âByran, you lucky dogâ Julius stood up, rummaging for the bet agreement in his pocket and crumpling it with a disgruntled expression before tossing it to Byran.
Byran caught the ball of paper, unfolded it to double check, then promptly ripped it up âJulius, if you guys didnât cheat, youâd have lost fair and square Still canât swallow your defeat? How about another round? If you lose, youâll have to call me grandpa. Dare to take it on?â
âI donât have time for your games!â Julius was clearly not up for another round, with a gloomy face, he turned and left with his gang, with tails between their legs.
Byran could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Ellinor was lazing about on the couch quitting the game, and opening up a pinned group chat on WhatsApp. She shot a message to the group, âYou guys did good Iâll give you a cash bonus later Chase Larios avatar popped up. âYou roped us into your game, and now you just want to buy us off with some cash?â
Ellinor replied. âWhat do you want then?â
Chase sent a goofy emoji. âI want you!â
Another avatar, named Ida Gipson, appeared, âBoss, I havenât seen you at the company in a hot minuteâ
Chase chimed in, âExactly!â
Ellinor responded, âIâll make time to drop by in the next few days. Behave yourselves!â
After placating her underlings, Ellinor pocketed her phone and got up to leave.
âEllinor, wait!â
Byran called out to her.
Ellinor halted, âWhat is it, Mr. Howard?â
Byran stood up, giving her a rather unfriendly look, âWhy did you help me today? I havenât been exactly nice to you in the past.â
Ellinor replied nonchalantly, âConsider it payback for you having my back earlier.â
Byran scoffed, âWith your smarts, you could have handled those girls even if I hadnât stepped in.
Theyâre lucky you didnât give them a thrashing!â
*Flatteredâ Ellinor gave him a faint smile, then turned her attention to the bruises on his face, âMr.
Howard, Iâm curious, why didnât you call for your security when you were getting beaten up on your own turf?â
Byran stubbornly retorted, âIf I called them, theyâd tell my dad and my brother. I donât want them to know!â
Ellinor patted his shoulder, âKid, sometimes youâve gotta swallow your pride in front of your family. Your safety always comes first, there is no need to suffer for the sake of face.â
Byran scowled. âI donât need you telling me what to do!â
Ellinor shrugged and pulled her hand back. Then forget I said anything.â
Seeing Ellinor about to leave, Byran quickly followed her, âEllinor, since you helped me today and youâre pretty badass at gaming. Iâd like to be friends with you.â
Ellinor stopped and turned to him, âYou want to be friends with me? Have you forgotten about me sleeping with your sisterâs man?â
Byran lifted his chin, âI havenât forgotten, but I know you and Theo arenât actually together!â
Ellinor raised an eyebrow, âAnd how do you know that?â
Byran confidently replied, âI donât need to see it to know it. Theo would never betray my sister. He wouldnât want you!â
Ellinor squinted slightly. âIs that so? Then why doesnât your sister just marry Theo? That way, I wouldnât be in the picture.â
At this, Byranâs brows furrowed, âThere are some issues between our familiesâ elders, so their marriage is being put on hold. But I believe theyâll end up together eventually.â
âEllinor, since we re friends now, I just want to remind you that youâre just being used. Theoâs marrying you because of pressure from the Blanchet familyâs patriarch. Donât have unrealistic expectations for Theo Itâll only hurt you in the end because Theo will only ever be my sisterâs husband!â