The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

He was about to put it inside his bag when he noticed something in the book. Erick frowned when he saw that there was a card inserted in between the pages of the book. He did not remember putting something like this in his book.

"I was reading this book days before we had the mission to catch Black Shadow. I left it here on my table. I don't remember putting something into this book. Was it Elle who put it back to the bookshelves?" Erick mumbled to himself as he picked up the card which was inserted in between the pages of the book.

Erick curiously examined the card. It appeared to be a simple white plain card made with hard paper material. It was neatly folded. When he flipped it, he saw a hand-written text on the card.

Erick's brows were drawn together in a frown the moment he saw his name on the card. He realized that this card contained a message for him. 

'Is this from Elle?' he mumbled as he began to read the content written on the card.

[ Erick ]

[ First of all, I would like to apologize for breaking my promise. You told me to wait but I can't do that. By the time you read this, I won't be here by your side anymore. Sorry for not saying goodbye personally. ]

[ By writing this letter, I want you to know that I am not the kind of person you think I am. I am a dangerous person. I lied to you. I don't have amnesia. Now you know that I deceived you, you should stop loving me. ]

[ Thank you for saving my life. I consider that as debt and I will surely repay that in the future. Now, I must leave you. Don't look for me. Don't ask questions.]

[ Some things are better left unsaid. Some secrets are better left unrevealed. It is better this way for both of us. Move on and just forget about me. I wish you a happy life. You are a kind person and you deserve someone better.] 

[ Goodbye Erick. Thank you for everything. ]

Erick's grip on the card tightened after reading the message. His mind was in shambles. His eyes were dark as various emotions crossed his face; confusion, disbelief, surprise, hurt, and sadness. He felt like his body was drained of energy as he felt weak.

This discovery had a huge impact on him. He clutched his chest as he felt like his heart was aching right now, suffocating him. He sat down on his chair, seeking support. He was still gripping the letter on his right hand.

He sat there under the deafening silence of his surroundings. His eyes were staring at the blank space while thinking of so many things.

'When did Elle write this letter? When did she try to leave me?' he asked himself.

'She mentioned breaking her promise to wait for me. So it means it happened during our mission in catching Black Shadow.'

'Did I see it coming? That's why I was very reluctant to leave her that night. I felt something was off about her at that time. She was acting very weird and seemed like she was troubled.'

The realization made him want to laugh and cringe at the same time. He dropped the letter on the desk as he covered his face using both hands.

'Elle tried to leave me. She tried to disappear from me.' These thoughts were kept on replaying in his mind right now.

Seconds later, a burst of laughter echoed inside his study. His laugh was cold and humorless. He knew from the start that Elle was hiding something from him.

He had a nagging feeling about it but he always put his doubt and suspicion at the back of his mind.

Now, he felt fear, an emotion he hated the most at that moment. Fear of Elle walking away from him.

With the rise of his worries and fears came another emotion: relief and gratitude for Elle had chosen to stay with him after he got injured.

For him, it was a blessing in disguise. If his life was not put in danger and their mission succeeded that night then maybe Elle would never come back again. Maybe, he won't be able to see Elle again.

Though she concealed from him her intention of lying about her amnesia and hiding this from him for so long, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at her. Even if she said clearly in this letter that she deceived him, he still chose to understand her.

Just like the skin needed to protect flesh and blood, Elle's lie was needed to protect something. That's what he believed in for now. He won't judge her right away and he wanted to give her a chance to justify her action.

As for the thought of Elle being a dangerous person, he let out another chuckle.

"Yes, you are a dangerous person because danger always clings to you. A gang is hunting you. You became a hostage several times. The incident together with my Mom, with James and just recently, the incident happened at Vello spa." Erick mumbled as he felt so helpless.

Erick heaved a deep sigh, feeling so desperate. "What am I gonna do to you, Elle? I love you so much that I won't ever let you go. I won't allow you to leave me once again. Do I need to tie you and imprison you by my side?"

