n

n

nAdrian had a rough idea of what Cassidy was on about here, but he found her intrepidity this time to be preposterous.

nHe is more than aware of how she can defend herself, especially since he already got a taste of her fierce assaults. By that, he's referring to those times when he got kicked both on his face and near his crotch. Those memories had even climbed to his top worst nightmares with how painful they were.

nWith that being said, Adrian knows that Cassidy is just flexing her confidence in her strength and defense skills right now. She probably thinks that she can also deal with these three men before them.

nBut then, said men happened to be very buff and older than him. What's worse, they reek of alcohol. Now, even though she's indeed as strong as he thinks she is, he's not about to let her take the frontline.

nHe may have been an apathetic husband, but he's not that ignorant and insensitive of a man.

n

"Eleanor, move away.

"

nThat's when Adrian holds her shoulder out of nowhere, catching Cassidy off guard. She feels his hand tightening a little when she chooses not to do as he said, giving her the impression that he really isn't able to catch on her subtle warnings earlier.

nCassidy isn't planning to take these men on and get physical, though. She's just going to have a civil talk with them so as to avoid any commotion from breaking out.

nBesides, the other people in the pub are already starting to stare at their direction. Since her husband is a prominent personality, it will not do good if a clamor does indeed happen and people begin to gather all around them to take pictures or something.

nWith that in mind, Cassidy heaves a sigh before turning around to face Adrian again. She then tries not to flinch the moment she sees his blue slit-like pupils darkening as they rabidly lock on his preys.

nAt that second, she isn't certain whether she or the men are the ones who screwed up the most here.

n

"Why don't you check the counter and inquire for some spare chargers in the meantime?

" Cassidy calmly suggested to which he replied by bolting her a pointed, dagger look.

n

"What?

" Adrian muttered vehemently, sounding like a volcano that's about to erupt.

n

"Bossman, we need to charge our phones...

" she trailed off with emphasis.

n

"And our friends here want to have a chit-chat. You won't mind, right?

"

nOf course, he'd mind.

nHe couldn't stand those people ogling her like a pack of hungry wolves. It infuriates him to an unfathomable degree - perhaps, to the point that he will be more than happy to snap each of their bones right then and there.

nBut even when Adrian still tries to insistenly push his way through, Cassidy doesn't let up. Thinking that nonverbal gestures alone wouldn't make her message cross, she decided to lean in closer and whispered to him this time.

n

"Cool your head off, bossman. You're not in the mood for a talk. I'll just converse with them for a bit.

"

n

"I'm not leaving.

"

n

"Who says you are? You're just going to the counter to ask for a spare charger, right?

"

nStubbornness versus stubbornness will not lead them anywhere, and though that's what Adrian thinks, he also kind of understands his wife's concern here. Cassidy probably senses how fuming he is right now despite his strong will to hold it back.

nKnowing for himself that he couldn't handle a civil conversation at the moment just like what she said, he was left with no choice but to suck it up.

nWith that, Adrian spared Cassidy one last glance before walking an earshot away to the counter. There, the perturbed bartender is observing the scene the whole time. He then immediately asked him for a charger, but also with a hushed inquiry about the catcalling trio.

nSeeing that her husband has now made it to the counter, Cassidy turns back around and faces the men again.

n

"What a way to manhandle your boyfriend,

" one of them snickered.

n

"Oh, forget about him...

" she started again, pretending to be as friendly as possible.

n

"So, what are we talking about?

"

nAdrian may not know this, but Cassidy has another ability to boast other than her defense skills - it's her social ones. She has some experiences in working at a bar back when she's still in college, which is why she knows how to navigate her ways through this kind of conversations. With that said, she also knows how to deal with drunkards like these three.

n

"Well, umm...

" one of them - their leader she speculated, cleared his throat, visibly delighted by how she's entertaining their attempt to get closer.

n

"My friends and I were thinking of inviting a beautiful lady like you for a drink... My treat.

"

nCassidy just raised her brows and crossed her arms, unmoved. They probably sensed her unwillingness in that first get-go, making the other tapped his leader's shoulder for a whisper. She was a bit impressed that these guys were sober enough to read signs.

n

"Oh, geez. My bad. I forgot to introduce myself. I could tell that you're not a local here, so I'd just like to say that you're lucky enough to be in the presence of a Councilor's son, miss beautiful.

"

nAt that, Cassidy clenched her fist in miff and hid it behind her back, trying to keep up the act all the while. She just smiles at him for the next seconds to come as she thinks of a way to go around this peeving situation.

nFilthy rich brats who would flaunt their parents' political reputations to shame like him were really some of the worst scums she ever met.

nCassidy then almost lost her cool completely the moment this said brat grabbed her wrist out of nowhere. Right then, he blew a stinky mouth smell near her face, making the veins in her head start popping in anger.

nAs he was about to land a kiss on her, she immediately covered his mouth and pushed him away. At this point, she could no longer stay amenable and complaisant - it's just foolish amicability in a situation where she's clearly about to be harassed.

n

"I believe that beauty is in the eye of the beerholder,

" she then quipped humorlessly, huffing.

nInstead of being offended, the trio only guffawed at her, thinking that this ludicrous joke was on purpose. As they continued laughing their heads off, she finally managed to slip her hand from his grasp.

nBut then, the damned guy was spruced enough to grab it again, too insistent to blow a kiss.

n

"We should make a beer commercial...

" he teased flirtatiously.

n

"Cause it sounds simply intoxicating.

"

nCassidy felt her jaw slack at this with mortification, thinking that this lowly drunkard brat just had the guts to flirt with her with a horrible pick-up line.

n