Unluckily Fated With the Billionaire

Encounter 4: Babe?

“The devil has finally awoken.” Spoke another devil. The audacity of this man, really.

“F*ck, stop, your voice alone makes my head throb,” I said and put my palm in the front of his face and distanced myself. But that was such a wrong move. I got a glimpse of the man sitting on a chair beside the bed I was in.

WHY IS LIAM MIRREN TOPLESS AND WEARING BOXERS IN MY ROOM?!

“Ugh, please wear decent clothing, Mr. Mirren. It’s not such a pleasant sight to wake up to in the morning.” I disgustedly said.

Lies, lies, lies. Who wouldn’t want to wake up next to a face and body like that? If only I wasn’t engaged and actually had a good relationship with this man, I would’ve wanted to.

“I never knew I wasn’t allowed to wear my own choice of clothes in the comfort of my own home.” He said while crossing his arms and raising one of his eyebrows.

His own home?

That was when another memory hit me.

.

.

.

.

.

“Hey, I don’t think you can drive at this point. Tell me your address so I can call a cab, alright?” He said while fiddling with his phone while I slumped to the cold pavement here in the parking lot. I must be really drunk and hallucinating. Since when was Liam Mirren this caring?

“Ha! My addressh? Ish that another tactic of yoursh so that you could murder me in my own home? You’re a total d-dumbassh if you think I’m gonna gib it to ya!”I exclaimed while I pointed my middle finger at him. Nice try, Mirren. I’m gonna murder you first before you can even think of meeting me again.

“What? You’re totally the one on drugs in here. Was your wine spiked or is this the real you when you get drunk? Oh wait, don’t answer, it’s obvious that it’s the latter.” He said while glaring at me, so I just raised two of my middle fingers at him, my ultimate weapons. The shock was evident on his face and at that point, it was obvious that he had already given up on me.

“Alright, you’ve made a choice. I hope the janitor or guards find you here at dawn before you even freeze to death.” He scoffed and walked straight to his car. What? Death? I won’t die, not today!

“HEEEY! Take me home, you j-jerk!” I tried to follow after him but just ended up stumbling afterward. Before I even got to hit the ground, he had already grabbed me.

BY THE HAIR.

“T-that hurts! Oh God, get your filthy hands off my hair!” I shrieked and pried his hands away. When it rained with gentlemanliness, this guy was probably deep asleep.

“Address?” He asked, but I didn’t budge.

“Nawww.”

“Alright, since you won’t give me your address, I have no choice. But you owe me one after this.” He sighed and guided me through his car. Though I won’t call it ‘guided’ but ‘dragged.’ When he was starting the engine of his car, that’s when everything turned black.

.

.

.

.

.

“How was your trip to your memory palace?” I was startled out of my reverie when he spoke again, this time, full of arrogance and mocking. He even snickered afterward. “M-memory palace? Wait, what happened last night and why am I in your room? Oh God, don’t tell me you did something to me!” I stuttered and shrieked and immediately went to check myself under the covers.

Nice acting, Zairiel.

Even though I wouldn’t have remembered last night, I’m still sure that nothing would’ve happened between us. I am fully clothed and nothing hurts within my body. And although I hate the guts of this man, there’s still something in him that assures me he won’t do anything bad.

“You don’t? I’ll remind you then. Last night, you threatened to strangle and pierce a wine glass shard through my pretty neck, literally slumped on the pav—“

“OH GOD STOP, I REMEMBER, OKAY!” I shouted before he could even continue the retelling of my misfortunes last night. I’d rather have the ground swallow me than have this man ridiculing me and my actions.

“I thought you didn’t? So, as a continuation, you won’t give me your address since you thought I'd murder you in your home—“

“I’ll cook you breakfast. Just f*cking stop.” I sighed desperately. I guess it was effective since he stopped speaking and seemed to be weighing his decisions. “You’ll poison me, won’t you?” He doubted. Hah, how many times had he doubted me now? First, my profession, and now, my cooking skills?

Well, considering what I told him last night, it’s quite understandable.

“I admit, last night was shameful. Please let me cook for you as compensation.” I sighed again in defeat. I’m still a good person, even in front of this devil who’s currently half-naked in front of me.

“Well, suit yourself, Doctor. The kitchen’s downstairs, I’ll be preparing myself here for a while.” He stood up and pointed the door at me, more like ushering me to get out of his room. I just rolled my eyes and even staggered on my way out. I think I sobered up because of the things that happened this morning.

When I got down, that’s when it finally dawned on me that I’m currently in Liam Mirren’s house. It was very luxurious, with high windows, chandeliers, paintings, and high-quality furniture that were totally befitting for a billionaire like him.

