Chapter 58 ENGAGEMENT PARTY XXIII

          El's lashes quivered slowly as the morning sun shone slightly on her face. At first, she was confused about the brightness of the room, thinking she was dead but when she felt the sharp pain in her cheeks, she knew she was just daydreaming.

         She opened her eyes and looked around the room surprised as she wondered where she was. When she saw the huge portrait of Ethan in the room, her astonishment vanished and was replaced with doubt.

     Everything that happened last night came back flooding into her head like a memory, a vague one, and some parts of these memories were like a fog. She could see hazy images of Ethan standing in front of her, yet it felt like she was imagining things.

        Her head throbbed slightly as she tried so hard to remember everything that happened yesterday, so she decided to stop straining her brain. Those memories will come back eventually with time, and she couldn't afford to trigger her PTSD.

       Getting down from her bed, and ignoring the pains on her face, El was about to leave the room when the door opened.

         "Going somewhere?" Ethan's voice echoed in the room and she froze where she stood, looking at him as he stood at the door of the room.

        He frowned slightly at the sight of her face which was still a little bit swollen before he walked to where she stood, closing the door behind him.

       "You're supposed to be in bed, Eleanor," he said calmly in his nicest voice, stunning El as she wondered what has gotten into him.

       Before she could say anything, he lifted her from the floor and carried her in his arms effortlessly. El's eyes never left his as he carried her to the bed. He made her sit on it, making sure her back was well rested on the headboard, before covering her with the duvet.

        "Matt said you need to rest, and that's what you're gonna do, okay?" He asked with a smile on his face.

        El's heart skipped a beat on seeing the smile on his face. She was speechless by his sudden niceness toward her, to the point of even smiling at her. She looked into his blue eyes, stunned, before blinking thrice, just to be sure everything that was happening was real.

       Ethan sat on her bed, close to her, and brushed some strands of her hair that fell to her face from it. Pushing the hair back to her ears, his hand slipped down to her chin, and he raised it to his.

       "Answer me, Eleanor. You know how I hate to be ignored." He added calmly.

      "Y y yes," she stammered as she gulped softly.

       Her little act made Ethan smile again, which lasted for like two seconds before his face returned to his normal passive one.  "And don't ever leave the mansion without my permission, again. Am I clear?"

       She nodded at his words which sounded more like a plea, than an order. This was another incredible side of Ethan she had never seen. His caring side and she would be lying if she said this act of his didn't make her heart flutter.

       This man came to her aid when she needed him the most, and he saved her from those thugs who kidnapped her with... Sophie! Her mind screamed at her, and she suddenly became anxious.

       "Ethan, where's Sophie?" El asked worried, as she sat up straight on the bed, pushing herself closer to him.

      He held her shoulders and pushed her back to the headboard. "Max took her home already, and I made sure he didn't leave her until he was sure she is fine." He said nonchalantly, before standing to his feet, and putting his hand in his pockets.

       "So, relax and eat your breakfast when it's served, okay?"

       She nodded, and he walked out of the room.

.

       Back at Sophie's house, she opened her eyes to the bright light in her room. The warm hand which held hers on her bed made her jerk out of the bed in fear, and she fell to the floor.

       The loud thud that came from her falling to the floor woke Max who lifted his head from her bed. He massaged his neck slowly, moving his head sideways as he sat up straight on the chair.

       He had been sitting on a chair close to her bed for nearly seven hours since he took her home on Ethan's orders. 

         Walking to where the loud thud came from, Max saw Sophie sitting on the floor as she massaged her buttocks which seemed to hurt so much from the floor. From her expression, he could tell she was in so much pain.

       "Are you okay?"

      Sophie turned to look at Max who offered a helping hand, and she sighed softly, embarrassed. "I am." She took his hand, and he lifted her from the floor. "Thank you."

      "You're welcome."

      She looked into his light brown eyes with a smile, but his face remained docile.

       "It's morning already, I think it's time to take my leave," Max said indifferently and turned to take his leave when she stopped him.

        "Wait!"

       Max turned to look at her. 

       "Uhm... Why don't you stay for coffee?"

       Max raised a brow at her, curious as to why she was telling him to spend another second in her house. He was supposed to leave after he had dropped her off at her place last night, but he had stayed behind because she suddenly woke up crying, and clinging to him.

       He couldn't leave her in that situation because she looked so terrified, and Ethan gave him a direct order to make sure she was okay before leaving her. Even if spending any time with her exhausted him, he still couldn't defy Ethan's orders.

        "I don't think that's necessary, Miss Sophie," he said calmly, trying to hide the frustration he felt.

       "And I find it rude to let you go without having anything, after staying with me through the night."

      "As I said, it's not necessary."

      "I insist, Max," Sophie said with finality as she walked closer to him, and looked directly into his eyes.

      "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Sophie, but I still have things to take care of, so..."

       "Those things can wait." She interrupted.

       Max frowned as he looked at her face. He hated to be interrupted when he was speaking and was beginning to be irritated by this girl. The only reason why he was still standing here, listening to what she had to say was because of Ethan.

       "No, they can't." He said sternly.

       Sophie pressed her lips together as she looked at him. She knew he probably found whatever she was doing upsetting, but right now, she was too ashamed to admit the fact that she was terrified of staying by herself after what she experienced yesterday. And right now, she needed someone as strong as him to take care of her.

      "Okay, you can leave if you want..." Max bowed and turned to take his leave. "I just wonder what Ethan would do when I tell him I was mistreated." She added.

       Max turned to look at her confused. He couldn't believe she could use such childish tricks on him. He let out a frustrating sigh as he stared at her face which had a smile on it.

       "I'll be waiting downstairs." He said frustrated and left the room.

      Sophie smiled and quickly dressed up, before heading downstairs to meet Max sitting in the living room. 

       They had coffee together, and she tried to start a conversation with him, but with every question she asked him, he answered blandly, keeping it simple by answering yes or no, and in some cases, he just kept quiet.

           Sophie found his attitude inconvenient, but she didn't say a word to him because she needed his company.

.

.

     Maddy walked into her mansion with some bodyguards behind her to her office. She had doubled her security since she couldn't contact Ric whom she asked to drug Eleanor and take pictures of her with himself.

      She knew something was wrong somewhere, and her instincts told her the same but Ric had acted like this before, so she had self-doubts about anything going wrong.

      She tried to stop herself from thinking negatively but still kept her guard on to avoid being taken unaware.

       "Ma'am, you have a package." One of her bodyguards informed her, holding a box in his hand.

       "Drop it on my desk," she ordered before continuing what she was doing.

      The man dropped it on her desk and bowed, before leaving her office. She looked at the box suspiciously, and stood up from the desk chair she sat on to have a better look at the package she was going to open.

      Maddy screamed when she opened the box and backed into the wall that she used to support herself from falling to the floor. 

       Her screams attracted her bodyguards, and Isabella who was about to enter her office. They rushed into the room, only to find her clinging hard to the wall. Surprised by her sudden reaction, they all took a look at the content of the box and reacted in the same way.

        Ric's body was sawed into pieces, and on his head which was cut off from the rest of his body was the inscription 'E.G.'