Chapter 43: college friend
After making sure that Kathe had filled her belly with different food and had rested for a while,
"The driver will drop you at home," Jark said as he helped her put on comfortable footwear.
"Ain’t you coming back with me?"
"No. I have some work to take care of," Jark said, standing up as he looked around to make sure that he didn’t miss anything.
"I want to come along."
"No need." Knowing how stubborn Kathe could be, he decided to use a new tactic on her. "You need to get back home and heal from your injury, or don’t you want to go out for the movie?"
Kathe threw an angry glare at him, pointing her middle finger at him like a warning. "Don’t you dare go back on your words."
Jark chuckled at her feisty side. "Then you need to go home."
Just then, the door opened, and Thompson walked in.
"Good morning, ma’am."
"Morning," Kathe replied as she scanned Thompson with her eyes. He was the one who was badly hurt yesterday, but he was also the one walking like someone who had spent his day at the beach. If it wasn’t for the bruises on his face showing how badly he had been hurt last night.
Thompson could feel Kathe staring at him.
"Boss, the cars are ready."
"Okay, we are coming," Jark said, dismissing Thompson after seeing the concern on Kathe’s face as she stared at him. Though he had felt guilty when he saw the bruises on Thompson’s face, seeing the concern on Kathe’s face made him feel that Thompson had gotten the bruises on purpose.
"Okay."
Thompson quickly excused himself after feeling the boss’s icy aura directed at him.
After Thompson left the room, Jark lowered himself a little and carried Kathe up in a bridal style, catching her off guard.
"Don’t. I can walk alone."
"It seems you don’t want to..." Jark teased in a threatening tone.
"Okay, okay."
She was compelled to agree, hiding her face in his chest to hide her red face as Jark carried her out of the room.
.......................
The drive back home was boring, but at the same time, she was eager to rest. The car pulled up at the mansion, driving past the first entrance before getting to the car lot.
"Ma’am, do you need my help?" the driver offered as he watched Kathe calculate her steps.
"No, thank you. I can manage by myself." Kathe smiled at him for his concern.
"Okay, ma’am, but be careful."
Kathe nodded at him as she stepped her feet down slowly and lightly and walked into the mansion.
After making sure that Kathe had walked inside, the driver quickly dialed Jark’s number.
"She went in, boss."
"Good."
The call was disconnected.
.......................
Kathe had just walked inside the mansion when her phone rang. A happy smile spread across her face when she saw the number that was being displayed.
"Miss me already?" she teased him.
"Are you home?"
Kathe rolled her eyes at Jark’s nonchalant reply.
"I’m sure that you had already gotten information that I’m back home."
"Someone is getting smart." It was Jark’s turn to tease her, but he wasn’t in a playful mood again.
"What do you want?" Kathe asked in a cold voice.
"Nothing, just making sure that you don’t roll down the stairs," Jark teased again.
"Thanks."
Kathe disconnected the call in annoyance.
"Ouch!" She had stamped her foot on the ground, forgetting that she had an injury. "This happened all because of that arrogant, prideful prick," Kathe murmured as she placed her hand on the wall, supporting herself while raising her leg to check on the injury. "And it’s his fault that I’m injured," she muttered, dropping her foot down, but unfortunately, she lost her balance and bumped into someone.
"Oh, sorry." Kathe quickly apologized, but she was stunned by the person’s appearance and also the sense of familiarity she felt when she had touched her. She was sure that she had never seen such a person before in the mansion, and she was sure that no maid in the mansion was dressed that way. She was a bit curious about the person.
The masked lady nodded at her as she walked past Kathe, seeming to be in a hurry.
Out of curiosity, Kathe turned to look at the stranger, and her eyes caught a mark on the lady’s wrist, catching Kathe’s attention.
"That scar," she murmured to herself.
"Wait!"
Kathe’s voice was loud enough, but the stranger kept walking fast, like she was running away from something.
"I said wait!"
Kathe shouted at her again with a frown.
The stranger finally stopped walking, but her back was still turned to Kathe. Kathe had to leap in front of her.
"If I may ask, who are you?"
Kathe asked as her eyes returned to the stranger’s wrist. Following Kathe’s line of sight, the stranger quickly dragged the black sleeve down, covering her wrist properly.
"Why did you cover it? Open your veil. I want to see your face."
Kathe was growing more suspicious of the stranger, but the stranger never said a word.
"I said open your veil."
Still, Kathe got no response from her, which heightened Kathe’s suspicion about her identity. Seeing that the stranger was not ready to cooperate with her, she decided to open the veil by herself. She didn’t mind if it was forceful or not.
Kathe stretched out her hand, about to pull off the veil, but before her hand could reach it, it was suddenly pulled back by someone behind her.
"What are you about to do, Kathe?"
Jacklyn’s voice sounded angry, catching Kathe off guard. This was the first time she had seen him talking in a serious manner.
"What do you think I was about to do?" Kathe retorted as she folded her arms.
"I saw you trying to..." Before Jacklyn could complete his sentence, he was interrupted by Kathe.
"Yes, I wanted to pull off her veil. Is there anything wrong with me doing that?"
"You can’t do that."
"Why can’t I?"
"Because her religion forbids it."
"If I may ask, how do you know her?"
"She’s my college friend."
His answer made her suspicious again. With Jacklyn’s creepy personality, it would be hard for him to get a friend.
"Your college friend?" she asked.
"Why are you asking like I could make that up? She’s my college friend. She came for business, and I won’t like you being impolite to her."
"You seem to be the only one getting offended because she didn’t seem like one when I tried pulling her veil."
Instead of replying to Kathe, Jacklyn turned to the stranger.
"Your father just called. He said that the business partner had arrived. You need to get to the meeting on time."
He then turned to Kathe.
"I will see you when I get back."
Kathe watched as both of them walked out of the mansion, but her eyes were fixed on the stranger. She couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss.
.......................
"Sir, about yesterday’s update, her trail was completely cleared off during your episode," Thompson said as he handed his tablet to Jark, who looked at it briefly without collecting it.
"I knew it would," Jark said after glancing at it.
"Boss, do you think she’s still in the city?"
Jark went quiet for a few seconds, lost in thought.
"It depends, but I think she’s still in the city. Her identity would have changed by now, so we can’t pinpoint her exact location."
"Strange. Other organizations couldn’t hunt her down," Thompson said, scrolling through some numbers on the tablet.
Jark turned to him.
"Do you think I was trying to hunt her down?"
"Yes, I guess."
Jark smirked.
"No."
"But..."
"I was searching for something. From the little I pinpointed, I have a rough idea of her relationship with Kathe."
"Oh, were you able to find out the person she met with?"
"She didn’t say anything, and I won’t force her, but there is a rough idea."
"Okay."
"Don’t you find something strange?"
"You mean her being at the same location with us?"
"No. It’s more about my episode. Don’t you find it strange that it lasted only a few hours?"
"I know. I think Chris is in a better position to say anything right now."
Jark nodded at Thompson’s words.
"Mmm, you are right. Any information on the person I asked you to check yesterday?"
"Little."
"How little?"
Thompson picked the file that was lying on the other side of the car.
"He lost everything in Italy. His wife was involved in a plane crash, which was later confirmed to have carried explosives in it for him and his children. I didn’t find much. They seem to have gone into hiding with very little information."
"That’s enough. You’ve tried. Just keep digging more into them. That alone is a clue to the situation."
"Okay. I will try to gather as much information as I can."
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