Eight Years as His Bodyguard

Chapter 3

As he spoke, he moved to the bedside, his eagle-sharp eyes locking onto her. "Tell me, who is Daniel?"

With that, he played a recording from his phone—her sleep-talk from the night before.

Muffled and choked, only one phrase was audible. "Daniel, don't!"

Ava's heart raced with fear, terrified Eric might discover something that would undo all her efforts.

She forced calm and shook her head. "No one. Just a dream."

Eric studied her for a long moment, and only when he detected no irregularities did he smile.

"Just messing with you. Why so tense? Since you're up, go kneel."

His tone shifted, casual cruelty wrapped in silk. "I like it when you push back sometimes. But running? That's a bad habit. Consider this a little reminder."

Though unwilling, Ava swallowed her pride for the sake of the evidence.

Before leaving, she made her first request in eight years. "Before we go to Elyndor, could you give me a gift?"

Eric arched a brow, mildly surprised. "What do you want?"

Ava's eyes flickered subtly to the bullet necklace around his neck before she smiled faintly. "Let me think it over first."

Eric gave a curt nod and gestured for her to accept her punishment.

Without a second thought, Ava knelt in the icy courtyard.

Years in the slave pits had forged her body. A little kneeling wouldn't break her.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, a sweet voice floated from behind.

"Isn't this Eric's bodyguard? What's she doing kneeling out here in this cold?"

Eric's voice carried from inside. "You're here. Just putting a disobedient dog in its place."

Ava kept her head lowered, yet she still saw his hand resting on the woman's waist.

A derisive smile touched her lips—men were truly all the same.

She almost laughed. Men really were all the same.

One night, buried inside her, and the next, he could wrap his arm around someone else like nothing had happened.

Daniel alone was different. Even when performing tattoo work, he never once glanced at another woman's body.

Stella clung to the newcomer's neck, her eyes all wide-eyed innocence.

"It's freezing out here, kneeling in this cold..."

Taking the cue, Ava began to rise, only to hear the woman continue. "Maybe we should warm her up? Would hot coals help? Sarah, bring some coals. Spread them out."

Ava looked up sharply, her questioning gaze meeting empty air.

All she heard was Eric's careless reply. "Not bad. You're thoughtful. That's my fiancée for you."

He bit down hard on the word "fiancée," though his peripheral vision got no reaction from Ava. Eric's interest waned instantly as he guided the woman inside.

Stella gushed with faux innocence. "I learned this from a drama. You're not angry with me, are you?"

Eric's fading voice carried only one clear phrase to Ava. "Why would I care? Just a dog. Whether it lives or dies means nothing to me."

For a suspended moment, Ava stood blank. After a moment's pause, she gave a hollow laugh and shook her head.

What madness? To expect Eric of all people to possess conscience enough to honor eight years of history and protect her even once.

She'd forgotten that to him, human life had always been cheap.

Then she too would show no mercy. One clean strike granted him a swift death.

But these were just fantasies now. All that remained real was the burning coals scorching her knees.

The searing pain crept through Ava's nerves, and with each pang, she mentally added another grievance against Eric.

This pain unexpectedly reminded her of the time she was burned years ago.

Back then, she had just been brought to the store by Daniel. While handling a boiling kettle, she accidentally burned her foot.

Terrified of being cast out, she dared not mention her injury. It was Daniel who noticed it himself.

Ava vividly remembered the filth caked on her feet that no scrubbing could remove. Disgustingly filthy, utterly revolting.

Yet Daniel didn't mind at all. Instead, he gently scrubbed her feet clean with his hands, then meticulously applied medicine, bit by bit.

At the time, the festering wound hurt far more than before, yet all she felt was a delicate, soothing warmth.

Thinking of those gentle eyes, tears pooled in Ava's eyes.

Same frozen ground. Same winter sky. But that warmth was gone forever.

Even a dog would've inspired some mercy by now, yet Eric had none to spare.

Once she felt the skin on her knees had broken enough, Ava shoved herself upright, done with kneeling.

She was leaving soon, and she wanted to plant a seed of guilt in Eric, which might help her secure the necklace.

Listening quietly to the conversation inside, she sensed the timing was perfect and let a cold smirk twist her lips.

Eric's reckoning could wait, but Stella? Some debts couldn't wait.