Second Chance Soulmate: Engaged (Marked By Fate Series #1)

24: Invader

They were smiling oh-so-happily in the photo, and the curve in the little Count's lips was something she has never seen in the present Count's face yet.

What baffled Maxien the most, though, was their marks' shapes and sizes, the familiarity, and the very location it was plotted in the two kids' wrist.

For a moment, it seemed like everything in her stopped functioning fully. Her mind turned into a messy haywire, her face distorted in confusion, and her whole body seemed to have frozen on the spot, unable to move due to shock, still processing the information she should have never learned and saw that easy way— it felt so wrong to be knowing about those, honestly.

In the middle of losing her mind on each possibility, with each conclusion she could gather all making sense, that it was getting harder to pick one that has the most probability of coming to life, Maxien has failed to notice the door where she came from, open and reveal the house's raging owner.

The girl suddenly felt her arms getting twisted on the back, as if they were about to pop and break if the culprit would just push one more newton of force against her back. And then, she was pushed harshly on the ground, face first, and with her front getting crushed.

Maxien groaned in pain and felt a pool of tears forming in her eyes.

“WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WHO ARE YOU?!”

Count...

The girl wanted to mumble his name and tell him that it was her, and that she did not mean to be nosy around and get inside that room. For all they should tackle, it was Hunter's fault that she managed to go inside that secret room, that she was pushed to check it— unbeknownst to her, though, Count has not visited that exact room for years, refusing to see the memories of his childhood, as well as of Kiara.

“ANSWER! WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVE?!”

Out of the blue, there was a cold and heavy metal that pressed in Maxien's skull, protruding, threatening, and she shivered in fear. She was not too dumb not to decipher it by herself, not to realize that it was a gun, and she was currently in a life and death situation— something she has never expected to be in, especially in Count's hands, the boy she has always felt the safest — if not, then at least one of the safest — with.

“Count... it's... me—” she choked on her tears, as she started to sob like a little kid. She closed her eyes tightly in defeat, and did not once struggled to get off the boy's secured hold, as if just waiting patiently for the trigger to get pulled, for her head to get pierced, and for her brain and blood to just scatter on the floor— just if ever Count would not recognize her and the low, pained, and hopeless voice she just let out.

“Wait, Max...?” Count's brows creased, and as if he just snapped back to his senses, he almost smacked himself in the head for acting as defensive as he could, even without knowing who he was faced with.

Didn't the possibility of someone he knew visiting the house even pass by his mind? Most likely. Considering Hunter was the only person who had a spare key to enter without his knowledge and permission.

“Oh, f*ck. I'm so sorry.”

The CEO started panicking as he stood up on his feet, letting go of Maxien's arms and pulling the gun's mouth off of the girl's temple.

What the hell?

What the hell?

And what the f*ck was Maxien doing there? How did she get in? How did she find that locked room? How did she...

He had so many questions, and he badly want to get them answered as soon as possible.

However, with Maxien's current state, still sobbing against the floor, shaking in tremor, could not pull her head up and look back at him, seemingly unresponsive due to her natural response to being in a situation with her life in line, Count knew that it would take a while to calm her down— on the other hand, it was even possible that she would be traumatized and would never get to talk to Count again, especially with what just occured.

~

A deafening silence has engulfed the whole living room, that was not lit up, unlike the gloomy, dark, and seemingly sad place Maxien has arrived to earlier.

Neither of them could manage to speak and spark a conversation, neither could ask and start to clear the situation up, too.

It was almost too eerie, as if they were inside an interrogation room, except the interrogator was not around to ask them questions that could answer the mysteries of one criminal case that has to be solved as early as possible, or else someone else's life would be put to danger, or an eventual fall out, death.

Still, the girl's head was hanging low, facing the ground, as if it was the most interesting thing inside the house, despite it having the most gorgeous structures of all the personal places she has been in. Her shoulders were still shaking, and fortunately for Count who knew he would not manage to afford to see her crying and breaking in his front, also because of him, Maxien has already stopped tearing for a while.

She just needed some more time to process it and until then, Count decided to keep his mouth silent and not cause another stunt to scare her even more. He would very much prefer it if Maxien would be the first one to talk, too.

[ Hey, Lucien. Maxien is

on her way there with

your meds, so drink it.

I know she can handle

you better than me, and

you will listen to her, so

I asked her to do it. I

gave her my dupes, too.

Do not scare her off nor

do anything dumb, all

right? Luv u, man! Hehe.

—Hunter ]

It was already late when he finally read Hunter's text message, where the purpose of Maxien's sudden visit was stated and revealed by none other than his secretary, who was also behind it.

That i***t, seriously...

“Maxien...” Count cleared his throat, as he concluded that enough was enough, and nothing would happen if they would rather choose there without addressing the issue. “Hey, how... are you feeling?”

