The Lotus And The Billionaire

Chapter 17: Owned

Just as I was thinking my day was already bad, I found out that there was a commotion downstairs. I was supposed to ignore what was happening, but everyone seemed so difficult to approach.

Now, Vin is just by my side to protect me in case there were any attackers. Neither of us knew the exact details of the situation, so we remained inside my office to make sure that no one could target me.

“What? Do we just wait here?” I asked Vin, trying to lower my voice.

Vin nodded and made sure that I was just behind him all the time. “Don’t try to leave unless I tell you to.”

This is one of the rare occasions where I get to see Vin being very serious. Of course, this is him being a professional, but I still find it mesmerizing that he can actually keep a straight face.

Anyway…

My oh-so amazing husband has been nowhere to be found since the beginning of the commotion. Everyone on this floor is on edge, and some have taken their leave in fear of getting subjected to some sort of terrorist attack. I doubt they were able to take their leave, though.

I pursed my lips and stood up so I could get as close to Vin as possible. He was just standing there like he was trying to read the atmosphere around the floor, watching every single movement the employees made.

Damn, this really is his thing.

“Relax, Sha…” he whispered as he held my wrist. “I’m here, don’t worry.”

Oh, he must have sensed my discomfort with the way I kept moving my feet. Ha! He was even able to memorize my mannerisms that even I was not aware of.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I gripped on his shirt. “I”m sorry. The atmosphere feels heavy, so…”

“We have to find a way to get out of this place,” he told me as he slowly walked to the door to take a peek. “Try contacting Gray Alvarez. He’s our easiest way out.”

Oh.

When I took my phone out to heed his advice, I realized Alvarez had been trying to reach me a few minutes ago. It seemed urgent because there were two missed calls! That guy doesn’t even text, so seeing the notifications had me all worried.

I tried calling him back, and he answered quickly! It took him a while to speak from the other line, but I didn’t mind. He’s probably going to instruct us about how we’re going to leave the building and meet him.

“Diaz, hurry. Take your bodyguard or whatever. My guards will assist both of you.”

“What about everyone else here?”

“They’ll be fine as long as we’re not around. Something’s wrong…”

Alvarez told me to hurry and immediately ended the call! I could sense the urgency in his voice, so I didn’t question him further. Instead, I just made sure to stick with Vin as we made our way to the elevator.

Right now, I’m not sure I know where Alvarez is. He’s one meticulous man, so I’m pretty sure he’s in the car already, waiting for me so we can leave. However, I asked one of the guards, and he told me Alvarez was busy talking to someone.

“Vinchester Salvador,” one of Alvarez’s guards talked to Vin.

“What?”

He threw a car key at Vin, which the latter immediately caught. “Boss instructed us to tell you to take Mrs. Alvarez to his penthouse. Guard her at all costs. He says he’ll be there shortly, but he still has something to check on.”

“Is this real? Or is this nothing more than a scheme?” Vin asked as he gripped the car keys.

“You dare doubt us?” one of the guys asked, sounding like he wouldn’t take any criticism.

Pfft. Like boss, like employee.

“If it’s to protect my employer, I’d question everyone around me except her.”

Oh, that’s Vin, alright! I smiled at him and entered the car so that he could do the same. So that is why the car they showed us seemed much too unfamiliar to me. Alvarez had never driven this car, after all.

While we were on our way to Alvarez’s penthouse, I couldn’t help but feel weirded out. The building’s security is too tight for a rat to be able to just walk inside without raising that much suspicion. Now, who in the world could have created the commotion that caused a disturbance to the entire building?

“Vin, isn’t it weird?” I asked as I loosened my clothes to feel more comfortable.

“What is? That s**t happens everywhere. It’s not that surprising nor weird.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Has this happened before?”

“Several times. I guess it’s just going to happen more often now that you two are married. If they can’t take Gray Alvarez for themselves, then their only option is to destroy him.”

“Destroy both of us, you mean.”

“Exactly.”

Before, I thought my only enemy was Alvarez…and myself, at some point. The only adversary on the same battlefield was him. But now that we’ve both stepped into the limelight, the stage seems to have gotten bigger.

It’s fine. We’ve considered this situation before, when we were having dinners with both families present. It was quite awkward having that kind of conversation, but we just came to terms with it. They told me they were just going to have a better security system for me.

That was fine with me. With Vin by my side, I don’t feel any fear anymore. This man has been through life and death situations before, so I’m not going to doubt his credibility at all.

“Do we just stay inside the penthouse?”

“I’ll leave once your husband arrives.”

I scowled at him. “You’re making it sound like we’re committing adultery in his own house.”

Vin only laughed at my remark as he helped me discreetly get to Alvarez’s penthouse. This man is very sneaky, I’ll give him that. The people in the lobby, who normally look at me when I enter, remained quiet as we passed by.

“How’d you do that?” I asked him as I removed the jacket covering me.

