Was she really drunk?

Axel stood in front of the building, taking in the surroundings, and began to wonder why his employees came to such a place. He walked into the bar and his eyes roamed about, looking for Hannah. Taking out his phone, he called one of his bodyguards and they directed him to where she was.

Axel hung up when he got to Hannah's table. She was sitting in a corner that would be unnoticed by anyone if they didn't look closely. Looking at the girl sitting in a dimly lit corner, Axel wondered if she was really drunk.

Her eyes were focused on the window beside her and she drank from her glass just like any sober person would. He would have thought that she was not drunk but after recalling the first time she got drunk, he dismissed the thought.

He made a call again and soon, everyone started leaving the bar. Even the bodyguards were gone and the only ones present were Hannah, Axel, and two other bodyguards who were standing at the entrance of the bar.

Sighing, Axel took slow steps toward Hannah like he didn't want to alert her but it seems he did a bad job because after taking just three steps towards her, Hannah's eyes were already on him but after looking for a second, she turned back and returned her focus to the window.

Axel reached her table and the first thing he did was to snatch her bottle but Hannah was quicker as she held the bottle and stared deeply into his eyes. Again, Axel saw that look in her eyes, just like the first time she got drunk.

The pain, sadness, loneliness, and anger were back in her eyes like they have always been there.

Axel found himself releasing the bottle and he let her drink to her satisfaction. When she was done with the bottle, she raised her hand and the waiter came running with another bottle in his hand.

Axel glared at the waiter. He had clearly ordered everyone to leave but this damned waiter was still here and he even came with a bottle in his hand. How did he even know that she wanted a bottle?

Truth was that Hannah had been drinking for hours now and every time she called for the waiter, she ordered a bottle. The young waiter just did as he was instructed and since Hannah did not show any signs of being drunk, he kept serving dutifully her hoping that she would give him a tip when she was done.

After placing the bottle on the table and opening it, the waiter left them alone. Axel sat in the chair opposite Hannah as he watched her pour the content of the bottle into her glass and gulp it all at once. He wanted to scold her but what was the point of scolding a drunk person anyway.

Hannah kept drinking and her eyes were focused outside the window. It was already late at night so there were very few cars running in the streets. There was nothing interesting to look at outside but Hannah kept staring away. For some reason, she enjoyed the silence of the night. It brought immense peace to her heart but at the same time, it brought fear. She feared that someone would pop out of the dark shadows and attack her but Hannah didn't care about that. Even though she was scared, she sat still without any movement. She knew that staying in one place for a long time was dangerous for a person like her but she didn't care.

Right now, Hannah wanted someone to attack her, someone stronger than she is. Because if that person was a little bit weaker than she was, she was going to end up killing him. That was how she was brought up after all.

She sat here for hours, waiting for that person to show up but he didn't come. Instead, Axel showed up and is now sitting in front of her.

Hannah turned her head away from the window and faced Axel. She wondered what made him sit with her when there were so many tables around them or maybe he was the stronger person that she had been waiting for.

Hannah laughed inwardly at her thoughts. She has never seen Axel as someone stronger than she was. But then, he managed to take off her annunciator without her knowing and he made her do things that she wouldn't do.

He managed to get her, the oh-so-feared Hannah, to work in his company as his secretary, and not just that, he overworks her and sometimes, makes her work overtime.

Hannah didn't know why she kept Axel alive. Could it be that she had suddenly learned to tolerate people? Especially someone like Axel? If she wanted, she could kill him right now but she didn't or maybe she couldn't.

She didn't want Axel to die, after all, she was his secretary. Who would want her boss to die?

Unknowingly, Axel had managed to keep her sane and safe for a while now. If she wasn't working in the company, she knows not what would have become of her. Maybe the assassins would have found her and she would be lying dead in the mud in an unknown place.

Before she was kicked out of the gang, Hannah has always pictured her death in several ways. Maybe her body would be sliced into pieces, or her heart would be ripped out of her chest or maybe she would be hung upside down on a tree for all to see.

But now that she works for axel, those images have since made themselves scarce in her mind. Except for the constant reminder in her head that she would be killed anytime soon, the only thing she thought of now was Axel and his company.

She wanted to thank him but what would she that him for?

For allowing her to stay in his company or for making her work overtime?

Returning her gaze to the world outside the bar, Hannah could not help but notice how silent and peaceful everything seems right now. Even though she was drunk, she knew that she was surrounded and the only thing that was preventing the assassins from coming near her was, she knew, Axel's presence.