He admitted that he was also saddened and hurt by this discovery. But he was willing to wait for Elle to personally reveal it to him.

He was consoled by the thought that Elle just started opening up for him. He was glad that Elle shared with him her dark past about her parent's death.

"I love her and she loves me. That is the most important thing right now. Don't waver. This is just a trial for us. I need to be strong." Erick uttered, reminding himself.

He gathered all his thoughts, washing away all the negative emotions he felt just a while ago. He stood up as he picked up the letter on his table.

He hid it, making sure that Elle would not find it if ever she would come to his study and tried to search for that letter.

After calming himself down, he was now ready to go back to their headquarters. His eyes were now clear compared to before. Feeling so determined, he had one goal in mind: 'To make Elle stay by his side no matter what.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Elle who was currently oblivious that her missing letter had already been spotted by the man who was supposed to receive it before, was now talking leisurely with their regular customer slash visitor, James Arison.

Two pairs of eyes were watching them. One was curious about the handsome and rich man in a black suit who appeared to be interested with her sis Elle while the other one was wondering why Elle was surrounded by men whom she was not supposed to be closer with, a detective and a man who is the son of the person she killed.

"Fate is a string that quietly connects one person to another. When one person's heart suddenly gets mixed with so many other hearts some things are meant to happen. It is inevitable and we have no control over it."

Charles and Elena averted their gaze to the person who just spoke those words. It was Phantom. He was holding a tray while also looking at the direction of Elle and James.

It seemed like Phantom had read Charles's mind that's why he said those words. On the other hand, Elena had no idea what Phantom was saying so she turned to Charles.

"What is sir Tom is talking about?" Elena asked him curiously. She just whispered to him so that only Charles could hear her.

"Hehe, never mind that. It is just words of wisdom from him." Charles responded to her.

He couldn't explain it to her so he just smiled sheepishly at her as he scratched his face. Elena just nodded at him. She fixed her gaze back to Elle and James. Charles also did the same.

"Boss Charles, that person also came here for the past few days looking for Elle. It looks like he is interested in her. But if I could remember sis Elle had already a handsome boyfriend, the one who saved us before." Elena softly said to him.

Charles just shook his head. "Hmm, you are right. I bet James already knew about it but he just turned a blind eye as he wanted to pursue her. Well, good luck to him." Charles replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Who do you like most for sis Elle, the rich guy or the detective?" Elena asked him again. Charles was taken aback by her last question.

'Who do I like most for Elle between those two men?' he also questioned himself. 

"Sshhh… stop gossiping. Leave those two alone and back to work." Phantom slightly scolded Charles.

"Sorry, sir Tom!" Elena made a slight bow and immediately apologized to him.

"Oh dear, I am not referring to you but to the man beside you." Phantom let out a soft chuckle.

"What a huge difference in treatment. My angel is the only one who treats me well in this Cafe." Charles made a pitiful face. Elena just giggled at his reaction.

'He is really cute acting like a kid. Want to hug him.' Elena thought to herself.

As per the advice of Phantom, Elena and Charles stopped watching those two persons and they focused themselves on entertaining their other customers.

On the other hand, James started pestering Elle, bombarding her with so many questions.

"What happened to you last week? Why you suddenly get sick? Are you really fine now? You are not answering my calls. You are making me worry."

Elle just looked at him helplessly. 'What's up with this kind of attitude now? Though our relationship improves for the past few weeks it does not mean I have an obligation to answer his call and tell him what is happening on my end.'

Sensing the genuine concern from James's voice, she tried not to offend him.

"Sorry about your calls, I am really sick that I am not allowed to use any gadgets like a cellphone," Elle said as an alibi.

"Don't worry, I am fine now," she added.

James was a little bit doubtful with her last statement, so without warning, he extended his hand, placing the back of his palm on Elle's forehead as he checked her temperature.

Caught off guard, Elle's eyes just widened because of James's sudden action. They were in that position when a newcomer approached their table calling Elle's name.