Married with the Broken Hearted CEO novel Chapter 87

Adira’s POV  
I always do my best in every quest and challenge which comes into my life. But there were also times when I got tired from everything, so, I sought a way out of the enormous universe and went to a tinier galaxy away from my responsibilities as the sole heir of Crimson Meadow. 
One day during my high school days, I skipped going to school and hopped inside the bus to an unknown city. My classmates and my teacher were surprised that the top 1 student in the whole school suddenly went missing for one day. 
Anyway, I enjoyed the long ride on the bus with my forehead pressed up against the window as we passed over the city from a high up bridge. The city lays out beneath the railroad tracks in a limited palette of brown and gray. The first thing that I noticed when we emerged from the apartment this morning were these dirt tones. Got tired from sightseeing, I dozed a little and when I woke up, I realized that I slept for too long and we arrived at the bus’s destination. 
I hopped off the bus and the first sounds which welcomed me were the singing of the birds on the street. My eyes travelled around. I saw the colors of the sidewalk and street suit the blue sky. A perfectly unassuming shade to provide backdrop of the yellow taxis and traffic signals. Scuff went out heels of the cowboy boots of the people walking in the sidewalk. 
The surroundings resemble my own city. There are no beaches, river, or mountain where I can take a breather. But seeing a place that is different from the usual view I saw made me feel foreign and excited. 
Wearing my high school uniform and my backpack behind me, I walked in the middle of the platform and watched the haphazard places, bouncing off new scenes I stumbled upon. 
I have a good sense of direction so I did not worry about getting lost in an unfamiliar place. Besides, if I have money in me, nothing will go wrong. In case there is a thief, I wished him luck. 
While walking, I saw a store stand that urged me to quench my thirst. I stood in front of the stand while sniffing. When I looked at the seller, she was moving backward away from me as if I had contagious disease. 
‘Maybe because I am sniffing.’ 
After I bought a plastic cup of fresh squeeze orange juice, I bought a face mask to wear. I had no cold when I first got off the bus. However, the temperature in the bus was too low and maybe that’s why I got a slight cold. Afraid that people will walk away from me as I sniff, I wore the face mask and continued my pace. 
I ate here and there, enjoyed the places I had never visited before and walked again.
The sky turned orange. 
Keeping my pace in the street with my backpack behind me, which reminded me the famous cartoon character with weird bangs, backpack, a talking map and a monkey wearing at boots, I arrived near a high school. 
I stumbled across students wearing different uniforms. When they saw me, they observed my uniform and looked at me as if I was an alien. I ignored their gazes until I arrived in front of the school gate. 
“Champese high school,” is what I read above the gate. 
I heard about this school before as it is one of the famous schools along with Alomnde school, which is my school. 
My classmates in Alomnde school said that there are many handsome students in Champese. I am a fan of good-looking people, but I don’t want to waste my precious time staring at those. So, I picked up my pace.
“Ahhhh!” 
My feet ceased and I tilted my head towards the squealing of girls. Curious why the girls were screaming, I peeked at the direction where it came from. 
Soon, I saw two handsome and tall men walking out of the gate. One has blonde hair with round glasses and the other has black hair. They are good-looking, and there’s no doubt about that. 
“I guess my classmates are telling the truth,” I whispered to myself before walking away because I was losing my interest. 
Continuing my adventure, I arrived at the street that was almost empty. As I crossed the alleyway, I heard voices of men and a woman. 
“Come on. I know you have a lot of money. You came from Champese school, right?” 
“Miss, we are not robbing you. We just wanted a small tip.” 
“P-Please leave me alone. I am begging you.” 
Tilting my head, I walked backward and stopped to look inside the alley. There, I saw two men ganging up a female high school student. The girl is trembling while standing in front of the two ugly looking creepy men. 
My plan today is to relax but that does not mean I had to ignore situations like this. Using the excuse that I hate creepy looking guys who love taking advantage of their weak prey, I walked inside the alley. 
“Hey.” 
Three pairs of eyes went to my side. Two from the men and one from the trembling female student. 
“What are you doing? Ganging up a little girl,” I said before I pulled the wrist of the girl. Then, I gently placed her behind my back. I am way taller than her, so it is easy to block her with my skinny body. 
The two men scanned me from head to toe. They cannot see my face since I am wearing a face mask but their grins on their lips told me what their intentions wanted to say. 
“Oh ho~ We are lucky to kill two birds with one stone,” one said. 
“This little kid looks rich too. The uniform is different, but she smells money,” the other two commented while licking the corner of his lips. 
“Who are you calling little?” I answered, tilting my head. “You are smaller than me.” 
Their grins subsided as they diverted back to my judging eyes. 
“W-What did you say?!” The man, who is smaller than me but called me little, shouted while gritting his yellow teeth. 
The other one, the guy taller than me, tapped the shoulder of his pal as if to comfort him for being small. 
“Miss, what do you mean by ganging up on her?” he replied. “We are just asking for a little money. Why don’t you give us some tips so me and my little friend… I mean, my strong pal will leave you two alone?” 
