Chapter 33 Claiming his woman?
ANGELICA'S POV
“Something is wrong. She looked worried when I met her out of the cafe too,”
“The CCTV clearly shows her going into a panic attack while talking over the phone,”
“Is someone threatening her?”
“That seems correct,”
I opened my eyes to these sentences, furrowing my brows a little when I realized I wasn't in the office.
What place was this? It looked like a bedroom but strangely professional, if that even made sense.
“Mi Vida,”
“Beautiful,”
Ericson and Dylan rushed to my side when I tried to sit up, making me look into their eyes.
Seeing the genuine concern in their eyes, I couldn't help but feel moved.
I was sure they had multiple questions about what I was doing, why I had that panic attack, and why I looked so fearful, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to answer any of them.
I was afraid. I don’t know what it was, but I didn’t want them to look at me like I was some nutcase.
“Thank you for taking care of me. I'll get back to work,” I wanted to be out of the room as soon as possible to avoid their incoming questions, but Dylan held my hand.
It was a small action, but it made my heart pound against my chest. I gulped, nearly trembling at his touch, which always felt like it belonged to me.
“Stay,” He said.
They shouldn't favor me so much since I was also an employee of the company, and it wouldn't be fair to other employees. This sounded like the perfect reason, and I intended to say those words.
But when I looked into his blue eyes, I paused.
“For me,” he added.
My heart flipped at the emotions in his eyes, and I looked at Ericsson for help. However, what he did next left me completely flabbergasted. He walked over and sat beside Dylan before pulling me down so I would land on his lap.
“Tell us what's going on?” Ericson asked, his gaze holding me in place.
His eyes were mesmerizing, but what amazed me was the urge to tell them the truth. It was as if they were extorting the truth from inside me with their gaze, like some kind of magnetic pull. The stress strings in my mind relaxed and clenched, and I gulped.
“This guy has been stalking me for a couple of years. He is obsessed. I don't know what he wants from me. He says he loves me, but when he kidnapped me—” I took a deep breath as the memories of what happened that time started to surface.
“Sshh, everything is fine. No one will hurt you. We are with you. And this man, he will be gone,” Ericson’s whispers echoed in my head.
His voice was deep and clear, immediately silencing the chaos in my heart and making me look at the Martino brothers, baffled.
What was this?
Even the therapist I had visited couldn't calm my heart as quickly as they did. Just what kind of magic do they possess?
“Do you guys know witchcraft?” I asked seldomly, my gaze following Ericson’s hand that was holding mine in his heart as if guiding me to calm my heart by feeling his.
“Will you believe us if we say we don't know magic, but magic is within us? Do you believe in supernatural creatures, perhaps?” Dylan asked, his gaze swirling with so many emotions that it was practically impossible for me to decipher whether he was joking or serious.
Pushing myself off of Ericson’s lap, I looked around before spotting what I needed deliberately.
I grabbed the glass before taking a sip of the water.
“That will explain your atrocious handsomeness,” I thought.
“Is that so?” Dylan asked, his smirk making my pupils dilate.
No way they read my mind.
“I did,” Dylan said again, and I gulped, my fingers trembling.
If he could read my mind, would that mean he had read all those nasty thoughts I had for them? Was that why they have been so upfront with their desires with me?
The glass slipped from my hand, wetting the lush carpet while I looked at them wide-eyed.
Multiple questions revolved inside my head, and I was about to ask them when someone knocked on the door, so I looked towards the door instinctively.
“Sir, the CEO of Coalfield is here for the meeting.” Alen's familiar voice arrived, and I realized we were still at the company.
I looked at Dylan and Ericson, who looked torn, as if they didn't want to leave my side. Their reaction puzzled me.
Why were they treating me so specially? Yes, I understand that Dylan has proposed to me, but everything about how we met and what transpired between us seems strange.
How can someone fall for someone this deeply at first sight? Was love at first sight even a thing?
‘Aren’t you falling for the Martino boys too?’ I couldn't help but think before shaking my head to dissipate the thoughts.
They were more like rebounds at this stage. How can I fall in love so soon after breaking up with Tyler? Nothing like ‘love’ was going on here. Yes. That was more like it.
“Let's go,” Dylan said suddenly. He stood from the bed, held Ericson's hand, and pulled him out.
“What's going on?” Ericson asked, confused, just like how I was.
What was going on?
“She doesn't need us, Eric,” Dylan said, walking out of the room but slamming the door behind him.
I shook in my place at the loud noise, realizing what had happened.
He didn't hear me when I called them a rebound, right? Guilt engulfed me, and I licked my lips nervously.
“Don’t mind him,” Ericson said, and I gave him a tight-lipped smile before he walked out.
\~~~~
I didn't see the Martino brothers for the entire evening, and they didn't call me after I returned to the apartment.
We didn't make any dinner plans, and they didn't invite me to movies, as had become our routine.
I flailed my legs on the bed, kicking the air.
It was good. I should be happy. I was finally getting the freedom I was robbed of. But why did it suddenly feel so empty?
Remembering the dinner party with the employees, I quickly got ready before leaving my apartment, my gaze involuntarily focusing on the closed door beside me.
‘Get a grip of yourself, Angelica. You are sailing dangerous waters. Those brothers are your bosses. Besides, their matters are not as simple as they seem. Remember how you caught Ericson in that building? You promised to keep yourself away from that stuff,’ I told myself until I stepped out of the taxi.
After paying the fare, I walked inside the restaurant, Alen’s loud laughter guiding me to where the group was seated.
I was about to make my way to them when my phone started ringing with an incoming call from my stepfather, and I walked to the side.
“Hello,”
“Hello, cupcake. I am sorry; I was busy earlier and couldn’t answer your call. What’s going on?” My stepfather asked, and I licked my lip, unsure if I should tell him.
I didn’t want to worry him too much.
“Is Mom beside you?” I asked, mustering up my courage.
“Yeah, she is waiting for her turn to talk to you,” my stepdad said, and I sighed.
Before ending the call, I said, “I am out for a dinner party with my colleagues. I will call you later.”
Having my mom worry about that monster, knowing how anxious she became, was the last thing I wanted to happen.
I quickly opened the Messenger app and messaged my stepdad that I would call him. He should answer only when Mom is not beside him because this was related to that monster before closing the application.
Pushing the phone back into my purse, I was about to turn around the corner when I bumped into someone, my nose tingling with pain.
“Ouch, I am so sorry. I was distracted,” I started while rubbing my nose, but as soon as I looked up, the rest of my words died down when I saw who it was.
“It’s okay, Li. I wasn’t looking, either. About earlier—” Tyler started, and I clenched my teeth.
I tried to walk around him, but he grabbed my hand, and I groaned inwardly.
However, before I could snap at him, he was suddenly removed from my hand, and I looked at the person who interrupted.
My gaze met with Dylan’s cold eyes as he looked between Tyler and me, his gaze even murderous, and I gulped.
“Dylan, it’s now what it looks like,” I blurted, mentally slapping myself.
Why did I have to say it like that? What the hell, Li?!
“Is that so? Then, mind explaining to me why you are harassing my woman?” Dylan shifted his gaze to Tyler, and I stood there, shocked by his words.
Did he claim me as his woman before someone?
I was about to ask him what was happening, but then my gaze met with Alen, who was standing there, as shocked as I was.
No. Wait. This was going all wrong.