Black Pearl in Raging Fire

3. Such a stalker

Liam looked at the ring on his finger. It was a specially ordered silver ring and was second to none in the world. Inside the circle of the ring are Adriel's initials inside which are written A.K, as well as his initials; L.H in the ring that Adriel wears. Right after the wedding procession which everything took place in a rush, he was taken by Adriel to the mansion he had visited two days before, which was said to be the home they lived in, so here he was now.

Previously he was contracting on how to show his expressions during the wedding party. In fact, the party was not attended by many people. Adriel rented a large church, threw a simple garden party attended by no more than twenty people.

Liam's parents were of course present, putting on a tense and worried look on what should be a happy day during a party. From Adriel's side, he didn't bring much of his family, not even his father and mother were seen.

Liam doesn't know much about Adriel's background, but doesn't he have parents?

The click of the door snapped him out of his thoughts. The bathroom door slowly opened and thin, warm fumes wafted out along with the pleasant scent of soap. Adriel came out with a big white bathrobe that wrapped around his body, part of his wet, muscular chest was visible, Liam immediately averted his eyes.

'Wait. Why did I avert my eyes?'

Adriel held the towel in his hand to rub his wet hair. He walked towards Liam with pursed lips. "It's so fresh to take a shower after a tiring day. Go take a shower too."

Liam stood up but he avoided looking at Adriel so his walk was a bit odd.

This made Adriel wince dissatisfied, he grabbed Liam's hand and slammed him on the bed. "Why, hm? Do you feel disgusted to be in the same room as me?"

"Let go of my hand," Liam replied flatly, but didn't struggle.

"I've officially married you, there's no use regretting it now."

"Let go."

"You think I'll go easy on you just because you dare? Your family is in debt with me, their fate is in my hands."

Liam didn't answer, this time he struggled to free himself.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you." Adriel gripped his wrists even harder. "Even if I want to destroy your pride now I can do it. Aren't you scared?"

Liam's forehead creased in pain. "Do whatever you want to do to me. destroy me, torture me, or kill me but don't touch them."

This sentence made Adriel furious, but he quickly pulled himself together.

"Are you begging now? Really?" Adriel grinned. "Can you beg more sincerely? Hm? Come on. Do it."

Liam averted his eyes, but Adriel clutched his cheek to stare back at him.

"Look closely at me when I'm talking. You think I have full patience?"

The gazes directed at him were cold and angry, like it was a sign of hostility without the slightest fear. No one had ever dared to look at him with those eyes, Liam was the only one who did.

It wasn't like Adriel wanted to force him into one room. Since it was a new house, the renovations were still incomplete and the water heater in the other bathroom wasn't working yet, so he was forced to use the bathroom in Liam's room.

Adriel tsked.

Seeing Liam still showing a look of hostility, he smiled bitterly then released him, leaving him without a word.

"Fvck!"

Liam's body slumped boneless to the floor, he was shaking and pale, he gasped when the door slammed with a bang.

When he closed his eyes, heard more things falling and breaking outside, knowing that Adriel was furious. He slowly inhaled, steadying his thumping heart and letting out a sigh.

This is just the beginning. He is married to that man now.

Right.

Even if he regretted, it was too late.

It's his fate.

Late at night, Liam was feeling thirsty and hungry. He remembered that he didn't eat much at the party because he had no appetite. Come to think of it, a week before the wedding his appetite dropped drastically. He sighed and left the room slowly. But the house that was thought to be pitch black at night, was actually brightly lit and there was someone downstairs cleaning up the mess silently.

Liam came down right away.

"S-Sir, you woke up? Did I wake you up?" A short and thin woman looked tired, her face frightened.

Liam saw a few broken jars on the floor and a wooden sideboard that's broken as if there had been an earthquake.

Was this the commotion Adriel made when he was angry earlier?

Impossible.

"No. I was just going down to get some water." Liam replied nonchalantly.

"Ah, you must be hungry, right? Young master gave a message to warm food for you if you are hungry. Please wait a bit."

He wanted to ignore this woman, but he couldn't.

"I can warm it myself. You go to bed."

The maid stammered. "I c-can't. Young master might get angry if he sees this is still a mess by tomorrow morning."

