Chapter 28. 

 Author’s POV.   Axel walked into the office, his sharp eyes scanning the room, completely ignoring the greetings that floated his way from colleagues and acquaintances. The noise of the office seemed distant to him, as if it were muffled by some invisible wall.  He took his usual spot at the desk, closing himself off from the world with an air of icy indifference.  “Are you not even going to respond to anyone’s greetings?” Alex, his close friend, stepped up beside him, his voice laced with mild concern.  Axel glanced at him, his expression unreadable. “Your greetings won’t help me kill my enemies, so keep them.”  His voice was cold, clipped, and Alex couldn’t help but scoff at it. The tension between them was palpable, but Alex had long since learned to let Axel be.  Without another word, Axel turned to his laptop, arranging his headset carefully before he went live, as if the world outside his immediate space didn’t exist.  “I’m going live for this fashion contest, and I don’t