<b>Chapter </b><b>118 </b>


    ? ? 31%-2


    Aria’s POV


    Glen struggled to get up from the floor, coughed, and spat out a mouthful of blood. My God, Grayson must have kicked him incredibly hard.


    But he still got up immediately and went down on one knee, his head bowed down low.


    “I don’t deny any of this is my responsibility, Alpha. I ept full me,” he said lowly.


    “If anything had happened to Aria today, even your life wouldn’t be enough to make up for it,” Grayson said sharply.


    Glen’s head hung even lower. “Then I beg you for one more chance, Alpha. Let me prove my worth by continuing to <i>protect </i>Miss Collins. I swear, there will be no more mistakes. You know I am still the most suitable person for this job.”


    The air in the auditorium went dead silent.


    It was so tense that even I was a bit afraid to breathe.


    Finally, Grayson spoke again, his voice freezing. “You have one final chance, Glen. Disappoint me again, and it won’t just be you. I will bury your whole family with you.”


    Glen responded instantly. “Yes, Alpha.”


    “Now get the hell out of here. I want you to help the soldiers find that shooter. The faster the better.”


    Glen stood up quickly, holding his chest, and staggered out of the auditorium. I finally let out a soft sigh of relief, and the next second, I was pulled into a tight, fierce embrace.


    “…I want to kill myself,” Grayson’s rough voice whispered in my ear.


    I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly. “Don’t be stupid. None of this is your fault.”


    He looked deeply at me. A storm of rage and pain was swirling in his eyes. “No, it is my fault. If I hadn’t let youe to this stupid charity event, none of this would have happened. I should’ve known better. I should have been more careful…”


    “No, stop it.” I pulled back a little, held his face with both of my hands, and looked seriously into his gray eyes. “Someone wants me dead. Even if you kept me in your pocket, they would still find a way to hurt me. You should focus on finding the shooter, not ming yourself for no reason.”


    He gritted his teeth and let out a low growl. “Someone is trying to take you away from me. When I find out who it is, I will burn their flesh, gut out their hearts, drain their blood…I’ll make them die in the most painful way possible!”


    1 shivered but said nothing.


    Before today, I was damn sure that the person who wanted me dead was I.


    But the shooter hiding in the bushes today wasn’t her/Their build was different.


    So was my feeling wrong? Is I innocent?


    Or does she have a powerful aplice?


    Grayson gripped my hand tightly. “Let’s go<i>, </i>we’re going home now. Until the person who wants to hurt you is found, you shouldn’t leave the house for a single second.”


    I groaned inwardly. My God, the days ahead are going to be so boring.


    Grayson held my hand and led me out of the auditorium. Just then, a small figure came running toward us, her arms wide open with a big smile on her


    11:05 Mon, 1 Sept a ti


    face.


    “Aria!” she called out loudly.


    That’s little girl who had said she wanted to marry Grayson. Limmediately crouched down to hug her, but Grayson instantly pulled me behind him.


    “No unauthorized persons are to approach Miss Collins, Guards!” he ordered sharply. The bodyguards immediately surrounded me, blocking the little girl out.


    My God, is he serious? “For Moon Goddess’s sake, Grayson, she’s just a little girl.”


    “I’m not taking any risks,” he said coldly, then frowned at the girl. “What the hell do you want?”


    The little girl took a step back, scared. And she stammered, “N–Nothing, I just wanted to… to thank Aria for saving us earlier. And…And I wanted to give her this as a gift.”


    She held up a stuffed rabbit. She stretched out her little arm, trying to hand it to me.


    My heart swelled. “Oh, sweetie, thank you so much-”


    But Grayson took the toy away. He tossed it to a guard beside him, and ordered ruthlessly:


    “Take this thing and check it for any potential dangers. Aria, stop wasting your time. We’re leaving.”


    The little girl’s eyes went wide, tears welling up in her eyes. I wanted to hug andfort her, but Grayson didn’t give me a chance. He firmly put his arm around my waist and pulled me toward the car.


    “My God, Grayson. What the hell was that?” I snapped. “A little girl tried to give me her favorite toy. You don’t really think the rabbit has a ticking bomb in its stomach, do you?”


    “I can’t rule out the possibility,” he said indifferently.


    “God helps me. Only you could be so cold to such a little child! That girl really likes you, you know? It wouldn’t kill you to say a few words to her.”


    “Right now, all my focus is on your safety. Nothing else matters,” he let out a snort. “Besides, I find babies and children very annoying.”


    I rounded my eyes in shock. “No, seriously? You hate kids? You’ve got to be kidding me. Nobody hates kids and puppies!”


    “They’re weak and a lot of trouble. And they need too much attention. I find them a waste of time,” he said coldly.


    I felt a cold chill. “What if they were your own children? You wouldn’t hate them too, would you?”


    “Makes no difference.”


    “No, no way. If you had your own child, I think you’d still be a great father…”


    “Do we have to talk about this right now?” he snapped abruptly, cutting me off and shooting me an angry look. “A shooter is out there after your life and we are having a conversion about children and puppies? I’ve told you already Aira, marriage, children–all of it bores me. Don’t hold onto any illusions. My stance is very clear!”


