Leon helped Zara to her feet. He didn't feel a thing, but Zara was another story. Her gaze at Leon was loaded. Her cheeks flushed as she took her phone from Leon's hand."Sorry about that. I'm such a klutz," she said, pretending to smooth out her dress to avoid eye contact."No problem. The important thing is you didn't twist your ankle, right?""No. I'm good."Eight years ago on campus, even though she interacted with Leon often for school assignments, Zara never felt any attraction to him. But now it was different. Maybe it was because Leon's appearance and aura weren't like this back then. Besides, Leon's body was seriously athletic now. Zara could even feel Leon's hard biceps and triceps when she grabbed his arm just now."So, what's your number?" Zara asked, still avoiding eye contact.Leon rattled off his number. Zara jotted it down quickly. So flustered, she even asked Leon to repeat his number because she kept hitting the wrong keys on her phone."Alright. I'll contact you lat

Later that evening, at the dining table...Leon, Evelyn, and Mary were having the dinner Leon had prepared. He’d made a point of cooking tonight because he wasn't tied up with work. There was another reason too: he wanted to try and smooth things over with Evelyn. His wife still seemed miffed about that chat message from Zara earlier.Rose was still at the office, so it was just the three of them. Leon tried to engage his mother in conversation, occasionally tossing a topic over to Evelyn. But Evelyn just stayed quiet. Unlike previous nights, she wasn’t chatty this time. She only responded when Mary addressed her, and even then, her face made it clear she was doing it reluctantly.Leon was now certain Evelyn was jealous. He was a little late to the party, though. Now he had to figure out a way to fix Evelyn’s mood and convince her that there was absolutely nothing going on between him and Zara.After dinner, Leon helped Evelyn with the dishes. He decided to try talking to his wife.“A

Leon walked into a decently crowded bar on the edge of the city. Dimitri had recommended this joint, saying it was a zone rarely patrolled by the police.Tonight, Leon was scheduled to meet Dimitri and Vior here. He was quite surprised when Dimitri told him Vior would be touching down in Greystone Hollow that very night. He’d given Evelyn the excuse that he had to go out and meet a friend to discuss business. Luckily, Rose wasn’t working late today.Leon scanned the room, looking for Dimitri and Vior. They didn’t seem to have arrived yet. He sidled up to the bar counter and ordered a cold beer.Two men from the left also gravitated toward the counter. They took the two tall stools there, boxing Leon in from both sides. Out of the corner of his eye, Leon watched their movements. The pair looked suspicious.The man on the left ordered a vodka, while the one on the right ordered a whiskey. Both were large, broad men, with biceps and triceps deliberately on display—they wore sleeveless sh

“You fucking bitch!!!”The wide-nosed man aimed his revolver at Vior. However, before he could pull the trigger, Dimitri kicked his hand. The revolver was knocked out of his grasp. Dimitri, who was now standing directly in front of him, punched him right in the face.BAM!The wide-nosed man staggered. Blood poured profusely from his nostrils. Less than three seconds later, he collapsed.“If you value your lives, I suggest you get out of our sight right now. By now, you should understand how vast the difference in strength is between us,” Dimitri said, sweeping his cold gaze across the three remaining muscular men.They froze, utterly shocked by what they had just witnessed. Vior, meanwhile, stood rubbing her hands together, as if cleaning dust or dirt from her palms.“Get lost now! And take them both with you!” Dimitri snapped.The three muscular men scrambled. They quickly hauled their two fallen friends out of the bar.“Tch! I wasn’t satisfied yet. I could have stabbed him a few mor

Kevin and the young officer exchanged glances again for a moment.“Stop right there and kneel! Hands behind your head!” Kevin commanded, his voice loud.The two muscular men stopped walking, knelt, and placed both hands on their heads as Kevin instructed. Kevin signaled the young officer to handcuff them.Once the two large men were secured in handcuffs, Kevin stood in front of them.“You say you were involved in the small disturbance at the bar just now. You were the ones who showed up to confront them and started the fight?” he asked.The two men nodded in confirmation.“Then, what happened?” Kevin asked again.The two muscular men looked at each other. Finally, the man on the right answered.“We asked one of them what he had done to two of our friends. Earlier, two of our friends entered the bar and talked to that man, but then they disappeared. The last time we saw them, they were leaving the bar with that man.“Then, the situation escalated. There was a woman at that table. She w