Chapter 28

Carlie agreed with his statement. "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Carlie fell silent for a moment, digesting each condition Jona had laid out while weighing all the possibilities that would occur in the future. It didn't sound bad. And his plan didn't seem like a scheme trying to deceive her. Once again, Carlie looked into Jona's eyes, searching for any signs of deceit there. Fortunately, she didn't find any.

"Okay, i agree. But there's something from your earlier condition that i can't do."

"Tell me."

"About you wanting me to always be by your side, that's impossible,"Carlie crossed her right leg over her left, making her tall, slender body appear even more elegant. "My family sees me as their precious daughter, always protected and pampered. So if i leave the boutique or my house for a long period of time, and my subordinates report it to my family, i can't promise that they won't launch a search expedition to track me down around the world."

Jona had actually considered such a scenario since he wanted Carlie Eloise to be by his side.

The Heston family had excellent sources of information. Carlie's uncle, who had repeatedly been labeled the best hacker in the world, even respected by the entire mafia world. If it were the old Jona, he was confident he could hide even from that genius. But the problem was, because of his impulsive desire to retrieve Carlie, he didn't completely erase the evidence from the Avoni charity event. From the guest list, it should be known that only Carlie and Jona left the charity event before it ended and that would be a fatal trace if Carlie's uncle caught wind of it.

"Okay. I also thought it was quite impossible." Jona admitted, leaning back on the sofa. "In that case, i will change the condition. Let's exchange phone numbers. Contact each other whenever there's progress and we can meet whenever desired after making an appointment. In essence, no running away. Fair?"Carlie nodded. It wasn't a difficult condition for her to fulfill.

Jona reached for the intercom on the bedside table next to the sofa and called someone Carlie believed to be Devan,"bring Carlie Eloise's cellphone."

Carlie and Jona waited for Devan's arrival while sinking into the awkward and politically charged conversation they had never had before. Usually, Jona's words were full of threats and cruelty, but when it came to business relations, he turned out to be a very professional and calm person. In contrast to the image of him that was ingrained in Carlie's mind.

A while later, Devan's footsteps were heard from a distance, entering the auditorium and he brought out Carlie's deep red iPhone 13 and then left again, well aware that his only task was to be a phone courier. Carlie turned on her phone, and the half-bitten apple logo appeared on the screen. Shortly after, the screen lit up, and the apps started appearing one by one. But there was something odd on the phone.

Carlie had been missing for over a day, but there was not a single notification asking about her whereabouts. And that was because...

"YOU! DAMN YOU! You deleted all the apps on my phone and left only the default ones!?"Carlie yelled, standing up in anger.

"Don't you know that app location data can be tracked?"Jona asked. "I didn't know which apps you had connected to your GPS location, so i just got rid of all of them. You just need to download them again, what's the big deal?"

"You! Damn you! Disgusting devil!"

Jona smirked,"you're the one who's now in a working relationship with that devil. Aren't you similar to becoming Satan's partner?"

Jona flashed a smile, the first smile Carlie had seen since the incident earlier. A smile amused by Carlie's outburst and although Carlie hated being laughed at, for some reason she felt relief in her heart when she saw Jona's smile expand like that. As if she also felt the same happiness. And this strange feeling made Carlie disgusted to the point of wanting to vomit on herself.

"Some of my father's subordinates are still here. I'll send them away for a few months to do some work so that our plan won't be reported to my father,"Jona said, getting up from the sofa.

"If there are no more issues, let's go out. I'll have Devan clean up this room."

Although still annoyed, Carlie remained silent and watched Jona's back slowly walk towards the exit of the auditorium. "Austin,"but before that, Carlie called him back.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"Jona froze on the spot. And slowly, the terrifying yet inexplicably soothing warmth from earlier crept back into his chest once again. The warmth that had previously vanished returned to pulsate very comfortably. Jona even had to clench his fists to prevent himself from being lulled by this sun-like warmth. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. Trying to awaken himself.

One sentence question. But Jona just realized that one sentence could engulf him in an emotional turmoil he had never known before. The warmth that Jona didn't realize he needed all this time. The warmth that Jona was afraid would destroy him. 'Again.'

The man's steps echoed through the dark corridors. The only light seeping in was the moonlight sneaking through the windows of the hallway. In his spacious home, even with one more guest who tonight decided to stay here Carlie Eloise, it didn't make it feel any smaller. The man walked alone, traversing the tiles, and paused for a moment. To enjoy the moonlit scenery, which was even more beautiful today than usual.

"Because she doesn't want to be married off, huh?"Jona muttered to himself. A wry smile appeared on his face, but not long after, his smile vanished. Replaced by a frown of anger and deep-seated hatred. With folds and creases around his eyes, showing intense malice.

"If only she knew that her case is much more complicated than mere arranged marriage and the reason why i have to kill Falcon Emerald."