President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 105: Theo’s Laugh

Chapter 105: Theo’s Laugh

And so, Theo started laughing.

This wasn’t a small, everyday laugh. It was a hard, wild, and cold laugh that instantly told you the man was not sane.

Danielle stepped back on instinct because she felt the change in him like a pressure wave.

Theo pressed his palm against his forehead as the laugh kept spilling out of him in breaths that had no humor at all.

"Oh this is beautiful," he finally said. "This is perfect."

The smoke parted as the red haired man walked back into the open, still wearing that same casual confidence

"My name is Argash." The name fit him too well...

"Stupid name."

Argash smiled again. "I hoped you would laugh. It means you understand your place."

"My place?" Theo repeated with a clear disbelief. "You walked all the way back just to embarrass yourself in the open? You should have stayed hidden. Now I can actually see what kind of disappointment someone created."

Argash raised an eyebrow, clearly feeling amused. "I was told you would be... difficult. They were not wrong."

Theo took one slow step forward. Danielle grabbed the back of his shirt immediately, holding him like a leash to sanity.

Theo didn’t look at her, but he did not shake her off.

Argash noticed. His eyes flew to Danielle and back to Theo with a strange delight.

"Helena," Argash called her again, "you should not hold onto him. It is not your place."

Theo gave a long, theatrical sigh. "So this is the man they sent to talk for their lord. A man who calls every woman Helena because he can’t remember their real names. Or because he does not care."

Argash’s jaw flexed, barely a twitch, but Theo saw it.

"Oh," Theo continued, stepping forward like a predator playing with his prey. "That annoyed you. Did I touch a nerve?"

Argash recomposed himself quickly. "Names do not matter. Purpose matters."

"That explains why you do not have one of your own," Theo fired back.

Argash smiled with the patience of someone convinced he was above insult. "I am Argash. And my purpose is blessed. I serve my Lord. I serve the lord of purity. I serve the one your mother tried to run from."

"Hahaha!" Theo laughed again.

"My mother ran because your lord is a coward."

Argash’s eye twitched.

Danielle covered her mouth in shock. Theo was provoking him on purpose. Every word was a needle to his trap.

"You talk boldly for someone who should be kneeling," Argash commented.

"Kneeling?" Theo blinked innocently. "I do not kneel. I get paid to stand straight and look pretty."

Argash blinked at him, obviously confused.

Theo smiled sweetly. "You don’t find me funny, do you? That is too bad because people say I am delightful."

"You are unstable."

Theo bowed. "Thank you."

"That was not a compliment."

Theo nodded. "I know. That is what makes it special."

Danielle stared at him like he had lost every last brain cell. Argash looked like he could not decide whether to shoot Theo or recruit him.

Theo finally softened the grin, though there was still that dangerous shine in his eyes.

"So," he asked, "tell me why you really came here. Because you are not brave enough to attack us yourself."

Argash’s eyes darkened. "I came to retrieve what belongs to the lord."

Theo blinked. "A helicopter? Because I think we broke it."

Argash’s lips twitched. "I came for Helena."

Danielle flinched at the name.

Theo stepped forward again, shielding her even more. "Her name is Danielle. But since your cult enjoys stripping women of their names, I understand the confusion."

Argash sighed as if he were talking to a stubborn child. "She was born under the sign. She bears the mark. She belongs to him. She must fulfill her duties."

Theo stared at him for two seconds.

Then he smiled the kind of smile that made Danielle’s skin prickle.

"You know," Theo said, "I always wanted to fight a cult."

Argash blinked slowly. "You think this is funny."

"Yes," Theo’s eyebrows rose. "Because you came all the way out here, killed a man who was not part of your agenda, destroyed a helicopter that was not yours, and now you are standing in front of me with no fear, acting like I can’t hurt you."

Argash showed a smirk. "You can’t hurt devotion."

"No. But I can break bones."

Danielle swallowed. "Theo."

He didn’t move even a fraction. "Danielle, don’t worry. I am being polite."

Argash chuckled. "Your threats do not bother me. You do not understand the magnitude of our lord."

Theo scratched his chin, thinking. "Does he also have red hair? Because then I do not think he is very original."

Argash finally showed irritation. A tiny flicker of actual emotion crossed his face.

"Our lord is eternal," he hissed. "He is everywhere. He shaped destiny. And she is part of that destiny. A holy vessel."

Theo nodded thoughtfully. "So he is ugly."

Argash’s patience cracked. "You should hold your tongue."

Theo stepped so close that their shadows merged. "You should hold your breath."

Argash met his stare. "You are amusing. But you are irrelevant."

"Then why are you talking to me instead of shooting me?"

Argash stilled, and Danielle felt chills run down her back. She didn’t understand who Helena was or why Theo was arguing with this red onion, but one thing she was certain of-Theo was ready to kill this man.

Theo leaned forward just a little. "I will tell you. It is because you are scared. Not for yourself but of him."

"Who?"

"Me," Theo replied in a mutter.

Danielle grabbed his sleeve again. "Theo. Enough."

He didn’t look away from Argash. "You think you know who I am. You think the cult told you everything. But they forgot one important thing."

Argash raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

Theo lowered his voice. "I am not my father’s son."

Argash opened his mouth.

Theo continued before he could speak. "I am my mother’s."

The energy felt frozen and an electric shiver went down that man’s spine, and Argash finally lost his smile.

But Theo wasn’t done. Oh no...

"Too much truth for one day."

"You will regret this, Theodor."

"No," Theo said. "You will."

Argash took a step back. "Come to the mountain village by nightfall. If you don’t, we will take her ourselves."

Theo’s expression turned to pure ice. "Try."

Argash looked at Danielle once, with a strange reverence that made her shoulders feel pressured.

"Helena," he whispered like a prayer, "the lord is waiting."