Liam saw the sweat on her forehead and sighed. "I'll help you later. Don't worry."

"N-No, sir, how could I—"

"You refuse my help?"

"B-But ... this isn't right." The maid answered in a small voice. “If young master finds out, he will … he will ... uh.”

The maid did not continue her sentence and lowered her head, apparently very frightened. Liam didn't chase after her.

"Ok. No need to think about it. I'm hungry now."

"Ah, y-yes. Wait a moment." The maid put her broom against the wall and ran into the kitchen.

Liam followed slowly, but his eyes didn't leave the mess in the room. Almost everything was out of shape, even tables and sofas were turned upside down so that the bottom was crushed. There was a baseball bat lying nearby in the mess, a fallen painting, and a scratched wall.

What the fck happened?

Someone just stole and destroyed the house?

When Liam arrived at the dinner table, the maid was still warming up the food, but water was already on the table. Liam drank slowly.

"It won't take long, but if you're feeling very hungry, you can eat this bread and jam first to fill your stomach."

Liam ignored the bread proffered to him, he asked, "What's with this mess?"

"Um. Perhaps young master's mood has soured again." The maid was nervous.

"Again?"

“Eh? Oh, n-no … I mean, if young master is feeling bored, he usually can't hold back his temper, s-so …”

"So this isn't the first time?" Liam cut her off.

The maid glanced left and right with her eyeballs, before nodding.

Liam realized that it seemed like a secret that shouldn't be revealed and saw that the maid was wary of her own words. But he didn't think about it. With a soft ding sound, the microwave finished warming up, the smell of food wafting as soon as the small machine was opened.

Immediately Liam was surprised to see the food served on the table for him.

It was sweet and sour squid with green chilies and paprika. The squid was almost as big as two adult thumbs, fat, thick and mouthwatering.

Besides himself no one knows that this is his favorite food. Because his mother is allergic to seafood, the chef at home never prepared the food, even if Liam wanted it, he could only eat it outside.

"Sir, is this not to your taste?"

Liam noticed that he looks completely shocked and his expression calmed down immediately. "Did you make this?"

The maid blushed. "This is my first time making it. Young master asked me to learn some food recipes and he often brings prepared food as samples."

'He did?' he thought.

As soon as the squid stuck to his tongue, he tasted the familiar seasoning and felt a feeling of joy. This was exactly what he used to buy at seaside restaurants.

"It's good." he smiled.

"Wow, you are so handsome when you smile, sir." The maid covered her mouth stunned.

The smile on Liam's face faded.

The maid seemed to know that she was talking less and gave an excuse, "I-I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to say you weren't handsome when you didn't smile, i-it's just that you are much more handsome when you smiled. All women would surely kneel at your feet."

Liam couldn't believe anyone would use an excuse like this to defend themselves. He changed the subject, "You said your young master brought some food for you to copy the recipe from, so where did you get this squid recipe from?"

"That's ... I heard from the driver, the squid recipe is from a seaside restaurant not far from here."

Liam fell silent.

The restaurant has food recipes passed down from generation to generation, almost nothing can match the taste. Their flavors are rich and the spices are naturally processed. If this maid could really learn the recipe, he believed it would be from the owner directly.

Did Adriel get the recipe secifically?

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"No." Liam put down his spoon and drank. "What's your name?"

"Shari."

"Okay, Shari. This is good, but I think you added too much acid."

Without seeing Shari's shocked expression, Liam returned to his room. On the stairs, he took another look at the chaos below, his expression unchanged.

'Such a stalker,' he muttered.

Not only a stalker, the man seemed a bit strange. To achieve his goal, Adriel even made a house design that was similar to his parents' house, even the room decorations were similar, almost every detail, he also made the house maid learn the recipes of the food he liked. Now Liam isn't sure he'll ever like the food again.

The next morning, Liam came out of his room neatly dressed. He had promised to accompany his mother at home. His mother had a headache after the party, he was worried and wanted to see her.

As Liam descended to the stairs, he was surprised to see the room that was torn apart earlier was as tidy as ever. As if it had never been completely destroyed. Adriel was also there. The man was still in his pajamas and was busy staring at the work tablet.

