Elliana’s finger cut through the air toward the figure emerging from the offending vehicle. “Take a good look. It’s your fiancé, Allan.”
Time suspended itself as Adah processed this revelation and then slowly rotated to confirm the impossible. “The universe certainly enjoys its cruel jokes.”
At this moment, Allan had already walked up to their vehicles, his knuckles rapping against the driver’s window with deceptive politeness.
Terror of recognition seized Elliana’s throat. She tore away her wig with desperate fingers, allowing her natural hair to cascade like a waterfall while a wide-brimmed hat swallowed her features in shadow. Only after Elliana completed her transformation did Adah emerge from their car.
Allan retreated two calculated steps, granting her space with gentlemanly courtesy.
Adah stepped into the afternoon light, her wavy locks catching fire in the sunshine as she fixed Allan with a withering stare. “Sir, how does one manage to destroy another vehicle on a road this expansive? Did alcohol cloud your judgment behind the wheel?”
Allan’s gaze devoured her like a starving man encountering a feast. She blazed with otherworldly beauty. Her features commanded attention with their sculptural perfection, and even her hands possessed an elegance that bordered on artistic masterpiece. When she swept those raven waves from her shoulders, her crimson-painted fingernails caught the light like drops of fresh blood, mesmerizing in their vivid intensity. Women like her set his soul ablaze—brilliant, fearless, and burning with the intensity of captured lightning.
“Forgiveness, please—you escaped my notice completely,” Allan offered, his apology wrapped in silk. “Your accent suggests Ublento origins, am I correct?”
Adah’s laugh carried the sharpness of shattered glass. “Sir, trying to buddy up won’t work. Shared geography means nothing when you’ve rear-ended my car. You bear complete responsibility for this collision and must provide compensation accordingly. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
Something lifted from Allan’s chest—a weight that had pressed against his ribs for countless days suddenly evaporated. This woman wielded beauty like a weapon while speaking with the directness of a blade thrust. Her personality ignited something primal within him.
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“Yes, it’s fair,” he replied. He produced his phone with a theatrical flourish and extended it toward Adah. “Your contact information would expedite the damage assessment process. Once professionals calculate the costs, I’ll transfer the money to you instantly.”
Adah curled her lips mockingly. Men had pursued her contact information through every conceivable deception since her beauty had first bloomed. Allan’s transparent trick held all the subtlety of a charging rhinoceros. He would taste nothing but disappointment today. “Absolutely unnecessary,” she declared with finality.
Her heels clicked against the asphalt like gunshots as she approached her vehicle’s wounded rear, examining the destruction with professional assessment before wheeling back toward Allan. “Seven hundred thousand dollars.”
Before Allan could react, her hand had already claimed his wristwatch like a conquering general seizing enemy territory. “This timepiece will serve as perfect compensation. Its million-dollar value exceeds my car’s damage by exactly three hundred thousand—consider that premium payment for the inconvenience you’ve inflicted upon my day.”
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