Chapter 3 I The Mysterious Man At The Door

Camellia made her way to the entrance with cautious steps. However, she had previously experienced this at the initial stages of her father’s bankruptcy.

At that time, numerous debt collectors visited their homes and forcibly moved the furniture, which included everything from individual paintings to photo albums. The picture frames were expensive, costing hundreds of dollars.

Camellia was aware of it, but she was powerless to interfere. Instead, she asked for the prompt return of each sheet of photographs. She also remembers very well how the cabinets and vases had been removed until they had gone.

Camellia is finding it difficult to decide what to wear outside the house. There are no longer any wearable things there as a result.

What else did they request this time, then? Her body?

Camellia also shook her head at the direction her thoughts were going. She had no intention of bringing herself to that level, where her sadness would inevitably grow.

She quickly adjusted her look, though, and pretended to be polite in her welcome to her guests. And if there were any photographers around, Camellia would shut the door in their faces.

…

She discovered three men in black suits standing in front of her when the door in front of her opened.

Camellia immediately moved backwards. Her hand was shaking as she tried to decide whether to slam the door or wait for the men to come in and say their business.

She struggled to swallow her saliva but asked nonetheless.

“Why did the gentlemen need to come here?”

One of the men smiled crookedly after hearing her brave but slightly wavering tone. When this happened, Camellia’s attention was pulled away by the handsome man in front of her.

She almost lost track of how she breathed for a split second, especially when their eyes are locked for a while. Camellia stared openly at the man’s handsome muscular face, which was framed by hair as black as night.

It actually feels like a major sin for a cold-expressed male like him to have a sharp nose, strong lips, thick black eyebrows, and long natural eyelashes.

God could not possibly have created such a flawless man. Any women who came into contact with him could be smitten by the eagle-sharp gaze that flashed from the bead of his obsidian-eye.

He also gave off the impression that he was in charge of the two men because of his tall shoulders, balanced posture, and clear muscle prints on his torso that could be seen through his suit.

“Are you satisfied with looking at me, Miss?”

Camellia became fascinated after hearing his deep, male voice, which was also cold-sounding, especially while she was being viewed by those obsidian-eyes.

Her face had turned completely red without her noticing. She blinked her eyes rapidly to get rid of the man’s silhouette.

Camellia immediately bowed her head and purposefully avoided making eye contact with him. Now is not the time to admire the handsome face standing in front of her house.

Camellia also made a subtle throat clearing to mask her anxiety, which unintentionally caused her long golden hair to suddenly form a curtain in front of her face.

She said, almost in a whisper, “I’m not staring at something,” which caused the three men over there to unconsciously lean closer in order to hear what Camellia had just said.

The conversation between them then became silent. Her body began to tremble once more as a result of the man’s pressure aura.

And as it turned out, the obsidian-eyed man was able to see all of Camellia’s subtle movements.

The grim-faced man who was standing behind the obsidian-eyes man stated, “We don’t have much time, Miss Duncan. There is something we need to talk to you.”

Camellia’s body tensed up right away. ‘The worst is yet to come,’ her inner voice cried, because visitors typically discuss money and deadlines for paying off debt when they arrive.

She spoke haltingly, one hand gripping the doorknob and the other hanging onto her pajamas.

“W-what are you people needing to come here?” she said.

Camellia purposefully did not let the men inside to her house so that she could quickly lock the door and close it if it turned out that they had come to harm her when there was no one else home.

Finally, the brunette-haired man on the left of the man with the obsidian eyes, who had been silent, also spoke.

Without exchanging pleasantries and clearly not pleased to have been left outside ever since, he remarked angrily, “Where are your manners when receiving guests? You wouldn’t let us go inside to discuss things in a respectful way.”

Camellia’s grip on the doorknob tightened, but she forced herself to smile regardless of the three men standing there.

“Oh, I apologize. But,” she hesitated and cast a quick glance inside.

Three sets of eyes immediately followed Camellia’s gaze, and it wasn’t until then that they realized what her first look meant.

The man with brunette hair uttered, “Ah... chair.”

Slowly nodding, Camellia’s head prayed that the men wouldn’t step on her house any farther. The obsidian-eyed man, however, actually had different ideas. Instead, he got close enough so that the bridge of their noses nearly touched, instantly rounding out Camellia’s eyes.

She was about to take a step back when she was unexpectedly caught off balance. Luckily, the strong arm of the man in front of her grasped her waist and brought her into his body before she could fall. The girl’s heart started to beat faster.

Due to her lack of experience with men, she kept her hand off the man’s arm to avoid touching him.

The distance between them had widened now.

When the man realized what Camellia was trying to do, his lips also twitched into a half-circle smile, but it was gone after two blinks.

The man who made the girl’s heartbeat said, “Frank.”

His roving gaze was drawn to her chest, though. For this reason, Camellia decided to retreat a little as well.

The man standing on the left side answered, “Yes, sir.”

Camellia carved the face of a man named Frank for a catalog of her future memories. She re-observed them while paying close attention.

The obsidian eyes man said, “Give me the document you had with you earlier, and then stay in the car until my conversation with Miss Duncan is over.”

A guy started walking to the car right away, while the other looking for the document.

Camellia accidentally bit her lower lip as she messed with the hem of her dress from last night. She was nervous because the man in front of her didn’t take his dark eyes off her pretty face for a second. She removed the bite after the man’s eyes turned to her lips with an obvious look, which caused his eyes to flare for a moment before becoming... disappointed?

Soon after, the man received a stack of papers; he was acknowledged without turning his attention away from Camellia, while she lowered her head.

The two men’s footsteps then made a distant sound, indicating that the space was now empty except for her and the man with the obsidian eyes.

At this point, Camellia also softly cleared her throat as she became aware of the concerns in her home.

There is no seating available. She said, “You can get your business across now,” in a sheepish voice.

The man didn’t appear to care, though. Because he handed Camellia the papers he was holding directly.

Still carrying the piece of paper between them, he responded, “This affair doesn’t need a table and a chair.” The man’s flat tone and expression caused Camellia to swallow. He continued, “Read and learn.”

Camellia felt an electric shock travel between them as her hand swiftly reached out and contacted their skin. Her eyes rounded towards the man in front of her, and she held her breath.

Sadly, she was unable to detect a comparable emotion on the man’s face.

‘Didn’t he feel it too?’ Camellia wondered as her arms were slightly trembling.

When the paper was passed to her, she, too, quickly scanned it to get a sense of what was the content. Camellia realized she was in severe trouble at that point, because the man who was currently standing in Camellia’s empty room was not someone she wished to see.

The man with the dark eyes also smiled in an odd way when he saw the terrified look on the Camellia’s face. His eyebrows went up to his head. And in the meantime, he extended his hand.

“Oh, I should have introduced myself. My name is Blake Hagen.”