No! No! No!
I stared at the cell phone, not knowing what to reply. It truly happened. Despite my efforts, my tries, Matthew chose to not believe me. It felt like minutes when in reality more than a month passed from the day AcadM opened, and like Mr. Wolfe mentioned, he became the investor.
After knowing the entire truth about Mr. Wolfe, my fear towards him increased, and I couldn't take the fact that Matthew got totally involved with him.
Quickly, I called Matthew, and in just one ring, he answered the call as if he was expecting it from me.
"Hello Elira!"
There was no anger in his tone, but rather it was soft.
"I wanted to call you to share this good news with you… But yeah, things are different now. Still, what can I do? A few habits won't change."
Like how he shared every piece of good news with me, he wanted to share about the investment too, but he knew that I'd be anything but happy about the news.
"Matt…"
He didn't let me speak. He said, "I have struggled a lot for this AcadM. This has always been my dream, and you know it better than anyone else. Even during the opening, I was not sure about it, but now, it feels like I am actually heading towards my success."
I was genuinely happy that he was stepping towards his dream, but at what cost? If it was someone else other than Mr. Wolfe, I would've been happier than him.
"But one thing, Elira. A part of me feels empty. Like something is missing. Maybe it's because you are not there with me now. Despite everything that happened… my stupid self couldn't help but think how it'd have been if you were with me."
If I had heard him saying things like that a few months back, I would've fainted in joy and happiness. But, for some reason, I couldn't completely feel it even though my lips curved up with a smile.
"Matt…" It finally felt like a normal conversation instead of yelling and shouting after many weeks. "You may not know it, but I do want to see you succeed…"
"I know." He interrupted me. "I know, Elira. You want to see me succeed… but it's just that you don't want any issues between you and Mr. Wolfe…"
"Please!" I cut him off. "I tried to stop it not because I didn't want any issues between me and Mr. Wolfe, but because he's a dangerous man and I don't want you to get involved with him."
When I expected him to accuse me of the things again, his silence left me shocked. Seconds turned to minutes, but neither of us spoke, and it only felt like we were trying to understand each other's thoughts through the silence.
"Matt! I hate to say this, but now you are completely in his grip. I don't know what he's planning, so please be careful."
"I don't even know what to say, but it feels good to talk to you… Bye, Elira." Without even hearing my reply, he cut the call.
The entire day I couldn't focus on anything. A big shot like Mr. Wolfe targeting Matthew was truly weird. We were just mere roaches in his garden of fortune, and targeting us was nothing but unbelievable.
I could not change what had happened, but I could stop the destruction that might happen if I acted accordingly. With the thoughts of protecting Matthew in my mind, I sat on the patio after gardening only to relax my mind. Only to break my thoughts and force himself into my mind, Mr. Wolfe entered, and I couldn't help but admire how handsome he was.
It didn't have to take any particular moment of the day or a designer suit to make him attractive. He got the looks that even in his casual trousers and t-shirt, he'd be able to lure women into his bedroom.
"Admiring me?" He smirked as he sat on the chair beside me.
I broke my gaze and shook my head while a faint blush appeared on my cheeks.
A small smile appeared on his lips as he looked at me. The usual angry monster started to show me his genuine smile without thinking much. It made me wonder if the change would drag me out of the dark, hopeless hole or push me deeper into it.
As if it was not enough, he dragged my chair towards him and tucked the strands of my hair beside my ear, which resulted in a strange sensation in my body, and the way he rubbed my forehead while saying, "You've got dirt on your face," nearly left me breathless.
My lips quivered while I kept my gaze on him, and I dug my nails into my thighs while the temperature of my body increased. My heart palpitations and the wetness of my palms were evident that I was ready for anything but Mr. Wolfe taking off the dirt on my face.
The reactions of my body, just like when two opposite chemicals reacted resulting in a blast, were all because of fear, or at least I thought so because whenever I was with him, it was all about fright, but strangely, my mind opposed it. It was not because of fear, but because of some strange emotion that I couldn't figure out.
He narrowed his eyebrows, looking worried about my tensed state, but instead of leaving me, he brought his face a little closer and whispered, "Relax, babygirl."
I was anything but relaxed. My body had already betrayed me when it started to react to his touch, but I didn't expect my heart to do the same. It was not right. I didn't want to bury myself deep into his dark world, which would not bring anything but chaos.
Quickly, I stood straight, keeping my distance from him. He was as shocked as me at my sudden reaction, but he kept his calm.
When I was about to leave, his cell phone rang, and he said, "Yes, Mr. Jones!" which made me stop.
I turned around to see him already looking at me while talking to Matthew on the cell phone.
"Sure. Will be definitely there."
After he cut the call, he walked towards me with his anger-filled eyes, and he said, "My words couldn't stop you from leaving, but his phone call can."
He took a deep breath as if he was trying not to lose his control. He then said, "That loser is throwing a party this weekend, and we should attend because I am the investor of AcadM now."
Then he took a step closer, saying, "You don't know how many fake reports he had provided only to get me to invest in his business..."
"He won't do such things."
"Taking his side again!" He scoffed. "Not everyone is as innocent and righteous as you. There are people like him who'd do anything for his dream to come true…" Then he held my face and looked at me seriously as he said before walking away, "And then, there's me. With whom people like you should not mess. Elira, this is my final warning. If you behave, everything will go fine. Else I will ruin everything. Remember this."