FEDERAL OFFENCE

Mr. Wilfred and his assistant - the same man who had led Jessica into the conference room - also scampered out of the hall and prepared to run after them.

However, their movement came to an abrupt halt when they heard the resounding slap Jessica gave the investor.

Standing right next to each other, their eyes were wide with skepticism as they both exchanged a glance before returning their protruded eyes in the direction of Jesisica and the man.

“Don’t you dare lay your filthy hands on me ever again, do you understand?” Jessica screamed out fiercely.

Her eyes had turned red like a blazing fire, her nose flaring while her body vibrating uncontrollably with fury.

She was so mad that she would have been breathing fire if she was a dragon.  

However, the man she just slapped didn't alter but his expression clouded with remorse instead.

“I’m begging you, Jessica. Let's talk, please,” Antonio pleaded, baring his soul to her.

“You must be a complete lunatic for you to think I'll ever want to talk to you,” Jessica growled, her voice dripping with anger.

“Mrs. Nelson, you can't_” Wilfred was saying while moving toward them but Antonio raised his hand at him without looking in his way - as a signal to stop him from interrupting them.

“And hold on. What do you want us to talk about?” Jessica began again as if she had not been interrupted just now.

She put her hand under her chin momentarily and suddenly let out a gasp, “Oh, do you by chance want to explain how you vanished into the thin air on MY WEDDING DAY?” She clutched her hands tightly, a frosty glint flashing across her eyes.

Antonio only kept staring at her, filling with a pang of guilt.

“Or do you want to remind me again of how I picked you up from the slums and polished you into who you are today but only for you to BETRAY MY LOVE?!”

Jessica thundered her last words, her body twitching several times as she was extremely angry.

Another look passed between Wilfred and his assistant, but this time, they couldn't stop their jaws from dropping and their eyes going wide like saucers.

Antonio swallowed audibly and put forward another step but Jessica quickly stepped back, leaving another considerable distance between them.

“I beg you in the name of the great love we've shared in the past, Jessica. Please hear me out this once, please,” Antonio pleaded with her in a broken voice, his vision swimming with tears.

Jessica laughed mirthlessly, “Love?” she repeated as if it was a completely foreign word to her.

“You never loved me, Antonio, you only loved my money,”

Antonio shook his head vigorously in objection and looked like he was about to say something again but he closed his mouth at the last moment.

“If only you have the slightest idea of how I'm feeling right now just by seeing your face,” Jessica gritted out, her jaw clenching so hard that the veins around her jaw kept popping out.

 Her hands clenched and her nails were scratching back and forth on the back of her hand but she didn't feel it at all.

“You disgust me so badly. I feel like bugs are crawling all over my body beneath my dress right now,” her teeth gritted behind her mouth as she spoke while tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment.

A squeezing pain shot through Antonio’s chest. His lips trembled terribly while tears flew down repeatedly.

“Now listen to me carefully. I pray to never ever see your delinquent face again but in case I do, just ignore me. I repeat, Ignore me otherwise, I'll destroy you with everything I have. Mark my words,”

Jessica threatened ferociously and a tear escaped her eyes before she turned around, making sure her long ponytail whacked Antonio’s face, and then started walking away without a backward glance.

 Antonio's knees grew weak and he nearly stumbled but was lucky to be quickly caught by Wilfred and his man. “Calm down, Mr. Flores,”

“Come back Jessica, I'm so sorry, please forgive me,” Antonio stretched forth his hand toward the fast-disappearing back view of Jessica, more tears gushing out of his eyes as he pleaded guilty.

-:- -:- -:-

Daniella got down from her father’s black SUV car and watched him in adoration as he glided near her from the driver's direction after locking the car.

He was looking ever graceful in a gray turtleneck and a coffee-brown coat since winter was really fast approaching. Some strands of his jet-black hair were hovering over the bandage wrapped around his head.

With a bright smile radiating Liam’s face, he got to where his daughter was standing and stretched out his hand to her and expected her to put her hand in his but instead, Daniella raised her both hands to his broad chest and pushed him until he was pressed against the car.

“You have to cease all your smiles until I'm done in there, Dad,” she thrust her body into his and instructed in a stern voice.

Liam puckered his lips, revealing his cute two dimples.

“I’m damn serious right now, Dad,” she glared up at him and inserted her fingers into his cheeks, “Don’t do this too. You know how much I hate it when you show your dimples,”

Then, Liam wrapped his strong hands around her waist, “I've understood everything you just said, Baby. I'll make sure to keep a stern expression until your session is over,”

He said with a straight face but it was obvious that he was fighting back a smile.

Daniella grinned widely like a Cheshire cat and then she started brushing off his coat repeatedly as if she were removing a speck of dust that only she could see.

 “They are surely going to gush at you, Dad but don't even spare them a glance. Keep yourself busy with your phone or anything, okay?”

Liam couldn’t stop his cheeks from stretching into an amused smile as he put his hand to her face lovingly and nodded his head in understanding.

“Good boy,” Daniella muttered in a loud timbre before she secured his big hand in hers, and together, they started moving toward the salon.

Getting there, Daniella felt like someone just hurled a rock at her heart with the number of ladies she met inside the exquisite salon.

What was she expecting? It was a salon after all.

Some of them were in uniform- orange collared mini gown color. Needless to say, they are the staff members.

On the other hand, the rest of the females appeared more like clients. A few of them were already being attended to because each of them were sitting right in front of the salon's lengthy mirror and a stylist with them.

Daniella had the most intense urge to grab Liam’s hand and turned away out of the place with the look they'd started shooting their way.

However, one look at Liam filled her with a whole lot of security as he was already emanating an arctic coldness.

All signs of playfulness had gone. And right now, he appeared like a powerful man with an annoyed look and strong charisma that was based on all his life experiences.

He attracted people's attention as soon as he showed up.

“Welcome. Please come in,” a blonde lady in the same attire as the rest of the staff came to them and ushered them in politely.

“I just want to change my hairstyle and I'll be glad if you could hurry before you all eye-raped my Dad,” Daniella was the least bit polite but she didn't say her last words audibly.

Actually, the plan wasn't to portray a father-daughter relationship because she'd sworn to herself to kiss her father right here in front of these people if they didn't keep their eyes to themselves.

Soon, Daniella has settled down and a stylist has already been assigned to her immediately.

From where she was sitting, she kept watching her father from the mirror and she couldn't help but tremble with anger even though she tried to conceal it.

Despite the fact that Liam had already gotten himself occupied with a magazine he found on a stool closer to him, it didn't stop the ladies from staring at him like a puppy craving for a bone.

“No man should ever be allowed to look this handsome, I mean, it should be a federal offense,”

These words wafted to where Liam was sitting and he couldn't help the small chuckle that left his lips.

They saw it. Yes, they all saw it because some of them purred in glorification and started mumbling and giggling among themselves.

Liam raised his eyes and met Daniella’s deadly glare from the mirror and he quickly hid his face with the magazine in his hand.

The only person who didn't have her eyes dancing around Liam was the stylist attending to Daniella but it was not enough.

Daniella sprang to her feet all of a sudden and told the stylist curtly, “I'm done,”

The stylist was stunned and was speechless for a second.

“Ma’am, we are only halfway. Take a look, some parts are already curled while the other parts are still a bit messy. Come back and have your seat, you'll surely like your hair once I'm done,”

The stylist sounded so polite as she followed Daniella to where she'd gone to take hold of Liam’s wrist.

“Don’t argue with me and follow me right now,” Daniella told Liam bluntly, ignoring the poor stylist completely.

Liam let out a weary sigh as he allowed himself to be dragged away very fast by his daughter.