Chapter 44 - Genuine Concern

Marcellus had to double take for a moment - Winter can't seriously be playing around at this situation too.

Sure, it was a good thing that he found her in this state instead of the one he imagined. Considering that the one behind this is the head of the Ratri Order, many things could have already happened to her - undesirable things, that is. And he knew that she was well-aware that she had been abducted. But even then, she is acting like she is getting along well with her captor.

"What in the world is happening?" Ace blurted out from behind Marcellus, serving as the first one to react between the two of them. 

"I'm surprised that you're here too, Ace..." Winter started once more and stood up from her seat.

"Did you help Sir Lexington? Though it is reckless of you to go all the way here, I appreciate your hard work. Thank you for looking for me." 

She smiles at him right then, though she looks more like she is trying to reassure him instead of expressing her gratitude. He can also tell that she does not appear to be pleased about something. Even though she had that smile on, she still looked as withdrawn and detached as ever. Perhaps, that was because he had basically wasted her efforts to not involve him in this matter

Still, he didn't care about any of that. What mattered was that he found her unharmed.

"But to be honest, Mr. Lexington, you shouldn't have allowed my classmate to come here..." she added before she looked at his other companion.

"I guess he gave you directions as he was the one who witnessed that whole thing back at the bookstore. However, I expected that you would not go as far as risking his safety by taking him here-"

Winter then faltered for a second.

She had cut herself off after seeing how Marcellus looked - grim and forbidding. He is only glaring at George, and he does not seem to be listening to her the entire time. That was when she realized that her attempt to play things cool had failed. 

With how menacing he appears to be, some bloodshed might happen. 

"You can't be acting like this right now, Ms. Agreste..." Marcellus muttered underneath his breath as he reached out to Winter and grabbed her wrist before pulling her closer to him - away from George.

"Do you even know how serious this is?! Things could've happened to you!"

For someone who also tried to abduct her, he sure knew how to give a good scolding.

She should not judge, though. It's rare to see him losing his cool like this, and even if it is not, it's not like this is mere pretense. She can see that he is really mad - it threw her off guard. 

"No need to worry too much. I didn't do a thing on her - except take her away, of course..." George chimed in at last, remaining calm and collected despite the situation.

"It's a miscalculation on my part, though. I thought she's going to put up a fight, but after getting to know her, I realized that she's actually much easier to get along with than some people I know. I'm aware that I can't use that as an excuse, but I still apologize for that. That's why I told her that I'd like to make up to her-"

"And what if she's not easier to get along with like what you claimed? What would you have done...?" Marcellus asked with a taunting tone, not having any of what he said.

"Would you still treat her like this? Don't think you can get away with this only because you didn't try anything. That didn't change the fact that you took her by force."

Winter looks at him in astonishment. 

Her eyes widened for a bit while her cheeks flushed a faintest shade. She was immediate to understand what he meant by that. At first, she thought that the outcome of her attitude on this matter would save him the trouble, especially since she did manage to get on the good side of her captor. But in the end, he didn't give a damn about that.         

He was genuinely concerned for her, and he did not expect her to get herself out of this by acting in any way just to gain the favor of her kidnapper. 

"I can sue you for this, Mr. George Ratri."

When Marcellus declared that out of nowhere, Winter finally snapped out of her dumbfounded state.

In a haste, she grabbed his arm and gave him a tug to steal his attention. But then, he did not even give her so much a glance. He only kept glaring at George while the other one just continued to stare back at him without saying anything.   

"W-Wait, Sir Lexington, no need to go there! I already talked with Sir George...!" Winter tried to talk Marcellus of it in hope to avoid causing more complications.

"Everything is alright. No harm was done. I already forgave him too." 

"Sir George? So, now you're calling him by his first name?" 

"Huh? What?"

"You can't even call me by my first name. And now, you're calling someone you barely knew by his first name?"

"Wait, what's the problem here again?"

"You trust way people too much. Just what do you know about that guy?"

"I know enough, okay? That guy is a good guy."

"Uhhh... Said guy is still here, you know. Can we talk about this in a more appropriate setting...?" George chimed in once again, suddenly feeling left out along with Ace.

"Thank you for believing in me, Ms. Agreste. But I think Mr. Lexington here is right. You trust way too much. Let's get to know each other more at a later date, shall we?"

Marcellus was about to say something again in retaliation when Winter pulled him by the arm and showed him an expression that was telling him to call it quits already - which he would not. He glared down at her, and she glared back in return. If he's not going to back out, she's not going to do it either.

Two can play in this game. 

"By the way, aren't you that other child, boy...?" George brought up all of the sudden, addressing Ace and catching all of their attention.

"I recognize you. The step son of the current head of Miller Holdings, is it? No wonder you got to find me earlier than I speculated. I bet your step sister helped you out in looking for Ms. Agreste." 

"Wait, what...?" Winter blurted out from the side, stunned and perplexed.

"He's what?"

"The step brother of Ms. Violet Miller..." Marcellus took his turn to explain.

"Just as Mr. Ratri said. He's the younger sibling that she told us about-"

"What?!"

Winter was no longer certain about what happened after seeing how Ace only remained silent through it all - he didn't deny any of that.

She was nothing but thunderstruck at that point, not at all expecting the last-minute revelation. After all, out of everyone out there who could be the mysterious other heir, it really had to be her classmate since first year in high school. 

It seemed like Winter had actually missed a lot more than she thought. 

---

"You don't have to do this. I can commute on my own."

Marcellus didn't say a thing.

He only continued to lead Winter inside his car. As soon as she had settled down beside the driver's seat, he rounded the vehicle to sit on the other side. And with that, he proceeded to drive down the road and stared ahead - still not responding to her.

Winter glances at Marcellus.

She then lets out a sigh when she finds him looking stern and serious. 

"I probably bothered you too much today. I didn't mean to get abducted, you know. I'm sorry..." she apologized out of nowhere, making him tighten his grip on the steering wheel. 

"I know that you're supposed to be working right now-"

"That's not what this is all about. I know that you have every right to act on your own accord, but to involve yourself with a mafia out of all things? Don't you know that the Ratri's are one of the top of the underworld even though they're known to be some clan of heroes by most people?"

"The... underworld? I really didn't go that deep into details."       

"Well, you should. I told you that this is serious business. You might find yourself into something worse than an abduction next time. Why do you even have to work together with that man?"

"Your targets may all be ladies, but that doesn't mean they're the only ones you can-"

"They're easier to manage and control. But if it's someone from an underground organization, I will definitely be more on guard." 

Marcellus may have said all of that, but there really was no backing down at this point - Winter already made an arrangement with George that he still had no idea about.