Chapter 15 Who Are You

Eleanor borrowed an umbrella from the front desk and took a secluded path towards the bus station. It was not long after she started walking in the rain that she realized someone was tailing her. She turned around defensively and saw a few unscrupulous lads coming towards her. “Who are y’all?” she cried out, her grip tightening around her umbrella. One of them came closer as a sinister smile spread across his evil face. “Are you Eleanor?” “No, I’m not. You got the wrong person,” she replied tersely, surveying the surrounding cautiously. There was no passerby and the rain was getting heavier. “Don’t you dare lie in my face!” The man pushed her on the shoulder and shouted. Eleanor faltered backward and fell on the wet ground. The umbrella slipped out of her hand and she was drenched in no time as rain drummed mercilessly on her body. Behind that man, his underling ran over and took out a photo from his pocket. He pulled Eleanor’s hair and took a cursory glance at her face. “Boss, it’s her!” he exclaimed. Upon confirming they got the right person, the group surrounded her and ogled at her like a pack of wolves. “Young lady, this is your unlucky day. Someone wanted us to teach you a lesson so you’d behave better next time,” the first man said. Anais’ face popped up in Eleanor’s mind as she scanned the men nervously. She knew Anais used to be a juvenile delinquent before she became a celebrity, so she was not surprised at all that Anais would do this to her. “We heard that you like sleeping around with men? Why not we have a jolly good time together today?” The men encroached around her, laughing lewdly. “You know what? She doesn’t look that bad after all. I think she’s even prettier than some of the celebrities,” one of the men teased. “Hold your horses! I should have my fair share of her first!” another interrupted. The group of thirsty men reached for Eleanor and started groping her unreservedly. Eleanor tried to push their filthy hands away but to no avail. She was outnumbered and those men were strong. There was simply no way she could get away this time. “Don’t touch me! Please!” She tried to fight their coarse hands off as she screamed in the rain. Amidst the commotion, a man’s voice reverberated in pain. “Ouch! What the heck!” he cried out as he looked at his bleeding hand. Fury burned in his eyes and he slapped Eleanor hard in the face. “How dare you! I’ll send you to hell!” Just as the man was about to lash out at Eleanor, a blinding light shone right into his eyes not far away from where they were. A few black cars followed closely and stopped beside the road. “Who the f*ck are you? Turn that damn light off!” the man retorted furiously as saliva splattered out of his mouth in the rain. Just as the three men were hurling threats, the car doors opened, and down came a few sturdy bodyguards. A commanding voice came from behind the guards, “What are y’all waiting for? Take them down!” The bodyguards charged towards the scoundrels at the man’s order. “What... what do y’all want?” the jerks muttered. But the guards disregarded their question and beat them up to a pulp without showing mercy. It was clear that those rogues stood no chance in the face of those professional bodyguards. In just a few minutes, the rascals were howling and rolling around in pain on the cold wet ground. Eleanor sat in the rain, dumbfounded as everything unfolded before her eyes. She struggled to come to her feet after the three thugs fled for their lives. A black Rolls-Royce pulled up by the roadside and the driver emerged from the car with an umbrella. He walked towards Eleanor and opened the car door for her, inviting her in. “Ms. Shelby,” he greeted politely. “Who are you?” Eleanor asked as she looked at the man warily. She was sure she had never seen this man before. “Don’t worry, Ms. Shelby. We’re not here to harm you. Get in the car and you’ll know,” the driver replied courteously. Eleanor followed his gaze and was shocked. Over at the back of the car, a dashing young man sat unperturbed by the ruckus happening outside as he flipped through the document in his hand. Casper Beaumont? What is he doing here?