Chapter 71 - Destroy The Poisonous Buds Before It Blooms

The four men looked at people who were watching them and glanced at each other. It was humiliating to lose in front of a man when they were five. The leather jacket man pulled a knife which he used for cutting a steak. It was sharp, hence he took it to scare Anya. Now he was using it to save his face.

The teenager who noticed the knife, shouted at Alvin hurriedly, afraid his stepbrother and his friends might kill Alvin, "Watch out."

Alvin jerked and missed the leather jacket man's strike from landing at the side of his face. He swung his leg in reflex by blocking his face with his left hand and suddenly felt a sharp pain on his forearm.

'Thud,' The leather man's back hit the wall hard and fell on his stomach groaning louder in pain.

Alvin gritted his teeth and clutched his right fist. The red warm liquid rolled down his left forearm and started dropping on the blue carpet. He had thought these men were just spoiled brats and didn't expect them to carry sharp objects. 

As if one wasn't enough, he saw three other men holding knives and breathing heavily, while their faces continued to twist in pain.

Alvin realized he went easy on them. Those three young men weren't just spoiled by their family but ruined them to no return. 

When Alvin was new to the archeology field, many groups of men used to threaten them, attack them and try to steal the expensive artifacts and excavated items. So to keep the things, experts, and laborers safe from fearing to work, he had appointed a team and also learned to fight. To his eyes, the simple sharp objects were nothing but toys.

The elder step-brother said through his teeth, "Let's teach this bastard a lesson. My father won't let anything happen to us." He filled the confidence in the other two as the leather jacket man was already wasted.

Alvin's eyes narrowed. 'Father.' He thought to make note of who that politician was. He swore to destroy his family and bring them on the road. 

"Heyyy…" The three screamed attacking Alvin together.

The spectators widened their eyes looking at the developments. They were shocked and clueless about what to do. Some kept their hands on their mouths and stayed out of the mess.

Anya, who was sleeping, jerked up with a gasp. Though she heard a faint scream, it alarmed her as she knew Harper's men were doing a lot of illegal things on the ship. She couldn't afford to lose her attention.

Her eyes desperately searched for Alvin and didn't find him in the bedroom. The sleepiness just fled out of her eyes in a blink. Anxious, she ran to the ensuite and checked inside. 

"He isn't here." She mumbled to herself.

Without bothering about the shoes, she ran out of the cabin and witnessed Alvin brutally breaking the hand of a man. Chills ran down her spine hearing the man crying at the top of his lungs. Though she was facing Alvin's back, somehow she imagined his dark expression and glowering eyes that grew her gooseflesh. A man wasted right in front of her eyes and the passageway filled with the cries of agony.

Alvin smoothly escaped another strike of a knife at him, kicked the leg causing the man to fall on his knees. Meanwhile, he held the hand of another man with one hand and another hand slapped the head of the man to the wall, so hard that the man lost consciousness immediately. 

Anya felt her heart hammering against her chest. Her legs seemed to be frozen at the spot. She didn't fear him but her mind ran wild thinking how their three days were going to end up at this rate. They were in the vortex that could swallow them any instant.

Alvin seized the knife from the second man and heard his name, "Alvin…" There was a panic in the tone. He glanced behind him and his expression softened as soon as his eyes fell on Anya who was running towards him with bare feet and nervously staring at him.

Anya ran over, afraid Alvin might give his mind to the anger. Hence as soon as she got closer, she held Alvin's arm in a hand and kicked the man in the face with her bare leg, causing him to roll to the ground, away from them.

She tugged Alvin, throwing the knife away. Before she could breathe in relief, she gasped, feeling warm liquid in her palm. She lifted his left arm and saw he was injured and it was his blood. 

Alvin was expecting her to get scared by the blood but she wasn't. She wasn't even disgusted with the blood on her hand or feared him. Rather she held him closer, yet careful.

Anya controlled her urge to blow on his cut as if she was feeling the pain from it. She glanced at the men on the floor, Alvin had purposefully hadn't used the knives on them when he probably could have brutally injured them.

