The Forgotten Titan's Resurgence

Elara was extremely familiar with Tom Horne, the plump young man in front of her. In fact, she was traumatized by him.noveldrama

They'd gone to college together, and at the time, he'd persistently pursued her. She wasn't interested in him, so she rejected him countless times. Much to her detestation, he shamelessly continued his attempts anyway.

In the end, she had no choice but to get a few people to beat him up. Following that, he stopped bothering her.

It had been three years since then. Elara didn't expect Tom to show up here, and from what Nino said, it sounded like he was a person of some importance.

Elara remained doubtful. To her knowledge, Tom came from an ordinary background. No matter how much success he achieved in three years, how could he have managed to become a big shot who could hang out with someone like Nino?

"It's been a while, Elara," Tom said meaningfully. "I bet you never thought I'd show up here."

Snapping back to reality, Elara said, "Mr. Duran said it was you who wanted to see me."

"That's right!"

Tom took a seat, and Nino offered him a toast.

Once the two men downed their drinks, Tom said, "It's been three years. I was keen to see you again. After all, you were my college crush."

"Things have changed a lot since then. My family's business hasn't been doing too well, while you're now friends with Mr. Duran. I'm sure you must've made something of yourself," Elara said.

Tom chuckled. “It's not much. I started a company, and it kept expanding until it now has a market value of a billion dollars!"

"What?"

Elara was stunned. A billion dollars? That made him even more accomplished than the Carters!

"How is that possible? How did you manage to achieve that in three years?"

"Fate was on my side. After graduation, I won the lottery and got ten million dollars in prize money. I used that to start an internet company. Who would've thought that my timing was just right? My business hit the ground running, and it has been soaring ever since."

"You sure are lucky," Elara remarked. "Out of all of us, you're the most successful. I envy you for being able to run a company worth a billion dollars."

Nino had lost his patience. Snorting, he said, "Elara, I didn't bring you here so that you can chit chat with Mr. Horne."

Elara trembled before saying weakly, "I'm not good with alcohol, Mr. Duran. Can I just have one glass? I'm sure a prominent man like you won't hold it against a nobody like me."

Nino chortled and glanced at Tom, saying, "Mr. Horne will get to decide how much you need to drink."

Elara gave Tom a pleading look.

Tom set his glass down and said solemnly, "Elara is a college friend of mine, Mr. Duran. She was my college crush, too. Do go easy on her."

Laughing, Nino said, "Since you've said the word, Mr. Duran, I'll do it out of courtesy to you. Elara, come and offer a toast to both Mr. Duran and me."

"Thank you, Mr. Duran!" Elara was overjoyed.

She thought she'd have to suffer terribly and was even prepared to take her own life. Never did she expect to run into a college classmate who could save her from her predicament. What a blessing it was!

"Here's a toast to you, Mr. Duran. And, to you, too, Tom."

After downing two glasses of alcohol, Elara turned a little flushed.

"I've done as you asked, Mr. Duran. I've drunk with both of you. May I leave now?" she asked.

Nino kept quiet and looked over at Tom. Clearly, it was up to Tom to decide whether she could go.

"Tom? What do you say?" Elara asked.

Clicking his tongue, Tom remarked, "It's been three years since we last met, Elara. Why are you in a rush to leave?

"Mr. Duran's men beat up my dad. I'm very worried about him. I need to go to the hospital," Elara said.

"I see. Well, in that case, you may go to the hospital. But before that, I want you to do one thing."

"What is it?"

Tom crossed his legs and smirked. "Perform a striptease for me.