"You !!! You cannot tease me like that", Akira retorted after getting her head straight.

"Really???", Raymond laughed after hearing her speak like she had been terribly violated.

"Then how should I tease you? You only tell me", Raymond said and stuffed the pancake inside his mouth.

Akira knew that there was no point of doing any verbal arguments with him as he was going to win it definitely. So she stormed towards the fridge to keep the bottle of Maple Syrup back.

He keenly kept observing her each and every move, like she was some project to work upon. After she got the scrambled eggs ready, she joined him at the breakfast counter.

"So would you like to dance again with me now?", Raymond asked.

Akira felt like she would choke on her food. She cleared her throat and then looked at her phone screen and said,

"I guess you have forgotten that you have to go to the office".

Then she poured juice into a glass and pushed it towards him.

"Drink".

"What? You are behaving like a wife now. Nagging me in every sentence of yours", Raymond said and started gulping the juice. But she blushed the hell out of herself when she heard him. They were actually like a perfect married couple who ate together, slept together and bickered together. She was lost in her thoughts when he snapped his fingers in front of her and said,

"Back to earth Akira", and smiled.

They laughed some more, fought some more, exchanged their gazes some more and then finally did the dishes together. She cleaned and he wiped the plates in harmony. This stuff was simple and basic but it warmed their hearts.

Akira took a bath and wore her clothes from yesterday which had dried up by now. Then she started to look for some moisturizer in the room and turned towards the vanity. She saw the area loaded with beauty products and accessories.

"Must be Scarlett's", she thought and didn't even bother to touch any. But somehow from within she was miffed. Then she went towards the walk-in closet expecting a full-size mirror to check herself before Raymond came out from the washroom. She checked herself top to bottom and took a twirl in front of the mirror but then out of curiosity she slid the wardrobe door open, only to find Scarlett's clothes lined up along with Raymond's.

The moment she saw it, she felt like she had been stabbed to death. She knew it well that Raymond hadn't allowed her to stay in his room, but she was a bit worried to see her stuff in his bedroom. She was lost in her own thoughts when she heard,

"Well, aren't you a bit overdressed right now?", Raymond said playfully.

"Well then aren't you a bit of an over collector of clothes yourself", she said and slid the door of the wardrobe again and tuned towards Raymond.

"If you are talking about her clothes, then I have no idea how her clothes magically appeared in my wardrobe since yesterday. But if you are talking about my bathrobe, then I am ready to lose it for you now", Raymond said and inched a bit ahead.

She was totally embarrassed to hear him like that and said,

"I didn't mean that".

He smiled and said, "I know that".

He pulled her and then planted a soft kiss on her forehead and said,

"Now be a doll and get my laptop from the study. I will drop you at your house and then I will go to the office. Ok?"

She nodded happily and went downstairs.

His phone suddenly beeped with a message from David.

"He has been kept at Auburn Correctional Facility"

He saw the message and immediately replied,

"Can you handle all my meetings in the first half?" - Raymond

"Will clear your schedule" - David

"Do I need any legal work to be done to meet him?" - Raymond

"I will be there by 10:30 am" - David

"Thanks" - Raymond

Raymond dropped Akira at her place and immediately navigated to Auburn Correctional Facility. He sped his car as fast as he could. When he reached there, he found David was already there waiting for him. He parked his car and then reached near David.

"What happened? You look tensed", Raymond asked.

"I just now got information that Anthony has been bailed out three days back. Things are not looking good to me at all", David said looking all worried.

"Who bailed him out?", Raymond asked.

"That information is hard to get out from these people without contacts. They seemed quite weird and hush about the whole thing. I am guessing some officials are also involved but hey, that's' just my speculation", David said.

Raymond's head started throbbing thinking about all the weird ways in which Anthony could possibly try to hurt Akira. He immediately picked up his phone and called her up,

"Hey, where are you?", Raymond asked.

"I am in the office. Where else I will be. Why haven't you reached office yet? Where are you?", Akira asked. Even she sounded all impatient and rushed.

"Now listen to me carefully when I say this Akira. You are not supposed to go alone anywhere. Be with someone. Not even to the terrace or parking lot. From tomorrow onwards I will be picking and dropping you at your place. Do you get that?", Raymond said with an urgency in his voice.

"But why? What happened?", she asked.

Raymond took a deep breath and then said,

"Anthony has been bailed out".

"But don't worry, I will be handling this situation. Just make sure that you are around people. He will never try to harm you in public. Just try to stay safe for me Akira", Raymond said and pinched the space between his eyebrows. The tension was too much to handle.

"Fine fine don't worry. I will stay safe. But take care of yourself too. I don't want anything to happen to you as well", she said.

"Ummm..", he said and disconnected the call.

She stared at the phone screen for a while and then kept it back on the desk. She slid her chair closer to the desk and then covered her head with her palm. She was really tensed and worried and didn't know what to do. After thinking for a few minutes, she picked up her phone and called up Katherine.

"Hey, How are you?", Akira asked.

"I am good. What about you guys?", Katherine asked.

"Sorry to sound weird but can you send me Scarlett's phone number?", Akira asked.

"Yeah, but why?", Katherine asked.

"Just to tell her to stay away from my man", Akira said nervously and hoped that it would convince Katherine.

Katherine laughed and sent her the contact details and said

"Done".

After disconnecting the call Akira immediately saved Scarlett's contact and then took a deep breath.

On her desk lied a photo of a newborn baby whose throat had been marked with a red marker. And a message was written at the bottom,

"The Baby Dies"