Encounters~ Skilled Jewel Empress X Nation's Spoiled Prince

"I kept my promise, didn't I?" Riley came and stood beside Sara.

Sara took a deep breath and turned around with her eerily cold smile, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Brown."

Instead of scurrying away, she saw his smile grow wider, "I see you have lost your warmth without me by your side."

Sara curled up her fists as if to harden her heart. And, then she took a light breath, "Thanks for keeping your promise. Thanks for finding me."

Riley's eyes grew sweet as honey and warm as the sun rays. Even though he was called the Prince Charming with a pleasant personality, nobody had seen such a warmth emanating from him. Sara found herself getting lost within the endless abyss swirling in his eyes. She had to admit that he was like a drug to her. For her. he was her guilty p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

The devil on her right shoulder, hummed, "Say it out loud!" Then, it shot its red fork at the angel sitting on Sara's left shoulder and made it disappear before it could say anything.

"Riley, we can't be friends anymore", Sara finally spoke out, something she had never planned to say.

"Friends?" Riley wheezed out, his eyes going dull and cold, while his smile hung as a smirk, "I don't think our relationship was that of friendship."

"Whatever it was", Sara looked straight into his eyes, "It's over."

Saying so, she turned to leave, but Riley grabbed her left arm and yanked her back. Sara was stunned at Riley's audacity. She could sense the curious gazes nearby. She yanked her hand away. Then, with a determined yet detached voice, she spoke, "You should be more careful about your image right now."

"I. Don't. Care", he enunciated each word, "You should know that I have a huge production house under my name. I have options."

"Whether you have options or not is none of my business!" Sara snapped back with a haughty attitude.

"You are just hiding your feelings, Sara", he spoke calmly as he stared deeply into her eyes, "You are lying."

"You..." Sara wanted to retort but was cut off by a sudden interference.

"Hey! stalker", a chilly voice was heard.

Sara and Riley turned towards the voice to find Allen approaching them.

On the sidelines, people were looking curiously to find any clues about a possible love triangle between the three prominent figures. Though they could not hear what was being spoken, they still had brains and eyes. Sara frowned. This was not something she intended to do. The sudden interference of Allen triggered the situation.

Riley's face turned ashen and eerily cold upon Allen's arrival. On his side, Sara did not look any happy either. Disappointment clouded her. She wanted to settle the matter on her own. After all, Riley was not a dilemma for her. Her problems were her capricious and imm.a.t.u.r.e feelings she had for him. She knew that somewhere in her heart, she had carried a torch for him. She knew that these would explode someday, no matter what. And if the situation blew up, it could take a turn for worse. It could tarnish their reputation in their respective fields. They would be accused of bringing their private lives into the limelight. Before Allen could come any closer, Sara stepped in between him and Riley, making Allen scowl.

"Step aside, Sara", he was angry to the brink of exploding right there and then, "Let me talk this out."

"We only talk about business. And business is talked about in office", Sara spoke in a threatening way, shooting him an intimidating glare. Allen stood rooted in his spot, glowering with no intention of moving back. It seemed neither party had any intention to back down. At last, Allen retreated his claws, remembering his Dad's words. He stomped his foot before he turned around and left.

Sara recoiled her intimidating and murderous aura before she took a deep breath. She never had any plans to scare people away in the first place. Her seclusion and years of training had made the ruthless and detached Sara she was today.

Sara walked away without any hesitation or looking back. But, she still had to give some face to Mr. Xi after all. So, she quickly went downstairs to find him. She found Mr. Xi talking to an elderly man while being escorted by his daughter, Xia. When Xia saw her, she was beaming. She let go of her Dad's arm and ran beside Sara. Xia was the seventeen-year-old daughter of Mr. Xi.

"Sister Sara, today's project was awesome!" she linked her arms with Sara.

Sara just smiled. Her mood was dampened at how everything turned out. But, she did not want to spoil the young girl's mood. So, she spoke softly, "Can I talk to your Dad?"

"Yeah, sure", Xia pulled along Sara across the room, "Come with me."

Sara let the girl drag her across the room. Mr. Xi saw her and smiled at her, "Dear, dear Sara, how come you are here? You should be on the terrace floor."

"Yes", Sara nodded, "I have some important business to attend. So..."

"Ah!" Xia gasped, "Why are you leaving so early?"

"It's alright, my child", Mr. Xi smiled, making his old face wrinkled, "Work is important too."

"Thanks, Mr. Xi", Sara nodded and smiled.

She immediately turned around and exited the hall quickly. When she found her way out, she saw Allen leaning against the Bentley.

---

Safe Life Hospital

Ruby was sitting impatiently on the couch of the hospital ward. Sam had not talked much since last night. He was almost avoiding her. He had even allowed the nurse to feed him rather than her. The scene of the nurse feeding him was pricking her right now. He was flirting with the nurse.

SAM WAS FLIRTING!

Ruby found it her to believe. She could neither believe her ears nor eyes. Finally, she could not take it anymore. She stood up and stormed out of the room, leaving behind a stunned Sam.

How could a few injuries bring so much change in someone's personality? She had known Sam to be a m.a.t.u.r.e and reserved person.