She looked at the spectators, "Is there a show going on? Call the manager now." Her cold, oppressing voice sounded in the passageway.

Without realizing it, the man who had her eyes on him, ran inside his cabin to make the call.

Alvin carefully watched the different emotions gracing her little face. She was angered, not on him. She was worried about him and panicked seeing him injured. Yet, she wasn't crying or flustering, she was taking the situation under control.

He couldn't help but compare her with herself. She was the same from the past, yet so different. Overbearing and authoritative was something new in her and made her strong and dependable. 

Probably this is what is called growing and maturing smart. Competing with herself to become a better self.

He bent to her height when her eyes were shifting from others to him. Anya took a step back for suddenly looking at him up so close. His right hand cupped her head and his thumb tenderly caressed her cheek, "Breathe…"

For a second she felt like she was the injured one. She didn't follow his words. She couldn't believe he could stay so calm when he was losing blood and broke the bones of four men. 

She tugged him towards their cabin, "Come…" Although the cut didn't seem hideous, the cut was long, she wasn't sure how deep the knife might have gone inside his muscles. If the blood flow doesn't stop, then there are chances of the knife passing through the nerve. She hoped it wasn't serious.

Those four men won't be able to attack them so he silently followed her while sensing her so worried that she was suffocating herself. He followed her line of sight when she turned behind. He looked back at her when she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, looking at each face of groaning men.

He softly asked without disturbing her thoughts, "What are you going to do?" He was sure she was cooking up something in her head.

She responded as if she was talking with her mind. "Make them cry." Initially, she didn't want to cause ruckus after reaching the country. She had better work to do than worrying about petty men like them. Now that they dared to use knives, they should be taught a good lesson. 

Destroy the poisonous buds before it blooms and spread the toxicity.

Anya suddenly realized she voiced her thoughts and her eyes widened. She glanced at Alvin who had his smirk painted on his face.

How could he still smile? 

'Weird man.'

Alvin mused, "Taking revenge for me?"

Anya: "..."

She innocently blinked at him. Why does she want to teach those men a lesson? Was it really because she was an officer? 

Anya knew it wasn't the reason. Her field of work doesn't belong to such cases. Anyhow, she didn't dare to think further. She tugged him inside the cabin without responding to him. 

She pushed him to sit on the bed, she ran around in the bedroom searching for a first aid kit. She finally found it. She sat to his left side, slowly and very carefully started to clean the blood. 

Then she was disinfecting the cut when both heard knocks on the open door, "Mr. and Mrs. Collins?" It was the voice of a man.

Alvin glanced at the door to see who it was, however, Anya's cold voice rang in an irrefutable tone, "Wait at the door." Her eyes didn't move from Alvin's hand

The manager and Alvin: "..."

She was definitely influenced by Alvin. She would rather say, 'Could you please wait at the door?' Because the manager wasn't in the wrong. 

The manager looked at Alvin who had a sexy smirk looking at his wife. To his eyes, they looked like the doting husband of a domineering wife. He could only silently wait though the families of those young men were causing a ruckus in the medical room.

Anya checked the expiry dates and the seal of the medicine before using it on Alvin. She was used to checking those details due to Zane so to Alvin's eyes, she was too cautious of every detail.

In the end, half of his forearm was cleanly wrapped in a white gauze bandage. Alvin felt like his arm was severely injured looking at the dressing. He heard a faint sigh leaving her lips so he didn't complain.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Her eyes traced over his right hand and settled on his face. 

Alvin doubted if she had mistaken him for her baby hearing her sweet, low voice filled with extreme care, her silvery-gray eyes were so gentle on him that it could melt anything, much less him. He found himself staring at her.

Anya tilted her head, which brought him out of the daze. He felt... strange. He brushed off his thoughts and pulled her cheeks. Anya immediately slapped his right hand and hissed in protest to his actions, "Alvin Ma…" She jerked at her words and looked daggers at him.

"I didn't lose my feisty wife." He snickered.

Anya: "..."

They have to deal with four-plus families and he was in the mood to tease her.. This man was out of her bounds.