My arms wrapped around him like chains, a grip that was very tight it nearly merged us into one personal the force of my Collin. Early knocked us both down but knew, regardless of whether that happened or not, we would not let go of each other.

"Glad I'm wanted by one person," the sound of his voice in my ears was like the tipping point for me. I let out a sob, small but heavy. I was afraid to fall apart but I knew I could soon enough in his arms.

"Hey, hey, don't cry." His big hands soothed the back of my head, before running itself in my hair. "Save your tears for someone who deserves it."

I lifted my head up to have a look at my best friends face. He looked just as he normally does, beautiful with his olive skin and dark hair. "You do," I whispered to him, letting him hear every truth and emotion behind those words.

Whoever had the luck to meet Shar was in good fortune. We did have our ups and downs but overall, he was a person I had to myself all these years. He was real and he was good to me. He was simply my best friend.

It then crossed my mind that we had an audience behind us. I turned around and saw everyone looking at us but my eyes just zeroed into one person's face. Nate clenched his jaw and his eyes were furious. I could see he was trying to contain himself but for what reason?

Claud grinned at the both of us. "This is all so cute but Ellie, if you don't mind, we have a few words to be had with this man."

Shar slowly put me down to the ground. His hands wrapped around my waist and the slight tug into his side was noticeable. Especially by Nate.

"You can have them with me around." I said

"I don't think that's a good idea. In fact, I think you need to come back inside the house where it is safe." Claud said, with a smile. Which irked me because his words deserved no smile.

"Are you trying to say I'm not safe with Shar?" I asked slowly.

Shar let out a scoff next to me.

"I'm trying to say he knocked on the door undetected by any of our security measures. And he works for your father. So yes, right now, we have to think about safety, love."

Shar's grip on my waist tightened, his protective stance palpable as he declared, "I don't work for her father."

Nate, breaking his silence, asserted firmly, "You sure as heck do."

In response to Nate's accusation, Shar leaned forward, directing his next words with unmistakable intent, "Are you childish like this all the time?"

Nate's response was a humorless chuckle, adding to the tension that hung heavily in the air. "Are you bored from your usual dealings, selling women, and thought to come try your luck with Ellie?"

The mention of selling women left me bewildered, but Shar urged me not to pay heed. "Don't listen to him."

Amidst the growing unease, Emma chimed in with a suggestion, "We should all go inside. It's better than remaining out in the open."

Claud, however, vehemently disagreed. "I don't think being inside is a good idea. Especially not with him."

Shar, his tone growing more confrontational, scoffed once again. "Are you scared of something?"

Nate retorted with suspicion, "Who knows, you might just run back to your boss with some valuable information."

Shar, undeterred, fired back, "Why are you so concerned about that? Perhaps you should be worried about how quickly I found this place."

Nate, not willing to back down, argued, "That's precisely why you can't come in. Not until you explain yourself."

Shar's confidence remained unshaken. "I've worked with security teams far more advanced than yours. And right now, I have two of them with me. They've likely immobilized all your security measures."

Before, Emma had exuded an air of playfulness and excitement upon Shar's arrival. However, as the tension thickened, I watched her transformation unfold before my eyes. Her once-gleeful expression morphed into something entirely different, a glimpse of the girl she had concealed within. It was a look I had never seen her cast upon anyone before. Emma's friendliness had faded into an unfamiliar wariness; she was now on high alert.

"Bluff," Nate spat, his skepticism hanging in the air.

Shar remained resolute, his confidence unwavering. "Not a bluff. Go ahead, try to raise the alarm. All that will come out is a puff of smoke."

Intrigued and with a desire to prove Shar wrong, Emma swiftly retrieved her phone and pressed the alarm button. The result was startling—an eerie and deafening silence that hung heavily in the air.

Shar, undeterred, continued to make his claims. "And now, as for the men you have patrolling the grounds, they're probably sprawled on the floor, immobilized by the sedatives coursing through their veins, leaving quite the drool patch in their wake." His words only added to the mystique surrounding his true intentions and capabilities.

ff between Shar and the rest of us showed no sign of resolution. It was clear that something significant was afoot, something that went beyond the surface.

