The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

147 Exchanging Phone Numbers?

Rachel Markway wasn’t the type to meddle in other people’s lives. She would rarely ask about someone’s life because she valued ??privacy. She didn’t like to be disturbed, so she wouldn’t do it to anyone else.

Emma Hilland noticed that Rachel Markway seemed to be on to something. It seemed like Emma was getting too excited because this was the first time she could truly be herself in front of someone. In front of Rachel, Emma didn’t have to pretend to be a graceful beauty. She could freely show the fangs she had always been proud of without the fear of being judged. But in the end, Emma realized that she couldn’t tell her secret too much to Rachel because they were still getting to know each other. Just being a partner alone made Emma glad.

“Okay,” Emma exclaimed, clapping her hands once to get Rachel’s attention back, “Actually, I brought you here to gauge your skills. Please don’t be offended by this, Rachel. I’m not trying to judge you or else. I just need to know whether we should run or fight in some cases later.” She explained in a careful tone.

Rachel smiled faintly and shook her head, “You don’t need to feel uneasy for me, Emma. I understand your reasoning. But the truth is, from the start, I’ve always wanted to show off what I’m capable of, but was always confused about who I could show it to.”

“Oh.. Is That so? Well, that’s a melody to my ears! Then, show me what you’ve got. Make yourself at home,” Emma winked and stepped back to let Rachel play with her self-defence equipment.

Rachel touched a large punching bag in front of her. Then, she stood with a sharp look in front of the red, heavy object. A memory flashed back in her mind. Memories that made her decide to learn boxing, following in her father’s footsteps. The voices from those memories seemed to be ringing louder and louder in her ears, making her brows furrow. And..

BUGH!!

“Wow..” Emma clutched her chest, “That.. is a super powerful Jab,” she muttered in disbelief. Even men were not necessarily able to do it.

Rachel lowered her fist which was still on the punching bag that was shaking slightly from the hard blow.

.....

It didn’t stop there, Rachel followed with other jabs with equally terrifying force. Emma could see a series of basic Boxing moves such as Cross, Hook, and Uppercut. Granted, those were all basic moves, but Rachel made them all look deadly with the speed of her thrusts. Her stands were also great. She was excellent at harnessing her body weight and the thrust mechanism to make a series of punches that could break an opponent’s jaw.

Rachel stopped her action which she felt was enough to impress Emma just by ??seeing from the girl’s gaping open mouth with both eyeballs that seemed to almost fall out from the eye socket of her skull. Rachel stepped back, leaving the punching bag which was already wobbling from the blows, “How?” she looked at Emma with a smile.

Like a judge, Emma clapped her hands and shook her head in admiration. She really didn’t think Rachel could be that strong. In fact, her punches were much harder than Emma could make.

“I’m not going to make any comments. The point is, you’re straight into the final round.” Emma said.

Rachel immediately laughed, “I hope that means I’m up to your qualification standards.”

“You’re way beyond my standards, Rachel. Oh my.. I didn’t think you could be that strong!” Emma looked excited. At this rate, it was certain that they would be able to defeat the gangsters easily. Rachel just needed to practice a little more to deepen some techniques, then, she would become a monster.

“I thought it would be fun if we could practice together, Rachel. What do you think? I’d teach you some techniques you’d likely enjoy,” Emma asked enthusiastically.

“That’s a good idea. That way, I can be more useful when we fight the Creeper group later.” Rachel nodded, making Emma smile with satisfaction. “But for now, I have to go home because I have promised grandma to have dinner together.”

“Sure, Rachel. We still have plenty of time.” Emma answered.

As promised, it was Emma who drove Rachel home. Along the way, they talked a lot. Honestly, Emma felt that of all people, even Kathy and Poppy, she was more connected when she talked with Rachel. The blue-eyed girl was very mature with a calm demeanour. On the other hand, she was also firm and rarely talked nonsense. That made her a perfect person to talk seriously with.

Emma thought that Rachel was the best person to be a partner.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come in?” Rachel asked Emma who was standing at her house door.

Emma shook her head, “I’m good, Rachel. Thanks for the offer. I have to do my coursework.”

“Very well, then. Thanks for dropping me off.” Rachel said.

“You’re welcome. Give my regards to your grandparents, okay?” Emma said before returning to her car.

