影音先锋亚洲第一综合

Rick, feigning innocence, looked up and innocently asked, "What did I do?"

Evelina pointed an accusatory finger at him, her frustration palpable. "Don\'t you dare act innocent with me. I know you inside and out."

Rick, ever the cheeky one, couldn\'t resist a mischievous grin. "Well, from what I remember, I was the one actually inside of you. Very deep, I might add."

Evelina\'s anger intensified, and she warned, "You..." Her body trembled with frustration, but Rick interrupted with a lecherous chuckle, "Don\'t ever bring that up. Ever."

Rick attempted to explain himself, "But you were the one who—" before he could finish, he caught sight of Evelina\'s no-nonsense face and wisely decided to zip his lips.

"Why did you have to blurt out all that nonsense in front of my grandmother? She just woke up. She did not have to know. Whatever the deal was, it was between us, and I have fulfilled my end. And now you have done yours as well. End of story," Evelina scolded Rick as he sat there, looking like a cat who just knocked over a vase.

"Our cooperation ends here," Evelina declared with the finality of a judge delivering a sentence. "There is no need for you to extend your stay here."

Rick, wearing his best wounded-puppy expression, looked hurt, "Come on! After all that I have done, are you going to break the hand that fed you?"

"I did not expect that from you," Rick shook his head in disbelief.

"But I am not an irresponsible person like you. I will see to it that your grandmother is fit and running before I take my leave," Rick said with a smirk, turning his attention back to his phone as if he had just proclaimed himself the hero of the household.

"You... What is going on in your mind?" Evelina\'s eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "Let me tell you. Whatever game you are planning, you won\'t be able to succeed, however much you try." She crossed her arms, ready to face whatever mischief Rick had up his sleeve.

"My grandmother won\'t fall for your tricks," Evelina asserted, eyeing Rick with confidence.

"She has dealt with hundreds like you throughout her life," Evelina continued, her smirk growing, but it froze in place when she realized Rick was completely engrossed in his phone.

"Are you listening to me?" Evelina asked, trying to reclaim his attention.

"Hmmm..." Rick finally looked up from his phone, nonchalantly responding, "I think I will take you up on your offer. Since you say my job here is done, I will take my leave." With that, Rick stood up, as if announcing the end of his grand performance.

"Ehhh?" Evelina was taken aback. \'What the heck?\' This was the only thought in her mind.

"I know you will be disappointed to see me leave, but it is time for me to go," Rick turned and called out to his rabbit, "Wake up, sleepyhead. Time for us to make a move."

And just like that, Rick started stuffing his stuff.

"Hold up!" Evelina exclaimed, her eyes widening as if she had just been zapped by a cosmic awakening ray, "Where are you going so suddenly?" Evelina asked.

"Sudden? Me?" Rick quipped without turning around, relishing the melodramatic atmosphere. "My dear, you did utter the magic words—\'Please leave.\' I\'m just adhering to your request, playing the part of the chivalrous exit artist."

Evelina, still tangled in the webs of sleep, managed a perplexed, "What?"

"Now, be a good sport and summon me a car, would you? Oh, and while you\'re at it, prep the private jet, the one we casually soared in on," Rick directed Evelina, his tone as nonchalant as a cat napping in the sun. "I\'m sure you\'ve memorized my life story by now."

"I am sure you know all about me, so you know where I am flying to," Rick didn\'t sound bothered saying that. He knew that Evelina and her family was rich and powerful enough to even know the size of his underwear if they wanted to. He had been staying with Evelina\'s family for days now, they had plenty of time to do a background check on him.

Despite his attempts at suave sophistication, Rick couldn\'t escape the reality that he was still a mere mortal, lacking the power to erect an impenetrable fortress around his personal affairs.

Evelina, her skepticism undeterred, eyed Rick with a healthy dose of disbelief. "Seriously?" she probed, unable to fathom whether his departure was a grand charade or a genuine exit.

Rick, with a poker face that could rival a seasoned card player, pivoted towards Evelina, adopting a tone that hovered between jest and sincerity. "Keep this up, and you\'ll be sending all the good men running for the hills. Must you be so suspicious all the time?" he teased, his expression deadpan. "Now, my dear, shoo...make the necessary arrangements. I\'ll be out there in a mere five minutes. Shoo!"