The girl flinched with a visible wince that did not fail to get noticed. But then, she immediately managed to compose herself before she responded in an unsure tone, “Co... Count...? I am... just fine, I guess?”

“Look.... I— uh, sorry. I really was not thinking well, and as someone who had many experiences of getting uninvited guests, threats to my life, or a thief, I reacted that badly. I... thought you were an invader—”

“It is... okay. I understand, really. I would have done the same. I was just... a little scared. Especially when...”

“Ah,” Count, for the nth time, panicked and instantly brought his hand behind, hiding the gun from Maxien's view and stilling for a while. “About that...”

“You don't have to tell me, if you're not comfortable with explaining. Believe it or not, Count, I understand. I just need... a little more time to let it sink in and I will be all right.”

“Really, please accept my deepest apologies,” the CEO said once more, proceeding to scratch the back of his neck in embarrassment, “You were brought here by a request to take care of my stubborn ass, but in return, you got... that— that, yeah.”

“Hunted should not have asked you to, but I appreciate your kindness to pay a visit. I will be fine in no time, I can even be in the office tomorrow—”

“Sir Hunter... said you did not drink any medicine, and you keep on refusing to do so. And I brought you some,” she muttered in between Count's sentence, and then, she stood up and grabbed her small shoulder bag. She took a small pack from the inside and opened one capsule, lending it to the CEO with a bottle of mineral water in her other hand.

“No, Max—”

“No?” Her brows raised. “No will do, so you will take this. I do not accept a ‘no’ for an answer, Count. If you are hard-headed, I can be even more and match you in a head bumping fight. Drink it. It will make you feel better.”

The boy scoffed and later on accepted the pill. Under Maxien's merciless gaze, he forcefully inserted the medicine in his mouth and swallowed it wholly, drinking the whole bottle right after.

It tasted nasty and bitter, as he has expected. And he could only hope that he would not puke and vomit it out after a few minutes like he usually does whenever he would take a medicine— the very reason he always refused to take one.

Nodding, the girl flashed a satisfied smile.

Who would have thought that Hunter was right when he said that Count would surely listen to her? Nobody would even imagine that the firm CEO would be like a beaten pup whenever he would be sick, afraid of drinking his meds like a little boy who needed some scolding before he actually agrees.

“Anyway... my arms and front hurt still, you have somehow used a lot of force, eh,” Maxien complained in a matter of fact tone, frowning in the middle to display her dismay. “But about the... the—”

“The gun?”

In a blink, the atmosphere surrounding them turned serious and black, the easiness disappeared and Count's face seemed to have darken just too.

“Yes,” nodded the girl.

Not only she was afraid when the caliber made contact with her head, almost made it burst and killed her, but she was curious as to why Count would own such as well.

After the confirmation from her, though, the CEO turned silent, only giving her a blank glare, seemingly contemplating whether he should start telling the story, or deny her the truth and just let her assume whichever could be behind the defense.

Realizing Count's hesitation, Maxien almost shook off the question, but at the same moment she was about to speak and dismiss her query, Count sighed and started to speak.

“I am only telling you this because I trust you the way I trust Hunter and my Mom.”

For a reason, the last statement made Maxien's heart swell in pride. He trusts her that way? Then, it would be such a pleasure to earn it, but at the same time, it gave her the same amount of pressure not to break it.

“Maxien, my life is not as simple as you might think it is. It looks bright and promising from the external sight, but it was never that way. It has always been full of threats to my safety, filled with new and old enemies I do not even know what I did wrong, full of people doubting me and waiting for my fall. Ever since. It has been like this, always.”

“Even as March-Tech's CEO and someone the whole country has been watching for years now, most of the board members still do not trust my capabilities, even if I have proved it to be the best among everyone who handled March-Tech before. Some are desperate to take the position from me, by hook or by crook, in my front, back, or by the side. I could not trust anyone, or I might get stabbed by the same person— Hunter and probably you could be the exception.”

“In the past, I have experienced getting my house invaded, almost dying out of blood loss when I got into a fight to snatch the knife the criminal brought to kill me on my sleep. I almost got hit when I was crossing one road, almost got shot in the head inside my car, and later on, found out it was an order from one of the directors in an attempt to cause me harm and death. It is not a new thing to me that they might once again try to kill me, or they are probably trying as of the moment, too, just to grab the power they badly want to manage and snatch from me and our family.”

“With that being said, this house is equipped with security measures, and I had this gun to protect myself and display assertiveness at times. That room... the one you just entered, it sent an alarm to me the moment you stepped in, so I immediately knew and ran to get whoever invaded my private space. Considering those information you just heard, I would very much appreciate if you stay away from me, at least outside March-Tech, or your safety might be harmed and used against me, too, Max...”