CHAPTER 29: STAY AWAY FROM HIM

When Elara opened her eyes, the first thing that she noticed was the bright lights that almost blinded her, making her wince in annoyance.

She groaned, raising her hand subconsciously, which was followed by a hiss as the pain travelled throughout her left hand.

"Careful," she heard a familiar voice before the light was blocked for her, and she opened her eyes slowly, her gaze meeting Antonio’s worried eyes.

He had lifted a file from the nightstand and used it to block the lights for her.

His knitted brows and lips pressed into a thin line suddenly reminded her of Justin, who would’ve acted the same way, and a smile appeared on her lips.

The memories of what exactly happened before she lost consciousness and was carried to the hospital rushed to her head, and she held the side of her head with an irritated grunt.

Elara sat with her back supported on the pillows, with Antonio pressing the button to lift the upper side of the bed.

She looked around, a bit suspicious that her brother wasn’t here.

"He has gone out to bring some breakfast for you. He said you’ll ask about it the first thing you wake up," Antonio said as if understanding her confusion, and the girl smiled sheepishly as her stomach growled at the same time, making the man smile.

He had never seen his boss so scared and worried as he looked last evening when he was carrying Miss Elara to the car.

The man, who never showed any emotions, almost looked like he was on the brink of crying and wailing.

"Okay," Elara said, and as she shifted in her place, she felt something foreign under her hand.

She lifted her blanket slightly and saw what looked like a neatly placed, folded piece of paper.

With confusion written all over her face, she unfolded it and read its contents.

"Who else was here?" She asked.

Antonio looked at the paper with piqued curiosity, but judging by her expression, he didn’t think it was the right thing to do, so he kept his curiosity to himself.

"It was Mr. Daniel, ma’am," Antonio said.

Elara’s brows raised in surprise when she heard it was Daniel.

For a moment, she thought it was Andrew who wrote those words to appease her, and if so, it was really a weird way to say things.

Well, now that she looked at the words, she could see the meaning from a different perspective.

Get well soon, Elara. Who will I torment if anything happens to you? I would’ve loved to see your angry face when you woke up, but unfortunately, I have something to handle. Don’t miss me too much. Now that I am back, you’ll see a lot of me.

The letter said.

Elara shook her head. It was amazing how the meaning of the words changed completely once you realized who they were coming from.

This letter was the best Daniel could come up with in the name of showing some support.

She placed the letter in the drawer of the nightstand beside her before looking at the door that was open from the outside.

"Miss Elara, we are glad you are awake. How are you feeling this morning?" The doctor smiled at her.

Elara lifted her bandaged hand slightly, wincing in pain.

"How does one feel after waking up with her hand hurting like shit?" She asked.

The doctor smiled before shaking his head.

"Still as witty as ever, aren’t you?" He said, before he leaned forward to check on her, and Elara rolled her eyes.

"Still making fun of my wound like always, aren’t you?" Elara asked.

The doctor standing before her was her senior, a friend of her brother, who often treated her wounds whenever she would get hurt while treating.

He was like a brother to her, the one person who knew she was training hard for something but never crossed the line by asking what it was for.

Instead, he also kept it a secret from George when she said it would be the only way she would let him treat her.

"Come on, we are meeting after such a long time. The least you can do is smile at me. Give your brother a big hug," he said before he engulfed her in a hug, ensuring he didn’t hurt her.

Elara groaned under his hold, pretending to flail her legs, but even Antonio could see she didn’t mind it at all.

"Are you taking advantage of my sister?" They all heard a voice and turned to George, who appeared with two bags in his hands and looked at the man, who chuckled and shook his head.

"Isn’t your sister my sister too? I cancelled an important board meeting when I found out she was hurt," Rowan pouted.

The nurses looked at the doctor, a bit surprised by how funny he was acting with this family, given that he was known for never mixing his personal and professional life.

After they talked for a while, Rowan left the ward once he confirmed everything was alright and she could go home.

Once they were alone in the ward, George looked at his sister.

"I thought it was you the man was aiming the gun at," Elara said when George didn’t say anything for some time.

George sighed.

"I know. And that’s what makes me more angry, Elara. How could you jump before a bullet like that? What if something had happened to you? What would I have answered our parents? I would’ve died from the guilt," George said.

Elara nodded in understanding before she looked up and grinned.

"It’s better to die from guilt than from the bullet, no? If the guilt subsides, you get to live longer, but the bullet doesn’t give you that option. It’s direct death. Besides, nothing happened to me. Rather than worrying about bygones, shouldn’t we celebrate?" Elara asked with wide eyes.

George looked at his sister before massaging his forehead.

Sometimes he wondered if he was really dealing with a 25-year-old woman or just a 5-year-old kid.

When George didn’t smile, Elara sighed.

She extended her hand, and George immediately took it.

"Let’s not talk about it, please? I know you think I was in the wrong, but I can’t apologize for something, knowing all too well I’ll do the same again if something like that happens. Can we drop it?" She asked, blinking innocently.

George shook his head and hugged her.

This was precisely what he was always worried about the most. His sister, who appeared tough on the outside, was actually the most loving person he had ever met.

If she decided you were her person—if she cared for you—she would do anything and risk her life to keep you protected. That kind of love was rare to find, and to say she got betrayed in such love...

He was afraid that his sister would never find love again, find a man who would love her more than she had to offer.

"Stay away from Daniel, Elara. You don’t know anything about him. He might appear scary on the surface, but deep down, he is a pure evil monster," George said.

Elara didn’t say anything at that. Her mind went over how he pulled her on his lap, breathed onto her neck, and declared he would recognise her in a room full of people, the way he looked at her so intensely... She didn’t know if she would call him a monster.

Then again, if her brother was calling him that dangerous, maybe he indeed was.

After all, she didn’t really know what was going on in the underworld rings after staying disconnected for so many years.

The Macros family rose to fame only in these four years, and for a family to achieve this kind of fame wasn’t something to be taken lightly, either.

"I know, brother. Don’t worry. I am not planning on entangling with him either. Anyways, I have some good news to share." Elara smiled before she looked at her brother with a grin.

George opened the lid of the hot white-sauce pasta he brought for her before sitting down before her, looking at her patiently.

"I am ready to share my singing talent with the world. I signed the contract with Nate Tin today. Honestly, he was the one who asked me to come here with him because he would get bored here. Then I saw Candice and didn’t want anyone else to recognize me and got into that facade until it was a little less crowded," Elara said, mixing up some lies with the truth.

Her gaze darted to Antonio, who had a stoic expression. She wondered why he didn’t tell George anything when she was unconscious. After all, her brother was his ultimate boss.

"That’s good to hear. I told you this earlier, didn’t I? You have a knack for creative things. It was what that fortune teller told Mom. You’ll always find your interest in things that normal people don’t touch easily," George said.

And he probably meant things like weapons and the mafia, sir. Antonio wanted to say it, but kept his words to himself with a sigh.