"Stop it! You are hurting yourself." I rushed towards her and stopped her from getting hurt after she threw the glass on the floor angrily.

"Control yourself," I said, holding her shoulder and making her look at me.

"I never wanted their identity to be leaked like this." she confessed as she stared at the news.

"We can do nothing. They have posted this on their respective Twitter followed by #Liaraisourguardian and #wewantjustice." Anthony explained as he got off the call from someone.

"Those kids wanted to support you," I explained to her, but she just didn't get it. She looked restless.

"I didn't save them to get the title or the fame. Disclosing their identity would spoil their life." She kept on repeating the same thing.

"Liara, what's done is done. They are raising their voices to get justice. Support them instead of shutting their voices." I tried to talk some sense to her and perhaps this worked.

"How long was this out on the internet?" She enquired as she slowly withdrew her hands from my hold.

"For a couple of minutes. But considering your case being at the top of the list, it picked up the speed. And now many social supporters are retweeting. It's an uproar." Anthony said as he switched between the channels. Liara walked out of the cabin frustrated and I followed her.

From the top floor, the people looked like ants, and the crowd just grew large compared to before.

"I'm fine. You don't have to follow me around everywhere." She spoke as she stared at the crowd that kept piling up.

"I want to stay beside you. Is it too much to ask?" I asked because she kept on making me feel she didn't need me and it hurt.

"Aria," Liara whispered suddenly, her gaze still at the group outside the building. The wind blew faster at such a height and I couldn't listen to what she said. I took a step closer to her and asked what she said and she repeated it.

"Aria." Pointing at the person amidst the crowd. Squinting my eyes, I couldn't find Aria anywhere.

"Anthony." She called out and walked back inside. I stayed behind, still searching for Aria.

"Where is she?" I talked to myself and searched for that hothead. From the glass corridor, all I could see were the heads of people with cameras and placards.

"Lia-" I opened my mouth but stopped as soon after I saw a few men in black, perhaps Anthony's men walking out of the building, cutting through the crowd and walking straight towards the corner building. I watched closely, squinting my eyes as it was really hard to keep track of them from such a height.

"Fuck!'' I cursed when I saw them dragging a woman wearing a hat inside the building. I strode inside the cabin, still surprised and my mouth agape.

"How the fuck did you find her amidst all those people?'' I asked when I entered her cabin and saw her eating the rest of breakfast while watching the news.

"Aria carries her favorite pink purse that hurts my eyes because of its shine. I could find it anywhere, even if she is between the ocean of people." She said, still her eyes fixed on the tv as they live telecasted from Chief's office.

"Oh Well, I want to talk to Charles. Is he available at the moment? Can you call him?" She asked, dusting her hands off after finishing her food.

"Sure, I will check," I said and dialed his number, but it went straight to voice call.

"Don't you think your girlfriend is getting a clean chit after this? I bet they will talk to her, too." She said suddenly as I started typing a quick message to Charles to come and meet me at SAMS.

"Liara.." My voice trailed off as I stopped texting when I heard what she said.

"What? You think I would let her go after what she did to me?" She asked with a smirk on her face. I raised my head and looked at her, shaking my head. I didn't know what to think of that. Was she toying with me, or did she plan something?

"Whatever it is, let me in," I said.

"Huh, so that you'd save your little girlfriend when the time comes? Don't you think it's a little unfair to me?" She asked, turning her chair towards where I was standing.

"Look, I know everything that's happened to you is unjust, but I'm explaining to you that Julie was exploited. I'm confident about it." I tried to make sense of our conversation, even though my voice deceived me.

"You do not deny the fact that I keep on calling her your girlfriend." She pointed, and I sighed as I was focusing on the main part and not on this.

"Looks like someone is getting jealous." I tutted as I walked toward her. Her expression changed drastically from being playful to sore, as if I just touched her sensitive nerve.

"I'm not." She answered, turning around. She had a smirk on her lips as I held the chair. I touched it and whispered, "Don't tempt me to bite that smirk off your lips. I'm suppressing my urge not to." And she gasped, attempting to break free.

I laughed at how pink her face looked at the moment and she pressed her lips together into a thin line. I cleared my throat, attempting to focus somewhere else and spoke, "Even I'm upset about the fact that after our heavy make-out session someone didn't confess their feelings to me. Or is it just me who is interested in building something between the two of us.?" I asked and she shook her head, pushing me aside.

"Ma'am, can we come in?" We both moved away when we heard the caller out of the door, but I didn't get away before mouthing "I'm not done." to her.

"Yeah." she said as she glared at me.

"Aria." We both whispered when we saw Aria entering inside with her head hung low.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, I -" she started as she rushed towards Liara, but the guards stopped her as they grabbed her shoulder.

"Let her be. You may not treat her like this." Liara spoke, and I looked at her, surprised. Aria fell to her knees and cried, but Liara didn't get up from her seat.

"Zearo, can you excuse us for a minute?" She asked, and I contemplated whether to leave her, but then listened to her.

I grabbed my phone and walked out of her cabin through all the chambers and towards the cafeteria because I strongly needed a coffee.

