Chapter 39: I’ll break your hands
Meanwhile, inside the car, Lily and Silvia waited patiently for Clara to return.
Or rather...
Silvia waited patiently.
Lily had already checked the time at least fifteen times.
She glanced at the entrance of the building again before looking at the clock on the dashboard.
"...Sil."
Silvia didn’t look away from the entrance.
"Hm?"
"Why is Madam taking so long?"
Silvia remained calm.
"She said she’d only be gone for five minutes."
"I know."
"It’s been twenty."
"I know."
Lily turned to stare at her.
"How are you still so calm?"
Silvia answered without changing her expression.
"Practice."
Lily slumped dramatically against the seat.
"I have a bad feeling."
Silvia finally looked at her.
"You always have a bad feeling."
"Because bad things happen!"
"They also don’t happen."
Lily ignored her logic and peeked through the windshield again.
"What if something happened inside?"
Silvia folded her arms.
"Like what?"
Lily immediately lowered her voice.
"What if Madam got kidnapped?"
Silvia blinked once.
"Inside a crowded shopping mall?"
"...Professional kidnappers?"
"They’d have to get past security."
"They could disguise themselves."
"As?"
"I don’t know... janitors?"
Silvia stared at her.
"You’ve been watching too many crime dramas."
Lily frowned.
"I’m being serious!"
"So am I."
"What if Madam is secretly fighting ten people by herself right now?"
Silvia sighed.
"If that were true..."
She paused thoughtfully.
"...I’d be more worried about the ten people."
Lily couldn’t help laughing.
"That’s... actually true."
Silvia nodded once.
"Our Madam isn’t exactly easy to deal with."
Lily’s confidence returned for all of three seconds.
Then she gasped again.
"Wait!"
Silvia closed her eyes.
"What now?"
"What if she slipped on a wet floor?"
"..."
"Or got trapped in the elevator?"
"..."
"Or forgot where she parked?"
Silvia slowly turned to face her.
"Lily."
"Yes?"
"Take a deep breath."
"I am breathing."
"Try thinking before speaking."
"I am thinking!"
"That’s the problem."
Lily pouted.
"You’re so mean."
"I’m honest."
Before Lily could come up with another impossible scenario, Silvia glanced at the clock.
"We’ll wait another five minutes."
"And if Madam still doesn’t come out?"
Silvia unbuckled her seat belt.
"Then we’ll go inside and look for her."
Lily nodded repeatedly.
"See? I knew something was wrong!"
"I didn’t say that."
"You implied it."
"I didn’t."
"You definitely did."
Silvia simply shook her head.
There was never any point arguing with Lily.
Just then...
Movement near the entrance caught Silvia’s attention.
Her expression changed.
"Lily."
"What?"
"Look."
Lily immediately turned toward the glass doors.
A group of people was walking out of the building.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Then both women’s eyes widened at the same time.
"...No way," Lily whispered.
Silvia remained silent, but the surprise in her eyes was unmistakable.
Walking out of the building was someone they recognized all too well.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
They simply stared through the windshield, too stunned to believe what they were seeing.
****
Eric and his friends continued enjoying their drinks in the private lounge when his phone suddenly rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Hannah.
A faint frown crossed his face.
"Why is she calling now after ignoring me all this time?" he muttered.
Ever since he had returned from his business trip, Hannah had barely spoken to him. This was the first time she had called, yet instead of answering, he casually tossed his phone onto the table.
The ringing continued.
Jacob noticed and chuckled.
"What happened? Why aren’t you answering?"
Eric took another sip of his drink before shrugging.
"Not in the mood."
"You two had a fight?"
"Not really."
"Then?"
Eric clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"She ignored my calls and messages for two whole days. Now she suddenly remembers I exist."
Jacob laughed.
"So you’re sulking?"
"I’m teaching her a lesson."
The others exchanged amused glances.
"You?" one of them teased. "Teaching Hannah a lesson?"
"Why not?"
"Because everyone knows she’d do anything for you."
"Exactly," another friend added. "If you don’t answer, she’ll probably panic."
Eric let out a dismissive scoff.
"Then let her."
