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Chapter 3

The SUV stopped in front of Alexa, and she was filled with joy. Yay! She hurriedly grabbed her things, even though she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get in. She’d offer the driver anything just to get a ride: money, her dead signal smartphone, but not her virginity. But what if that's what the man wanted?

She swallowed nervously, and the excitement to catch a ride seemed to fade. What if the driver or anyone else in the car would assault her? She froze, staring at the vehicle’s tires, deep in thought. She didn’t even notice that the window of the AM SUV had rolled down because of her conflicted thinking about whether or not she should get on.

The luxury car wasn’t headed to the hacienda. It had only stopped because of her continuous waving. She had almost jumped earlier just to get attention.

“You’re just gonna stand there like an idiot, or are you getting in?” the man asked gruffly, causing Alexa to snap her attention toward him immediately.

Her jaw dropped when she saw who was speaking.

What the hell? Aslan was the owner of the car, a car worth more than her life. She couldn’t be mistaken. She knew this greedy, wicked man even after so many years. No other man had that face, with its prominent jawline, sharp nose, and deep, dark eyelashes. Not to mention how kissable his thin, pouting lips were.

Aslan was half Turkish. His eyes were a deep brown. He had been tall since the day he arrived at their place. His hair had been so long then, as if scissors or razors weren’t a thing in his province. He had a very brooding, intimidating personality, and no one made him smile easily—except for his mother.

He was way beyond suitable for the role of a male lead in a drama series or even a movie. When you say Aslan, it definitely means godlike charm and gorgeousness.

At least, if you didn’t consider the fact that he was a greedy thief who had stolen everything from her, even after being adopted and cared for.

“Alexa!” He snapped her out of her thoughts, and she immediately ran to the back of the car, the trunk lifting automatically. She quickly threw her bags inside.

She stood there, staring at the face of a Judas.

She was filled with irritation when she realized that her adopted brother, the "Herod," wouldn’t let her down. He seemed different now. Before, Aslan, the one she knew, would take care of her even if she snapped at him. Now, he didn’t even care if her uterus fell out while she struggled to put her things in the back of his car.

She marched to the passenger's side and yanked the door open. She froze when she saw the man sitting there, staring at the windshield with the wipers moving.

Shit. Aslan had changed so much. He was now incredibly muscular, and his hair had grown a bit longer, completely different from the crew cut he used to have. He only got his hair trimmed when his mom took him to the town barber. Since then, the two of them had regularly gone out for haircuts. Or, was it really a "cut"?

Now she realized that his hair wasn’t straight at all—it was curly.

He looked at her, raising his thick eyebrows, and Alexa was caught off guard, swallowing nervously.

"Are you just gonna stand there like an idiot, Alexa?" he asked sharply. "Aren’t you soaked?"

His insulting words immediately snapped her out of her thoughts.

The jerk. He acted like he was someone important, but he was a scammer. He had asked her twice if she was stupid. He should ask his teachers if she was stupid, because she had been the valedictorian since elementary school and was about to graduate summa cum laude in college.

She immediately hopped in and slammed the door. She knew he was looking at her, so she threw him a nasty look.

Without a word, he started the car, moving it so smoothly that she could barely hear it. It was so sleek and quiet, so classy.

He glanced at her again and gave her a once-over, but she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're soaking wet. Don’t you have any clothes?" Aslan asked seriously, but Alexa forced her anger to show through her words.

Her hatred for him was still there, and it would only fade once he returned everything he had stolen from the only inheritance she had left.

"You think I’m going to change clothes in front of you? What, are you crazy?" she retorted.

"Then hello, pneumonia," he replied sarcastically, shaking his head in a way that made her feel nauseous.

That's when she realized that it wasn't just the two of them in the car, so she immediately looked at the rearview mirror.

Alexa met a pair of light brown eyes and auburn hair. Those eyes were staring directly at her.

The woman's lips were full and heart-shaped, painted with bright red lipstick. This was the type of woman who looked stunning with makeup. Who was she? How sweet that she still joined Aslan despite the storm. But really, who wouldn’t want to be with him? Look at this man—he's solid, and his wallet is even thicker.

Annoyed, Alexa crossed her arms and didn't bother trying to figure out who the woman was, even though she seemed somewhat familiar. She didn’t care about anyone else.

"Why can’t you listen to your brother, Alexa?" the woman in the backseat asked.

She looked back at her and shot her a glare. "Mind your own business. I don’t even know you. And by the way, I don’t have a brother. Who are you?"

"Alexa!" Aslan's voice was stern, but she threw him a nasty look in response.

