The Billionaire Who Saved Me

When Garrett returned home from the office that afternoon, he found his wife standing by the window. Elice looked lost in thought, holding her phone in one hand.

Closing the door behind him, perhaps because of Garrett’s footsteps, finally jolted Elice out of her reverie. She turned to see Garrett’s arrival and greeted him.

Garrett looked down at the phone in Elice’s hand. Somehow Garrett’s instincts told him there was something there.

Fortunately, it didn’t take Garrett long to satisfy his curiosity. Without being asked, Elice showed Garrett her phone a moment later.

“This morning Ariel contacted me.”

Prefacing her explanation with this sentence proved to be effective in changing Garrett’s expression. Surprise was clearly visible in Garrett’s eyes.

“Ariel?” Garrett asked, making sure Elice hadn’t accidentally mentioned someone else’s name. “He contacted you?”

Elice sighed deeply and nodded. She let Garrett take the phone and continued.

“He tried to contact me over twenty times. I happened to be meeting with Mr. Hollis at the time, so I didn’t answer. But not only that. He sent me a message as well.”

Armed with this explanation, Garrett immediately opened the intended message. He looked at Elice briefly and read it.

No need to ask, a stab immediately appeared in Garrett’s chest. An uncomfortable sensation that every man in the world would surely feel. If a man from the past sent a message to Elice, what else would Garrett feel but jealousy? Especially since there was a clear invitation from Ariel for them to meet.

As it turned out, jealousy wasn’t the only thing that came up. There was another thing that was present. Not anger, not even hatred.

“Why did Ariel contact you all of a sudden?”

Consciously or not, Garrett was actually asking this question. Without knowing to whom the question was really directed. To Elice or to himself?

For when Garrett raised his face, he found Elice staring at him with the same confusion reflected in her eyes. Indeed, not only Garrett but also Elice felt the same way. They both wondered why Ariel had contacted Elice after all this time and he hadn’t?

That’s why Elice thought about it after returning from the office. She kept staring at the message and felt her head filled with question marks.

“I thought Ariel wouldn’t contact me again, Garrett.”

This obviously wasn’t an answer to Garrett’s expressed curiosity. Rather, it was a form of proof to add to the countless questions that filled her mind.

“Even when we weren’t close and decided to get married,” Elice continued with an uncertain tone in her voice. As if she wanted to confirm the memories in her head. “He never contacted me again. Not even once. Until he finally sent me a message after the attack that happened to you.”

Garrett remained silent. And so did Elice for a few seconds, until she nodded.

“I’m sure. Ariel has never contacted me in all this time. And if he wanted to meet, he should have shown up before me.”

It was a very logical argument. Judging from past events, Elice wasn’t sure that Ariel needed her permission and willingness to meet. Ariel would have come immediately. Even if he had to cause chaos.

On the other hand, Garrett also felt that there was something different about the message. The word ‘please’ that Ariel had typed really felt like a request. It implied helplessness and desperation. Something Ariel should never have done all this time.

“But I don’t know, Garrett. I’m still not sure,” Elice said afterwards. “Because when I remember how he tried to hurt you that night, I think this is just his trap.”

Garrett blinked once. He took a short breath and looked at Elice. In his heart he said to himself.

Trap me, maybe. But not by trapping you, Elice.

*

“Sir?”

Nikita called out to Ariel politely for the umpteenth time. But the man did not seem to hear the secretary’s voice. Ariel remained motionless. Both hands were raised and resting on his elbows, his fingers intertwined under his chin.

There was a client Ariel had to meet that day. Who had been waiting outside, ready for their business meeting. But when Nikita approached her boss in his office to inform him of the visitor’s arrival, she found Ariel seemingly indifferent.

“Sir?”

Nikita called out to Ariel again. This time in a louder voice. And Ariel answered.

“Oh? What is it?”

Nikita smiled. “Mr. Marcus wants to meet.”

“Oh.”

Ariel had almost forgotten his schedule for the morning. He nodded hastily.

“Let him in.”

“Alright, sir.”

As Nikita left, Ariel quickly got up from his seat. He made his way to the sofa in his office. Waiting for his client with a thought running through his mind. That his mind was truly in chaos at this moment.

Ariel couldn’t concentrate on his work and found his feelings unsettled. With his phone calling Elice almost every hour, he only hoped that his calls would be answered by that woman.

Now Ariel was having a very hard day. During the day he tried to work, and in the evening, he racked his brains. But in the midst of it all, Ariel realized something. He couldn’t just stay silent. He had to act.

“I have to know what Mama is planning with Teddy.”

