Escaped My Ex, Got Snatched by His Rival - Chapter 97

The sweet lure of money
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

‘The water, it’s far too calm,’ Ari looked at the silent waves of the ocean that crashed gently against the shore of the beach where she was sitting. Every once in a while, the waves would crash against her feet, causing grains of soil to get stuck on her feet.

Ari raised the can of beer in her hand and took a swig from it. The bittersweet liquid trickled down her throat, and Ari choked on it before coughing and sputtering.

“Damn even this is trying to hurt me,” she cursed with flushed cheeks and dazed eyes that were looking at the calm water of the ocean. After finding out that she was in another debt, one that she might not be able to pay back ever, Ari felt like her life was spiralling out of control.

For years, she pretended to be fine. Even when she was unloved and not wanted. Even when she was called a murderer, Ari remained steadfast in her decisions. She believed that one day everything would be fine but ——

“Nothing,” she muttered as she looked down at the phone in her hands. Her mother who pushed the debt on her head did not even call her or text her why she did it. She was acting as if every text and call that Ari sent to her did not exist.

Ari was not surprised by this. Her mother, whenever she needed her, acted as if she did not exist.

“What was I even expecting?” Was Ari expecting that her mother would change her mind and take responsibility? Or was she expecting her mother to at least apologize to her for everything that she had done to her? Ari had no idea. However, she hoped that her mother would at least apologize to her even if she did not mean it. Instead of pretending that this was right.

She took another swig of the beer while staring at the setting sun, before getting on her feet. The many cans of beer that she had drunk fell on the ground from her lap causing a muffled thudding sound as they knocked against the surface.

“The sea… it’s calm…” Ari opened her arms and embraced the cool wind that was wafting over in her direction. Her eyes opened after a while, but this time around they were rimmed red as she muttered, “How good it would be if I had money to fill up this ocean or even half of it.”

Maybe she looked carefully, she might be able to find a pearl or a rare creature in the sea, which she could use to sell for a large sum of money.

The alcohol with the stupid desire to earn money as soon as possible turned Ari’s head muddled. Ari did not even think about how she would be long dead by the time she found a clam that would have a pearl inside. And even if it did, she wouldn’t be able to sell it for ten million dollars.

However, with the alcohol in her system, whatever rationality Ari had became non-existent.

She stepped forward, her feet unstable and unsteady as Ari found her way in the crashing wave.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Countless steps later, half her body was covered with water and just as it was about to be swallowed whole, the sound of footsteps echoed behind her.

And then—-

“Gotcha!” An exhilarated voice echoed behind her.

Surprised, Ari turned to look at Nicolai who was holding her by her wrist.

“You damned witch! What were you trying to do?” Nicolai questioned. His chest heaving as he panted harshly. His eyes were staring at her like burning coals while he wiped the sweat on his chin with his free hand.

“Witch? Who is a witch…” Ari slurred as she glared at the man who dared to stop her from finding her pearl.

Nicolai, who did not expect her to be drunk, clasped her face in his hands like a sandwich as he looked into her eyes. Sure enough, Ari’s eyes were dilated and by the look of them.

“How much did you drink?” He asked.

“One…two…ten… I don’t know, I bought a big stock,” Ari motioned with her hands as she pushed him. “Now let go of me, I am going to find the pearl.”

“Pearl?” Nicolai felt like he had misheard, but Ari, with all the seriousness she could muster in her drunken state, nodded.

“Yesh, Yesh… I am going to find pearls, and then I will sell them for money,” Ari stated with a determined look on her face, and Nicolai was caught between laughing out loud and dragging her back to the ground.

Fortunately, he still had whatever remaining humanity that differentiated him from the beasts. He dragged Ari who continued to struggle back to the ground. He said to her, “Calm down, I am trying to save your life and I have never ever done that for anyone.” He was used to shooting bullets and taking lives, but he had never done something like saving someone who wanted to die.

If it were someone else, he would have pushed them to the deeper part of the ocean with his hands.

Nicolai looked at Ari, who was now sitting on the ground pouting like a child and said to her, “If money is what you want, I can give it to you.” Ten million dollars was not a big sum for him. He could easily take it out given that he just used triple of that to buy a car for himself.

The woman sitting on the ground stared at him with brightened eyes and said, “You will give me the money?”

“Yes, I will give you the money,” Nicolai promised. Though he never did a business that would end up in a loss, it would be too much if this woman killed herself.

And it wasn’t as if he couldn’t get his money back.

He reached out his hand to Ari and said to her, “Now come let’s go home, alright?”