"Huh?" Joanna watched as the gang left the pub with a confused expression on her face.
She wondered, 'What just happened?! Was that lady toying with me? How could she just leave like that?!'
Everyone in the pub was instantly relieved, and they quickly surrounded Joanna. They stared at her in adoration as if she was their idol, nearly falling to their knees to express their gratitude towards her.
"Miss Pierce, you truly are a heroine! Your fighting skills are even better than that viral video from a while ago! You're our goddess!"
"Miss Pierce, please take care of our pub from now on! You know how some women are wild and unreasonable when it comes to the service industry! The escorts in my pub have been harassed multiple times up till now!" The pub owner sobbed uncontrollably.
"Especially our Isaac, his charm brought a lot of business ever since his debut, but it also attracted a lot of unwanted attention! That woman from earlier was quite powerful too! If you hadn't come here to save him, he probably would've…"
Joanna didn't reply, and instead turned to look at the escort behind her, asking softly, ' How are you feeling? Can you stand?"
Isaac stumbled as he stood up straight, coughing slightly with his face turning pale. His voice sounded weak as he responded, "Mhm. I'm just worried about that customer seeking revenge after today, I did offend her after all. I'm scared that she might capture me in the future! Oh… what do I do?'
The man swayed on his feet, looking as if he was going to faint.
"Careful!" Joanna reacted quickly and caught the man in her arms. Isaac immediately went limp, placing his arms over Joanna's shoulder as he fell into her embrace.
Seeing this, a few escorts looked rather envious as they gossiped with one another. "Dang, look at Isaac's irresistible charm. He's such a great flirt!"
"I don't blame him, to be honest. I'd run into the arms of a beautiful and strong sugar mommy too!"
The pub owner quickly said, 'Don't you worry, Isaac. With Miss Pierce protecting our pub, no one will ever dare to harass you ever again! You have to repay her kindness however you can, alright? Don't let her efforts go to waste!"
"Umm, well…" Joanna wanted to say that she merely came to save them on a whim and never intended to provide protection at all, and she didn't even think of taking responsibility for this escort. She was a busy woman after all, and simply didn't have the time to do any of that.
However, the pub owner didn't give her a chance to explain. "Don't worry, Miss Pierce. We're not a bunch of freeloaders, we'll be sure to pay you a protection fee, of course! Besides that, you can choose any escort you'd like to take home, including our star escort, Isaac…"
Joanna observed each and every one of the beautiful men, all of which possessed charisma and good looks. It was hard for her to not feel tempted.
Isaac likely felt her eyes wandering, which made him frown coldly, coughing lightly. "Ah, it hurts!'
Joanna lowered her head to look at the man's blood-drenched shirt, and her expression softened. She then furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "Someone get him to a hospital now, his wound might be infected!'
The pub owner nodded profusely. "That's right, Isaac's wounds seem pretty serious. Can someone take him to the hospital?"
"No!" Isaac refused, looking at Joanna pleadingly instead, hugging her even tighter than before. "I'm scared… You're the only one who can protect me now."
"Ah…" Joanna felt rather awkward, thinking. 'So, now he's my responsibility?!'
'Yeah, that's true, Isaac will definitely be targeted for the next few days! Please help him till the end, and take care of him for a few days…"
The pub owner continued persuasively, "Isaac is a good kid, and he won't give you any trouble. He'll even do your chores, and be the apple of your eye! Trust me, you won't regret taking him in!"
"Taking him in?" The woman seemed reluctant, but did express some interest in trying. "That doesn't sound appropriate…"
Her rationality was telling her that she had to reject the offer, but she couldn't bring herself to push away this gorgeous yet pitiful beauty
"Fine, I'll just treat his wounds first!"
Just as Joanna was going to send him to the hospital, Isaac shook his head. "We don't need to go to the hospital, it's not that serious. Just send me back home so I can rest for a couple of days."
Joanna figured she'd be able to send this clingy man away this way, and at that point, would have done everything she could to help. She'd be able to leave him without feeling any guilt then. "Okay, I'll take you home."
Isaac's place was just nearby, and it was a single-story house, with only one bedroom inside. The furnishings were rather minimalistic, which didn't seem to match his seductive appearance.
"Alright, I got you home. Get some rest, okay? It's getting late, so I'll be leaving now." Joanna was wary of heading in, as it was quite inappropriate for her to enter a man's home in the middle of the night.
On the other hand, Isaac's tall figure felt immensely fragile without her support; it looked as if he was going to fall unconscious if she let go of him. His thin lips were pale, but they curved up into a sly smile.
"What? Do you not dare to come in? Are you worried I might eat you up?"
"Not really!" Joanna brushed her hair back, looking the man up and down as she gulped. "I'm just worried I won't be able to control myself from eating you up."
The man was speechless, and his expression immediately turned frosty.
Truthfully, this man was not Isaac, the star escort, but the incredibly hot- tempered and possessive Ace Moran.
He had arranged the incident earlier, and using Isaac's identity, he tricked everyone just so that he could shamelessly stay by Joanna's side with a reasonable excuse.
The man was worried that it might have been difficult for him to get closer to her due to his identity as a star escort. However, it seemed that it was the complete opposite of what he anticipated.
'Joanna Pierce, are you a woman of no principles?! How could you succumb to temptation so easily?!'
"It's okay, I'm yours anyway. You can have me however you want, I won't have the slightest complaint," Ace said in a sarcastic tone, gritting his teeth.
"Umm…" His words only made Joanna uncomfortable. She merely wanted to tease the escort, so that he'd realize how dangerous this society could be and back off. Instead, she found that this man was no easy prey either, as he was able to turn the tables easily.
Joanna tried her best to act serious, her expression stern. ' Hey, know your limits, okay? Don't joke around like that."
"I'm not though… I can't possibly repay your kindness, I only have my body to offer." Ace lowered his head, seemingly saddened. "I know you dislike my background. You probably think of me as a lowly sex worker, and that I have no right to stand by your side. But I don't regret making this decision, even if it brings me pain in the long run…"
Joanna was once again filled with sympathy for this man, and comforted him. "Come on, don't say that, you know that's not what I meant. How could I possibly dislike you when you're such a pretty boy? I just…"
"Ow!" Ace stumbled towards the sofa and leaned against it. His sexy and alluring abs could be faintly seen under his white shirt.
Noticing this, Joanna gulped nervously.
"It's okay, you don't have to help me anymore – you don't even have to help me apply any medicine. I can handle this on my own, I…" The man said, but then started coughing with a weak expression.
No one could possibly ignore that beautiful yet pitiful face of his. Hence, Joanna still couldn't help but feel her heart skipping…
'Wait, no, I just feel bad for him!'
She then walked into the room and asked the man, "Where's your first aid kit? I'll help you out!"