Chapter 17

Ever since she’d attempted to relay Homan’s confession to Estella, Zor had been extremely anxious, doing her best to remain composed. She explained, “Homan’s first confession ended with a late arrival because of me. He’s finally getting another chance after all these years, yet I’ve ruined it again! Choke me to death right now!”

Estella found it amusing. “There’s no way he’ll do something like that, Zer. You’re his sister. He won’t be mad at you!”

However, Zoe had a grim look on her face. He probably wants to…

“Estle, it’s because you have no idea. Homan locked himself in his room for days after you rejected him back then. Before that, my parents hadn’t spoken to each other for years. Yet, my dad came asking for my brother’s help with talking to Rowan.”

“It’s solely up to you.”

“Rowan really liked you a lot. All these years, I’ve never once seen him try dating someone else, Olil. I don’t mean to pressure you by saying these things, but… whether you want to try seeing him. Even though I’m his sister, I’ll respect your decision either way.”

“Well, of course I’d be thrilled if we could become family! Instead of treating me as your senior, you should just see me as a friend. I’ll probably have to start calling you my sister.”

After that last remark, Zoe winked at Estella mischievously and slipped out of the room. Estella had a wry smile on her face. She’d completed all the necessary procedures during the last few days and officially joined Zoe’s company.

Determined to quickly adapt to her new job, Estella occasionally stayed back and worked overtime to review the problems she’d encountered during work. By the time she’d finished work that day, it was already dark outside.

Truthfully, she didn’t feel that tired. In the past, she’d been an employee working for someone else’s company, but she’d be contributing her skills to this business now. She was essentially making money for herself, even if she worked overtime.

Estella raised her hands and stretched. Then, she took her bag and walked out of the office. As soon as she exited the building, she spotted Rowan, who was standing under a street lamp.

Rowan’s eyes brightened when he saw her. “Estle, I’ll send you home.”

Estella lowered her head and glanced at her watch. She looked quite surprised when she noticed it was almost 10:00 pm. “Have you been waiting here for me all this time?”

Rowan’s offer was quite some distance away from here. It would take around a 30-minute drive to get there. Moreover, it was already late at night.

Extella knew that it couldn’t have been a simple coincidence that Rowan happened to have passed by their office at this hour.

Rowan didn’t try to lie about it. He smiled and explained, “Zoe told me that you hadn’t left the office yet. I saw that it was getting late, and it isn’t safe for you to go home alone at this hour. Since I was free, I decided to wait for you and send you back home.”

Estella didn’t reject his offer. When she sat in his car this time, her thoughts and feelings were completely different from the last time. She was no longer so tense and nervous.

The two of them even chatted pleasantly during the drive. Rowan was very pleased to see the change in her attitude. He wanted to chat with her a bit longer. Yet, he cut the conversation short when he noticed her yawning and looking tired.

“You should rest for a bit. I’ll let you know when we get there,” he said.

“Mm-hmm,” Estella responded softly. She was only planning to clear her eyes and rest for a while. In the end, she somehow dozed off at some point.

By the time she woke up, Estella found herself staring into Rowan’s eyes. The two of them were so close to each other that she could even see her own reflection in his.

Rowan lowered his gaze and looked at her. Then, he backed away. His voice was deep and slightly strained. “I noticed you fell asleep, and I tried to unbuckle your seatbelt so you could sleep more comfortably. But I accidentally woke you up.”

Estella dropped her gaze and nodded quickly. “Um… It’s pretty late. You should head home now. See you tomorrow!”

Estella tumbled to unbend her seat. Then, she opened the car door and got out immediately. The corners of Rowan’s mouth turned up as he watched her from inside the car.

Feeling the night air on her face, Estella eventually… instead…

Thankfully, she didn’t dial Rowan. She even felt rather apologetic toward him because of what had happened in the past. Still, that wasn’t enough reason for her to start a new relationship so soon. She decided to just take things as they came. That thought made her feel more relaxed.

When she got out of the elevator, Latella spotted a hunched figure crouched down by the door of her apartment. She recalled the memories of Mike ambushing her and holding a blade to her neck in June, lately.

Goosebumps rose on her skin. She instinctively turned on her heels and tried to flee. Yet, Durman pulled her into his arms the next instant. “Estie, I finally found you.”