Vin only shrugged as he went into deep thinking. I’m not sure I understand what he was doing, but it’s just safe to assume that he’s trying to be mindful of his surroundings.

I…can’t stand this kind of situation!

Instead of being wary of everything, I took my phone out so I could bother the hell out of Alvarez. I wanted to know what was going on, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to wait until he arrived so he could explain s**t to me.

But unfortunately, Alvarez has been busy dealing with whatever business he has going on since earlier, and now…he’s not responding to my messages. Perhaps he’s in a meeting, or he’s dealing with that commotion.

Either way, I want to know why he asked me to go home. That’s unlike him! Normally, he’d come running to me to know if I'd been bruised or something, as he said it’d be bad for a doll to have any scratches. Rude, right?

Now, I’m stuck with Vin… who wants to play card games.

“Please? It’s boring here, and I found these things. Wouldn’t you want to do something to pass the time?”

I sighed. “No. I already feel like I’m going to throw up. I don’t want to deal with you when you’re being competitive.”

Vin could only sigh in despair as he hid the deck of cards again. Instead, he turned the television on so we could watch a movie. He was choosing what to watch with an annoying pout on his face, like he’s trying to guilt-trip me for declining.

I think he was trying to help me calm my nerves down…

“You know you can just stay quiet,” I told him as I reached for his hair.

Vin has nice, soft hair. I’ve always liked playing with them when they were pretty long. It’s just that Vin had his hair cut when he became a professional bodyguard of mine. It’s still nice, though.

He was starting to fall asleep because of what I was doing, so I immediately stopped. I wouldn’t want him to be sound asleep, and then someone suddenly comes in to take me as a hostage!

“You have to stay awake if you don’t want me pouring cold water on your head,” I told him as I flashed a sinister smile.

Vin sighed and nodded. “I wasn’t planning to sleep, anyway…” he grumbled.

The two of us had remained quiet while we waited for Alvarez to arrive. Luckily, Vin has always been talkative, so there was never a dull time while we were together. If anything, he was too loud for me.

I could only sigh as I listened to him. Sure, I like it when someone tries to talk to me a lot as it makes me feel a lot more energetic…but if it’s like this, then I’d prefer sleeping.

“Sha,” he called to me suddenly.

“What?”

“Are you sleepy?”

“No, why?”

Vin shook his head as he left, probably to get me coffee. He knew I’d want a cup of coffee during a time like this, so I’ve already entrusted that task to him. For now, I’ll just be enjoying the movie.

“Here,” he muttered as he placed the two cups of coffee on the table.

Just as I was about to get mine, we heard the door getting unlocked. I remembered that Alvarez usually just sticks the key in and it opens quickly…it never takes him to twist and turn the key to open the door.

I held onto Vin’s sleeves, and he immediately grabbed my wrist so the two of us could make a run for it if the person behind the door was not Alvarez.

But it was him.

He looked like he was in a daze, almost dizzy, as he made it past the door. It already seemed as if he was in a bad mood, but when his eyes landed on Vin’s hand that was wrapped around my wrist…he shouted.

“Who gave you permission to touch what’s mine?” he exclaimed, his voice roaring across the living room.

I couldn’t help but shiver in fear. “He was just trying to protect me–”

“From what? Me?”

I pursed my lips and looked at Vin, hoping he would defend himself…but he didn’t. I assume it’s about the way Alvarez talked, like he sees me as nothing more than a property.

“How long has he been treating you like an object that he owns?” Vin whispered as he removed his hold on me.

“It doesn’t matter. I just need you to go, and then I’ll talk to Alvarez.”

“No–”

“Diaz,” he called as he approached me, his eyes bloodshot. “I’m sorry I left without telling you. There was a glass of alcohol in my office…which I thought was coffee.”

I was planning to lash out at him and defend myself, but it seemed like something terrible happened. f**k, did his drink get drugged or something back there? If so, then they might have tried to abduct him or something! Oh, damn...

Instead of getting annoyed, I softened…like the dumbass that I am.

“What…? Is this what the commotion was about? What happened?”

He shook his head, and then his eyes landed on Vin, who was trying to slip in and say goodbye to me. Oh, no. I guess there’s no way I could hang out with Vin anymore, not now that it has come to this. I was partly at fault, so I’ll just accept it…

“You can take your leave now,” he told Vin, who immediately left, still looking like he wanted to fight Alvarez.

He would have tried to beat this guy up if I weren’t standing right here…

As my gaze followed Vin, I felt Alvarez stare down at me like he didn’t want me to leave. It felt…so terrifying, but at the same time, I could feel something in the pit of my stomach that terrified me more.

“Diaz, need I remind you…” he trailed off as he stared at my wrist that Vin held earlier.

No. I don’t like this.

“I own you for as long as you’re tied to me. And I don’t like having what’s mine touched by anybody else leisurely…”

Stop.

“Understand, mi amor? I hope we are clear now.”