So, Ariel decided to go to his parents’ house before dinner that night. He went in and looked around. He didn’t find Teddy anywhere.

Ariel climbed the stairs one by one. Downstairs, several maids were arranging dishes on the dining table, so it wasn’t surprising to find the second floor of the house empty.

“Where are Mom and Dad?”

Luckily, there was a housekeeper who met Ariel there. She answered politely.

“Sir is in his room, while Madam is in the office with Teddy.”

Ariel nodded. Then he got up immediately. With one hand in his pocket, he knocked on his parents’ door with the other.

“Dad, it’s me.”

A short time later Kurt’s voice could be heard. “Come in.”

Ariel entered immediately. He found his father engrossed in emails on his phone. He sat down on the sofa and smiled when he saw Ariel.

“What are you up to, Dad?”

Ariel sat down in front of Kurt. She glanced at the phone in Kurt’s hand with a completely disinterested look.

“Just reading some emails that came in today,” Kurt said as he sighed. “And what about you? Are you coming over?”

“I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Ariel leaned her head back. He landed on the sofa and let his eyes wander to the ceiling. Showing the state of a man bearing the pressure of never-ending work.

“Take it easy, Ariel. Any crisis will pass. I believe you can handle anything.”

Without answering Kurt’s words, Ariel remained silent. It seemed at that moment that Kurt believed that Ariel was really not doing well because of his work. Unbeknownst to Kurt, Ariel’s hand moved when he was distracted. Just as Kurt got up from his seat, Ariel deftly placed a bug under the table. Making sure its position was hidden and no one would notice.

“Are you having dinner with mom and dad?”

Kurt emerged from the bathroom just in time. Ariel turned and shook her head.

“I want to,” he replied helplessly. “But it looks like Ruben and I have to work overtime tonight.”

Kurt nodded understandingly.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Ariel. Take care of your health.”

Ariel nodded.

Ariel left his parents’ room and went to the office. He knocked and, without waiting for Farrah’s permission, opened the door. Causing Farrah’s surprise.

“Ariel!” Farrah exclaimed with her eyes wide open. “What are you doing? You came in suddenly.”

Ariel smiled weakly. He glanced briefly at Teddy. There seemed to be a brief eye contact between Teddy and Farrah. Then Teddy stood up.

“I apologize, ma’am.”

Farrah nodded and let the man leave the office while Ariel sat down in another chair.

“What’s up, Ariel? Why did you come?”

Ariel frowned at the question. “Can’t I come to my own parents’ house?”

That wasn’t exactly what Farrah had meant. But startled by Ariel’s sudden arrival while she was talking to Teddy, Farrah inadvertently asked a seemingly blunt question.

“No, I didn’t mean that. But I’m just curious why you’ve been coming over so much lately?”

Ariel shook her head. “I’m just feeling overwhelmed. Work at the office is piling up and I thought I’d talk to Dad about it.”

“Oh. So have you met him?”

“Yes,” Ariel nodded slowly, taking his hand out of his pocket very slowly. He looked at Farrah, making sure his mother’s eyes were only on him. “But he seems busy.”

“He is. And maybe that’s why he seems to be coming back to Crestdale soon.”

“Mom and Dad are going back to Crestdale?” Ariel asked, her eyes wide. His hand moved quickly. It was aimed at the lower corner of the table.

“Not we,” Farrah replied, shaking her head. “Just Papa. Um… I’m still comfortable here.”

Ariel held his breath when he heard this answer. For he knew exactly why Farrah was staying.

“Oh, okay then, Ma. I guess I should go now.”

Getting up from his seat, Ariel didn’t move immediately. He stood and took a long breath.

“I was on my way home from the office when I decided to stop here. I thought I wanted to have dinner with Mom and Dad. But it seems that my mind is really overwhelmed right now. Besides, Ruben and I will be working overtime tonight.”

Ariel approached Farrah. He gave her a quick hug and then said goodbye. He left the office, leaving Farrah alone.

Silence followed. With no sound and no one else around, Farrah automatically fell into a pensive mood. Slowly but surely, the situation at that moment created a strangeness in Farrah’s mind.

The strangeness that Farrah had mentioned to Ariel earlier was now echoing in her mind. What was once just a form of carelessness was now causing Farrah to think about it.

Is this just my feeling? Or is this actually the truth?

Farrah thought hard, trying to remember, until a few wrinkles appeared on her forehead.

It was then that Farrah finally realized. That Ariel did not like to get together with his family. Hadn’t Ariel been home rarely all this time?

But why was Ariel coming over lately?

The oddity finally manifested itself in the form of a question. Because Farrah had just noticed. That Ariel had come to her house for three days in a row.

*