Chapter 8 Only Serve One Master, Miss?
Elena stood frozen in the corner of the room, watching the chaos unfold before her eyes. Although her heart was still pounding from Elijah’s mysterious message, a strange feeling crept into her heart—a sense of sarcastic tranquility.
She saw Daniel, usually so arrogant, now deathly pale, incessantly cursing at his assistant over the phone. She saw her father, the authoritarian ruler of the Vance Group, now looking like an old man who had lost control, his voice hoarse from arguing with the port authorities.
To be honest, Elena felt numb.
The cancellation of the cargo contract?
The short-selling of stocks?
To her, these were all just numbers on paper that had served as her family's excuse to 'sell' her to Morgan. If this business empire collapsed, perhaps the golden prison that confined her would crumble along with it.
"Do you have no heart, Elena!" Daniel suddenly barked, realizing his sister was just standing there silently without a trace of expression. "Your family is under total attack and you're just standing there like a statue?"
Elena turned slowly, meeting Daniel’s eyes with a cold gaze she had never shown before.
"Then what should I do, Daniel? Cry? Didn't you all always say that business is a man's affair? You said my job was just to sit pretty, smile, and be an obedient wife for the sake of those contracts. I don't work here, nor do I have any connection to your companies. I work for myself, I move independently, without the need to rely on my parents—understand?"
"Elena!" Eleanor tried to mediate, but her voice was drowned out as Arthur’s phone rang again.
This time Arthur answered with trembling hands. "Hello? Who is this?"
Silence for a moment. Arthur pulled the phone away from his ear, his face now completely white as a sheet.
"They said... the main investor pulling out is a new shareholder who just forcibly bought 30 percent of our assets this morning. The name isn't registered personally, only under the entity Blackwood Industries," Arthur explained to Eleanor, who was watching him intently as he hung up.
Elena moved quickly, taking advantage of the chaos in the living room still filled with Daniel’s cursing and her father’s panic. Her hand swiftly snatched the keys to Arthur’s Bentley lying on the round table near the entrance. She didn't care if her father went on a rampage later; right now, her safety and her handsome gigolo were far more important.
Without looking back at the crumbling golden prison, Elena sped her father’s luxury car out of the Vance mansion grounds, racing through the streets of Long Island toward the Morgan residence.
In her head, there was only one name: Elijah. She wanted to see that handsome but poor man immediately; for some reason, Elena felt a deep urge to take care of him.
Upon arriving at the silent Morgan mansion, Elena parked the Bentley haphazardly. She immediately fired up her laptop and contacted an exclusive real estate agent.
"I need an apartment unit in The Azure building. The most secluded unit. It must be ready tonight," Elena commanded coldly.
The money she had earned through her hard work as a lead designer at a luxury jewelry firm was now being spent for Elijah’s sake. She wanted to provide the best hiding place for him so he would no longer have to perform back-breaking labor or sell himself at a bar just for his sister's medical bills.
Elena sent a short text:
\[ Meet me at the gate of the Morgan mansion in thirty minutes. Enter through the side door. I have prepared everything. \]
....
Exactly thirty minutes later, Elijah appeared. He walked with a sluggish gait, still wearing the tight white t-shirt that clung perfectly to his athletic frame and his torn jeans.
Elena immediately opened the gate and pulled Elijah’s hand toward the car.
"Get in, quickly! My father could come back here at any moment, and I don't want him insulting you again like before!"
Elijah complied, sitting in the luxurious passenger seat with a face made to look awkward. "Miss, this car... is it okay for a man like me to sit here? And what happened to your family?"
Elena floored the gas and replied, "Don't worry about my family. Even though they are my blood, I’ve never felt like I was their daughter."
"They are only busy with wealth and business, that's all. I wasn't looked after the way they looked after Daniel and Leo," Elena added.
Elena drove the Bentley through the streets of New York at high speed. Occasionally, she glanced at Elijah sitting beside her. He looked so out of place against the luxury of the car—a lower-class youth caught in the storm of an upper-class family drama.
"From now on, don't go back to that grocery store, Elijah. And don't work at that bar anymore," Elena said firmly, gripping the steering wheel. "I’ve rented an apartment at The Azure for you. You'll be safe there from my father and brother."
Elijah turned, staring at Elena’s beautiful but tired profile. He wore an expression of deep touched emotion that was incredibly convincing, though in his heart, he wanted to laugh!
"Miss, are you doing all this just because of your father's harsh words? I'm used to being insulted; you don't need to waste this much money on me."
"It's not just about what my father said!" Elena cut him off quickly, her voice rising slightly. "It's about humanity. You helped me when I was broken that night, and I won't let you suffer just because you know me."
Elena stopped the car in front of the luxury lobby of The Azure. She handed over the valet keys and pulled Elijah into the building. After receiving the access card, they headed to the top floor—the most private unit with high-level security.
As the apartment door opened, a luxurious scent of cedarwood greeted them. The apartment was vast, with glass walls revealing the city skyline.
"This is where you live now," Elena said as she set down her bag.
Elijah walked slowly around the room, his fingers touching the expensive furniture with movements that seemed clumsy, though internally he was judging the decor as 'still too simple' compared to his real home.
"This place is too beautiful for a man like me, Miss," Elijah whispered. He turned and stood very close to Elena, leaning down to look into her eyes. "Are you sure you aren't trying to buy my whole life, and not just my body?"
Elena’s face flushed hot. "I... I just want you to have a decent place. I'll cover your sister's treatment too, so you don't have to go back to being a gigolo."
Elijah suddenly grabbed Elena’s waist, pulling her close until their bodies touched. His warm breath brushed against her forehead.
"Then, if I no longer serve guests at the bar, does that mean I will only serve one master now? Namely you, Miss Vance?"