Chapter 9

I swallowed and averted my gaze from him, my blood boiling for some unknown reason. No, I actually know. The excitement of what will happen is already getting into my head.

"Do you feel some excitement?" the devil asks again beside my ears. Yes, this man is a devil who continues to lure me into something forbidden and even unravel the "me" that I don’t know.

His breath brushed against my ear as it tickled me, causing me to bite my lips. I turn and look at him, frowning and ready to scold him. However, as I finally saw the distance between our faces, all the words inside me vanished.

“Aren’t you curious?” he squinted his eyes mesmerizingly, then leaned a little bit more until his lips were right beside my cheeks. My mind went black as our breaths almost touched each other.

I should push him; my mind screams for that, and yet my body went completely stiff, and I can only listen to what he had to say.

"How do I know you? How come I’m so familiar?” he whispers in his deep voice, waking up the desire in me.

I subconsciously swallowed and tried so hard to wake up from his enchantment, which I finally did as I pushed him. My strength is fading slightly.

Raising my head and meeting his eyes, I glared at him. "I'm married," I said to him and, more importantly, to myself.

Why... Why is my heart pounding for another man?

He stared at me, with a serious expression. “I didn’t say you weren't.”

“Then why? You’ve been...” I shout, then stop, closing my mouth and feeling guilty.

“I’ve been what, seducing you?”

My eyes widen and I look at him incredulously.

A grin is now on his lips, “Did you only realize that now?” he chuckles, a little mischievously, as he licks his lips while staring directly at my eyes. “I’ve been seducing you since I approached you earlier.”

I fell silent. Disbelief filled my eyes. Is he serious? seducing a married woman? Does he have an ulterior motive?

A lot of thoughts flashed inside my head that I almost drifted away from the current situation which is pulled away by the man in front of me. The man who says he is seducing me.

“You can’t stop thinking about that.” he stood, his demeanor completely changing into one of dominance. “I’m only messing with you.”

I stare at his back, watching him. I really can’t understand him, and this is so bad. Since, I can’t help but want to know more about him.

As minutes passed by in the room, the tension completely crept into the air. The atmosphere helped me to stop thinking and figure out the man who gradually influenced my thoughts.

Like before, I remained motionless and stayed where I was, not bothering to look at them and keeping my presence as minimal as possible. They were all preoccupied, and no one seemed to care about me or my identity.

The sounds of guns being assembled echoed and rang in my ears, almost becoming music inside that room. I can’t even say that I don’t like it; it’s kind of thrilling. Each minute that passes by makes the anticipation inside me boil.

And when that last beat finally hit, I knew, it was finally starting.

Archeron came back, went to the man, and whispered something. Since earlier, the man had been sitting in the center of the room and drinking alcohol. Unlike everyone else who is busy preparing, he is only there and drinking leisurely, as if what is about to happen has no meaning to him.

I fixed my gaze at him, something I’d been doing for the past hour. Archeron took a step back from him and stood beside him, while the man only looked at his glass and finally drank what was left of it.

He put the glass on the table and looked at the front, slightly cocking his head with a casual expression. It made one think he was already drunk with how distant those green eyes are, so intimidating to look at and yet so fascinating.

"Go." With a single word, everyone spread out and silently exited the room. Their footsteps, however, were heard at the same time. Actually, with how loud they are, those footsteps couldn’t possibly have come only from our room.

As soon as that door opened, chaos finally started.

The room, with a few men remaining, including us, became deafeningly quiet. However, the outside is not. New rounds of gunfire began. It is even more intense this time around.

The door is already closed, but the sounds outside are still clear inside.

“Now, it’s time for the exciting part,” a deep voice said, diverting my attention from the chaos outside to the confusing stranger once more. He is now staring at me as he walks toward me.

In no time, he's in front of me, and I raise my head to look at him. I have yet to ask him what he wants. When something was put in my head, frowning, I touched it and found that it was a hood.

“Why?” I voice out this time, letting him know it already fits me.

“A surprise needs something hidden, right?” smirking as he continued, “We can’t let it be spoiled beforehand.”

I knitted my brows; I didn’t like how he was treating me as a gift. However, as I wanted to refute him, a realization dawned on me. I blink and look at him, confirming what is in my mind.

But he only smiles and doesn’t elaborate, but that malicious smile is enough for me to confirm my suspicions. If I am right, he’s referring to Zach. A surprise for Zach... that I’m here.

I stood on the couch, clutching the fabric that would later conceal my identity. Is it considered betraying my own husband if I do this? For what, just because I’m curious about this stranger?

“You’re evil!” I yelled, glaring at him, which he only dismissed and ignored, which made my insides fume even more. “I don’t want to participate in your games,” I said, bravely meeting his gaze.

He shifted his gaze, reaching for the guns on the table before returning his gaze back to me. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. For now, let’s get out of here.” a different urgency suddenly came into his voice, which made me frown.

I can’t react fast enough as he suddenly grabs my hand and runs towards the door, accompanied by the men that are still with us.

“Why? What is happening?” I asked, unsure of his sudden action. He isn't as calm as he used to be.

He didn’t answer and only dragged me with him; we met in darkness again outside of the room, with gunfire resounding from time to time and even explosions. The bar really becomes a battlefield at this point. While it is dark, the fires in some parts of the bar help illuminate the surroundings.

We are not even further away from the room we were in earlier, and as if on cue, it suddenly exploded. I was suddenly engulfed in an embrace as we dove from the impact of the explosion.

It only took a moment, and when I finally looked in the distance, the room was already on fire and destroyed. My heart raced as I became stunned. Wait... does that mean we'd already be dead if we stayed a few more seconds there?

I glance at the man who protected me, and because of the fire, I can see his expression. His raging green eyes and the way his jaw tightened as he cursed.

"Fuck, Hiroshi, you cunning bastard, I'll fucking kill him first," he raged between his gritted teeth, then turned to face me. Suddenly, eyes softened and worried. “Are you alright?” his deep gentle voice caressed my ears, awakening something familiar within me again.

"I'm fine, but... that's so close," I mumbled, because it happened so fast, I can't even process what happened right now or the fact that I almost died just then.

His eyes darkened once more, but he said nothing and only helped me up. Now I get to have a close eye on the surroundings—the bodies sprawled in almost every corner of the corridor. Some liquid on the floor is moistening my sandals, and without looking at it, I knew it was blood.

This scene... could make someone vomit with blood, but strangely enough, I really didn’t feel much at all.

“Let’s go,” the man whispers and looks at me. “Don’t leave my side, it’ll even be more dangerous from here on.”

And so, I can only answer with a nod. With the scene earlier, I believe his words. This night is far more dangerous than I thought, seriously, what the hell have I gotten myself into?