knew me from somewhere else."
Cara chuckled.
"Well, I got more scared when the five of them threatened to teach me a lesson. I don't know how it happened, but somehow…"
"Not somehow," Cara interrupted in an excited tone. "You didn't just deal with them anyhow. You beat them, hands down."
Henry smiled briefly, but the smile soon vanished from his face and turned to a worried look.
"I'm scared, Cara," he voiced out.
"Scared?" Cara raised a brow.
"Yes," he replied. "How could I have beaten those guys? It shows that I was a fighter of some kind."
"Yes, but that's a good thing." Cara said with a shrug, wondering why Henry was bothered about beating up some troublemakers.
"You know, maybe I got into trouble because of that. Maybe I did something really bad or beat up someone. Maybe I even killed, and that's why those people tried to kill me." Henry said in a worried tone. "I'm scared that I lived my previous life as a bad person."
Cara thought for a while. She got up and moved closer to him. She sat on the arm of his sofa.
"I don't think so, Henry. I think you were a good man. But then it doesn't matter anymore. Who you are now is what matters. Remember you are a few steps away from starting a new life."
Henry heaved a sigh. His mind flashed back to the fight and recalled how he handled each of the men. He sighed again.
"Don't worry, Henry, no one can touch you in El Deols as long as you are here with us." Cara reassured as she clung to his arm and rested the side of her head against his shoulder.
_____________________
El Deols, Anthanna
"Dad, I told you I had plans for this evening already." Cara murmured as she walked into the living room.
Emery Jack was comfortably sitting in one of the sofas, holding a glass of water in his hands. He seemed unperturbed by his daughter's unwelcoming words.
"I'm here, Cara, and there's nothing you can do about it." The man replied and dropped his glass cup on a stool. "Get seated, and let's start the discussion."
Cara took a seat directly from her father reluctantly. They stared at each other for a while before her father spoke.
"Cara, I'm your father. I'm older than you are, and I know better than you," the man began. "Don't be deceived by the seeming safe condition of El Deols. There are many wicked men out there who could have sinister plans for you. I have a personal bodyguard and even more security officials for myself. Why have you refused one for yourself?"
"Dad, I've told you several times. There's no need for a bodyguard. You are the famous one. I'm Cara, and no one knows me as an Emery until I'm introduced. Introducing a bodyguard to myself would only attract more attention to me." she replied.
"I have a solution to that, Cara," the man said.
"What solution, Dad?" she asked.
The man raised his face, staring at something behind her. She turned to look back, and Henry was approaching them. She looked at her father's face again, wondering what he was suggesting.
The man got up to his feet. "Henry, would you work as a temporary bodyguard for my daughter?"
The Bodyguard
"No, Dad, not him. Why should he work as a bodyguard for me?" Cara argued.
Emery Jack only flashed a look at Cara and returned his gaze to Henry's face.
Henry stood still and did not know what response to give. He felt it would be bad to decline such a request from Emery Jack since he was the father of the woman who saved his life. Being close to Cara at all times which the offer would allow him was another thing which he liked but he did not know if Cara would like to have him around her and also did not know how he could take the job without it affecting his personal life.
When he had gotten a message from Emery Jack to join them downstairs, he had the idea that this would be the subject of discussion but never thought he would be asked to take up the role. He was puzzled and unable to speak. He hoped Cara would talk and save him from having to accept or decline the request.
Emery Jack took his eyes off Henry after realising that Henry was depending on Cara for the decision. He sat back on his seat and stared at his daughter's face. "If you reject Henry, then I would have to get another for you, and you don't have a choice."
"No, Dad, I told you I do not need one. I'm not a kid that you would force things on."
"I'm telling you that you need one, I can't let you keep going around town without being protected. If you don't make wise decisions like the adult you want to be treated like, I'd make them for you."
"But Dad, I don't still understand how you came up with the idea of Henry being my bodyguard."
"Don't get sentimental young lady, you complained that you didn't want a bodyguard because it would make you feel monitored but Henry here is your friend, all he needs is to be with you as friend and ensure you are protected at all times. You don't need to see him as a bodyguard."
Cara also thought the idea of being close to Henry at all times was good, but she also considered how it would affect him. "It's not possible, Dad. Henry has his personal matters to take care of. He needs to continue with his private classes."
"That's workable, I'm already making arrangements for him to continue his private tutorials in your firm. He gets a room close to your office, and he continues his classes there while also working."
"What? You are already making arrangements in my firm, how?" Cara raised a brow.
"Yes, I'm making arrangements to get his office opposite yours, but you know these arrangements can not be completed or approved without your consent."
She let out a breath. To her, the man was making sense, but she wasn't going to agree easily, especially when she knew it conflicted with Henry's routine.
"He can't still work as a bodyguard for me. He needs to be off public places for now until he leaves the country," Cara continued to make a case for Henry.
"He needs to stay off public places, yet you let him go with you to the workout centre? Isn't that a public place?" The man fired at her.
"Stop these flimsy excuses, young woman. You don't appear on television every day. Your routine is work, recreation centres, and home. So how would being with you expose him to the public?"
Cara was silent for a while. Her Dad had asked a question she had no answer to. She was about to bring up another argument when Henry's voice silenced her.
"I would take up the job," Henry said in a firm voice.
Emery Jack flashed a quick look at him. He narrowed his gaze on his face for a moment to check his expression and know if he felt compelled to agree.
Cara also looked at her his face.
"No, you can't do that, Henry. I won't let you," Cara argued.
"You would, I would take the job." Henry insisted, matching forward to a sofa to take his seat.
Emery Jack heaved a sigh of relief. He got up from his seat and advanced towards Henry. Henry saw him coming and stopped in front of the seat but did not sit.
"Thank you, Henry, you would start immediately," Emery Jack said as he offered him a handshake. Henry took his hand firmly in his. "Please send me your email address via sms, I would request that some details are forwarded to you tonight. You would come with her to my apartment tomorrow, and some other things would be explained to you by my men."
"I'll do exactly that, sir," Henry replied.
The man smiled lightly at him, and Henry smiled back.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Cara," Emery Jack said to his daughter before walking out of the house.
"Henry," Cara exclaimed after staring at Henry's face in shock and silence for a while. "How could you just agree with him? Why do you need the job?"
"I don't see it as a job, I see it as a duty." Henry replied. He sank on a seat beside her.
"Come on!" she exclaimed. "You shouldn't have made him do what you did not want to do."
"Trust me, Cara, I want to do this." Henry replied. He kept an expressionless face even as he watched Cara get up and walked out of the living room.
He got a text message right after she walked out of his sight. It was from Emery Jack.
I never thought you would agree, I only wanted to make her have enough reasons to take someone else. Send me your email address ASAP. Thank you.
Henry replied to the message with his email address immediately.