Chapter 4 Nothing In Exchange For Protection.

“Let’s do it this way, Miss Russo.” He said.

Miss Russo. The way he called my name had genuinely surprised me. This whole time he had only called me by my last name, which in itself was weird as hell.

Why had I not noticed the way he called me before? And even the way it sounded so natural that I just responded as if it was normal, as if he’d called me that several times before.

He knew who I was, but decided to call me by my last name when he could have just regarded me as Jamiel’s girlfriend… ex-girlfriend. Did he call me that way for formality?

The deal was not set in stone yet, but I guess if we were going to do this, then we both must show some level of respect to each other. As two people and as soon-to-be partners.

“For now, you will provide me with Jamiel’s schedules, routines, everything you know. But that will not be your side of the deal. That is you helping me in getting your revenge.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” I raised my hand to stop him, waving it in front of him to make sure he’d really stop because it felt like he wouldn’t.

Well… he did look offended to have been stopped.

“What do you mean you are going to take my revenge for me?” I asked, my voice a little louder as I pointed my forefinger at him. “Shouldn’t it be me who’s gonna take revenge?” I pressed my palm to my chest.

“You are not the only person who needs Jamiel to pay for something.” He said.

That was true. Jamiel did have enemies, both inside the academy and outside. Naturally, as his girlfriend, I had witnessed almost every fight he had. But never did I know that there was someone inside his family who hated him so visibly as his uncle did.

“Did he do something to you…?” I caught myself before I could ask more. My voice trailed off as he stared at me, hard and calculating.

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

Did I?

“No.” I swallowed the lump building in my throat. The room suddenly became colder than it had felt before. I trembled, feeling the goosebumps that rose through my arms and legs.

“Just a second.”

He stood up and climbed the stairs, leaving me alone to myself. I took the chance to remove my sweater. It was fine; it wasn’t like I had nothing underneath.

He came back down with a fresh set of clothes in his hands. I watched him walk, and couldn’t help but notice how obviously high his confidence was. Back straight, head held high as if he owned every single room he walked in.

Jamiel did it, too. But something about this man screamed elegance; it screamed authority. And what I thought made it even more prominent was the evident maturity in his body.

His eyebrows twitched after laying his gaze on me, his eyes scanning me. I followed his line of sight.

Shit! I did wear something underneath. A white fucking shirt, soaked through, and it made my black bra fully visible.

“I didn’t know you—”

“Don’t say anything!” I screamed and grabbed my sweater, covering my body.

A short chuckle escaped from his lips as he offered the clothes he got from God knows where.

“Change into these. Unless you want to catch a cold.”

And, oh, how fast I snatched the clothes out of his hands while shooting daggers at him with my eyes.

“You saw nothing!”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

I stood up and headed somewhere, then stopped.

I didn’t know where the bathroom was.

“To the left, at the corner.” He instructed and made heat travel from my neck and rest on my cheeks.

God, if it was possible for the ground to open and swallow me whole, please grant my wish.

Of course, it didn’t.

I finished changing, my not-so-soaked clothes in one hand and the other holding the pants from sliding down my waist and flashing him with my glory.

When I arrived, he had already changed out of his wet clothes, wearing a fresh black muscle-fit turtleneck and gray sweatpants that hung loosely on his hips.

I looked up to his eyes, only to find he did the same as I did.

“Need something to tie that with?” He asked, nodding to my hand holding on to the pants.

“No need. I can just hold it.”I said as he tried to take my wet clothes from my hand.

“You should have left this in the bathroom. I’ll ask my housekeeper to take care of it.” He said and snatched it from my hand, then threw it in some random basket that hid perfectly on the black marble wall.

“Now, shall we talk?” I asked and sat down on a different seat.

Suddenly, I felt a tinge of shame. I sat on his couch earlier without regard to my wet clothes. But then, he did the same, so it should be fine… right?

“We’ll both take revenge. You’ll help me get into his daily life. And I’ll provide things you would never know about him.”

I hated how he phrased his sentence. Because it proved how much I didn’t know about Jamiel. How many things he had managed to keep from me without so much as sparking a doubt in my heart.

Maybe that was how he was able to roll around in his bed with another woman. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth and made my stomach churn.

“That’s it? So, this deal…” I waved my hand in the air. “Just helping each other get revenge on the same person?”

“No. I’ll also guarantee that if the plan backfires, I will protect you and everyone around you.”

My body stilled as I processed what he said.

“I can’t give you anything.”

“Then, how about granting a wish of mine?” He asked.

It sounded more like an insinuation than a question.

I thought I had nothing. No, I believed I didn’t. But this man told me I did. So what exactly does he see in me in exchange for his protection?

My mind screams nothing. But that only made his words carry a danger I didn’t want to approach.