Emma drove her car down the deserted Handway roads. She was in a bit of a hurry because the coursework she was supposed to do had to be submitted tomorrow. Suddenly, her stomach growled. Ah.. She forgot that she hadn’t had dinner. It was because the time she spent with Rachel was too much fun that she didn’t feel the hunger in her stomach.

“Looks like I have to look for food outside so I don’t have to cook at home anymore,” Emma muttered.

Finally, Emma decided to find a nearby restaurant that was still open. She drove her car a little slower and a little to the side to see the line of shops and restaurants on the side of the street, but suddenly, her cell phone rang.

‘Damn! My phone is in the back seat.’ Emma thought. Because Rachel was sitting in the front passenger seat, Emma put her sling bag in the back seat and she’d forgotten to put it back in front when she’d dropped Rachel.

However, Emma’s cell phone kept ringing. With a short thought, Emma moved her hand to the back because she was too lazy to pull the car aside just to pick up the phone. In her thoughts, the streets were empty enough that she could ‘not be too careful’ for just two seconds. Once Emma managed to grab the strap of her bag..

CRASH!!

Along with the sound of the crash, the sound of a non-stop car alarm rang. Emma’s long hair fell to cover the sides of her face because her car stopped suddenly.

Emma covered her mouth with one hand while her eyes widened at the windshield of her car. At the front, she could see the back of a shiny black car. While gulping, Emma backed the car slowly and immediately grimaced when she saw that the back of the car she had hit was badly dented.

“Shit..” Emma muttered as she reached for her sling bag properly. Then, she took her cell phone out of it to see who had called her. It turned out to be true that it was Jonas. Geez.. Emma just remembered that today was indeed the day that annoying man should have checked whether Emma was still alive or not.

“Tch! If I had known it was Jonas, I would have left the call missed.” Emma grumbled.

Then, Emma got out of her car awkwardly. She walked over to the car she had hit. The car was still making a loud alarm sound and it looked like the car was parked because the engine seemed off and no one was in it.

“What happened?”

Emma immediately looked back. She found a tall man in a dark brown coat standing a few steps behind her, “I.. I’m so sorry, Sir. Do you own this car?” she asked with a guilty face.

“I’m the owner,” The man answered calmly, but his eyes stared at Emma’s face as if he was thinking.

“Wait a minute..” Emma muttered, starting to notice that the man’s face looked familiar, “You.. are Nancy’s son, right?” her eyes widen, “Um.. I’m sorry, I kind of forgot your name.. is that..”

“Lukas Wargos,” The man replied.

“Right! Lukas Wargos. Look, Lukas, I really am sorry. I accidentally hit your car,” Emma said with a puppy face.

Lukas frowned, then, took two steps to the side to look at the back of his car because he saw a maroon car with a badly dented on the front side parked behind his black car.

“I’ll be responsible and pay for the repairs, so you don’t have to worry,” Emma said, following Lukas’s steps.

“Maybe it will be necessary if the car isn’t covered by insurance. And I don’t think it is.” Lukas answered.

“You think?” Emma repeated with a thoughtful face.

Lukas nodded once, “This car is not mine. It belongs to my brother, Levi. Do you remember him?”

“Levi? Of course. I’ve seen him a few times.” Emma answered.

Emma’s answer made Luke’s brows furrow, “You two met a few times?”

Emma nodded, “Yes. It wasn’t intentional.”

‘He never said anything to me.’ Lukas pondered, but soon shook off his thoughts, “I just happened to borrow his car for the first time. Maybe you should take care of this accident with Levi directly. Do you have a name card?”

“Name card?” Emma muttered somewhat confusedly. Then, she shook her head, “I’m still a student. What if I just give you my phone number?”

Lukas nodded before taking out his cell phone, “Number?”

After Emma mentioned her phone number, Lukas seemed to be fiddling with his cellphone for a moment. Then, the incoming message tone on Emma’s cell phone beeped. Emma took out her cell phone from her coat pocket and found an incoming message containing the contact of someone with the name ‘Levi’.

“I’ve already sent him your number. You can talk about this with him. I’ll excuse myself now,” Lukas said.

“Sure. Thank you, Lukas.” Emma replied.

Lukas nodded slightly at her before getting into his car.

Emma stared at the black car with the dented back that finally drove away. It was an unexpected event. Luckily, Emma knew the owner of the car. Who would have thought that it turned out that fate made her and Levi indirectly have to exchange phone numbers?

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