Top Assassins Call Me The Lady Boss-Chapter 88: Who bullied you?

Chapter Eighty-Eight

She hated how easily he said things like that. As if to tell her she was special to him. She hated how her heart reacted, even when her mind warned her not to.

"I’m... I am... Fck! I’m sorry, I accused you wrongly." He finally whispered.

Asli didn’t know what to say. He must have forced every ounce of pride aside just to get the apology out.

She had been needing the apology and now it was here. She wasn’t exactly happy but she felt she had accomplished something. Aside from his pride, It must have taken him a lot of time to actually apologize to her. He must have rehearsed it over and over again. She could tell he meant it.

However, Asli didn’t know whether she deserved it. That was funny: she had craved those words but she wasn’t exactly innocent.

So, instead of saying anything to him, she just exhaled, closed her eyes for a brief moment, and let herself rest against his chest.

’Just for a little while.’ That was what Asli told herself as she rested against him, and as she let his warmth seep into her skin. She allowed the quiet moment to stretch longer than it should. He didn’t ask her to say anything. She was grateful for that. This moment would have been a perfect one.

But eventually, reality crept back in, reminding her who she was, who he was, and how dangerous what was going on between them was.

So she left: She pushed herself up, the warmth of his skin vanishing as cool air rushed between them.

Her fingers smoothed over her wrinkled clothes, tugging them back into place as quickly as she could. A hand raked through her hair, fixing what she could, though she knew nothing would erase the evidence of what just happened. Without another glance, she turned and walked away.

And he didn’t stop her... didn’t say any word.

Back home, she stood on the porch. Her gaze drifted over the space before her. It was past 2 am. For some reason, she couldn’t enter her suite. She needed air or perhaps was it the sky she wanted to see? As if the moon and stars held some soothing she needed?

That was when she saw Matilda coming back into the house.

At 2 am.

Immediately, her big sister’s instinct started kicking in. Where was she coming from? How was she only coming home this late?

The girl moved strangely: restless, fidgety, and began pacing the far end of the suite when she saw Asli standing there, thinking she had not seen her yet.

Something about the way she kept glancing over her shoulder, the way she tugged her hoodie lower over her face, set off alarms in Asli’s mind. The girl was trying too hard to hide something.

Narrowing her eyes, she stepped away from the porch and made her way outside, her footsteps silent against the stone path.

The closer she got to her the more she noticed the way Matilda’s fingers trembled slightly and the way she clutched the strap of the hoody across her body like it carried something precious.

Or dangerous.

Stopping just a few feet away, she finally spoke, her voice low, measured and not wanting to scare her.

"What are you doing here this late?"

The girl flinched, whipping around, her wide, startled eyes meeting hers. Did she think she didn’t see her hiding there?

For a moment, silence stretched between them. Asli waited for her to speak.

Then, the girl swallowed hard, gripping the edge of her hoodie.

"I..." Her voice wavered. "I was just—"

"Speak!" She yelled, her patience already running out and Matilda saw how serious Asli was. It scared her. It was as if at the moment, she was reminded of how dangerous she was.

"I was at the... springs but fell asleep and only woke up just now. I didn’t want... you to know I went there since you... you warned me to stay away from there." Matilda stammered while she told her.

She ran past her into the house. Asli’s eyes followed her. She wasn’t doing anything she’d kill anyone for, was she? Matilda wasn’t yet eighteen. Almost... but still she wasn’t. Cole would’ve told her, wouldn’t he?

If she found out anyone was taking advantage of her, only the Heavens would hold her.

*******

Asli had barely woken up when she forced herself out of the shower. The cool tiles chilled her bare feet. She tried to shake off her sleep while she dressed up.

Then, suddenly a voice, sharp with fury, ripped through the quiet.

"Someone has been bullying you!" The words hit her eardrums like a crack of thunder.

It was Cole.

And he was angry.

The sheer force of his tone had sent a jolt through her, snapping her fully awake. Her fingers curled around her doorknob as she heard someone else hissing, "shhhhhh!"

Her heartbeat picked up, not out of fear, but out of instinct. She knew who Cole was talking to. She knew it was the same person hushing him.

Her eyes flickered toward the hall below, where the voice had come from as if the ground could open for her to see directly from there.

Cole did not lose his temper easily.

If he was yelling, then it meant something had set him off.

Something or someone. And it better not be about the same thing she had disciplined people over.

Her feet moved faster than she had intended, her boots clicking sharply against the titles as she descended the stairs.

By the time she reached the last step, she was already speaking, her tone clipped and demanding.

"What’s going on here?"

Her eyes swept across the room, searching for the source of Cole’s anger. Everyone in the room froze for a split second, their postures stiffening like they were caught in something they knew would come with consequences.

Cole turned to face her, his usually calm demeanor was replaced with the kind of fury she hadn’t seen in a while. "Someone has been bullying her. I am trying to find out who it was," he said, his jaw tight.

Asli narrowed her eyes, her gaze flicking to the men who were gathered in the room. Their faces held unease, confusion, and the kind of tension that made it clear they knew nothing about it.

Asli’s stomach tightened. "Bullying?" She echoed, her voice low but sharp, the chill of authority slipping easily into her words. "You’re telling me someone has been bold enough to harass one of us... someone under my care?"

Cole didn’t flinch, but the tension in the air thickened. He nodded slowly. "Yes, but we do not know who and she is not talking either."

Her gaze hardened. "I want answers. Now." Asli turned to Matilda.

Maybe her tone was so harsh that the little girl’s mother’s eyes widened, and her whole body shook in fear. Georgia always reacted badly to noise so her room was at the far end of Asli’s suite.

Why was she in the hall when Matilda was being questioned? Two things were making Asli angry that early morning. Why hasn’t she noticed her in the room when she descended from upstairs?

"Oh, my child. Why didn’t you tell anyone? Is that why you always prefer to wear cardigans?" Ruth looked dreadful. Great, her nanny was here too. Asli rolled her eyes.

Matilda refused to talk. Her eyes were trained on her mother’s fearful body in the wheelchair.

"Why is she here?" Asli questioned while pointing at Georgia.

"Oh, we just got here. We went to get fresh air. Matilda, talk now." Ruth informed while asking her niece to talk.

"Was that why I saw you around 2 am? Is the culprit here?" That must’ve triggered something even in Asli and Cole.

Why would she be at the springs around that time in the first place? Cole’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, his chest rising and falling in sharp, ragged breaths. Asli could tell he’d be the first person to shoot the person if he were to be in that room with them.

When the little girl saw how Asli’s eyes turned red, she knew if she didn’t say anything, Asli would probably turn the whole city upside down to find whoever harmed her.

"It’s not what you think. I truly slept while I was enjoying the breeze at the springs. I forgot the track of time because I fell asleep. Trust me, nobody came there. The springs always soothed the pains." That, Asli believed but why was she hiding who hurt her?

Asli peered around, hoping to detect a signal in any of the men’s expressions... Anything... However, they continued to stare down, with the eyes of some pleading with Matilda to speak before all hell unleashed.

"I won’t ask again, Matilda." Asli’s tone was suddenly calm and just like that, she and everyone in the room knew she was this close to doing something wrong.