The Traps of Black Swan

A man in his late twenties turned to Tia, "I told you to stop going against him." He and the others were worried their leader might punish Tia severely.

Tia\'s face softened when she faced others. "I am not his slave." She shrugged despite knowing she had seen their leader amputating the limbs of a rebelling man once.

"But..."

Tia cut in as she grabbed her blazer from her chair, "I will come." 

Tia wore the slim-fit formal blazer on her plain T-shirt as she walked out of the room. Instead of a pretty dress, she was in jeans and a simple t-shirt. Tying her hair up in a ponytail, she had left her face free from any makeup other than lip balm. If Tia is a pretty, delicate, soft-spoken girl at the flower shop, this side was sharp-tongued, tough, and daring.

The little mellowness on her face vanished when she knocked on the brown wooden door. She didn\'t wait for a response from another end as she was asked to be there. She pushed the door open and stepped inside the simple office room.

There was a wooden desk with a few files on it and a leather chair on the other end. The room has stretched towards the right. There was a long, empty table where the team usually gathered for a meeting. The three sides of the wall had pictures and sticky notes. 

Tia\'s gaze swept over the pictures of Aarvi. Tia had recently got to know from her team about Aarvi. Aarvi wasn\'t just any Evans. She was the daughter of the business tycoon from country S. It sounded simple if one doesn\'t know the real power of the Evans. 

\'Ava Kelly, Aarvi Evans,\' Tia had complex thoughts.

Her eyes brushed over Shawn and Dax before it halted at Aaron\'s picture. They found the connection between Aaron and Evans but Shawn and Dax. Her visit to Avron mansion, Skyarc penthouses, and Dax\'s villa found her no information to gather. They were just like any other friends.

Nevertheless, Tia didn\'t have time to think any further, and she was late to guard up when she realized she didn\'t see the leader there.

Tia sensed a swift move behind her. Then she felt a firm grip on her wrist. Her arm was twisted and locked behind her back, and she was pushed against the wall from behind in a mere second. She clenched her teeth, her cheeks pressed on the wall. She directed her attention to her breathing without letting any tiny voice out due to the pain.

\'Thud.\'

The door latched before the man shifted left behind her to look at her side profile and her emotionless eyes. He was a man in his early thirties, and his steely grey eyes spoke of danger. His little strength was enough to overpower her. He tightened his hold on her hand to hear her groan and to make her beg him but failed in his trial.

"If you are so eager to die, why don\'t I fulfill your wish?" His dark voice left through his teeth.

Tia took a deep breath. She spun around right under his hold before her left hand slammed on his chest, pushing him away from her. She shook her right hand to relieve some pain glaring at the man who just stood two steps away irrespective of her strength used on him.

"Clark. Behave as a lead. I don\'t need your concern." Tia smirked.

She knew Clark wasn\'t aborting their plan due to the threat that might put others in danger. He was afraid of seeing her dead. If she were somebody else, he wouldn\'t have even thought about their life.

She wanted to complete the work she took up and leave this man aside. She couldn\'t understand why she got Clark\'s attention that he unnecessarily cares too much about her. She was pissed off seeing him still seeing her more than as a member of the group when she had already rejected to be his girlfriend... Scratch that, a wife. He had ordered her to marry him.

What a fool.

"Ms. Wells, don\'t get ahead of yourself." He hissed. Even though he stood against her push, his chest was still aching due to the strength used. 

Tia had to look away to avoid rolling her eyes again on his face, and he might end up choking her to death. What kind of man was he? Sometimes she feels he was obsessed with her, but she never thought he could have fallen in love. Who treats their love that way?

"I could say the same to you, Clark." She was trying her all to hide that he was interested in her, and he had almost let others know he cared for her, whereas he didn\'t bother how others might die.

Why couldn\'t he move on? Tia thought before lifting her chin to face him straight.  She would never show her as weak or else; that man looked like he wouldn\'t mind forcing her.

Clark gnashed his teeth, glaring at the dainty woman. This woman was driving him mad. He doubted if she had really fallen for Dax Grant or just acting since it wasn\'t in their plan. When he had asked, she had brushed him off, saying she was going with the flow to avoid suspicions.

"Get out." He snarled as he went to his desk. He needs a solid reason if he has to abort their plan. If Tia doesn\'t back out, he will have no choice but to let her face and die.

Tia was used to his weird behavior, so she left his office and informed the team that their plan was still on. Masking her face, she left the private office carefully, making sure no one was keeping an eye on her. Well, none were following her.

She had thought they would be solving cases, so she had taken full day leave. Since the team was left at the dead-end by the opposite side, she chose to go to the flower shop.

Breathing in calmly, she dialed Aarvi\'s number after going a good far distance. She smiled when Aarvi answered the call, "Sister Aarvi." She greeted Aarvi. Her voice had a hint of joy.

[Tia, did you complete your work?] She heard Aarvi\'s mellow tone, and in the background, she heard Aaron\'s tone. She couldn\'t make out what he was speaking, other than knowing he was instructing somebody.

Tia accepted, "I have completed it, Sister Aarvi. So I thought about returning to work." Then she asked to know, "Sister Aarvi, aren\'t you at the shop? I heard Doctor Handsome\'s voice." Aaron never stays too long in the shop unless he gets food to eat with Aarvi or pick her up.

There was a pause for a second over the call. On the other end, Aarvi flashed a tiny cute smile at Aaron when their eyes met while she thought if Tia was always so attentive. "Yeah, I am with Doctor Handsome, who is President hottie now." She didn\'t lie.

Aaron and Milo Wen: "..."

Tia giggled, agreeing with Aarvi. The latter asked, "Why don\'t you rest at home? Or go and meet your hunky boyfriend."

Tia coughed awkwardly, recalling Dax shirtless when she had gone with him to the farmhouse. She shook her head quickly to focus, "Sister Aarvi, Dax is busy at work. I don\'t want to disturb him. And I will be bored at home." She sulked.

She heard Aarvi hum before acknowledging her to go. Tia went towards the shop to get back to the routine. She and the team need to catch the man who had bugged her. She hoped Clark don\'t do anything stupid in the meantime.

\'Will he?\'