"Where do I find the coffee machine?" I asked Natalie, who was on her phone.

"I will escort you, sir. Give me a minute." She said, and I nodded. Finishing her call, she took me to their very authentic modular kitchen, where a lot of chefs worked.

"Please order what you need, sir." She said politely. I just ordered the strongest coffee that they had and they gave me some snacks along with a cup of coffee. The aroma itself was pleasant to my senses, and I felt relaxed.

"Sir, you can take a tour of the office building if you'd like." She said, gesturing at the large glass doors.

"No no, I might disturb them," I said, waving her off.

"They all will not be disturbed because that's how we work. Anyway, the terrace is empty. You can go there if you'd like." She said and excused herself. I carelessly clicked the topmost button of the elevator and sipped the coffee in my hand.

"Anthony?" I saw his bulk body hanging half out of the staircase border and lighting the cigar.

"What made you come here at this time of the day?" He looked annoyed, but I just sipped my coffee and walked beside him.

"A man needs to take a break from the chaos in his life," I answered. It looked like he was tense and by the look of it, I doubted it had something to do with that boss and her assistant.

"Your shoulder muscles are so stiff. How long have you not worked out properly?" I asked when I noticed his shoulder slumped.

"Well, it's been days." He answered absentmindedly.

"What is it?" I asked, even though I was sure that he wouldn't tell me why he was so gloomy.

"She's been through so much." He said suddenly. I took a sip of the coffee and hummed to him, showing that I was listening to it.

"I don't know how to apologize to her." He said and turned towards me. I furrowed my brows and thought for a second why he would apologize to her?

"Why would you apologize to her?" I asked, confused.

"Nevermind." He said dusting the cigar after taking a long whiff of it. I shrug my shoulder as if I cared less.

"Hello, yes, I'm on my way." He picked up the phone and rushed inside.

"Wait for me!" I yelled at him and jogged inside with the cup of coffee in my hand.

"Hello, yeah I'm on my way," I answered my phone as soon as I stepped into the elevator.

"Who was it?" He asked suddenly.

"Charles," I answered. I was about to ask who called him, but then the elevator door opened and he rushed towards a large room with an enormous door beside her chamber. I placed the cup of coffee on the nearby table and walked into the room.

"Woah," I said breathlessly when I saw her talking to a bunch of people inside it. As soon as we entered, they all stared at us, making me self-conscious. Those were the fresh faces I'd never seen before and it put me on edge considering my first appearance in front of all her people.

I walked towards her, straightening the shirt when our eyes met as she was standing at the farthest end of the room in the center. Dima asked me to wear formal and honestly, I was uncomfortable with this kind of clothing but for Liara; I had to do something.

Everyone looked at me as if I was an outsider. Perhaps no one knew I was her husband yet. It felt weird. I looked at Liara and she smiled at me, which somehow made me realize I wasn't an outcast.

"Gentlemen, let me introduce you to my husband, Zearo." She spoke as she stood up from her seat. The other people followed suit. It was so abrupt that their actions surprised me. I heard murmurs even after they greeted me while I was walking toward her.

"Nice to meet you all," I said as I stood beside her, and unknowingly my hands wrapped around her waist. I was skeptical that she would react to it or whether she would like it. So, I removed my hand, but I felt her holding my hand that was wrapped around her waist and she walked a little closer to me, engulfing my senses with her entrancing lavender scent.

"Have I ever told you that your scent is intoxicating?" I whispered into her ears and felt her muscles tense.

"I will take that as a compliment." She whispered without meeting my gaze.

"So, let's begin the meeting." She said, and soon after, I realized that most of them were the investors of SAMS. They were all the members who invested in her company because of her grandma and never waved from their decision. Although she introduced a few new investors who recently purchased the shares and, surprisingly, that included Suzzane Andersons.

"Everyone is present, but I don't see the person who owns the second largest percentage of shares after our beloved CEO." She raised her voice. I knew she'd create some problems and somehow her voice irritated me.

"He is on his way." I heard a voice. I glared at her as she walked beside Liara, not meeting my gaze.

"I see you've mended with your Secretary," I commented and she nodded.

"I will explain everything later." She whispered, but I didn't appreciate it. I asked her to involve me because I had my share of questions and she chose to not do what I asked her to. I retreated, my hand that held hers around her waist. She must have felt my discomfort as the next second, she walked a few feet away from me and that angered me even more.

''Maam, Mr. Finn Miller is here." I heard someone speak outside her office and then saw a man in his early twenties with perfectly combed hair and a tailor-made black suit with three more men walking inside the room.

He walked straight towards the center where Liara and I were seated. She stood up and greeted him by extending her hand and he cushioned it, placing a kiss on her palm.

"Finally, I've got to meet you." He spoke, and she smiled at him.

"Hello, I'm Zearo, her husband. Nice to meet you." I interrupted their conversation, to which he laughed and said, "Hello Sir, nice to meet you too." Although soon after I heard him say, "Damn, I missed my chance." Every one in the room heard him and understood what he meant. They laughed at how he reacted and I grew angrier. 

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