Claud, ever the pragmatist, seemed to grasp the urgency of the situation. "Look, we can argue all day, but it's getting dark, and it's not safe out here. Or is it?"

Shar's response was resolute, his voice carrying a hint of frustration, "I'm not with her father. And my men are trained enough to keep them away. Or at least distracted enough for you lot to make a run for it."

Claud's brows furrowed as he tried to convey a more profound meaning. "That's not what I meant."

A weighty silence hung in the air as the two men locked eyes, their unspoken communication filling the room. I strained to understand the cryptic exchange, but the true meaning remained elusive.

"No," Shar finally stated after a prolonged pause. "Her father doesn't know I'm here. But don't think it's for your own benefit. I did it for my own reasons."

Claud, seeming to begrudgingly accept this, decided to take charge. "Alright, come inside. But don't you dare make any dodgy moves. You sit where we tell you to sit."

Shar, still wearing his enigmatic mask, nodded in agreement. "Fine, but Ellie stays with me."

Nate, still harboring doubts, agreed to the compromise. "Alright, let's go inside, but we'll be keeping a close eye on you."

As we moved indoors, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were on the precipice of something momentous, something that went far beyond our previous assumptions and judgments. Shar's cryptic presence had shifted the balance of power, and we were now entangled in a complex web of intrigue where every word and action held the potential to change our fates.

"Cup of tea?" Emma asked as Shar was led to the kitchen.

With a strained atmosphere hanging in the air, Emma's offer of a cup of tea served as an unexpected moment of normalcy amid the tension. Her voice, though still guarded, carried a note of hospitality as she gestured towards the kitchen.

Shar, who had been led into the house under a watchful eye, seemed to appreciate the gesture. "Yes, thank you," he replied, his tone softer and less guarded than before.

As Shar followed Emma into the kitchen, the rest of us took seats in the living room, our senses heightened by the uncertainty of the situation. The quiet hum of the kettle boiling water and the clinking of cups provided a strange juxtaposition to the complex web of intrigue that had enveloped us.

It was clear that Shar's presence had introduced an unexpected twist to our lives, and as we waited for the tea to brew, the questions continued to churn in our minds.

I sat down in the dining table and Shar sat down next to me. I didn't miss the subtle glance he shot at Claud and how Claud responded back with a small nod. He was okay to sit next to me.

"Why are you here?" Nate inquired, his eyes locked onto Shar's.

Shar, his gaze unwavering, responded with a degree of simplicity. "I wanted to see Ellie."

Nate, unimpressed by the vague response, pressed on, his voice tinged with suspicion. "She's here, and she is alive."

A hint of frustration crept into Shar's tone as he acknowledged the obvious. "I can see that."

Nate, determined to unearth the truth, continued his interrogation. "What's your reason for being here, apart from that?"

Shar's response was swift, laced with defiance. "Did I say I was going to share my reasons?"

The room seemed to constrict around us as Shar's reticence hung in the air, leaving us all grappling with the mysteries he brought with him. His presence had disrupted the peaceful facade of our lives, and the questions were beginning to stack up, a wall of uncertainty we couldn't easily breach.

Nate, never one to back down, leaned forward, his eyes locked onto Shar's. "Look, if you're here for Ellie's sake, you need to be straight with us. We need to know who you are and what your intentions are."

Shar remained stoic, his silence carrying the weight of the unspoken. It was clear he wasn't going to vent his reasons easily.

Claud, always the voice of reason, chimed in, "We can't continue like this. We need answers, Shar."

Emma returned from the kitchen with a tray of tea, her face revealing a mixture of curiosity and apprehension as she placed the cups on the table. "Tea's ready," she announced, hoping that the gesture of hospitality might encourage Shar to open up.

Shar accepted a cup, seemingly unfazed by the gravity of the situation. He took a sip, the steam rising and shrouding his enigmatic expression. It was as though he was savoring the silence, fully aware of the attention he commanded.

Finally, after a prolonged pause, Shar spoke, his voice carrying a hint of resignation. "You want answers? Fine. But what I have to say, it won't be easy to swallow."