With a swift, theatrical gesture, Rick ushered Evelina out of the room, shutting the door in her face before she could muster a retort.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The familiar faces from the previous soirée awaited him in the grandiose space where the initial festivities had unfolded. Evelina, her parents, her uncle and aunt, and the somewhat redundant sprouts stood in attendance. However, this time, the cast expanded to include Evelina\'s grandmother, a venerable addition to the ensemble. Standing dutifully behind her was Geoffrey, attending to her every need.

"Ah, the gang\'s all here!" Rick declared with a casual flair, acknowledging the assembly.

He turned his attention to the old matriarch with a mock bow of respect. "Even the esteemed matriarch graces us with her presence," he greeted with faux formality. "Are you certain you should be gallivanting around so soon? I practically yanked you from the court of Yamraj, you know. We wouldn\'t want my efforts to be in vain," he teased, eyes twinkling with mischief.

The old lady responded with a gentle smile, her voice carrying the grace of age, "Thank you for your concern, Mr Rick, but I am all well now. Thanks to you, of course."

Rick, maintaining an air of nonchalance, responded to the old matriarch\'s gratitude with a casual shrug.

"No need for thanks. Just doing the job I was handsomely compensated for," he declared with a self-assured grin, giving a subtle nod to the financial aspect of his heroic endeavors.

The old matriarch, unfazed by his attempt at modesty, nodded appreciatively. "I\'ve heard the tales," she acknowledged. "Regardless, it pales in comparison to what you\'ve done for me. I was hoping you might stay a while, allowing me the chance to repay the favor."

"Oh come on, no need for you to worship me like that," Rick, with an air of false humility, waved off the suggestion. He quipped, a smug expression playing on his face as he attempted to strike a pose of down-to-earth modesty.

Hearing him act so cocky all those in the room almost fell on the ground, and the old matriarch\'s face could not help but twitch.

"If you insist, Mr. Rick," the old matriarch managed to utter, a hint of amusement in her tone. "May your journey back be as safe as your wit is sharp."

"I will," Rick, nodded and then, turned towards Evelina after acknowledging the old matriarch\'s well-wishes. "Have you made the preparations, darling?" he inquired with a nod, a sly smile playing on his lips.

But before Evelina could respond, unexpectedly, Jack\'s voice rang out, breaking the flow of Rick\'s exit performance. "Boy!" Jack called, catching Rick off guard. "Don\'t get too familiar with my daughter."

"Good grief, you nearly gave me a heart attack, old man," Rick exclaimed, dramatically placing a hand over his chest in mock distress, "You have such a beautiful wife."

His attention then shifted to Michelle, Jack\'s wife, and with a mischievous wink, he remarked, "You, my dear, are a vision of beauty."

However, Rick\'s theatrics took an unexpected turn as he turned back to Jack, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "But you, my friend, are like a cactus," he declared, and Michelle couldn\'t help but let out a chuckle at the absurd comparison, earning her a disapproving glare from Jack.

"I\'ve said it before," Jack ground out through gritted teeth, "Don\'t mess with me."

"But I wasn\'t even talking to you," Rick protested, feigning innocence and tilting his head.

"I was addressing your daughter. You jumped in like an overexcited, overprotective father. Especially..."

"Especially when you know you want her dead," he concluded with a devilish grin, dropping a verbal bombshell that left the room in stunned silence.

"I will kill you," Jack, consumed by rage, threatened Rick with lethal intent, his anger threatening to erupt into a violent storm.

"Enough," However, before the tempest could fully unleash, a harmonious duet of authority resonated through the room. Both Evelina and the old matriarch intervened simultaneously, their synchronized voices slicing through the tension.

And the room went silent as Evelina and the old matriarch looked at each other.

"Oohhh! This is going to be fun," Rick chuckled as he sensed the tense atmosphere in the room.

However, Evelina, quick on her feet, offered a hasty apology to her grandmother. "I\'m sorry, grandmother," she uttered, seizing Rick\'s arm with a firm grip and briskly guiding him out of the turbulent scene.

Meanwhile, the old matriarch observed the abrupt exit with narrowed eyes, her thoughts veiled in mystery.

* * * * *