The CEO’ s second choice

Elena’s Protectors: London’s Wealthiest Men

Elena

Elijah!

I take in his blonde hair that had fallen out of the ponytail he had it in, and his bloody knuckles from

punching Nicholas, who was now curled up in a ball on the floor. Elijah looks at me, then looks away as

he takes off his suit jacket. He walks towards me with downcast eyes and covers up my torn dress.

I could do nothing but stare at him in a daze while my tears kept on falling. Nicholas had sexually

harassed me and was about to do God knows what if Elijah didn’t step in? I couldn’t help it. I threw

myself into his arms and he held me as I sobbed for my lost dignity. “Shh, it’s okay, Elena. He will not

get away with this.” Elijah says, trying to console me as I wept.

Then he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone. “Sebastian, I need you to come to

the hall leading to the ladies’ room. Something has happened.” He says, then pockets his phone again.

The reality of his words hit me; Sebastian was coming here, and he would surely murder Nicholas.

“Sebastian will kill him,” I say in a whisper, and Elijah nods. “As well he should for touching you. I

would kill him myself, but you are Sebastian’s, and he would want to do it for your honour.”

Just as he says this, I see my husband round the corner and stop in his tracks. He takes in the

scene; My torn dress covered by Elijah’s jacket, Elijah’s bloody knuckles as he held me and Nicholas

laying in a heap on the floor.

His mind puts two and two together then he loses it. As he runs towards me, Elijah lets go and my

husband wraps me in his arms; then I start sobbing hard. “What happened here?” He asks Elijah

through gritted teeth, and I feel the anger radiating from him. Elijah walks towards Nicholas and pulls

him to his feet as he lets out a whimper. “I caught Addington here sexually harassing our Elena. He tore

her dress to shreds, and he looked like he had other things on his mind as well, didn’t you Addington?”

Elijah says as he faces Nicholas.

“Her virginity was not yours to take! Besides, she wanted it!” Nicholas calls out in a pathetic

whimper and Sebastian lets me go. He walks over to Nicholas and punches him repeatedly in the

stomach, then lands one on his nose.

I turn to look at Nicholas with a burning anger in my chest. “That’s a lie and you know it!” I scream

as tears of anger now flow down my cheeks. How dare he!

“I will ask Sarah to get the surveillance tapes and we will see for ourselves, not that I believe a

word of what you’ve said, Addington. For now, let’s get you home, love.” Sebastian says as he walks

back to me and hugs me tightly. He looks towards Elijah and holds out his hand. “Elijah, I have no way

to thank you for what you’ve done today. I owe you a debt, my friend.” He says, and Elijah takes his Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

hand with a smile.

“I have wronged you greatly in the past, Sebastian. Consider the debt paid.” He says as he shakes

my husband’s hand. Sebastian nods. “I will have this returned to you in the morning. Again, thank you,

Elijah.” He says as he gestures to Elijah’s coat that was covering my beautiful, torn dress. I glance up

and Elijah and I see a flash of something in his eyes hurt? Regret? I didn’t have time to figure it out, as

Sebastian pulled me towards the exit.

What Nicholas did to me is on repeat in my mind. The man I used to love and adore wanted to

rape me because I gave myself to another. How did I not see the predatory side of him before? Or did I

see it, and know it was there, but then push it out of my mind?

All these questions run through my mind on the drive home. Sebastian had me on his lap and his

arms around me, apologizing profusely for leaving me alone. As if it was his fault I had a rapist for an

ex-boyfriend. “My love, this is not on you. Nicholas is unhinged because I told him I am no longer a

virgin. I thought by telling him that, he would leave me alone but it just made him feel more possessive

of me.” I tell him with honesty and feel the anger coming off him in waves.

“I should have been there, not Elijah.” He says with hurt lacing his voice, and I peer up at him. “I

would have been thankful even if it was a server pulling him off me, Sebastian. The fact that it was

Elijah has no effect on me.” Didn’t it, though? Elijah saved me from a fate I would not wish on any

woman, and I was eternally thankful to him for it.

He nods then. “I’m sorry this has happened, love. I am making this about me and my ego when

something terrible was done to you. Addington will pay for this, that I can promise you.” He says and

holds me closer, kissing my forehead.

We spent the rest of the drive home in silence with one another. Sebastian called Sarah and

explained what happened and why he needed those surveillance tapes. She said she would get back

to him with it in the morning.

When we arrived at the villa, Sebastian carried me up the stairs and into our bathroom. He pushed

the button to fill the spa and took Elijah’s jacket from my body. He bristled with anger as he took in the

damage to my dress and how far Nicholas got with his assault to my body; blue marks were forming on

my breasts where he gripped me.

“He will pay for this, Elena.” He repeats through gritted teeth and kisses the aching spots on my

breasts. With the spa filled, I bent down to remove my underwear. But Sebastian shook his head and

said he wanted to do it for me, so I allowed him to. When I was completely naked, he lowered me into

the spa bath and got in behind me. We lay like this for a while until he finally spoke.

“I thought my greatest threat tonight would be Elijah and his advances towards you. Never in my

life would I have dreamed this would happen to you, love. I am so sorry I was not there to protect you

from what happened. I promise to be a better husband from here on and a better protector.”

The tears that were brimming my eyes fell free as his admission hit my heart. Even if Elijah tried to

flirt, I would have shut him down. “My love, if Elijah flirted with me, I would have to shut him down. I am

yours. That won’t change until one of us is no longer of this world.” I say and peer up at him, planting a

kiss on his cheek. “I am not Isla, my loyalty lies with you and only you.”

He stiffens at this. Okay, maybe I took it a bit too far with the Isla bit, but he needed to realise that I

was with him for life. Kissing my forehead, he sighs. “You should not have gone through what you did

tonight, and we will work through the repercussions together.” He says. And this made me frown.

“Repercussions?” I ask and he nods.

“What you went through must have been extremely traumatic, Elena. It will eat at you until you

work through it, and I will be by your side, never wavering.” He says, then I finally understand what he

means. And he was right. I loved Nicholas, and he betrayed me in the worst possible way.

I nod and he holds me close again, “I love you, Elena.”

Did I hear that right? Did he just admit that he loves me??? I am so stunned that I could not

respond to him, and I think he must take it as me not loving him back. Afterwards, he gets out of the

spa and wraps a towel around himself before heading towards me and wrapping one around my

shivering frame. We head towards the walk-in, and I soak up the warmth coming from the vents on the

floor. Tonight I opted for fluffy pink pyjamas and Sebastian headed to bed before me. He was quiet as

we got dressed, and I wondered what was on his mind.

I climb under the heated comforter and snuggle into Sebastian’s arms, releasing a sigh as I finally

feel home.

Sebastian admitted that he loved me. I think I had always known this, but we never pushed the

subject. Saying it would come naturally, but it didn’t come to me at all when he said it. I was so stunned

by him saying it that it rendered me speechless.

But do I love Sebastian? The answer was a resounding yes.

“I love you too, Sebastian,” I admit to him as I drift off to sleep and feel him letting out a content

sigh.