(Author’s POV)

After a long, stretching silence, Oliver looked at Garry, who was resting with his eyes closed. He looked exhausted.

After opening and closing his mouth multiple times, he finally decided to speak, though his tone was still laced with hesitation, "Sir~ .... if you don’t mind~ .... can I ask you something?"

Garry hummed lazily, his eyes still shut. After another pause, Oliver asked, "What are you going to do with those two?" Oliver Grey knew his master’s nature well. Garry wasn’t someone who would let someone like the Longs live so easily. He wasn’t merciful at all. In past, if anyone had pissed him off, he had made sure that person’s trace was removed from the planet completely. But contrary to his expectations, ~ ... Garry didn’t give any orders to kill the Long couple on the spot. That puzzled Oliver greatly.

After all, their flight to Damona was scheduled for tomorrow. ’Was he really going to set them free? Why?’

"What do you think?" Garry asked him instead. When his secretary couldn’t give any reply, he chuckled and said, "You have been working under me for almost sixteen years; you should probably know the answer better than anyone else. Secretary Grey, I’m a little disappointed."

"My apologies, sir," Oliver was quick to say, feeling ashamed. Although he had worked under Garry for more than a decade, sometimes even he couldn’t figure out his master. Though he looked ordinarily rich businessman to outsiders, but to him, Garry Yates was always shrouded in mystery.

Garry shook his head and said, "As for the Longs, I will let them live~ .... for the time being. After all, they still might come in handy. Plus~ ... those two, husband and wife, they are quite entertaining." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’Ready to kill each other, entertaining? As if,’ Oliver rolled his eyes internally. Then he thought more seriously, ’What use can they even serve now? Their company has collapsed. They are bankrupt already. Their lives are in absolute jeopardy. Their son has betrayed and sold them out. The couple is throwing dirt at each other, holding a knife to each other’s throats. What exactly is left of them? Their skin and bones~ ... their organs~ .... their arteries~ ....’ Oliver thought went wild, but he dared not say it out loud, and be mocked by Garry.

There was something else he wanted to ask, but now he didn’t have the courage. Garry sensed it and spoke first, "You don’t have to keep walking on eggshells in front of me, Secretary Grey. My mood’s good today. Ask away whatever you want, I’ll give you a free pass. I don’t want you to get indigestion."

Oliver’s eyes flickered. Thinking that he might not get such a chance again, before he knew, he spouted, "Why do you keep going to such lengths for Ms. Miracle?"

Garry’s eyes wrinkled, his right brow arching upward as Oliver instantly realized he hadn’t worded it right. He corrected himself immediately, "What I mean to say, sir, is that you have been protecting Ms. Miracle all this time and punishing the people who wronged her. When she was in the orphanage, you made sure the then-warden was convicted for her crimes. When her classmates bullied her, you made sure those students were expelled, and no school took them in. You even made the offer and sent her and her whole family to Esteria. And this time~ ..." he pursed his lips and didn’t complete his words. Then he added, "Ms. Miracle doesn’t even know about any of this. And I know you have no intention of letting her know. But why are you doing this?" He finally let it all out.

Oliver’s first assignment as Garry’s secretary was to make sure the warden of the orphanage, Pamela, was sent to jail for life imprisonment. But before that, Garry had made sure that the woman was tortured thoroughly. He broke her legs with the help of a hockey stick, crippling her. Oliver had witnessed that cruel act with his own eyes. At that time, he was shaken to the very core, traumatised even, but after all these years, he has somehow gotten used to it.

Hearing him, Garry burst out laughing, his loud voice reverberating in the car, "Hhahahaha~ .... you must have been really curious all this while. How did you even manage to keep it to yourself, huhh, Secretary Grey? It must have been suffocating for you. I am impressed by your patience," He commented, still laughing.

Oliver was left embarrassed once again. His face, his ears, and even his neck turned completely red.

Wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes, Garry looked at the passing scenery, let out a sigh and answered honestly, "Ms. Miracle~ .... she is my creditor, and I am her debtor. I owe her big time and have sworn to protect her with my life." He left it at that.

Oliver was left dumbfounded. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting Garry to use those words. His mind spiralled, ’Mr. Garry Yates, CEO of Yates Group, the prominent restaurateur and businessman, is indebted to an ordinary twenty some years old girl.’

____________________________

"Thank you for inviting us all to dinner today, Sandra. Nora had talked so much about you and William. When I told Noah about it, he was gutted that he could not be here and enjoy your and your husband’s lovely cooking. I even teased him about it a bit," Sara said with a playful smile.

Sandra was truly touched by her words. From yesterday’s encounter, she had already felt that Sara was a really sweet, understanding and down-to-earth person. She smiled at her beamingly and said, "When you all are free, please visit Esteria. You, Mr. Everests and the kids, all of you. William and I will host you all to a lavish dinner."

"Deal~ .... I’ll make sure to clear my and Noah’s schedule. He will be thrilled to come," Sara uttered excitedly.

Looking at the two, no one could say it was their second meeting. They looked like best friends, chatting happily, without any care for others.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, the dynamic was poles apart.

Myra was sitting in the centre of the couch, her spine erect, with Yelena to her left, sitting casually, and by chance, Elio had ended up on her right, looking sneakily at his mate every now and then. Wendy was sitting opposite Elio, with hearts in her eyes, with Nora beside her, who was oblivious to the tension. As for Dion, he occupied the spare chair, observing everyone closely.

Outwardly, Myra looked calm and composed, at least she was trying to portray that image, but inwardly, she didn’t know how, with such dirty, shameless thoughts, she would survive the dinner with the Everests brothers.

To Be Continued . . . . . . . .