"Don’t 'Alexa' me! You picked me up with an intruder in the back of your car. Did you explain to her that she’s not allowed to boss me around? Did I say bring your mother along?" she snapped back.

"She’s not my mother," the woman in the backseat responded firmly, but Alexa just smirked.

"Sorry. You look like a mother," she retorted, giving the woman an exaggerated eye-roll. Aslan scratched the corner of his mouth, clearly trying to hide his amusement.

He didn’t know if his lip was actually itching or if he was pretending to be bothered. If he dared scold her in front of this woman, Alexa was ready to give him a taste of her sharp tongue.

"You have no manners," the woman angrily said.

"Aslan!" she snapped at the young man driving.

"Enough, Donna. Let her be if she wants to get sick or do whatever she wants with her life," he replied, and Alexa relaxed in her seat.

The woman didn’t say anything more but kept glaring at her through the rearview mirror. Maybe she didn’t have a place to stay, so even though it was storming, she was still with her adopted son.

After a while, Alexa felt the chill from the air conditioning. The cold air was seeping into her skin because her clothes were still soaked.

She hugged herself.

Her sweater was useless against the heavy rain from earlier. Even her underwear was wet.

"Stop the car. I’ll get some clothes," she ordered the man after nearly thirty minutes.

"It’s not advisable to stop here. The wind and rain are getting stronger, Alexa. Something might fly and tear you apart," he responded.

"Do you want me to catch pneumonia?" she asked irritably, and he immediately glanced at her, angry but silent.

"Wear my jacket," he said, referring to his huge jacket that, if she wore it, would probably reach the floor.

She wasn’t that tall. Beauty was the gift she had, not height.

"I don’t want to!" she snapped, and she saw him sigh deeply.

He scratched his eyebrow, then took off his jacket while still driving. He followed it by removing his white T-shirt.

She blinked.

Bread rolls.

There were bread rolls even in the middle of the storm, and not just four, but six, probably.

"Here, wear this. And if you act up again, I’ll take you back to your car," he said calmly but with a touch of anger.

He put his jacket back on, and Alexa, who had been hesitating to take off her wet clothes, finally decided to wear Aslan's T-shirt. But then, she froze and sniffed it while scrunching her nose.

Her eyes shifted sideways to check if he was looking, and she found that he was already glancing at her.

"Does it smell like dirt?" she asked.

"Does it?" he replied.

She didn’t answer. It didn’t smell like dirt. It smelled like expensive cologne, so she just put it on, since she had no choice. She was only wearing a bra.

The T-shirt swallowed her whole. It reached almost to her knees, so she removed her pants while sitting down.

"Babe, when is Marishka giving birth?" The woman behind her asked, a question Alexa didn’t want to hear but her voice, full of affectation, just slipped into her ears.

In her peripheral vision, Alexa saw the woman hugging Aslan’s neck.

Well, 'sana all'.

"I'm not sure yet, but probably after the coming storm. I hope so, Donna," Aslan replied.

Haha, Donna! She laughed inwardly. The woman called Aslan "babe," but Aslan called her "Donna." She was just an attention-seeker, trying to make a scene.

She discreetly removed her bra under the oversized T-shirt and crossed her arms over her chest.

She didn’t like the vibe from the woman acting like a mother. She glanced at her, and their eyes met.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're still a virgin, but you're taking off your clothes. Don’t act innocent, it doesn’t fit your looks," the woman jabbered, obviously jealous, but Alexa just smiled at her.

That was one thing she was sure of: she was still a virgin, and she was grateful she didn’t give herself to that jerk Maxus.

"Your looks scream anything but virgin!" Alexa rolled her eyes at her. "And next time, I don’t want to see your face anywhere on my hacienda!"

"You're so rude!" the woman snapped.

"Will you both damn stop fighting?! I’ll drop you both off if you don’t shut up!" Aslan shouted at them angrily.

"You're so full of yourself, acting like you’ve just thought of going home."

"You don’t care. You're just a busybody!" Alexa shot back.

"You don’t know anything but waiting for money. You’re such a spoiled brat who knows nothing but asking for an allowance!" Donna spat.

"Donna!" Aslan yelled at his girlfriend, and Alexa could feel her anger rising.

"Did you say that?" She turned to Aslan because there’s no way the woman would say that without him telling her something about Alexa.

"Said what?" Aslan asked, looking confused.

Alexa's eyes were sharp, staring right at him. She chose not to respond, planning to confront him when they got home.

Donna probably thought she was stepping onto the hacienda. Well, no, this attention-seeking trash wasn’t welcome there.