I felt the female student behind my back quivered as she clutched the hemline of my uniform. She must be so scared right now. However, I never butted in a fight where I would lose. 
“We have money,” I replied that made them smile from ear to ear. “But I don’t see any reason why we should give it to ugly men like you.” 
“W-What?!”
“Go now before I’ll call the police,” I threatened. 
But such a threat won’t work for hoodlum like them. I knew that. 
“This little…” the tall one said, about to touch my head. 
Before he could lay his dirty hand on me, I slapped his wrist and kicked him in the stomach. 
“Ack!”
He flew backward and stumbled on the empty trays behind him. 
“Ahh!” the girl at my back gasped in surprise. 
The other guy who saw me throw his partner with a single kick has his jaw dropped. He must be so shocked how I did it when my frame is skinnier than the tall guy. Well, I’ve been training for self-defense ever since I was young. Good thing I never skipped lessons before. 
“You!” the standing one screamed before he dashed towards me. He was going to grab my collar or my neck. 
Saw it coming, I dodged the attack by ducking down. He lost his balance. I grabbed his wrists and twisted it on his back. 
“Ahhh!” an agonizing pain slipped from his wide-open mouth that cannot shut. 
My other hand held his nape and I pinned him on wall while my knees were pressing his butt bone. That must be so painful. 
“Ahh! Ahhh! Let me go!” he shouted. He looked at his partner who was still sitting on the floor while coping up the dizziness. “H-Hey! What are you doing?! Come and help me!” 
 
As if the shout from his pal snapped him out from the starburst, the tall man pushed himself upward. He darted at me with a sharp glare and got something inside his jean jacket’s pocket. 
‘Don’t tell…’ 
As expected, he grabbed a knife out. 
‘Geez. I was trying to solve this quietly but I don’t think it will end just like this.’ 
 I looked around the alleyway. Above the East side, I saw CCTV camera and it looks like it is working. 
Biting my lower lip, I threw the guy in my hand forward his partner. 
“Ack!” 
The guy with a knife in his hand caught his partner. “Are you okay?” 
“Do I look okay?!” he complained then pointed his index finger at me. “That kid is no joke!” 
I stepped backward. 
I can defend myself against the knife attack. However, if there is one more person with me here, then that’s another thing. They can use the female student behind my back as their hostage. So I should not take the risk of fighting back. 
Then, the only choice that I have is…
“Oh?” the female student gasped after she felt my hand holding hers. 
“In the count of one,” I said before looking into her big rounded cute eyes. I smiled at the cute woman then pulled her out of the alleyway. “One.”
“Ahh!” she gasped after I pulled her for a run. 
“Oh! Go after them!” I heard the shout behind us. 
Holding a cute woman, I ran away from the ill rubbers. Oddly, even the female student looks weak, she can cap up with my speed. 
‘If she has this strength, it will be easy to escape away from those hoodlums,’ I pondered. 
“W-Wait!” the female student said. 
She stopped running and so did I. 
Catching my breath, I looked back at her. She’s leaning her hands on her knees and breathing sharply. Her forehead was showered with sweat, but she’s still cute despite the haggard look on his face. 
Wondering if the dangerous men are still following us, I peeked behind but saw no one. 
Maybe they stopped following us when we arrived at the main street. There are a lot of CCTV’s in this area. But that does not mean that they are safe. 
Once my father, who is probably looking for me right now, saw the video, the two hoodlums will be caught in no time. That is why I did not take the risk of fighting against them with knives. I’ll get more punishment other than skipping school. 
“They are not… following…anymore,” the female student said, still catching her breath. 
“Yeah,” I answered, chuckling. “Are you okay?” 
A frown formed in her cute face. She lifted her eyes towards my face and asked, “You are laughing?” 
I did? 
Yes.
So what? 
“How can you laugh at this situation?! We almost died there!” she complained. 
I can tell that she’s mad but first, shouldn’t she be thankful? I saved her from those creepy guys after all. 
“But we did not die,” I rebuked. “We are still alive so why are you complaining?” 
She took a deep breath and straightened her pose. “You are crazy,” she added. 
My brows raised. Look at this behavior. 
“Everything will be solved if we give them our money,” she said and rolled her eyes. 
This b*tch got some attitude on her. I thought she was weak an innocent. 
“What about you?” I asked, crossing my arms, and observing her from head to toe. When my eyes met hers, I uttered, “You look like a big shot. If you knew that giving them money will solve the problem, they why did you wait there and pretend like a fly stuck in the spider web?” 
Her right brow raised, as if she could not understand what I was saying. 
So, I made the term short. “Why are you pretending weak?” 
Her eyes widened and subsided. 
I really don’t know here since this is our first meeting. But she looks like someone who loves pretending to be nice and weak. 
After a long silence, her mouth opened. But she couldn’t answer because we heard voices coming in our way. 
I was alerted to the voices, thinking that they are from the hoodlums, so I went of my flight mode. However, when we both looked back, we saw two handsome men running towards our side. 
‘Oh? They are the two handsome men I saw in the Champese school.’ 
“Isa!” they shouted before coming closer.