When Kael saw her, he revealed a small smile on his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Selene frowned a little before returning the smile, finally concluding she was seeing things that night since she was extremely exhausted.
Then, she went to meet the director to discuss the movie further.
Kace made eye contact with Kael, and instantly, it felt as if the temperature around them had dropped. As the two red at each other, their fists were tightly clenched as they gritted their teeth silently.
This would be the first time after two decades a member of the two families were crossing paths again.
If not for the people around, an argument would have already risen, with a pinch of a few punches here and there.
Kace tore his eyes from Kael, deciding to focus on other things.
When he thought of Allison, he went to the makeup room, only to find her alone—he didn’t find Natalie anywhere. He didn’t bother to ask about her whereabouts since he already found whom he was looking for.
"I’m d you didn’t reject my offer this time around," he said, sitting beside Allison who was arranging her makeup kit.
For the past two months, Kace had offered Allison several job opportunities, such as being an intern in the Wacepany or being a part-time staff in some of their family’s other businesses, but she always refused.
There even came a time when he nearly offered her a job as a janitor, but he turned down the idea since there was a 90% chance she would pick that over the other opportunities.
When Selene told him about the new movie, he concluded she would need a makeup artist. Turns out Selene wanted Allison and her friend back.
Immediately, Kace grabbed the opportunity and contacted Allison. In a blink of an eysh, she epted it.
"Thank you," she responded. This was the third time she was appreciating him for his generosity.
Kace stared at her. Since he entered the room, she hadn’t looked up at him or given him a snark reply.
His eyes fell on the clothes she was wearing. It was a long turtle neck that covered her arms and her neckpletely. Her hair was kept in a ponytail as always.
"Why are you silent today?" He blurted out.
"What do you want me to do? Bark like a dog or meow like a cat?" she responded.
Kace was almost convinced her snarky attitude had returned, but he noticed something wascking in her tone.
"Allison, look at me," Kace ordered with so much authority it made her shoulders go stiff and her hands that were cleaning the makeup mirror paused. "Look at me," he repeated. When she didn’t move, he grabbed her hand and made her face him.
Allison looked alright, there were no injuries on her face but the turtle neck she was wearing restricted him from staring at her neck and hand.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked her, concernced in his tone. His own voice slightly stunned him but he didn’t show it.
"Why do you care?" Allison questioned back. She yanked her wrist off his grip and took two steps back to create distance between them. He was too close and she could feel the heat emitting from him.
Without hesitating, Kace closed the distance with just one long stride.
He ced his hands on her shoulders, making her flinch. Immediately, his gaze hardened.
Without asking for her permission, he pulled the turtle’s neck down from her neck to her shoulders with so much force it ripped.
"What are you doing?" Allison questioned, high on alert.
Kace red at the several red spots on her neck. It hadn’t turned back yet which only means she just got them—someone had hurt her.
"Who did this to you?" He demanded, his tone firm.
Allison was a little shocked at how his demeanor had changed in just a few seconds. Her saliva got stuck in her throat and she nearly got choked on it.
"It’s none of your business." She tried to yank her wrist off him but his grip was too tight; it wasn’t painful but was too tight for her to break free. "Let me go."
Kace’s ck eyes tore from the red spots on her skin and bore into her frightened blue ones.
"Was it Derek?" He questioned.