Chapter 58

"Eh? Where's Peter?" Melissa remembered to ask when she was almost at the manor's gate. "I forgot to return his clothes..." The young security guard supported Melissa carefully as they ascended the front steps of the manor because he was afraid of misplacing his hands, so he had no choice but to put them under her armpits. "Hey, don't touch me, it tickles." Melissa shook her arm, stumbled, and almost fell on the step. The young security guard's face flushed when he heard Melissa talking to him. His heart was a bit flustered, with an indescribable feeling. "Miss Austin, we're almost at the gate, watch out for the steps." The security guard patiently reminded. Finally, they reached the front door. The security guard rang the bell and after a few seconds, there was no response from inside. So, he rang the bell again, tentatively calling out. "Tony? Aunt Sarah?" Suddenly the door opened and a man in a black T-shirt came out, his face stern. "Sec...Second Young Master!" The young security guard was startled, almost dropping Melissa. He gasped for breath, murmuring to himself in a low voice. "I was... I was so scared, I thought it was a ghost." Thankfully, Joseph did not hear what the young security guard said, or else he would be punished. All of Joseph's attention was on Melissa. "Second Young Master, I've brought Miss Austin back home, now, I will go back to my duty." The young security guard said, running down the stairs in a flash. Ever since he'd been working for over a year now, he hadn't had much direct communication with Joseph. As soon as he saw Joseph's grim and gloomy face, he felt frightened. "Why are you running after seeing me, in a hurry to reincarnate?" Joseph said with an icy taunting tone, and the young security guard halted immediately. Melissa on the side let out a giggle. "Reincarnate, hahaha!" Melissa laughed so hard that she bent over, but her body kept swaying and nearly fell. "No, Second Young Master, I'm a timid person, with heart problems. It has nothing to do with how you look... Ah, spit spit spit!" The young security guard slapped himself a few times, cursing himself inside. I'm just not good at speaking. Darn it, darn it! There's no way I should offend Second Young Master! Joseph truly regretted ever hiring this junior upstart as his security guard. Had it not been for the youngster's diligent work ethics and his belief in hard work, he would have fired him long ago in a fit of anger. "Miss Austin, did you come here alone?" Joseph asked, looking at the silver-grey coat draped over Melissa's shoulders, his tone cold. "No, there was a man who drove Miss Austin to the entrance of the manor. He entrusted me to bring Miss Austin inside," Replied the junior security guard seriously, his heart still pounding with a hint of nervousness. "What is his name? What does he look like?" Joseph asked calmly, his heart a simmering pot of fury, ready to erupt at any moment. "He just told me he was Miss Austin's friend." The security guard carefully retrieved his memory and said slowly "He looks decent but not as handsome as you, young master. He was tall but not as tall as you. He spoke in a gentle, cultured manner, but lacked your imposing aura..." "Alright, alright." Joseph sighed. He did not expect this naive, docile, junior guard to flatter at the drop of a hat. "You mentioned he drove Miss Austin here, yes?" "Yes, sir." The junior guard replied immediately, his eyes round as saucers. "Did you happen to see the car he drove or the license plate?" Joseph bombarded him with questions, making him dizzy. He could hardly remember everything. The guard scratched his head, finding himself in a tricky situation. "Young master, all I could remember is that the car was black. I don't know what type it was and neither could I remember the license plate. Ultimately, Miss Austin's safe arrival should be the good news, shouldn't it be?" He looked at Joseph timidly, scared that he might have upset him. Reaching his limit of tolerance, Joseph let it slide, considering the fact that the guard's attitude was rather good. "You don't know anything! Remember, keep your eyes and ears open, got it?" "I got it, young master. You want me to be more observant for my own sake." The guard nodded in agreement, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his chest. "Mm." Joseph replied inarticulately. Just as the junior guard was about to leave, he called him back. "Wait. Do not mention to anyone about that guy who brought drunk Melissa home tonight, or you will lose your job." "Yes, young master." The security guard replied and quickly ran back to his glass room. He wiped his forehead, murmuring. "God, that was terrifying." Joseph helped Melissa into the living room. The smell of alcohol on her wasn't pungent but instead, it was quite sweet and full-bodied. Melissa was still feeling the heat in her stomach, she mumbled. "Peter, I want ice cream." Joseph heard Melissa seemingly mention someone's name, and wanted to lean in closer to hear clearly. However, Melissa pushed him away and walked towards the dining room alone. She took out a stick of vanilla ice cream from the refrigerator, sat down on the chair and ripped open the packaging, happily biting onto it and let the flavor slowly melt in her mouth. When Joseph looked over, he was miffed that she could still eat ice cream leisurely after coming back so late. He snatched the ice cream cone from Melissa's hand and promptly pressed it against her face. "What the hell?" Melissa despised Joseph and quickly got up to wash her face in the sink. She somewhat sobered up after washing her face. "Why, why are you still awake?" Melissa glanced at Joseph, while trying to maintain a distance from him, feeling a sense of impending doom in her heart. "I'm waiting" Joseph stared at Melissa, his words almost squeezed through his teeth. "For what?" Melissa had a bad feeling. She forced out a dry laugh, and pretended to not understand. “I'm already back. You shouldn't worry about me." "Melissa, you think I’m just worried about you? I wanted to see how far you can go." Joseph's voice was extremely low, his deep gaze carried a spark, ready to burst into a rage. "I don't understand what you're saying." If that's the case, Melissa no longer cared to play dumb. What did he mean by 'how far can she go'? He clearly doubted her character. Well, so what? She would fight him head-on if it comes to that, surely he doesn't intend to come to blows?