Chapter 95: 95 | The Stray Dog
In Tempest Bay, Marcus had the power to make almost anyone who offended him disappear overnight without a trace and No one would question it.
Almost.
There were exceptions and every single one of them belonged to the same group.
Raven Group.
After he got rid of Ryan, he wanted to make the woman he had his eyes on his. But it was only then that the Devereux Family learned just how deep the Raven Group had been hiding.
In just two decades, Raven Group had closed the gap between them and the Devereux family. Just last year, they had surpassed the Devereux family financially. And according to his father, they weren’t as ordinary as they appeared to be.
They had awakeners too.
His revenge of getting Emma hit the biggest wall of his life. When none of the cards in his hand worked, he decided to pursue her the normal way.
Marcus had gotten everything he wanted his entire life with ease. Emma was the first thing he couldn’t have.
So, what started as revenge slowly turned into an obsession.
But he wasn’t completely insane.
He knew the backbone behind Raven Group’s financial rise was Emma herself.
As long as Emma fell for him, the Devereux family would overtake Raven Group once again. And after that, he planned to finish them off for good.
Even if they had awakeners, he wasn’t too worried. After all, Crimson Hollow wasn’t the only weapon the Devereux family had at its disposal.
***
’That fucker... I warned him to stay away from Emma.’ Marcus fixed his tie as veins popped on his forehead. ’Calm down. If I scare him enough, he’ll run back with his tail between his legs.’
He put on his most charming smile and walked toward their table. A few guests noticed him and stepped aside without being asked.
’Heh. Same old Dante.’ He thought, glancing at the man sitting beside Emma. ’He’s probably sweating through his suit right now after seeing me.’
He stopped at their table and placed both hands on the back of an empty chair, leaning in with a warm smile aimed directly at Emma.
"Emma, what a pleasant surprise." He said in a smooth tone. "I have to say, you might be the most beautiful woman in this entire hall tonight."
Emma didn’t look up from her plate. She kept eating and didn’t spare him a single word.
Marcus was used to her coldness. In his mind, it was just part of the chase. The colder she was, the sweeter the eventual victory.
He pulled the chair out and was about to sit down.
"That seat is taken." Aria said with a smile, swirling her champagne.
’This bitch...’ Marcus paused, barely keeping his expression together. He couldn’t lose his composure in front of Emma. He looked at the empty chair, then at Aria, then back at the chair. "I don’t see anyone sitting here."
"My bag is on it." Aria said.
There was no bag.
Marcus’s jaw tightened but he let out a laugh and remained standing.
He turned his attention to Dante, looking down at him with the same expression a person would give a child sitting at the adult’s table.
"Dante. It’s been a while." He said, his smile widening. "Still the same as always, I see. Quiet as ever."
Aria and Emma both turned to Dante, curious to hear his response. But Dante didn’t even look up. He was busy trying to cut into his steak and failing miserably.
’Is he nervous? Haha.’ Marcus watched him struggle with the knife and let out a small laugh.
"You can’t even cut your own steak? What are you, five?"
Dante put down the knife after hearing those words. Both ladies were slightly disappointed by his reaction. Aria was about to tell Marcus to get lost when Dante’s next words reached her ears.
"Emma, my wrist hurts. Can you feed me?" Dante looked at her with a helpless face.
Before she could react, a blue screen formed in front of her eyes.
[Task 3: Chase the Dog Away!]
[Description: A stray dog has been chasing around you for years. It’s time to put him in his place. Feed Dante gently, and show the mutt exactly who you already belong to. Don’t stop until he walks away.]
Emma would have normally hesitated, but she hated Marcus to her core. In her eyes, both Marcus and Ryan were two sides of the same coin. Before Ryan died, he had been pestering her nonstop despite knowing she only liked Dante. And now Marcus was doing the exact same thing.
’Who I belong to...?’ Emma’s eyes drifted to those words on the screen before stealing a glance at Dante on their own.
Ba-thump!
Meanwhile, Marcus stood there with a blank expression. His words were so abrupt that he wasn’t even sure he heard it right. Then a laugh burst out of him.
"Hahahaha!" He threw his head back and laughed as loud as he could. He wanted everyone in the hall looking this way.
"Dante, are you serious...?" He wiped his eyes and opened his mouth to say more, but the scene unfolding in front of him made the words die in his throat.
Emma picked up Dante’s knife and fork without a word. She cut the steak into neat pieces, stabbed one with the fork, and brought it to his mouth.
"Say ah." She said softly with a gentle face, her ears burning red.
Dante opened his mouth and let her feed him. He chewed slowly, nodding with a satisfied look on his face.
Marcus stood there, watching the woman he had been chasing for years feed another man with a tenderness she had never once shown him.
Dante swallowed and wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
Then he looked up at Marcus, blinking a couple of times like he just realized someone was standing there.
"Oh, Marcus?" He tilted his head with a surprised expression. "When did you get here? I didn’t even notice you. You’re a lot ’quieter’ than I remember."
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