(Keiran's POV)
Carrying a woman in my arms never made me so happy. To be frank, I never even carried any woman until Elira entered into my life. I wanted to touch her, feel her, and look at her even when it was just for a few more seconds.
At the party, she drank so much that it left me shocked. Elira and that idiot disappearing at the same time didn't go unnoticed by me. But I chose to ignore it as I planned everything for that moment. As a businessman, for the first time, I didn't even care about the risk of disclosing the contract.
They both definitely broke each other's hearts after the truth, and it was the reason the woman I currently carried in my arms lost herself in the alcohol.
I expected her to yell at me and curse me after the party, but she let herself be indulged in alcohol until it made her unconscious. I could never forget the jealous look that idiot had on his face when I carried her to my car and drove to the villa.
"I hate you." Her words slurred as I put her on the bed.
Her reddened cheeks invited me to stroke them, and a small smile appeared on my lips when I felt the softness of her cheeks on my fingers.
"Hate me more if you want to escape from me." A smirk appeared on my lips just by imagining her going crazy for me. "Once you start to like me, it'll be impossible for you to go away."
If only she had stopped contacting him when I gave her the cell phone back, if only she had kept her distance from him, I wouldn't have focused on that unworthy person. I tried to ignore him by telling myself he'd never be my competition, but I couldn't keep my calm. I already had my men around him, and I even knew his feelings for Elira.
When I realized his desire to be a successful man, I started plotting everything. The loan, the building, the investment, and each and everything related to AcadM belonged to me. He just didn't know anything yet. One wrong move, and he'd be gone for good.
But why? Why couldn't I see Elira as someone who's just bound by contract? For what reason did my head and heart always hurt when I saw her smiling for another man? Why did I even consider someone unworthy as my opponent?
I held her hand, frustrated. "What are you doing to me? I was never scared of ending a contract with someone but now…"
I let out a sigh. Even though we still had many months, it stressed me. I didn't want our contract to end. I wanted it to extend for another five years, ten years, or just erase the timeline itself, lock her in my place all our lives, and keep her to myself.
Quickly, I stood straight and decided to leave, as I knew if I stayed for another moment, I'd ignore everything and stay all night watching her sleeping. I had to control my emotions before they took away my rational thoughts.
The next day, my unworthy opponent and I met at my company as we planned. Despite everything that happened, he was so calm and explained his ideas and strategies to me, desperate for my investment. He could get the loan and start the business, but without big money or the investment, it wouldn't last, as the loan we provided him was not enough for anything.
"This way, we can build our trust with the colleges and the companies." He concluded.
"We don't have to do this much once I become your investor. They trust Wolfes."
"Right." A big smile appeared on his lips.
Then he kept quiet while I looked at the documents. I had zero interest in AcadM, but to keep him in my hands, I needed to know each and everything about it.
"You'll be my investor, won't you?" He asked suspiciously.
I crossed my arms, looking at him. "Are you doubting me, Mr. Jones? I told you already. If you can show me at least a five percent success rate without my help in the initial days, I'd provide the long-term investment."
When I found out he was trying to get loans, I made one of my shell companies provide him with it. And, like I planned, I let him overhear the conversation of Wolfe's Enterprise wanting to invest in education-related startups. The first time he met me, I saw the admiration in his eyes. As if he had always wanted to meet people like me. Such an ambitious guy!
"Yes, Mr. Wolfe." He let out an enthusiastic smile.
I simply nodded my head, satisfied with his desperation, which would only ruin him later.
He kept looking at me as if he'd been hesitating to speak. Finally, he mustered up the courage and asked, "Mr. Wolfe! Did you know me before I went to you with my business proposal?"
I closed the files, giving him my full attention. In the end, he couldn't control himself but brought it up.
"I have known you just as someone from Elira's contact list, but business is business."
"Why didn't you tell her about our business deal then?"
That idiot started to use his brain.
"Do I have the obligation to tell her everything about my business?"
"I didn't mean that…"
"Besides, we rarely bring up another man's topic whenever we are together." A smirk appeared on my lips. "We don't even think about other things or people when we are doing… Come on, Mr. Jones, you don't want to hear our personal things." I laughed.
Even though his lips still retained the fake smile, his eyes betrayed him. They looked at me with fear and hurt, and the clenching of his fist didn't help him either.
"Right." He shifted his gaze away. "Sorry for asking. She probably wouldn't talk about me or other people when you are with her."
He then stood straight, taking his briefcase. "Thank you again for keeping your trust in me. I won't let you down."
He then walked away with the burden of love on one shoulder while the other carried his ambition. And it made me wonder what he'd choose when the time comes.
The phone call interrupted my thoughts, and as usual, it was Leonel Virelli.
"Yeah?"
"Did you hear from him?"
I narrowed my eyebrows as I sensed the distress in his voice. "No! What happened?"
"Katherine escaped. The last she's seen was in the west."
"Not those lunatics again."
I took my gun and hurriedly left. Time to rest the businessman in me and wake the wolf ruling the west.