Bella's face flushed with rage. Stepping out of the elevator, she marched toward Dev and slammed her hand against his shoulder. Dev stumbled forward, gripping his shoulder, which throbbed with pain from her surprisingly hard blow.
"Ouch! What did you hit me for?" Dev winced in pain.
Bella didn't answer. With tears welling up in her eyes, she turned around and stormed away from him.
Watching her walk away, Dev smiled to himself and murmured, "Adorable."
Dev then exited the grand main entrance of the Xander Corp building, heading toward the roadside to catch a public minibus home. Meanwhile, Bella, still fuming, headed straight for the Xander Security department on the first floor.
She was looking for Tere. Everyone in the office gasped in surprise when Bella burst in.
"Miss Bella, are you..." a man in a black suit began, but Bella cut him off before he could finish.
"Where is Tere?" Bella scanned the room, but the person she was looking for was nowhere to be seen.
"I am terribly sorry, Miss, but she requested permission to leave early today."
"Tell her to meet me in my grandfather's office right now. She has fifteen minutes to get there." Bella stormed out of the room and headed toward the private elevator located in the center of the lobby.
That elevator was built exclusively for the CEO of Xander Corp. It was equipped with fingerprint access, ensuring that only Bella and her grandfather could use it.
The elevator doors opened, and Bella stepped inside. Just as the doors began to close, a hand blocked them. The doors slid back open, revealing Kris. He bowed to Bella and stepped inside.
"I am the one on duty today, Miss," Kris said, standing beside her.
"I didn't ask," Bella snapped coldly.
"This is my final week working as a bodyguard. I am requesting permission to resign as your escort starting next week," Kris said, refusing to back down.
"Finally, you're quitting. Why didn't you do it sooner?" Bella had disliked Kris for a very long time.
The elevator doors opened. Bella arrived at the CEO's office, a room that had long been left unoccupied. Since her grandfather fell ill, the office was only occasionally visited by Bella or Hirawan.
Bella stepped out of the elevator and walked over to the sofa. She sat down and pulled out her phone, intending to call Tere. Suddenly, Kris dropped to one knee in front of her and snatched the phone right out of her hand.
"What do you think you're doing, Kris? Give me back my phone! You've got some nerve!" Bella reached out, trying to grab her phone back.
"There is something I want to say," Kris said, dropping his usual formal tone for a casual one.
Bella froze. Curiosity got the better of her. Was Kris about to tell her the very thing she had already heard from her grandfather?
"Next week, I will begin working inside Xander Corp."
"Oh," Bella replied, utterly uninterested.
"Has your grandfather told you that I asked for your hand in marriage?" Kris asked.
Bella frowned, staring at her bodyguard. For the past seven years, he had been nothing but formal, rigid, and respectful, but now he was speaking to her informally, his face full of expression.
"You might think I am an ambitious man, hungry for wealth and power, because I suddenly proposed to you—the majority shareholder of Xander Corp. But I want you to know, Bel, that I have liked you for a very long time. I love you."
Bella was completely unmoved by his confession. Her heart didn't flutter in the slightest.
"Then why are you only telling me about your feelings now?"
"Because I assumed you would only choose a man from the high society, so I gave up. But seeing how head-over-heels you are for Dev—a low-class street punk—I couldn't just sit back and watch. I am the one who has always been by your side, Bel. I know you inside out. I am sure you have feelings for me too, even if it's just a little," Kris said, pouring out his sweet words.
Bella remained completely indifferent to Kris's speech. The words sounded sweet to the ear, but felt completely hollow to her heart.
Looking straight into his eyes, Bella said, "I have never viewed you as a man. You're just the one bodyguard who annoys me the most. Don't play games and pretend you like me; I know what your real goal is. Don't ever expect me to marry you, let alone think you'll ever become the CEO of Xander Corp."
Kris rose to his feet. He walked over to her grandfather's desk.
"But your grandfather will definitely accept me. Like it or not, you will have to marry me, Bel. And I will be sitting in this chair very soon, just wait and see," Kris declared ambitiously, sitting down in the grand CEO chair.
"You can't force me. If I have to marry, Dev is the only man I will ever marry. And he will be the one to become the CEO of Xander Corp."
Kris burst into loud, mocking laughter. Bella was shocked; this was the first time she had ever seen her bodyguard act like a completely different person—haughty, arrogant, and ruthless.
"Do you really think your grandfather would let a street thug like him become your husband? You might succeed in making your grandfather angry, but you will never succeed in marrying him. If you insist on marrying him, you will lose your position as the majority shareholder of Xander Corp."
"Grandfather would never strip me of my position as the majority shareholder. No matter what happens, I will always be his successor. Do you understand?!"
"Listen to me, Bel," Kris said, stepping out from behind the desk and looking at Bella with one hand tucked casually into his pants pocket. "Try counting how many times your grandfather has asked you to take over the leadership. Every single time, you rejected him. So, he finally looked for another way; he wants you to marry someone capable of running his company. It's not about you being the most important piece, Bel. Even without marrying you, I could easily take the CEO position because your grandfather already sees what I am capable of. You know yourself that Xander Corp matters more than anything else to Hirawan Alexander. Remember what happened to your parents? You could easily end up just like them."
"Don't you dare bring up my parents! I know my grandfather better than anyone! Don't act like you know him just because you managed to impress him! And don't flatter yourself; you will never get the votes in the board of directors meeting. Uncle Hendra and Stuart hold a much stronger position than you do."
"You haven't seen anything yet, Bel. I will get rid of those two parasites, just like your grandfather has always wanted. You know how much he despises Hendra and his son because they are the children of his wife and her lover. They only hold their current positions because of the shares your late grandmother owned. But once I am the ruler here, I will kick them out immediately."
Bella was stunned. She did not recognize the person standing before her. The Kris she knew was a cold-hearted bodyguard who functioned like a robot. He was always efficient, instantly cleaning up any mess she made. He had never shown a single shred of emotion while protecting her. But the Kris standing in front of her now was a greedy, ambitious shareholder who coveted her grandfather's company.
Bella stood up and marched over to him. Snatched her phone back from his grip, she snapped, "Keep talking out of your mind! Go ahead and dream big! But I guarantee you, whether it's Xander Corp or me, you will never have either!"
Bella turned to leave the room, but Kris grabbed her by the arm.
Pulling her in by the waist, Kris forced her body tight against his. Bella resisted, pushing against his chest with both hands, but his grip around her waist was ironclad.
"Who says we won't get married? I told you, I love you. For seven years, I bottled up these feelings because I felt I wasn't worthy of you yet. I saved up every single rupiah and dollar, bit by bit, until I finally reached this position."
Kris leaned his face closer to hers and murmured, "Aside from your grandfather's company, I will also make you mine, Bella Queen Xander. If you are the Queen of Xander Corp, then I will be its King." Kris smirked at the sheer shock written across Bella's face.
Suddenly, Kris forced his lips onto hers, kissing her. Bella fought back wildly, shoving against him with all her might until she finally managed to break free from her bodyguard's embrace. She swung her hand and slapped his face hard.
"It's that fierce side of you that makes me like you, Bel," Kris laughed, taking the slap without a care.
Bella sprinted toward the elevator and lunged inside.
"See you soon, my future wife," Kris called out with a smug smile.
The elevator doors slid shut, hiding his insufferable face from view. As the elevator carried Bella down, she wiped her lips aggressively, consumed by intense regret.
Kris has gone completely insane! Dev is the only guy who's ever supposed to kiss me! Bella screamed furiously in her mind.