Chapter 144: Can You Leave?
Nat stood perfectly rigid beside April, his massive frame radiating an oppressive, savage heat.
The casual, teasing man from the shooting range and the dining table was completely gone.
His hands were out of his pockets, his fingers twitching with a restless, violent energy that practically begged for Cai to make just one wrong move.
"You were about to swing your hand," Nat observed, his deep voice dropping into a suffocating, low frequency that made Liora whimper softly in the background.
Nat didn’t even look at her; his unblinking, lethal gaze was fixed entirely on Cai’s trembling form. "I was almost disappointed you stopped. I wanted to see how many pieces I’d have to break your arm into before you realized who you were touching."
"I didn’t—I didn’t know she was with you," Cai rushed out, his arrogance completely shattered as he looked between the terrifying mafia and the entirely calm girl standing beside him.
"She isn’t with me," Nat hissed, stepping right up to April’s side, his presence completely dominating the narrow space. "I am with her. And you just about ran her over with your cheap toy."
He turned his head slightly, his wild eyes tracking the subtle rise and fall of April’s shoulders.
Nat could feel the lingering, unquantifiable rage vibrating off her small frame, and it thoroughly fascinated him. She didn’t look scared of the near-miss or the confrontation; she looked like a judge waiting to hand down a sentence to a piece of trash.
"Sweetheart," Nat murmured, his tone shifting into a dark, indulgent purr meant only for her ears. "The punch was a good start. But if you want this trash permanently cleared out of your sight... just say the word. I’ll make sure they never find the pieces."
April turned her gaze completely away from Cai, ignoring his trembling posture as her eyes locked directly onto the pale, shaking woman pressed against the passenger door.
She seemed so weak, shaking like a leaf. Are all protagonists like this? April wondered but kept the thought locked away.
"Miss Liora," April called, her voice entirely flat and smooth but Liora flinched regardless, already viewing April as a threat to her own safety. "Whose car is this?"
"It’s mine!" Cai yelled defensively, the desperate shout ripping from his throat like a spoiled child trying to protect his favorite candy.
April didn’t even blink. She didn’t look back at him for a single second, keeping her icy focus pinned exclusively on Liora. His response had already told her all she needed to hear. "Can you leave?"
It was a simple, almost polite request. But the utter lack of warmth or sympathy in April’s delivery made it sound less like an option and more like a final window of mercy.
Liora didn’t need to be told twice. Terrified of the suffocating atmosphere and the lethal shadow of the Golden Dragon looming over her fiancé, she scrambled away into the darkness of the garage, her heels clicking frantically against the concrete until she vanished into the elevator banks.
Once the echo of Liora’s footsteps faded, April turned her head slightly toward the massive frame beside her. "You have a baseball bat in your trunk, right?"
Nat looked down at her, a sudden, brilliantly amused glint flashing across his wild eyes. The manic adrenaline in his veins surged with a fresh wave of raw excitement. He didn’t know what kind of game his favorite seer was playing, but he was instantly hooked.
"Of course, sweetheart," he murmured, a sharp, delighted grin splitting his face.
"Go get it," April stated calmly, her knuckles still hot from the punch. "While I keep this guy in check."
Nat chuckled, a low, raspy rumble of pure indulgence as he stepped back toward the rear of the G-Wagon.
Cai was left standing completely frozen under the heavy, scrutinizing weight of April’s deadpan stare. Even without Nat towering directly over him, the psychological damage was done; Cai trembled against the hood of his sports car, his eyes darting toward the exit, yet his legs refused to move.
"What... what are you going to do to me?" Cai stammered, his voice cracking under the pressure.
Nat closed the G-Wagon’s trunk with a heavy, solid thud, walking back into the light with a sleek, matte-black metal baseball bat resting casually over his shoulder.
He bent over slightly, deliberately entering Cai’s personal space to intimidate the young man even further, his teeth flashing dangerously. "Isn’t it obvious, trash? My sweetheart wants to break something."
He smoothly handed the weapon over. April took the heavy metal handle in her hands, lifting it slightly to test the balance and the grip. The solid weight of the aluminum felt immaculate, mirroring the heavy, suffocating rage coiling tightly in her chest.
She turned around, dragging the tip of the black metal bat along the concrete floor with a slow, grating noise that made Cai flinch violently. She stepped right up to him, stopping less than an inch away.
Suddenly, April raised her arms, swinging the heavy bat upward with a terrifying, fluid velocity.
Cai let out a pathetic, choked gasp, squeezing his eyes shut as he braced for his skull to be shattered. But the blow never landed on his skin. With a deafening, explosive CRASH, the metal bat slammed directly into the driver-side window right next to his head.
The premium glass shattered into thousands of tiny, glittering shards, raining down violently over Cai’s tailored suit and hair. He stumbled away, crying out in absolute horror as April instantly reset her stance.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing to my car?!" he shrieked.
"What does it look like I’m doing?" She brought the bat down again, crashing on the next window next. "I’m breaking what belongs to you."
Without a single shred of hesitation, she began destroying the vehicle.
The heavy metal bat swung ruthlessly over and over again. She bashed the pristine silver hood until the metal caved in like tin foil.
She shattered the front windshield into a spiderweb of useless fractures, smashed the expensive headlights into dark powder, and dented the side panels with brutal, rhythmic precision.
Every strike was a physical manifestation of the unquantifiable fury she had buried after her last life in the apocalypse—a debt paid to the man who had traded her life away for a few extra hours of survival.
To Cai’s absolute horror, his precious, multi-million-dollar sports car was completely reduced to a mangled, unyielding pile of scrap metal within minutes and there was nothing he could do to stop it.