Chapter 1 Amber

MARGAUX ALMOST KISSED THE FLOOR WHEN HER HIGH HEELS BROKE. Her mind began cursing from A to Z, regretting why she even chose to wear that pair. She kicked off her heels and watched them glide across the floor a few inches.

Getting to the Montenegro Group's offices had already been a nightmare: a late flight, a long commute, and adverse weather. She even thought God was drunk when he created Manila. Who, in his right mind, would build a civilization in a country with bipolar weather in the first place?

Sweaty and exhausted, it took Margaux one more eye-roll to get over her shoes. With her lips tightly pressed together, she picked up the high heels again and let them dangle in her hand. She continued to drag her bags down the marble corridor, passing gigantic artworks one after the other.

What the... Where's everyone?' she asked herself, realizing how hollow that floor was. Other than a single guard outside the building, it was odd that none of their employees were around at all. Shouldn't their business be open until five?

She shrugged her shoulders at the eerie observation. A few seconds later, she reached the grandest door on that floor. She took another deep breath to calm her nerves. Millions and gazillions of thoughts were suddenly rushing through her mind at once. It was just then that she realized how unconsciously she was wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans too. She was becoming anxious.

'Easy now. He is still your dad. You will be fine.' She deeply sighed before raising her hand to knock. However, her hand stopped midair upon noticing her shoes were still dangling from her hand. She dropped her heels and tried wearing them again. She struggled to balance her entire weight but still managed to stand up straight.

It was only after those things that she decided to knock again. "This is Margaux. Can I come in?"

She swallowed upon hearing her voice echo through the empty hall. She waited for the door to open, but nothing happened. She found that odd, but then, she just shrugged and knocked again-harder this time.

"Papa? Are you there? "

Same silent result.

Sensing that something was off, Margaux curiously leaned her ear against the door. She straightened up and balled her fist afterwards. She heard some rustling from inside the room. The sound was low, but enough for her to understand that someone was inside it.

She readied herself to give the door the hardest knock she could muster. However, just a few inches before her hand touched the wood, the door in front of her suddenly creaked open, revealing the silhouette of a man behind the little gap.

She immediately put her hand down and awkwardly smiled. Trying to hide her embarrassment, she cleared her throat and asked, "Hi. Can I speak with my papa? "

She politely offered a handshake to him. Thinking that the man was new to the company and must be wondering who she was, she introduced herself, "I'm Margaux Montenegro. Alejandro's only child. "

It was unfortunate that her pleasant introduction didn't fly with the stranger. Instead, he just continued to look down at her silently, without even welcoming her in.

That made Margaux slowly pull her hand away. Disappointed with the treatment she was getting, she raised her chin and gave the man a scrutinizing stare from head to foot, then backward.

He was wearing black shoes paired with jeans. He also had their company's uniform on, which screamed that he was one of their employees. He was tall. She could tell it by the way her neck strained a little when she looked up at his face. Although he was still mildly hidden behind the door, the way he stared back at her made her feel as if she were choking. His nose was aristocratic, his lips were thin, and he had the coldest pair of amber eyes she had ever seen in her entire life.

'Amber?' Margaux blinked a couple of times to confirm what she saw. Amber may be a regular thing in other countries, but certainly not in that place.

"Sorry for bothering you, but could you at least tell my papa that I'm here?" She attempted to break the silence that engulfed them.

"I just came from a long flight and..." Then she shut her mouth upon noticing that the odd man wasn't listening to anything coming out of her mouth.

Finally, reaching the end of her string, Margaux waved her hand dismissively and picked up her luggage again. She bet she would get more sense if she talked to a wall compared to the man.

She was already about to step away when something suddenly grabbed her shoulder and, to her shock, stopped her from going anywhere.

With her brows knotted, she glanced at what was firmly holding her and then saw a huge bloodied hand desperately trying to cling to her shoulder.

'What the-' She was already panicking when she tried to wiggle the hand off. But then his grip on her just got tighter, clearly showing her that he had no plan to let go.

"Let go!" Let-Oh my God!"

and then that was it. Just before she could even take a single step away, the amber-eyed man had already passed out behind her, knocking both of them to the floor as she screamed, "Help!"