Illana looked dazed as she pulled her car into the parking lot of a nightclub. The woman's mind began to reel as she heard people talking about her divorce from Mark after almost a month of separation. Everyone had known about the rift after Deborah posted her and Mark on the woman's social media accounts.
So, there was nothing to hide, even though none of the employees at Cinnamon asked Illana for an explanation, they were too scared and awkward to bring up the privacy of the CEO's life in the office.
As Illana slowly managed to calm her mind and divert her heartbreak to the rest of the work at the office, today the pain returned to take away the sanity she had been guarding for a month. She accidentally heard the gossip about her while walking down the emergency stairs because the elevator was being repaired by the office technicians.
"I'm honestly very surprised that Ms. Illana is divorced from her husband, she's keeping all this close to her chest, isn't she?"
"You're right, Deborah's behavior is very wicked, anyone knows how Miss Illana struggled when she helped revive Royal Canon's business when it was almost bankrupt. If I were her, I would strangle Deborah."
"What's missing in our CEO that her ex-husband is acting so mean?"
That line of conversation kept circling Illana's head without stopping, like it was mocking her, making her frustrated again that she was never enough for Mark Griggori.
Night Adventure, Illana stared at the sizable sign that stood majestically on the rooftop of the nightclub, a sign that was brightly lit as it was surrounded by many tumblr lights.
"I have to finish myself off in this place; you make me a loser, Mark." Her gaze so faint, she consciously walked towards the main door, showing her ID card before being let in by the two large bouncers there.
The smell of alcohol, the buzz of the crowd, the loud music of the disc jockeys and the glittering lights of the disco greeted Illana. She made her way to the bartender's table and ordered a cocktail with a light alcohol content, but a man seated next to her immediately moved closer, saying hello and inviting Illana to interact without refusal.
Meanwhile in the parking lot, a car had just pulled up there, or right in the empty space next to Illana's car. The man had come here to collect his monthly fee from the nightclub's owner; it had been a year since he had requested it himself and was represented by someone else due to his imprisonment.
Lucas had lit a cigarette lighter at the corner of his lips after getting out of the car.
Not noticing anything yet, he passed Illana's car before recognizing something familiar.
Lucas stopped as if to confirm something; he noticed the license plate of the vehicle.
"Isn't this Illana's car? Is she here?" Illana's license plate was easy to remember, especially since the woman was not someone who liked to change vehicles even though she had enough wealth to buy two or three new cars. "What's she doing stopping at a nightclub, huh?"
Lucas's goals were now twofold. Collect the monthly payment and find out why Illana had come here.
"Did she come with her new boyfriend? Really? Is Illana over Mark already? But, that's better, isn't it?" Lucas tried to conjecture anything; he walked in freely through the main door without having to show any ID. The guard knew this mobster well enough from frequent encounters as well as orders from his boss to let Lucas in unhindered.
As he took a sip from his cigarette, the man circulated his gaze, looking for Illana's whereabouts. He fortunately found her easily in front of the bartender's table, but Illana wasn't alone, the man who had interacted with the woman seemed to get more opportunities because Illana opened up, so they engaged in quite an intense conversation.
"So, she's here with her new boyfriend?" Lucas chose to sit on a sofa but kept his eyes on Illana.
However, throughout the thirty minutes of sitting there while watching someone, he found many irregularities, especially when Illana always brushed off every hand that kept hugging her waist possessively, making Lucas wonder.
Illana made a move to leave, but the man pulled her by the hand, and she sat back down, showing that her body was beginning to be affected by the side effects of the alcohol she had consumed.
After taking a sip of a cocktail with a low alcohol content, the stranger invited Illana to try another type of cocktail regardless of how high the alcohol content was, and Illana accepted the man's wishes without refusal.
Now, the man was acting on a whim, trying to reach Illana in more extreme ways, especially after learning that the woman beside him was heartbroken.
"Is he really her boyfriend?" Lucas muttered. He got up and intended to approach Illana, but suddenly the club owner came to reprimand the man, inviting him to the study on the third floor to discuss this month's bills. As a result, Lucas' focus on Illana was completely broken.
"Do you want to go home?" asked the man named Scoth, grinning as he watched Illana's body language, which continued to show helpless gestures.
The woman nodded without speaking.
"Well, I can take you home. You have your own car?"
"Yes. Just a moment." Realizing she couldn't drive a car in this condition, she pulled out the car keys for Scoth.
"I'll drive you home, Illana. Get moving."
They exited the location, Scoth clinging to Illana's back, the woman's steps quite staggered.
Once they were seated in the car, Scoth was surprised to see Lucas already standing on the hood with a glare, deliberately blocking the exit so they wouldn't leave.
As Lucas approached, he tapped on the window beside Scoth, who finally opened the glass.
"What's wrong?" asked Scoth, looking annoyed.
"Get down."
"Why should I get down, huh?"
"What's the point of being in her car?"
Scoth turned to Illana, the woman leaning her head back as she clenched her teeth.
"I'm going to take her home."
"Drive her home?" Lucas chuckled. "Get out. I can take care of it."
"But she has given me permission to take her."
Lucas snorted in annoyance, trying to manage his patience. "Scoth Dalton, shall we meet under different circumstances? Should you let me subtly evict you, or do you want your family's illegal coal mining business reported? Should I do that? If you want to find a victim, that woman is not your victim; she is under my protection."
Scoth flinched, he swallowed. Lucas' threats seemed to be effective in keeping the man silent even though he didn't understand why Lucas knew his family's business without protesting again. Scoth got out of the car and walked away, he had failed to take advantage of Illana's weakened state.
Now Lucas leaned over to check on the woman in the car, he grunted, realizing how messed up her situation was.
Lucas sat behind the wheel in Scoth's place. "Alright, I'll drive you back to the apartment. I can come back here to get my car later."
***