Love scratches

After calming down, Claire inhaled a deep breath and pulled back from her. ''What kind of clothes are these?" She looked at the ordinary clothes that Elvina was wearing and swiftly changed the topic.

Elvina noticed the reddened rims of her eyes but she did not say anything, ''Hmm... My poor girl outfit.''

It was still fine that Archer suddenly discovered that his wife's character was not how she showed initially but it would be troublesome if he found that she was not who she pretended to be. She could not go around wearing branded clothes when she was supposed to be an ordinary girl looking for ordinary work at their place.

Claire rolled her eyes, ''So... About yesterday...''

''Don't mention it to me,'' Elvina frowned, ''Those men... I wanted to snap their necks into halves for being so careless,'' It was the promise that she made to Claire about not taking an innocent life that stopped her from doing so.

After years of staying in touch with that gun dealer, he was assassinated as soon as he stepped inside Silverton City.

At this point, Claire was wondering if she was impulsive in bringing him here.

She thought if they presented him with the new clues, he could give them a lead but alas...

The gun dealer, their only lead was dead. And now, they were back to square one.

''At this moment, we only know two things. First, one of those murderers had vitiligo and the other worked at Cardale Empires. We can't be sure if both the people are the same neither can we be sure if the one who worked at Cardale Empires is still working there,'' Claire said.

''What happened yesterday just proved that the person we are up against is cautious. To what extent, we don't know but what I know is...'' Claire took a brief pause before continuing, ''...We need a new plan.''

''I have a plan,'' Elvina's lips tugged up.

Claire blinked when saw the ghost of a smile on her sister's face.

...

Cardale Empires.

''I don't see Emir around,'' Archer leaned back on the swivel chair.

''Sir, the Vice President went on a business trip the day after your marriage,'' The secretary informed the man.

''What about Uncle?"

From Uncle, Archer meant his only biological uncle who was also a director in the company.

''He has been feeling sick lately because of the weather change so he took a few days off.''

Archer leaned back on the chair, fiddling with the edge of the pen.

''What about you, Noah? Are you fine?" he looked at his good-looking secretary who had an unkempt appearance and apparent dark circles under his eyes.

Noah cleared his throat, ''I'm fine. Just a bit of workload,'' he paused for a moment before adding, ''I heard that you met him yesterday. Is he..''

''Let it be,'' The last thing that Archer wanted to talk about was Maven Larsen.

That bastard even dared to send flowers to his place to congratulate him for his marriage. He did see those in his bedroom last night but he made sure to get rid of them.

''I should have gone there with you...'' A complicated expression appeared on Noah's face before it disappeared quickly. He passed his iPad to Archer, ''Sir, see this...''

Archer glanced at the headlines which were all about him and Elvina.

His brief interaction with the media yesterday was all over the news now.

''Love scratches...?" Archer glanced at the pictures, zooming on the scratches on his face and neck. He was scratched by that fat cat but these people somehow concluded that it was the cat's owner.

What's more... Love Scratches...

Look at these innovative headlines.

They definitely deserve a pay rise for such dedication.

Archer massaged his brows, ''What is the HR department doing?"

''They thought that you want this. The head of the department said that you seem to be in love with your wife and it would only offend you if you take it down.''

''What did I say on the first day after my marriage?" A vein throbbed on his forehead as he tilted his head from the iPad and glanced at his secretary.

'Start working on diverting everyone's attention from my private life' Those were his exact words as far as Noah remembered.

''Now, with all those scratches and marks, everyone thought you changed your mind,'' Noah tried to loosen the tension in the air by cracking a joke.

''Fire the head of the PR department,'' Archer said without a single shift in his expression.

Noah sighed. He already expected this. Archer Cardale was not a man who gave second chances to people.

He might look playful and easygoing most of the time but that is until people disappoint him. Once he is disappointed in someone, there will be no mention of second chances.

''And for the interview of the new head...'' Archer scribbled something on his notepad before passing it to Noah,''...Ask them this question. I will select the person based on their answer.''

''Yes,'' Although Noah nodded, his expression turned weird the moment his gaze landed on the question.