"What do you mean all of them were killed?!" Samantha yelled over the phone furiously, reacting to the words of a henchman who had just told her that the men she sent to bring Zaria were all dead.

"Miss, they were all killed at an alley. I guess it's the same person who killed them." The man explained, and he was also furious about the death of his mates.

"And you are telling me this?! Where is that witch?" She exploded.

"She escaped." The man replied angrily.

"Go and find her and bring her to me! I will let her know what I do with stupid women like her." Samantha huffed, nearly pulling the hair off her head.

"Heh. My bros are dead because of you and you still want to order us around? Why don't you try something else?" The man cackled and hung up before Samantha could say anything in response.

"Damned dogs!" Samantha yelled, just as another call connected. She was even more infuriated. "Jaime, I'll let you know when I'm done."

"If the woman escaped, how will you be able to accomplish the mission?" Jaime laughed sarcastically. "You were only given one task, but even that couldn't be done well. Is there anything you can do?"

"Do you have any idea how many things I have done for you?" Samantha was displeased by his tone.

"Of course, you did so many great things. You even left the surveillance footage for that bitch with the surname Willaims to easily access." His tone was full of scorn, and Samantha simply hung up so she would not hear his bothersome words. She would make him pay for humiliating her once she was done settling these troublesome matters.

Now that she was done talking to him, she couldn't help but wonder, just how did Zaria manage to kill five men on the spot and escape? Was she a superhuman?

…

After cleaning her wounds, Zaria sat on the couch to rest, and Des rushed to her, looking distressed.

"Des, what's wrong?" She asked the sad little puppy gently, then realized that he was sad about her wounds. She lovingly rubbed his fur. "It's alright now."

As she petted him to calm him down, the front door opened and Theodore arrived.

"Good evening." He brought with him two shopping bags, and frowned when he had a clear look of her. "Zaria, what happened to your face? Did someone attack you?"

"Just some random ruffians. Don't worry, I beat the crap out of them." She did not let him know that they were a group of hooligans sent by either of the Fort siblings to stalk and murder her, so he would not worry.

"Stay in the living room and rest. I will cook something yummy for you to eat." Theodore headed to the kitchen. In truth, he knew that his daughter was hiding what really happened but he decided to find it out on his own. Whoever dared to hit his daughter would get hit at least ten times more. For every strike, he would stab them through a vital organ.

While she waited for the food, her phone rang with a call from Desmond and she peeked at the kitchen before answering it in the lowest voice she could muster. "It's quite late."

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" She didn't bring up what had happened earlier, afraid that it would worry him.

The man was silent for a while, as though trying to hold back his anger about something, then he let out a heavy sigh. "I will fire those idiots who can't do their job well."

When he spoke, she finally realized that he was talking about his bodyguards, who he had tasked to protect her. She blinked, not wanting anyone to be fired because of her. She had almost forgotten about their existence since they did not show up when she was attacked, but she did not blame them for it.

She had never wanted to let anyone be in charge of her safety, and this incident reminded her that she should have Ximena teach her to fight. "You shouldn't…"

She started speaking, only to be cut off by her. "Zaria, I know you don't want me to fire them but they deserve it." He gritted his teeth when he remembered how the damned idiots had only appeared at the scene when Zaria had already dealt with the ruffians.

"Don't worry about it. I'm alright." She spoke as Des snuggled to her tummy, and he climbed onto her lap while staring at her phone, It was almost as though he knew who she was speaking to and didn't like the other party. She chuckled at his antics and said to the man on the other end, "Des still doesn't like you."

"That little puppy. He was named after me, yet he doesn't even give me any face?" Desmond laughed and wondered why the little thing was so much against him.

"I'll hang up now. See you at work." She chuckled as she tried to calm the puppy.

"But I miss you." He complained.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow." She peeked at the kitchen where she had heard movements and as expected, Theodore returned with a plate of fruits to place on the table, then he sat on the couch opposite hers.

She quickly hung up. "Thanks dad."

"Eat some fruit first, the food will be ready soon." He instructed, then went to pour some kibble into Des' plate.

When he returned, he looked at her seriously. "Who were you speaking to?"

"No one important." She brushed it off and took a piece of mango in her mouth.

Still, he knew that the other person had to be Desmond. He tiredly sighed. How he wished that the man bringing such bright smiles onto his daughter's face was not Desmond. Anyone was better than that womanizer. Heaven knew, perhaps it was all that man's fault that Zaria was attacked by ruffians. It made him dislike the man even more.

"Dad, what business do you have in Luxenville?" She asked him not only to change the topic, but also because she was curious about his two sudden visits to Luxenville.

He frowned slightly at the question, and she knew that he must be uncomfortable about it.

"If you don't want to talk about it…" She started.

"It's okay. It's not some secret or something." He smiled and picked up a piece of fruit with his fork. "Do you remember that house we used to live in with your mother?"

"Yes." She frowned slightly at the topic regarding the woman who had abandoned them like they didn't matter in the slightest and who no longer had anything to do with them.

Theodore noticed her discomfort and wanted to stop talking about it but since he had already brought it up, he decided to go through with it. "I initially didn't want to sell that house because it held so many of our memories, especially with your mother. However, I decided that it's been too long and I shouldn't be holding onto things that no longer matter."

"So you sold it?" She guessed the rest of it.

"Yes. I finalized the deal the last time I went to Luxenville." He concluded.

She thought about it for a while and wondered why he would suddenly sell a house that he had been holding onto for so long. Was it really only about the house not mattering anymore?

"Are you having trouble with anything, dad?" She asked gently, wondering if he needed money.

"No, I'm not," He chuckled when he understood what she was worried about. "I just wanted to get it out of my head. I did not tell you about it because I was worried that you still wanted to hold onto it, and I had hurried to sell it before telling you about it."

"No, it's alright. We had only stayed there for only a few years." She smiled. Although it was part of her childhood and she was a little attached to it, she was more attached to their current house, which was why they had never moved out.

He reached over the table to pat her head. "It's gone now."

Speaking of moving out, she thought about something else. "Have you ever thought of moving out from here? If you do, we can do so as soon as you are ready. We can afford a bigger and better house now."

"Settle down first, then we can think about moving much later." He advised, though he also thought it was a good idea. They couldn't take Des for walks yet, so it would be much better if they had a bigger living space to allow him to move and play around as he pleased.

___

Please support my books for Web Novel Spirity Awards 2021.

Reborn As The Daemon's Wife-Fantasy themed

A Second Chance at First Love-Contemporary Romance themed.

Check them out and add them to your library, and support by leaving comments and sending power stones when the voting feature is unlocked. Thank you for reading!