CHAPTER 6: CHAPTER 6: DON’T LET HER GET CLOSE AGAIN

Annelise patiently waited for him to hang up the phone.

Knowing he would leave soon and not wanting to waste time, Annelise took a deep breath and stepped forward to knock on the door.

No one responded.

Having prepared herself for possible ridicule and sarcasm, Annelise directly pushed the door open and walked in.

His shirt was pulled back up halfway, but Elias Warner didn’t even turn his head.

His cold thin lips devoid of any emotion, "Get out!"

The beautifully contoured back muscles flashed by, but Annelise didn’t leave; instead, she quietly closed the door behind her.

Now, only he and she remained in the room.

She stepped slowly from the hallway to stand behind him.

They were so close that it seemed they could touch with just a slight move.

Annelise clenched her fists and called out, "Young Master Warner."

At the slightest scent and gentle voice in front of him, Elias coldly turned to look at her.

Their eyes met.

He looked up from below, his gaze cold enough to tear her skin apart.

His slender fingers re-buttoned his shirt.

"Didn’t I tell you to go out? Didn’t understand?"

The man, with his deep, cold demeanor and sharply chiseled features refined over time, was more strikingly handsome and mesmerizing than ever.

Still the way that made her willingly sink into him at a glance.

But he was no longer her Elias Warner.

Annelise controlled herself not to lose composure, "I’m here to ask you for something. I want that Peace Lock. Name your price! Can you give it to me?"

"You mean this?"

The lock was in his palm, and as Elias released his grip, the Peace Lock dangled from his hand.

The chain still in his palm, the pendant swinging in the air.

His beautiful face carried a sharp coldness, "You want it? For what?

Clenching her fist, she knew this Peace Lock had also held special meaning before.

Annelise stiffened her posture, not wanting him to misunderstand, "I’ve worn it for ten years, I’m used to it. Without it, I can’t sleep."

The man no longer looked at her, toying with the Peace Lock in his palm.

"That’s quite funny!"

He leaned lazily there, his cold voice dripping with sarcasm hitting her ears.

"Have you forgotten? Back then, you were the one who tore it off your neck and threw it away."

He stared at her indifferently, "You threw it away like trash back then, and now you want to take it back? Do you think that’s possible?"

How could Annelise forget the past?

Five years ago, he proposed, and to reject him, Annelise didn’t hesitate to tear off the Peace Lock she had worn for ten years in front of him and throw it into her room’s trash bin!

It was only after she angered him away that she secretly retrieved it from the trash bin.

But later, she was just like that, driven out from the Winter Family, and everything was taken back.

Including the Peace Lock.

Annelise’s eyes turned red, and she thick-skinnedly said, "I know I’m unworthy, but I’ve worn the Peace Lock for so many years, don’t you feel it’s dirty? Besides, with so many treasures in the Warner Family, you wouldn’t give it to your future wife, would you? It would only taint her status and your love."

Thinking about the rumors of him soon getting married after returning to the country.

Thinking he might have other women in his heart, marrying another woman.

Annelise’s heart felt as if slashed into shreds by countless knives.

"Really?" Elias’s face was composed as he slowly stood up, walking step by step to her.

Annelise’s feet uncontrollably retreated until her calves hit the sofa.

The next second, she would sit down if she lost her balance.

But he had no intention of stopping, continuing forward until his knees nearly touched her thighs.

He loomed over her, "So holding my waist and deliberately spilling red wine on me was just an accident?"

Annelise’s heart trembled, her legs grew weak from his proximity, yet she held firmly to the back of the sofa.

Fortunately, her years of dancing had given her excellent core strength.

"Yes, I apologize for what I did those years ago! As long as you give me the..."

Elias’s indifferently cold gaze suddenly darkened, his voice like gravel scratching Annelise’s eardrum, "Not possible."

"I remember telling you that I never want to see you again!"

The arrogance of his past had been shattered and rebuilt over five years.

Now it was unbreakable.

His gaze bore into her moist, reddened eyes, Elias would not make the same mistake again, "So as for this lock, you can stop dreaming!"

Annelise’s complexion turned pale.

Uncle Ford, the housekeeper, happened to enter with a spare suit in his size.

Elias stepped back, took a tissue to wipe his hands, and his long lashes concealed his emotions, giving indifferent instructions.

"Uncle Ford, send this young lady the bill for the soiled suit and kindly see her out!"

Annelise barely held her ground.

Unwilling to give up or leave, for her daughter.

She stubbornly stepped forward, making a promise, "If you give me the Peace Lock, I assure you will never see me again."

As he reached the bathroom door, Elias’s steps paused, and his cold voice sounded once more.

"Uncle Ford, don’t let her come near me again. See her out!"

Bam!

The door slammed shut.

Elias had gone into the bathroom to shower.

Annelise, not willing to give up until she succeeded, stood at the bathroom door waiting for him.

The sound of running water started.

The outline of the man’s tall, upright, and finely proportioned body reflected on the door.

A figure that looked incredibly sexy and robust with just one glance.

Annelise hastily looked away.

Uncle Ford watched anxiously, sighing as he urged, "Miss Annelise, you should leave. Since you chose to give up the Young Master back then, there’s no need to be entangled over a Peace Lock now."

Annelise stood rigidly straight, glanced at Uncle Ford, and the words stuck in her throat unable to come out.

She had come to the wedding today with determined confidence.

But she hadn’t expected Elias Warner to intervene!

After five minutes of waiting.

Seeing her unwilling to leave, Uncle Ford urged again, "Five years! During these five years, the Young Master refused to return home, went to the world’s most dangerous places, risking his life, narrowly escaping death several times, nearly losing his life in South Surina!"

Uncle Ford’s eyes grew misty as he spoke, "The Warner Family has only him as the only heir, finally willing to come back! And soon, there will be a suitable fiancée, there cannot be any mishaps! I’m begging you, leave! Stop this entanglement! Why did you provoke him in the first place?"

Annelise’s heart felt unbearable pain.

She too had regretted countless times, why she ever entangled with him in the first place.

If fate had played tricks on her sooner, she would never provoke him again.

That way, he wouldn’t have such a blemish as her in his life.

How could she not know how dangerous the places he went to were?

Over those thousand days and nights, she never had a good night’s sleep, worried about him, worried about her daughter.

She quickly wiped the dampness from her eyes.

"I understand, Uncle Ford."

Ultimately unable to bear the thought of him being in danger again, Annelise didn’t force it any longer.

Annelise was about to leave.

The bathroom door opened at the same time.

Annelise, by reflex, turned back, quickly averting her gaze from the man’s exposed body.

Elias, now finished bathing, wore his pants loosely, his shirt completely unbuttoned.

Seeing her, he frowned in displeasure, "Uncle Ford, why hasn’t she left yet!"

The overwhelming scent of cedar, distinctly Elias’s, filled the air.

Mixed with a cold aura, lowering the room’s temperature.