Liam kept walking without minding him, until the man called out to him.

"I want to accompany my mom, she is under the weather." He gave an excuse.

"Mrs. Halsey is in bad health, I understand. I will arrange for a driver to take you." Adriel stood up.

"No need." Liam cut him off. "I'll go by taxi."

"Taxi?" Adriel frowned. "I personally arranged for a driver instead of letting me personally drop you off, and you still mind? Wow, you're awesome, aren't you?"

Liam didn't answer.

"Follow me."

Liam gasped as his hand was pulled away. Even though it wasn't as rough as before, he still couldn't extricate himself. It was then that he noticed that the hand holding him was clad in its original gauze, and there was a bit of red seeping through it.

"Wait." Liam tried to pull his hand away.

"You don't want a driver to take you, it's ok. So I will take you instead, Young master."

Liam saw the grin on Adriel's face as a threat. Before he could escape, he was thrown at the co-pilot, and Adriel got in at the wheel, starting the car immediately.

"I hope you're okay because I'm still in my pajamas."

"You—"

The car grunted, along with Liam's words being swallowed back up into his throat. The car slowly backing up before turning around and driving out of the fence. The speed used was stable, but the expression of the person behind the wheel looked harsh with blue veins protruding on his forehead.

"Do you hate having to share a car with me? I'm sorry, but from now on I will drive you wherever you go." Adriel grinned.

"I don't need. Stop the car!" Liam tried to open the door and jump out, but Adriel locked it immediately.

"And do I look like I'm asking for your approval? This is my own wish."

"What the hell are you—"

Liam stopped, not because he couldn't reply, but because he saw that the bandages on Adriel's hands were completely soaked red. His forehead twitched.

"Stop the car," he said, his voice was lower this time.

Adriel glanced at him but didn't stop, he was even angrier and stepped on the gas pedal hard. They had entered the highway and there were several cars. Adriel deliberately kept speeding until he overtook other vehicles several times.

Liam's heart pounded hard, he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, so when the car suddenly braked he was almost thrown forward, but someone's hand caught him in the chest.

The car stopped.

"Do you want to die?!" Liam exclaimed, when he found his voice again.

Adriel laughed as if he heard a joke. "Heh. So you can make that expression too?"

Who is not horrified to realize that he could just smack his head forward and crash? Although Liam is tired of this world, he doesn't want to die a silly death, at least he doesn't want to die before his mother.

Liam was really annoyed with this guy; stubborn, reckless, arbitrary, hot-tempered, unpredictable. What exactly did this crazy man want when he married him?

Does he want to play with him? Torture him? Kill him slowly?

Seeing the edges of Liam's eyes turning red, Adriel's smile crumbled. "... Liam?"

Liam closed his eyes and tears of annoyance forced their way down. 'Shit.'

Adriel was speechless for a moment.

"Wait. Are you hurt, huh? Did you get hit hard enough?" He asked frantically.

Liam's watery eyes met the man's oddly worried expression and his heart fluttered. What now, he thought. He never showed his weakness to others, whoever it was, and he was so angry he was crying like this.

"Ridiculous," he muttered.

"Huh?" Adriel took off his seatbelt and got out of the car. Liam followed his figure and realized they were on a lonely sidewalk by the side of the road.

Suddenly the door beside him opened and Adriel pulled him out. The movement was oddly gentle, so gentle it was as if he were touching a piece of fragile glass.

"You okay? Huh? Show me, are you hurt somewhere?" Adriel turned his body, feeling all over the place to convince himself.

Liam hung on for a moment unable to get the words out, but then he pushed the guy away. He gave the man a disdainful look, before getting back into the car ignoring him.

Adriel was stunned. He quickly got back into the car too.

"You sure, you are ok?"

Liam wanted to spit it out, but couldn't stand the worried look. "I am ok, but you're not."

Adriel blinked.

Liam groaned and tugged at the man's hand, showing the wet bandages.

Adriel didn't seem to notice because he was immediately startled. "Ow, what the fvck!"

He bit the end of the bandage with his teeth until it tore, then peeled off the soaked bandage until Liam could see the long tear in the palm of his hand.

What the ...?

When did he get that wound?

tbc.