    My heart sankpletely. I didn’t say another word.


    He pushed me into the car, got in himself and mmed the door shut. Then he pulled me roughly into his arms. I didn’t want him hugging me right now


    so I struggled. But he squeezed me against his chest with his strong arms and buried his head to my neck, taking in a deep breath.


    “… Stop thinking about useless things,” his rough voice whispered in my ear. “I need you to only worry about your safety, not anything else.”


    I stayed silent.


    11:05 Mon, 1 Sept a ti.


    But I felt worse than I did when I was being shot at.


    ? ? 29% .


    We arrived home shortly after. Grayson handed me over to the guards and immediately left to hunt down the shooter. No doubt the shooter would face the worst fate on earth when found.


    And I was bored. Left with nothing else to do, I wanted to go sit in the garden for a while, but a guard stopped me.


    “It’s too dangerous to step outside right now, miss,” he said.


    I looked at him in disbelief. “Seriously? I’m in my own home. What’s so dangerous about that?”


    “The shooter hasn’t been found. Any outdoor space will expose you to potential danger.”


    I took a deep breath. “So I’m a prisoner now. Is that what you’re saying?”


    “Until we find the shooter. Unfortunately, we need you to remain inside.”


    I stomped my foot in frustration. But Grayson must have given clear instructions because the guards were not backing down.


    So I was left with no choice but to went go to my room.


    mming the door shut, I threw myself on the bed, and stared nkly at the ceiling.


    I hate this. The feeling of being trapped. It makes me feel weak and helpless.


    Just then, my phone rang. It was Delh.


    “I heard you were shot. Oh my God, are you okay?” she asked urgently.


    I rolled over and let out a bitterugh. “I’m alive. But I might die of boredom soon.”


    “What do you mean?”


    “Grayson ispletely overreacting. He’s got me locked in the house. I can’t even go into the garden. If they don’t find the shooter by next week, I probably won’t be allowed near a window anymore.”


    “Damn that’s crazy!” she paused, and then tried tofort me. “But at least that shows how much he cares right? I’ve never seen my cold–hearted brother overreact about anything before.”


    I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, he probably cares, but not enough to take the next step with me. You know what happened today? A goddamn reporterpletely humiliated me about not being able to marry Grayson and give him any kids. And the next second he tells me himself that the thing he hates most in life is children, including his own! And meanwhile, everyone thinks I’m the reason he can’t have any heir.”


    Delh sighed. “Well, you’ve met my parents. It’s hard to grow up normal in a family like that. For my brother, topics like family and having kids totally trigger his trauma.”


    1 let out a bitterugh. “So anyway. We had a fight in the car about that. I’m telling you it hurts more than getting shot at.”


    “Don’t be ridiculous Aria. The most important thing right now is your safety.”


    “You sound like your brother,” I grumbled.


    “So <i>do </i>you have a personal guard to keep you safe? I heard Nova got hurt too. So who’s protecting you know?”


    “Grayson assigned me a new bodyguard. A big guy named Glen. He seems really strong and capable.”


    There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.


    When Delh spoke again, her tone was strange:


    11:05 Mon, 1 Sept


    “Actually… I’m a little surprised Grayson assigned him to you. Considering…his past.”


    I frowned. “His past? What do you mean?”


    “Well, when Grayson and I were still married, Glen was their personal bodyguard. And Glen and I were… very close.”


    “What?!”


    29%


    <b>+38</b>)


    I yelled, shooting up from the bed. My heart was pounding wildly.


    Grayson only said Glen was his guard. He never mentioned this man’s connection to I.


    “You can’t be serious, Delh.”


    “No. I’m dead serious. I always felt that guy had a crazy obsession with I, like she was his goddess or something. But I guess Grayson never picked up


    on it because, you know–guys can be pretty clueless about that stuff. But I still think it’s totally weird to have him around you.”


    I jumped off the bed, paced around the room anxiously a couple of times before I stopped at the window.


    A strong, terrible feeling washed over me.


    We know I has an aplice. But I had no clue who it could be.


    Yet this Glen guy…he checks every box!


    The night Otto was killed, he was guarding I’s door. He even provided her alibi. But if he’s the aplice, it exins how I could sneak out to kill


    Otto.


    And he is head of security. Of course he would know mine and Nova’s schedules.


    What’s even more suspicious is that today, he just happened to be missing when the shooter attacked us, and only showed up after the shooter had run


    away.


    It all fits!


    “Listen, Delh.” I said, gripping my <i>phone </i>tightly and lowering my voice to a quick whisper. “I have a theory…about this Glen guy…”


    But in the next second, I screamed.


    A person’s reflection was staring back at me from the window!


    1 spun around, terrified.


    The door to my bedroom was open. And Glen was standing in the doorway, looking at me darkly.


    “I heard my name. Are you talking about me, miss?” He asked.


    And slowly<b>, </b>he pulled a knife from his sleeve.


    <b>4/4 </b>