REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight

Chapter 120: A quiet bar.

"Why are you doing all this?" She asked, staring at his face. "This isn’t just some normal thing you could..."

She suddenly stopped herself halfway and then simply looked away.

A moment later, he started the car and drove onto the road. Silence filled the space between them for a long time before she spoke again.

"You paid his hospital bills... and even started visiting him at home." Her voice was calm, but stern. "When did you become that sympathetic?"

Adrian said nothing as he took a turn on the asphalt.

After a brief hesitation, she spoke again. "I know you’re not someone who can just do something for free. But my grandfather... he’s the only thing in my life I don’t joke with. I don’t want him to be part of whatever game you’re playing."

"You should be thanking me," Adrian said suddenly, chuckling at her words.

She looked up at him.

"You have a strange way of showing gratitude. Most people say ’thank you’ instead of searching for motives." He added.

Elara’s lips pressed together. "You think I’m complaining?" she said with a faint sneer, then looked away again.

After a long while:

"Do you know what I realized?" she continued. "I realized that while I thought I was climbing the ladder of success on my own... you were the one holding the ladder the entire time."

She said, letting out a small, dry laugh.

"So tell me... now that you’ve bought my grandfather’s health and my career... what’s the price? Or do you just enjoy owning people?"

Adrian gave a soft mocking scoff.

"You have a habit of turning simple things into something complicated," he said coldly. "I saw a problem and I solved it. It’s no different from paying for a meal or settling a bill. Don’t make the mistake of thinking there’s a deeper meaning behind it."

Elara fell silent. She then turned her face toward the window, watching the rain as it began to fall harder, the drops racing across the glass.

By the time they neared the building, she straightened in her seat, ready to leave the suffocating luxury of the car.

But the car didn’t slow down.

"You can just drop me at the gate," she said quickly. "I can walk."

"It’s pouring," he replied flatly, not even glancing at her.

Elara looked at him, then away again. Somehow, she had grown used to this version of him.

When did things even become like this?

The gates opened automatically, and he drove in. When the car finally stopped, she reached for the door. The moment it opened, the cold air rushed in with the rain. She almost pulled back, but quickly braced herself up to step out.

But before she could move, Adrian reached back, took the blazer draped over the headrest, and dropped it onto her lap.

"I don’t need your–"

"Just use it," he cut in. "It’s better than you dripping water all over the floor inside."

Elara paused, staring at him with a strange expression. Then she grabbed the blazer and hurried out, holding it over her head.

The rain had grown so heavy it blurred everything ahead of her. She moved quickly, almost running, until she reached the covered entrance where the roof shielded her from the downpour.

As she stopped there catching her breath, a thought struck her and she turned back. But the car was already gone. Only the fading red of the taillights remained before disappearing through the gates.

She stood still for a moment, gripping the blazer in her hands, then turned and walked inside. When she got to her room, she pushed the door open and stepped in quietly. Ziva was already asleep, wrapped up as usual.

Elara walked into the bathroom and placed the blazer neatly over the towel rack.

She would take it to the laundry tomorrow.

After taking a bath and changing into fresh clothes, she walked to the window and looked outside.

The rain still hadn’t stopped. If anything, it had grown heavier than before.

She stood there, staring at the dark woods for a long time. And when sleep finally began to pull at her eyes, she closed the window and went to bed.

–

After dropping Elara off, Adrian’s gaze lingered on her retreating figure for a small second. Then as if he had never looked at all, he turned the wheel and drove away.

He glanced at his watch, his lips pressing together a little.

"Seven minutes," he muttered under his breath.

By the time he reached Lorien, the rain had grown heavier. He pulled up in front of a quiet bank building.

Just across from it, under a covered bench, Harris had been sitting. The moment he spotted the car, he sprang up and dashed through the rain. He yanked the door open and slid into the seat, immediately fastening his seatbelt.

"Ah! Finally," he groaned, shaking his sleeves. "I’ve been standing there so long I’m pretty sure I’m starting to grow fins."

Adrian said nothing as he started the car.

Harris shivered dramatically, clutching his clothes to himself before glancing sideways at Adrian, who didn’t even spare him a look.

He let out a long sigh.

Truly, my position in Boss’s heart is tragic. Not basically different from an alarm clock.

Before he could continue that line of sad thought...

*Hmph*

That single sound landed like a clean slap.

Harris froze instantly, wondering if his boss had developed the ability to read minds.

His lips pressed together so tightly they almost disappeared, and for a brief moment, his eyes glistened with tears as he stared straight ahead.

Did I deserve this? he thought bitterly. After years... centuries even... of loyal service. Running errands, cleaning up disasters, assisting in plans so ruthless that even the Grim Reaper complained there wasn’t enough space in the graveyard for all the victims.... and this is how I’m treated.

He sniffed silently.

The car soon moved into a quieter district before coming to a smooth stop in front of a bar tucked away from the main road. The kind of place where the lights were dim and the atmosphere carried more danger than comfort.

Adrian reached beside his seat and pulled out a compact umbrella from the side compartment, opening it with ease as he prepared to step out.

Harris blinked.

"Boss... your blazer?" he almost cried from disbelief.

That blazer was practically his second identity. Almost like an armor or symbol. In Harris’s opinion, it made Boss look seventy percent scarier. Without it, he was just a dangerous man. With it, he was a nightmare. How could he forget something like that?

Adrian didn’t even pause. He stepped out into the rain, the umbrella already shielding him, and walked toward the entrance.

Harris turned sharply to look at the headrest behind him.

Empty. No jacket.

His mouth slowly opened.

In his shock, he completely forgot about his own survival. By the time he scrambled out of the car to follow, the rain had already soaked him thoroughly.

Within seconds, he looked like something that had just been rescued from the ocean.

When they entered the bar, the atmosphere was so heavy. The floor was packed with rough looking men who seemed to watch their every move.

Adrian stopped briefly and handed the umbrella to Harris.

"Wait here."

Then he walked deeper inside without another word.

Harris stood there, clutching the umbrella and slowly turning his head to look around. Several pairs of hungry eyes were already on him.

Ah, he thought calmly. So this is how it ends.

He glanced in the direction Adrian had disappeared, then back at the men.

He could already feel the way they’re waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on him and turn him into... Harris kebab. A rare delicacy which honestly, he thought would be mouthwatering.

He swallowed and straightened up. Then he looked again toward where Adrian had gone.

"Boss... I don’t think I’ll still have bones left by the time you return."