Chapter 12: Heartbeat

Cattleya’s POV

"No!" I yelled at him angrily.

"Are you not going to leave, woman?!" he shouted.

I laughed sarcastically. "No! I'm not leaving until you tell me the truth about why she was the worst! What did you do to my sister? What did you do?!"

"I did nothing wrong to her. She was annoying as hell! And you... you won't get anything from me because I won't tell you anything!" he retorted.

"I know you know something about her death."

He sneered at me evilly as he said, "You better stay away from me and stop bothering me!"

Within seconds, the hotel security arrived. They escorted me out of his room.

"Let go of me!" I yelled at the two guards who were holding my hands behind my back.

They let go of me without saying a word. I stepped out of the elevator as soon as we arrived on the ground floor.

I walked outside; frustration was evident on my face. To my surprise, I saw Jaxon just arriving. He walked into the entrance with all his men behind him.

They marched past me as if I were invisible.

I scoffed sarcastically. How could he ignore me like this? He was the one who gave me this information, and now he was ignoring me?

"I clenched my fist and was about to turn around and approach Jaxon when a sophisticated woman started talking to him sweetly.

She clung to his arm, making me feel annoyed.

Why did I feel annoyed?

The woman smiled sweetly at him and said, "You're late again. Do you know how much I miss you all the time?"

"Well, where's your father?" Jaxon asked formally.

"Uhm, he's inside. He's been waiting for you, but I want your attention for me tonight... Can we go and leave the party?"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and muttered, "Damn, why does she sound like a flirty chipmunk?'

She paused when she heard me. Her eyes landed on me, and she raised an eyebrow. "What did you just say?"

I realized I had spoken out loud. Now I didn't know what to say to her.

Should I just deny it and return to my room? Definitely not.

Jaxon's lips curled up in amusement as he glanced at me.

The woman repeated her question. "It was you, right? You called me a flirty talking chipmunk on my birthday?!"

I chuckled softly, trying to appear calm. "Oh, I apologize. I didn't know it was your birthday...."

She scoffed. "So, if you knew it was my birthday, you wouldn't have spoken badly to me? And who the hell are you?” she threw a glare at Jaxon, “Jaxon, do you know this woman?”

Jaxon shook his head, “No.”

I smiled at her, "I think my tongue just slipped off. Now, if you excuse me..."

I heard her heels click-clack on the floor as she stepped forward and grabbed my arm, "We are not done yet! You haven't told me who you are! Do you wish to die tonight?!"

I pulled my arm away from her and frowned. "Are you threatening me in front of so many people? Do you want me to use your phrase against you with the authorities?"

She stepped back in anger as she looked around. I was right; people were staring at her and even taking videos and photos.

“No, I’m not threatening you. It’s just a warning. You have to know your place before speaking anything to the one who has a higher rank than you.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Rank? I don’t think I understand…”

She was confused until Jaxon signaled her to stop her nonsense.

She clenched her jaw in rage and returned to Jaxon.

She whispered to him, "Let's go inside. My father's waiting for us."

Then Jaxon glanced at me once more. He didn't want everyone to know about me, which was good news. My life would be much safer if he treated me like a stranger.

I walked back to my room and sat on my bed, thinking about who that woman was and why she was so flirty with Jaxon.

And why was I here thinking about Jaxon?

I shouldn't be worried about him. I don't care about him, and it should stay that way!

I called room service for dinner. I hadn't eaten properly since this morning. I needed to eat before going to bed.

I took a quick hot shower. Afterward, I walked to the door when I heard a doorbell. I thought it was the food service staff, but to my surprise, Jaxon delivered the food to me.

My eyes widened. He entered my room before I could shout at him and covered my mouth with his palm.

I tried to calm down. He slowly removed his hand from my mouth.

"What are you doing here?!" I exclaimed, my voice betraying my shock.

In a husky, deep voice, he said, "I should be the one asking what you're doing in my hotel. This hotel is only for members of my organization, the elite, and those with powerful connections in society. I'm not surprised about you. You're the billionaire heiress. I'm sure you used some connections."

My arms crossed defensively, I could feel the dampness of my hair and the chill of the air conditioning. His accusations were like a cold draft, irritating and unwelcome.

"And now that you have your answer, leave me in peace," I said as I walked to the food tray, put the food on the table, and began eating, crossing my legs.

He looked at me from head to toe, "If you keep doing this, I cannot protect you all the time...."

I paused softly, putting down the fork and knife.

As I looked up, I met his gaze. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but my heart pounded like a drum as I felt his burning desire towards me.

And while swallowing hard, I asked softly, “And why do you have to protect me?”