As the elevator rode up, Lina's palms were sweaty as she squeezed the phone tight in her hands.
'Stop thumping so loudly!' She commanded her heart which seemed to be racing out of control at this moment.
The two men who stood on either side of her were silent and did not want to disturb her right now.
They fixed their gazes on the panel that displayed the floor numbers that kept increasing as the elevator moved upwards.
*Ding*
When the elevator reached the penthouse that Reuben stayed in, the doors did not open until Lina stepped forward and typed in the passcode.
Wade and Wayne were also unaware of his passcode so they were shocked to see that their little sister had free access to his house.
For a man who loved his privacy enough to not his parents inside this apartment, this was a big step since this meant that he was not opposed to having her move freely in and out of his apartment.
'He surprises me all the time.' Wade remarked at this strange attitude of the Demon Ice Emperor who was cold to many and warm only to a few.
Considering that she had knowledge of his passcodes, it was safe to assume that Lina was included in the list of people who received this warm treatment.
What he was ignorant of was the fact that soon she would rise in the ranks and be the topmost person to receive his love and care.
The next person after her would be many levels lower than her rank.
As Wade was lost in his thoughts, the doors of the elevator separated as they opened up to show the clean and minimalistic apartment of his best friend.
The man who was sitting with his back towards the door turned around when he noticed that someone had arrived at his house.
The three intruders saw the man who was supposed to be sick and in bed was in fact, reclining on the couch as he was typing away on his laptop.
Lina frowned when she saw that he was not resting and instead he was working as she could clearly see graphs of various kinds on the screen from where she stood.
"Kitten? Why are you here and you guys too?" He asked in bewilderment as rose from his seat.
His eyes secretly darted towards one corner of his house as he placed the midnight blue throw blanket that he had been snuggled in onto the couch.
Seeing the door which was still shut, he took a sigh of relief and then smiled at his girlfriend who had popped up to surprise him.
"Why are you so surprised? Were you expecting someone else to come over?" Wayne smirked as he spoke in a derisive tone.
Lina said nothing as she watched and observed the expressions on his face.
'His eyes trembled when he saw us entering the room.' She was sure of what she had just seen.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I thought the three of you were going out to have lunch together." Reuben explained why he had said those words.
Wayne did not believe him and openly sneered while Wade stood in silence as he did not know what to do in this situation.
He was sure that all this was a misunderstanding and it would soon get sorted out.
'Will this idiot stop sprinkling fuel to this already flaming fire?' He scoffed at his older brother who only wanted to witness drama ensuing.
"Lies! Nana heard a woman's voice during her phone call!" Wayne sneered once again as he pointed his finger at Reuben's face.
Lina hated it when people would physically point fingers at others, so she turned and glared at her brother.
'Put that finger away before I snap it in two!' She glowered and knew that even without words, she could communicate with him.
Getting the message that she was trying to convey with her burning eyes, Wayne dropped his hand and stood like an obedient student in school.
Reuben smirked at his friend for getting reprimanded then looked at Lina with sparkling eyes.
'She stood up for me!' He rejoiced and then took a step closer in her direction.
However, the happy expression faded when he heard her next words.
"Who was that woman, Ruby?" She interrogated without mincing her words.
She wanted to know whether there truly was a woman in his apartment when she had called and even if there was one then why was he lying about it?
"Kitten, I don't know…" Reuben's words had not reached their end when a sound was heard from a corner of his house.
Everyone turned in the direction of the disturbance and found that it had come from one of the guest bedrooms.
"Ah-ha! You were not waiting for someone else to come because there was already someone inside your house!" Wayne taunted him as he scowled at this man.
Wade was shocked that the suspicions they were having were not just a figment of their imagination which he had thought that they were blowing out of proportions.
"Reuben, what is going on here? Who is that and why are they inside your house?" He investigated and a disappointed look appeared on his face.
He had always thought that this friend of his had high morals yet now, this was what they encountered?
A cheating suspect who has been caught red-handed?
Lina could not believe that her wild suspicions had been true all along and that there was someone in the house with him at that time.
But what was even more infuriating was the place from where the sound had come from.
She glared daggers at his face as she stepped towards him.
'Did he think that I will cry and create a scene? Not a chance!' She scoffed at him as she came even closer until they were only a foot away from each other.
Looking up, she made eye contact with him and then uttered what she had in her mind.
"Not only do you cheat on me but you also had to give her the room that I slept in last night? How could you?" She spat those words out as a menacing glint flashed through her eyes.
The next moment, without waiting for his explanation, she raised her knee as it moved lightning fast towards her target which was positioned right between his legs.