||'Route for My love'||

'PART 8'

".....The man...he'll hurt her..

....He'll hurt her..."

Suddenly, I jerked awake, gasping for air. My heart was pounding in my chest, sweat dampening my shirt. Blinking rapidly, I took in my surroundings. A soft, luxurious bed beneath me. Thick curtains drawn to block out the early morning light. This wasn't my mansion.

Where am I?

I forced myself out of the bed, every movement making my head throb like someone was hammering nails into my skull. The pain from the back of my head felt fresh, like a wound I hadn't fully processed yet. Then it hit me—the rod. Last night. Andrea. The man I had been fighting. Our unfinished Kiss-

I swayed slightly, pressing my hand against the wall to steady myself. My eyes caught a mirror on the other side of the room. Stumbling over, I stared at my reflection—my messy hair, sweat-soaked shirt, and a bandage wrapped around my head. I was hurt, but this bad?

The door creaked open, and a woman in a pristine maid uniform stepped in, carrying a tray with a glass of water. "Good morning, Mr. Denzel," she greeted me with a soft smile, setting the tray down on the bedside table. "Miss. Andrea is in her office room. She had an important meeting this morning. She left a letter for you. If you want to meet her, she'll be free at 10."

Sinking back onto the edge of the bed, I unfolded the paper and began reading Andrea's handwriting:

Hey Denzel,
I hope your head isn't hurting too much. I wanted to let you know I'm fine. That guy you were fighting? Don't worry—I hit him where it hurts most. He's in police custody now, so you don't need to stress about him anymore. Also, your brother is with Sophia in the lobby. You should check on him when you feel up to it.
One more thing— You can talk to me if you need anything. I had to rush off to a business meeting. Sorry to leave you like this.
Andrea

I exhaled heavily, rubbing my hand over my bandaged head. It was a relief to know that she was safe and that the man who had attacked us was dealt with. My last memory of the previous night was blurry—a confrontation in the alley, Andrea and my closeness, then darkness. The fact that she'd managed to fight back, all while I was lying unconscious, only confirmed what I already knew: Andrea was tougher than most people. I should've known it the day she confronted me due to that ring wrestler girl.

I stood up, making my way to the door. The dizziness was fading. Andrea's house was massive—like mine. Of course, she was a CEO, living in this kind of luxury was nothing new to her. The grand staircase spiraled down to the lobby where I heard faint voices.

As I descended, I spotted my brother, sitting with Sophia, chatting quietly. He looked up as soon as he saw me, relief washing over his face. "You okay, man?" I nodded, my hand instinctively reaching up to touch the bandage again. "Yeah... just a little banged up. What happened after?"

He shook his head with a smirk. "Andrea took care of everything. she was taking care of you last night." Sophia stood up, giving me a concerned look. "Are you sure you're alright, Denzel? You look... pale." I nodded, "I'm good. where's she?" Deren pointed at the door, "There."

I reached up. the wooden door with the golden plate. I opened the door.

And then there was Andrea herself. I couldn't stop thinking about her, even though I shouldn't. She was the enemy. But there was something else pulling me towards her, something I couldn't quite explain. It was maddening, this strange pull I felt whenever I thought about her. I paused for a moment, listening.

"I thought you said you were at the office?" a man's voice asked. "I was," Andrea replied smoothly. "But my work was done early, so I came home." I cleared my throat. A way Both's head turned towards me.

Andrea stood near the desk, her gaze shifting to me when I entered. Next to her was a man dressed in a black coat, his back to me as he handled something on the desk. He was a male. that infuriated me. My muscles tensed up a bit when I felt Andrea coming closer. I didn't even examine myself until now. 

"Oh, Denzel," Andrea said, her tone light but with an edge of something I couldn't place. "This is Laurence, a close friend of mine." Laurence? Ugly fuck name.

Laurence turned then, his gaze locking onto me with an unsettling intensity. The moment we made eye contact, I felt it—a shift in the air, something unspoken but heavy between us. I muttered a quick "hello," already disliking him, though I couldn't exactly put my finger on why.

Laurence stepped forward, offering his hand. I reached out to shake it, and that's when I felt it—the slight tightening of his grip, firm enough to be uncomfortable. A silent warning. His eyes never left mine as if daring me to react. I clenched my jaw, and a silent glare passed just between us.  I wasn't scared of this guy. But I couldn't shake the feeling that he was silently telling me to back off, to stay away from Andrea. 

Like i'm gonna let him stay close.

Laurence moved back to Andrea, his demeanor instantly shifting to something more relaxed, more... familiar.

They started talking again, but I barely heard what they were saying. All I could focus on was how close he stood to her, the way his hand moved to rest lightly on the small of her back as he spoke. Andrea didn't seem to mind—hell, she probably didn't even notice—but it was enough to make my blood boil. 

Jealousy. That's what this was. I was jealous.

And I hated it.

Andrea never mentioned about her personal life but watching them now made me feel like an outsider in a way I hadn't expected. The ease between them, the way they laughed together, the way she trusted him—it all twisted something deep inside me. She was an enemy, I reminded myself. I wasn't supposed to feel this way about her. I wasn't supposed to care. But I did. And seeing another man touch her—watching her allow it—was driving me insane. Even if we had a truce...but..

I caught myself clenching my fists, trying to push down the surge of anger and jealousy that was quickly rising to the surface. I had no right to feel this way. She wasn't mine.

Andrea glanced over at me. "Denzel? You look... tense."

I forced a smile, trying to ignore the way Laurence's eyes flickered between us, like he knew exactly what was going through my head. Like he knew how much I wanted to grab him and—

"Yeah," I lied, shoving my hands into my pockets to keep from doing something stupid. "Just thinking about last night." I came closer to her, "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, "Nope. Like I said, I hitted the guy-" She was cutted by him as he said, "Hey i guess you talked to Denzel and all, and we also have a lot of work to do. So?" His gaze settled on me, "Shall we leave?" I directly looked at him, "Yeah." Andrea looked at me one last time before Laurence took her, his hand around her waist.

It was friendly in her eyes, but it is definitely not friendly. Either in my eyes or His eyes himself.