He leaned back lazily against the sofa.
"After ignoring me for two days, she finally found the time to call. She can wait a little longer."
His phone stopped ringing.
A second later...
It rang again.
Jacob shook his head with a smile.
"See? I told you."
Eric didn’t even spare the phone another glance.
"She’s persistent."
"That’s called love."
Eric laughed mockingly.
"Love?"
He swirled the drink in his glass.
"She’s just too used to chasing after me."
His friends remained silent.
They had known Hannah for years and couldn’t deny that she had always been devoted to Eric.
Whether he was busy, upset, or unavailable, she was usually the first one to check on him.
But Eric had long since taken that devotion for granted.
Just then, the lounge door opened.
A waitress walked in, pushing a serving cart.
She wore the club’s standard uniform, and a black face mask covered most of her features.
Eric’s attention shifted almost immediately.
For a brief moment, his eyes lingered on her.
Something about her seemed... familiar.
He frowned slightly.
As the waitress quietly placed fresh drinks on the table, Eric found himself watching her every movement.
She kept her head lowered and avoided making eye contact with anyone.
When she turned to leave, Eric narrowed his eyes.
"Wait."
The waitress paused.
His curiosity had already gotten the better of him.
Setting his glass down, Eric slowly rose from the sofa.
"I don’t think I’ve seen you here before."
Without waiting for an answer, he took a few unhurried steps toward the mysterious waitress, his gaze fixed on her as though trying to uncover the face hidden beneath the mask.
His eyes flickered for a moment before a smug smile spread across his face.
"Come here and serve us," Eric said casually as he leaned back into the sofa, sitting with his legs slightly apart.
The waitress remained where she was for a brief second before silently walking toward the table.
Whenever Eric and his friends came to the club, he was rarely alone. There was almost always a beautiful woman by his side, eager to keep him company for the night.
Tonight, however, things were different.
He had arrived alone and now this mysterious waitress had caught his eye the moment she entered the room, and the fact that she kept her face hidden behind a mask only made him more curious.
She stopped beside the table and began pouring fresh drinks into their glasses without saying a word.
Jacob noticed the predatory look in Eric’s eyes and smirked.
He knew that expression all too well.
Eric had set his sights on someone.
"Easy," Jacob said with a chuckle. "You’ll scare her off."
Eric ignored him.
Instead, he watched the waitress as she leaned forward to place a glass in front of him.
"You’re new here, aren’t you?" he asked.
The woman gave a small nod but didn’t answer.
"Not much of a talker."
Still, she remained silent.
Eric found her indifference amusing rather than discouraging.
As she turned to serve the man beside him, Eric suddenly reached out, intending to grab her wrist to stop her.
Before his fingers could fully close around her—
Bang!
A sharp punch slammed into his face.
The force caught him completely off guard.
Eric staggered backward, losing his balance before crashing onto the sofa.
For a second, the entire private lounge fell silent.
His friends stared at him in disbelief.
Jacob’s smirk vanished instantly.
Eric slowly raised a hand to his jaw, wincing as pain shot across his face.
"What the—"
He looked up in shock.
The waitress stood exactly where she had been, her posture calm and steady.
She lowered the fist she had used to strike him, her eyes cold above the black mask.
Not a trace of fear could be seen in them.
The room remained deathly quiet as everyone tried to process what had just happened.
No one had expected a seemingly timid waitress to knock Eric back with a single punch.
"Keep your hands off me."
The woman’s voice was calm, but it carried a warning that made the entire room fall silent.
Eric was still clutching his aching jaw when he looked up at her in disbelief.
She slowly reached up and hooked a finger beneath her black mask.
Then, without a word, she pulled it down.
The moment Eric saw her face...
The color drained from his own.
His eyes widened so much they looked ready to pop out of their sockets.
For a split second, it felt as if his soul had abandoned his body.
"C... Clara?"
His voice cracked so badly that even he barely recognized it.
Clara looked down at him expressionlessly.
"If you ever put your hands on me again..."
She took one unhurried step closer.
"...I’ll break your hand..."
Eric instinctively pulled both hands behind his back.
"...and attach it to the other side."