Chapter 459: I mean it.
Leilani.
I do not know why Kael suddenly began to laugh but seeing him like that with his eyes squinted and his head thrown back as he giggled made me chuckle too.
The sound of his laughter, rich and almost mocking, drew the attention of everyone in the room until they all turned to look at him with raised eyebrows.
That is until Micah took a step back, his ashen face twisted into the ugliest frown I have ever seen as he seethed; "This is wrong. All of this is wrong!"
Something about the iciness in his tone almost made my blood run cold— almost. That is until I remembered how weak a man he was. How easily it would be to squash him under my feet and just how easy it had been for me to steal that thing he had almost had within his reach.
"What is wrong?" I couldn’t help but ask him and when I did, he turned to me, slowly dragged his dark eyes up and down my body like he was staring at filth and hissed through gritted teeth;
"This is all your fault!" He snarled, "...you plotted this! You and the triplets planned all of this! This is your fault!"
"Of course, I plotted it!" I snapped back, rolling my eyes at him when he frowned. "You were plotting to impeach them. You went behind their backs to acquire more shares just so that you can come up with this bizarre idea of casting votes... and somehow you didn’t think someone else would do the same? That I would sit back and watch you go Scott free after doing that?!"
He gulped. Lowered his head and began to stutter; "B-but that wasn’t how I meant it. I have said this countless times before... I am only d-doing this to help them while they—"
"Keep it!" Kael hissed, cutting him off, and I couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes hardened infinitesimally before he turned away. "Keep your help to yourself. We do not need it. And if that nonsense you just did translates to trying to help us out, then I think the only person you need to help right now is yourself. Okay?"
"You are all ingrates!" He seethed, but this time, no one responded to him. Not me and definitely not Kael.
I do not know when or how but somewhere amidst all the chaos, his father had slid out of the room. The shareholders who once had his support had also now sunk into their chairs, burying their faces in embarrassment and contempt while he still stood there, forming at the mouth and vibrating with raw anger.
But what could he do to me? To us?
He was smart to know a battle he has lost.
"This will not be the last of it!" He finally growled, and with that, stumbled out of the room like his legs could no longer hold his weight.
I watched him go with a mixture of excitement and anger, and it wasn’t until this moment that Zevran and Caelum who had been quiet the entire time, as if lost in a daze, suddenly stirred.
When they looked at me this time, there was something different in their eyes. Something akin to gratitude with a touch of admiration. Something that looked like affection and love and respect all mashed together into one deep brooding look.
Caelum smiled cheekily and before I could ask what was so funny, came over to cup my face in his hands, his eyes and voice soft as he whispered; "thank you."
And goddess, he was standing close. Too close. So close that I could smell his sweet minty breath, so close that the warmth from his skin enveloped me as if in a caress.
His thumb brushed over my lower lip, sending shockwaves straight into my soul, and I gulped when he pressed even closer, leaned forward and drawled; "Thank you for everything and for publicly acknowledging us as your mates."
I hadn’t been expecting him to say that so when he did, it came as a shock to me. So much shock that a blush stained the corners of my face. My throat instantly tightened and my face heated up as I smiled at him. But for some reason, I could no longer meet his intense eyes nor find my voice which was something I always used to easily find.
I muttered; "you’re welcome."
"You saved us today, you just do not realize it yet." Zevran murmured from the side. "You saved us for life and we’ll forever be indebted to you."
I wanted to shrug him off. To tell him that none of this mattered as long as they were safe and had their company. But just as I opened my lips to say that, Caelum’s head dipped to press a kiss to my cheek, immediately causing my lips to snap shut.
He muttered; "I am grateful."
I rolled my eyes.
"How do you want me to pay? How much do you want? Do you want bags, shoes, money? Do you want me to pay in kind?" He rasped, wriggling his eyebrows as if in a bid to say: ’I do not mind paying in kind.’
I smacked his upper arm and when he yelped in pain, I hissed; "I need yall to pay me back, alright. But first off, we need to do something about Darius."
At the mention of Darius’ name, the atmosphere grew tense one more time; but deciding to ignore that, I glanced back at the people behind us— the people who were watching— and drawled;
"We’ll talk about it later. Also, we have a date with him tonight."
"Tonight?" That was Zevran and he sounded irritated.
"Yes, tonight." I hissed back, sounding so soft, you’d think I was chatting about the weather. "He wants to meet with me. I also want that but there’s no way in hell that I’ll go to him alone."
"I wouldn’t even allow it. He’s dangerous." Caelum seethed, and he looked like he meant it.
Well, damn.
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