Chapter 23 – Dion's Harasser

Dion woke up in a happy mood. All that was in his head was three million dollars. Three f****g million dollars! It was afternoon because he slept throughout the morning after eating food that didn't satiate his hunger.

Hunger showed him madness for the past few days. He hallucinated and dreamt of food.

Dion's phone rang, and as he glanced at the number, his brows furrowed with annoyance and irritation. Despite his reservations, he begrudgingly answered the call. There was no name displayed, but he instantly recognized the number—it was Ella.

After the awkward encounter with Ella, Dion had expected her to be too timid to face him again. However, he soon discovered just how mistaken he was. Ella's initial embarrassment seemed to vanish within twenty-four hours.

Exactly twenty-four hours after the incident, Dion's phone chimed, signaling his first call from Ella. How had she managed to obtain his number? He had no clue. All he knew was that Ella persistently called and pestered him to engage in conversation. She bombarded him with updates about her life, even going so far as to send him pictures of the meals she had indulged in. Frustrated by her unwavering persistence, Dion decided to block Ella. But to his dismay, she resorted to texting him from a different number, threatening not to disclose the time of an operation. Reluctantly, with a heavy heart filled with irritation and sorrow, he had no choice but to unblock her number.

"What now?" Dion snapped at her as he answered the phone. He is usually a good listener, but her chatterbox nature broke his patience.

"Hey, why the scream? You nearly destroyed my delicate ear drum!" Ella exclaimed but her tone went back to her usual vibrant and happy style. "I came from a party last night and if you see the hot girls dancing… you missed. Wait a minute, I haven't seen you flirt with girls. Do you like men? There is this guy with nice a*s that I saw…"

The more she talked, the more Dion's face twisted. He hung up instantly.

"After this operation is done and I gather enough money, I swear I'm blocking this b***h!" Dion growled, his eyes fixed on the screen before him.

Almost instantly, his phone began to ring again—it was Ella, calling once more. Dion, without even bothering to check the number, promptly hung up. The phone continued to ring, but Dion refused to answer, disconnecting the call each time. Eventually, the ringing ceased. Still, Dion's eyes remained fixed on the phone, ready to reject any future attempts to contact him, much like a cat playing a game. However, to his surprise, the phone remained silent.

"Phew!" Dion exhaled, a momentary relief washing over him as he lowered the phone.

DING!

His phone vibrated. When he saw a text from Ella's number, his patience broke its limit. In frustration, Dion couldn't help but scream at the device in his hand, "Why do you insist on tormenting my life?"

His ragged breaths escaped his mouth, loud and erratic. His chest rose and fell with anger and exasperation. He decided not to open the message.

Despite his resolve, Dion couldn't resist the temptation to open the text message.

"Hey Dion, why did you hang up all my calls? I was about to tell you to come to Karen's house so that you can choose the attire you are going to wear tonight. You can't wear your private clothes tonight unless you want the cops and drug dealer's men on your tail."

Dion finally took a deep breath, attempting to calm his wildly pounding heart that had been fueled by Ella's relentless 'harassment.' With a flick of his thumb, he deleted the message, letting go of the anger that had consumed him, if only momentarily.

He took a quick shower and dressed in a black hoodie. Taking a cab, he left for Karen's house. Karen's street was the location of rich 'dogs' with private mansions following each other like a competition. It was a quiet street because cabs barely drove past it; everybody had their cars. Clean cars, expensive brands, and limited edition models.

Dion's cab stopped in front of Karen's house. Dion saw Karen and Ella standing in front of Karen's gate.

"Hey, Diiiiooonnn!!!" Ella squealed and ran for a hug, her long pink hair bobbing up and down. Dion stood still and allowed her to hug him.

'This is the last day. Just one more day and it's over,' He recited this line over and over again to hypnotize himself from flinging her.

Karen merely nodded at Dion.

"Let's go choose our dress," Karen said and walked towards the pink car parked by the road.

She got into the driver's seat. Ella rushed to the back seat and winked at Dion while mouthing, "Make my effort count."

Dion shook his head and sat beside Karen in the passenger's seat. A feminine and refreshing perfume hit his nose.

Karen started the car and drove away with her eyes focused on the road meanwhile Dion fixed his eyes on his window, gazing at the scenery as they left the street behind. Ella pouted as she didn't get the envisioned drama. The car was quiet.

Ella couldn't bear it. "Dio–"

"What do you want?" Dion turned and snapped with fiery eyes.

Ella was stunned. "Errm… I just want to tell you about today's mission," she stuttered under Dion's fierce gaze that locked onto her.

Dion nodded and focused on the road ahead.

"I don't know if you know anything since you're a shut-in dude, but One Time Club is a masked party club. Masked party means everybody wears a mask that covers their faces, revealing only their mouth for drinking… and hot smooching."

Frustration seeped into Ella's voice as she sighed. "Boring. Where was I? Ah, yes, the mask party. It's a place where people can sneak in, their faces hidden behind masks. There are the bad guys, the cops..."

"...And the Hexz hunters," Karen interjected.

Ella's eyes shimmered, her excitement palpable. "It's also known as the anonymous party. One-night stands are quite popular there."

"We need to find our attire and masks for the party. The mask for the operation will be different from the one used at the party," Karen explained.

Karen guided the car to a stop in front of a grand cloth mall.

As they all stepped out of the car, Dion took a moment to observe the impressive facade of the cloth mall.

Ella leaned closer to Dion and whispered, "It belongs to Karen's mom."

'Riches in physical form. Sigh. If I had these, I wouldn't think of joining this operation,' Dion thought.

Karen confidently strode into the mall, the doormen opening the doors without hesitation.

Entering the mall, Dion's eyes were greeted by neatly arranged clothes, but he maintained his cool demeanor. Ivy would often take him to expensive shopping spots on Sundays, but his ego prevented him from accepting anything from her.

Karen led Dion deeper into the mall, passing through a hallway until they reached the door to a room. Pushing it open, Dion was met with the sight of numerous clothes hanging on shelves, alongside an array of neatly displayed masks.

"Yay!" Ella couldn't contain her excitement, squealing with delight as she dashed into the room. Her eyes darted around like a child entering a toy shop.

"Stop behaving like it's your first time," Karen gently scolded Ella, before turning her attention to Dion. "Come and pick your kit."

Dion entered and his eyes scanned through the masks.

"Karen went through the stress of getting male clothes in this room and more masculine masks. Taking her on a date as repayment would be appropriate," Ella informed Dion and didn't forget to play matchmaker.

Karen pretended not to hear, and Dion feigned deafness to Ella's last sentence after throwing Karen a glance.

'This night will be… cool. But I would like to see the Hexz hunters that trouble realm wanderers,' Dion thought as his eyes fell on a wolf mask that caught his attention.