ELLA.

I turned around slowly, and it was indeed him—Lurgard.

His hands tucked inside his trouser pockets, his sharp emerald eyes fixed directly on me with dark intensity.

But somehow, that wasn’t even the most shocking part.

What I truly hadn’t expected was the fact that all three of them were staring directly at me the moment I turned.

Oh my!

How exactly was I supposed to escape from all three of them now?

"Answer him, Theresa!" Lawrence said sharply from behind Lurgard.

His face was flushed with anger, his fists clenched tightly at his sides like he was barely holding himself back from exploding completely.

"Why weren’t you picking your calls?" he demanded again.

The irritation in his voice was impossible to miss.

And honestly, from the looks on all their faces, I could already tell they were seconds away from losing whatever little patience they had left.

Which immediately made me uneasy, because the last thing I wanted was for Micheal to somehow get dragged into this mess.

Who knows?

These men were unpredictable enough to do anything.

They might even think of firing him.

Although, if I was being honest, something told me Micheal probably wouldn’t be too affected by that.

Still, I couldn’t allow myself to become the reason he supposedly lost his job.

"I was in an important conversation with my friend," I said instantly, forcing my voice to remain calm and firm despite the pressure of their stares.

"Work hours are over," I continued quickly, "so I thought I could call back later."

I folded my arms slightly after speaking, trying to appear unaffected even though the tension around us was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Friend?" Leonard repeated slowly.

His brows raised slightly as his gaze shifted toward Micheal, carefully assessing him from head to toe with an unreadable expression, then his eyes narrowed faintly.

"Is he more important than your boss?" he asked again.

The question immediately irritated me, and before I could even think of replying..

"We are your friends too, Theresa!" Lawrence blurted out suddenly, without a single ounce of reasoning behind it, and I stared at him in disbelief. "How could you suddenly be picking favourites?" he added.

I almost stepped forward and hit his head right there.

Honestly, Lawrence always spoke before thinking.

How exactly did not answering their calls suddenly become picking favourites?

The logic made absolutely no sense.

My irritation grew instantly as I looked at him, wondering how someone could sound so offended over something so ridiculous.

"I am not, sir," I said instantly, forcing my voice to remain professional and composed before he could start spouting more nonsense in front of Micheal.

Honestly, the last thing I needed right now was another unnecessary scene.

"Round off the conversation with your friend." Lurgard suddenly spoke, his tone cold enough to make the air around us feel heavier instantly.

What bothered me more was the fact that his gaze remained fixed solely on Micheal the entire time, sharp and unreadable, as though silently assessing him.

"We are heading home now."

The authority in his voice irritated me immediately.

"Sir, my friend and I are actually heading home together," I said quickly, yet firmly.

Because there was absolutely no way I was getting into a car with them after finally managing to escape earlier.

I had already decided to create distance. I couldn’t possibly throw myself right back into whatever strange tension existed between us.

Especially not around the company.

I honestly had no strength for gossip.

"No way!"

The triplets echoed in unison almost immediately, the rejection so synchronized it actually startled me slightly.

Clearly, my words had finally sunk into their skulls.

"You are coming with us," Lawrence said at once.

His tone carried no room for argument.

"I can’t entrust your safety in the hands of another," he added furiously, glaring directly at Micheal now like he had suddenly become a threat.

"I am not another...boss." Micheal’s voice suddenly cut cleanly through the tension hanging between us.

And instantly, all attention shifted toward him, as every single pair of the triplets’ eyes landed at him as it radiated anger.

My own widened slightly the moment the words left his mouth.

Oh no.

The uneasy feeling in my chest deepened immediately because judging from the expressions on the triplets’ faces, Micheal had just stepped directly into dangerous territory without realizing it.

"I didn’t recall giving you permission to speak." Leonard suddenly stepped forward, his icy aura immediately filling the space between them.

And the shift in atmosphere was instant, as the air suddenly felt colder, heavier and more dangerous.

And honestly, even the silence around us sharpened.

Micheal straightened slightly under Leonard’s stare, but surprisingly, he still maintained his composure. There was tension in his posture now, but he didn’t back away.

"I am not trying to overstep my boundaries, sir," he said carefully, choosing every word with obvious caution. "But I am not another..."

For one brief second, I prayed silently that he would stop talking.

’Please stop talking.’

My heart had already started pounding anxiously inside my chest because I knew Micheal was unknowingly walking straight into danger. The tension around us was already bad enough, and somehow he still kept speaking like he didn’t notice the dangerous expressions slowly darkening on their faces.

Because I already knew whatever came next was going to make everything worse.

"...Ella is my girlfriend."

Oh shit.

The words echoed loudly inside my head, almost painfully.

I immediately closed my eyes briefly as a headache spread across my forehead at once, sharp and frustrating. Micheal had just gotten himself into serious trouble, and judging from the heavy silence that followed, even he was beginning to realize it.

And honestly...

What was with him and this whole girlfriend issue?

Why did he keep saying that so casually like it wouldn’t create problems for me afterward?

Truly, I had appreciated it when he used it to chase Alex away from me, but the triplets, they were different.

And I wondered what would happen next?