Mr Stranger

Elara

It was as though the air had been sucked out of the room and this man – this stranger – who suddenly appeared in front of me, was the only thing that still kept me breathing. For a moment, I forgot where I was and who he was supposed to be. 

“…I’m sorry for what she did.” His voice brought me back from the fantasy world. I barely heard the other words he said, but if this man asked anything of me in this instant, I was sure I would give it.

Suddenly, the man was pushed aside and Louis came into view. I’d totally forgotten about him until then. He snatched Celia’s arm from the stranger and pulled her into his chest. 

“Touch her again,” he said coldly, “and I’ll break your hand.” The man who had ignored me for three years suddenly snapped, “Who do you think you are to interfere with my fiancée?”

Fiancée? Now I was his fiancée? When clearly he had attended this event with another woman, flaunting her shamelessly. I almost laughed because Louis looked like he was about to explode while the stranger – Celia’s father – was the definition of calm and collected. 

“And who do you think you are to interfere when a father is stopping his daughter from making a fool of herself?” the man asked calmly before turning to me. “And if she really is your fiancée, shouldn’t you be taking her side and shielding her from unnecessary slaps?” 

I couldn’t tell if he didn’t hear Celia earlier, but the mix of shock, surprise and embarrassment on his face was funny. He looked from Celia to the man, his hand round her waist tightening, then loosening. 

It was as though he didn’t know what to do other than stand there and gape at the duo. 

“Mr. Thorne,” someone rushed forward, nodding apologetically at Celia then her father and completely ignoring Louis. “I’m sorry, but there’s been a development. We need to leave now.”

Mr. Thorne? Did I hear well? As in, this was Alistair Thorne? The president and CEO of the most prestigious and most powerful company in the country? Even Louis did a double take. Did he not know?

“Louis –” Celia started, her voice breaking as she reached out to him but her father stopped her advance. His hand held her in a tight grip that sent shivers down my spine. His face was a calm mask that didn’t break as he turned to hold my gaze.

“Once again, Miss Dubois, I apologize for any inconvenience my daughter must have caused you. If you can let it slide, just this once, I’ll be very happy.” Maybe it was just the trick of my ears, but I could’ve sworn his voice softened when he spoke to me. 

When he turned back to speak to the man who came to call him away, completely ignoring Louis, there was no such softness in his voice. “Now if you’ll excuse us.”

I watched him walk out of the room, his fighters still tightly wrapped around Celia’s wrist. I caught the fear in her eyes as he led her out but either Louis nor anyone else moved to help her. As soon as the man disappeared outside the door, the hall erupted. 

“What was the meaning of that?” Louis growled, his anger now directed at me. “You know this is all your fault! Celia is pregnant with my child. If anything happens to her or that baby, then you’ll have me to contend with.”

His voice brimmed with menace and although he was accusing me of something I had no hand in, I could only laugh. I turned and began walking away but Louis wasn’t finished. 

I stood frozen as the two most powerful men in the room faced off because of me. He called after me, expecting me to react as I always did and stop just because he was talking but for the first time since I met him, I felt nothing. 

No compulsion to act well and nice just so he looks at me. I was walking away from him because there was no reason for me to obey him. 

I stepped outside the door just as Louis caught my arm. “Did you not hear me?” he snarled. “Did you plan this? Did you set Celia up so her father can attend this party and find her here?”

I laughed. Because I couldn’t believe this shallow-minded man was the reason for my sleepless nights for the past three years. I couldn’t believe that I fell in love with such a hardhead who couldn’t tell Black from white. 

“Listen to yourself when you speak, Louis.” I said softly, wrenching my wrist from his hold. “Maybe you’ll understand how utterly stupid you sound.” Having replied to his question, I turned to leave and then stopped. “Oh, and I’m calling off the engagement. I left your ring by the night stand. That’s what I came here to tell you.”

I started walking away, hoping that Louis wouldn’t follow and by some miracle he didn’t. But it wasn’t the same for the reporters. They crowded around me, shoving mics in my face. 

“Miss Dubois, what happened there? Why did Celia leave with Mr. Thorne? What do you know about their relationship? What were you and Louis Valmont discussing just now? Is there a chance that he will not end up with Celia?”

The questions kept coming and so did their guts. They pushed in, shoving me from all sides. I staggered, trying to make it way out of the crying but it was almost impossible. I couldn’t believe that with the speech just now, they wouldn’t even let me storm out the way I wanted. 

I caught Louis walking back towards the door and trying to get away from the reporters. I cursed as someone shoved me to the ground. Cameras flashed wildly, capturing the fall from every angle. I looked towards where Louis had been by instinct, but he was already gone.

Cursing under my breath, I steadied myself and rose slowly. Despite the anger simmering inside me, I kept my expression blank and my voice steady. “I have no comments to any question you want to ask. Thank you.”

The reporters ignored me completely and kept badgering me with questions after questions. I knew the only thing that would make these people let me leave was if they caught a flashier news, but could I wait for that to happen?

I was beginning to give up hope when someone pushed his way through the throng of reporters and swept me off my feet. A gasp of surprise escaped my lips but the reporters moved out of the way. 

“Who are you?” The question escaped my lips as I looked at the man’s face, trying to make out his eyes through the dark shade he was wearing. I wasn’t sure I knew anyone like him. Wait, was he kidnapping me?

I began to struggle, but his grip only tightened. “I could feed you back to those hungry vultures,” the man’s deep voice put an end to my struggles. “But Alistair wanted a favor from me and I promised I’ll help him.”

I stilled.