I spotted my coat and bag sitting on the sofa. Nothing seems to have been taken, but something is telling me that something’s missing. I thoroughly checked again but everything I remember putting into my bag was still there. Well, it’s not as if Liam Mirren needs to steal something when he’s got everything. I slowly put on my coat, fixed my hair, and grabbed my bag before cautiously looking around. After that—

RUN!

I immediately bolted for the front door while managing not to make any noise. When I got out, a spacious garden with a labyrinth greeted me. It’s like one of those you see in palaces in movies and dramas. There was also a small gazebo in the middle that was adorned in—wait, was that gold? There were golden vines and linings around the gazebo, and almost everything was made of marble.

It’s as if I went straight inside a fairytale.

It took me a few moments to snap out of it and remember my goal—get out of Liam’s house… or mansion... or whatever luxurious place that is. I ran stealthily towards the high gates, and luckily for me, there was no guard inside the guardhouse.

What? Wouldn’t that be unsafe for Liam?

I shrugged the thought off my mind. If he’s like those billionaire men in the stories who are all-rounders that are good at martial arts and everything, then he could probably handle himself. That’s already his problem. I’ve already got a fair share of mine and won’t bother anymore.

But there was another problem that I had to be worried about.

How am I going to face him again when I literally promised a breakfast after everything he did for me but ran away instead?

.

.

.

.

.

“Ella, if someone named Liam Mirren calls for an appointment or the man you saw last time enters here, please tell him that I’m out,” I told my secretary. There was a look of doubt etched on her face that told me ‘you aren’t supposed to reject patients in your line of work’, so I immediately spoke a half-lie for clarification.

“He’s someone who frequently calls the hotline, so it’s not a problem. I just couldn’t meet him physically as of now, but I’ll still assist him, alright?” To make it more effective, I flashed her a smile and even patted her shoulders. It seemed like it worked, since she relaxed and her face showed relief.

“Noted, doctor.” She said and I went back to my office. I’ve actually been in a rush to get to work today, and it’s been only an hour since I got out of his house. Luckily, there were cabs outside so I was able to immediately go home and prepare, and it was still quite early for work. On my way to the clinic, I also had to take a cab since I left my car at the restaurant, which I am going to fetch later after work.

Luckily, for the whole day, no certain Liam Mirren came barging into the office or called the hotline. It was a good thing, and I am not in any way indebted to him, something I tried convincing myself, but the guilt was eating me up. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have wasted myself over wine. But if it also wasn’t for him, I would’ve already frozen in the basement parking lot, alone. My situations were so conflicting as if there was a devil and an angel fighting behind me.

After work, I immediately headed for the restaurant. Since it was just near the clinic, I just walked to save cab fare and exercise. But ever since that unfateful day, it seemed like I had become a magnet of tragedies.

I felt goosebumps crawling over me as I spotted a man in my peripherals. He was wearing a black cap and mask, and he also had a black overall outfit. His movements were quite subtle, but I am definitely sure that he was following me. I didn’t even try the slightest to turn my head in his direction and just tried to maintain my composure and walked fast at the same time. When I increased my speed, he also did the same. At that time, I made a mental note to never walk in empty alleyways again.

The alleyway seemed to be endless. It’s been minutes now but I still couldn’t find the end. The man still hasn’t tried to do anything but just kept on following me. After a few moments, I finally saw my original destination, the restaurant, at the end of the alleyway. I didn’t hesitate and went from a speedy walk to a full sprint. And yes, in heels.

But the man following me also did the same, and it was only a few steps before he could get me.

I won’t die here, not when I could finally see the restaurant and Liam Mirr—

Wait, was that really Liam Mirren?

I didn’t have enough time to think as adrenaline and hope came coursing through me, and used all of my energy to run and get to Liam who was on a call with someone at the back of the restaurant. The shock was evident on his face when I clamped my hands onto his arms and pulled him towards me.

“Hey, babe! Sorry if I’m kinda late, I was busy with the patients.” I announced loudly.

“What are you—“ He wasn’t able to continue what he was about to say as I squeezed his arm as a warning. I looked around subtly and I could still see the man, so I tried acting on our way to the front of the restaurant, where there was a crowd.

“Please, please, I’ll cook you breakfast this time, just get me out of here,” I whispered to him through gritted teeth. He still looked as if I was a crazy madman who grabbed him out of nowhere, but after a few seconds, he smiled.

“It’s alright. Shall we go, babe?” He said and then walked me out of the alley, and his tone was somewhat telling me ‘you owe me very big and I don’t plan on letting you go away this time.’

When we were finally out, it was the only time I finally got to process everything that happened and catch my breath. I didn’t even notice that I was still clinging onto Liam’s arm until someone with a very familiar voice spoke behind us.

“Huh? Zairiel, is that you?”