Free Web NovelChapter 601: Short-Lived Happiness
After washing up, he returned to the bigger room where they had met earlier. There were mixed reactions around the room when they saw that Christian had survived the ordeal. Some were happy that he was still alive, while others were troubled. But Christian could tell that Alberto belonged to the group that was glad he survived.
After all, Alberto had hand-picked him to be his successor.
Gulping, Christian stood before him now. He was unsteady on his feet, still reeling from the traumatic experience he had endured.
"Well, I’ve received the necessary punishment," Christian announced slowly, barely managing to speak at all. "Make sure you get the stuff ready. I may need it at any time."
By "stuff", he meant the drugs of course. At that, he turned to walk away and leave the place.
However, he had barely taken a step forward before he stopped and said in a threatening tone, "No one is to lay a finger on Wendy. You should all know what I’m capable of when provoked."
He could have gotten away with no punishment. Instead, he had volunteered to go through that ordeal because of Wendy. After witnessing how much suffering Christian had been willing to endure for her, even Alberto himself would have second thoughts if he was intending to hurt Wendy in any way. Who would dare touch someone that Christian had used his life to protect?
Despite that, Alberto knew that this person that Christian would give anything to protect could very well be his Achilles heel. So, even though he would not be able to do anything to her now, Alberto resolved to keep Wendy under close surveillance.
When the opportunity arose, he was going to get rid of this road block, for Christian’s sake.
After he had said his peace, Christian hung his head low and walked unsteadily, one step at a time, out of the building.
~
At that time, Wendy had been chatting with Zen in the basement of the hospital. The doctor had informed them that as long as Zen cooperated with them and followed their instructions, she would be able to get out of bed in three days and go outside for some sunshine.
However, because of her leg injury, she would not be able to stand up for a while yet. As an precautionary measure, she would have to use a wheelchair.
"Don’t worry, Zen. Your leg will definitely heal. It’s just a matter of time," Wendy consoled her. "Let’s just do what the doctor says and you’ll be as good as new in no time."
"Yeah," Zen smiled and nodded without much optimism.
"Is there anything you’re craving?" Checking the time, Wendy realized that it was past noon and nearly time for dinner. "You should be eating bland food for now. Shall I bring you something from the kitchen?"
"There’s nothing that I’m especially craving. Anything is fine," Zen replied.
Acknowledging her response, Wendy walked out.
When she got to the stairway, she noticed some men propping Christian up and making their way towards her. Instinctively, she frowned.
"Stand aside! Make way!" Noting that they were in a hurry, Wendy stood to one side automatically.
Then, she saw Christian being helped onto a bed and doctors rushing towards him.
Feeling even more curious now, Wendy walked towards Christian’s bed. However, his bed was surrounded by a group of doctors.
When they noticed someone in their way, they were about to shove her aside.
However, when they noticed that it was her, they held back and simply gestured for her to stand further away.
"Um..." Wendy wanted to find out what was going on but none of the people bustling around Christian had any time to give her an explanation. All the doctors and nurses, even the bodyguards who had helped him inside, were busy doing something. Since he was surrounded by the large group of people, Wendy could not see what had happened to him.
She walked back to Zen and asked, "What’s going on? Is that Christian?" Wendy was beginning to wonder if her eyes had been playing tricks on her. Just last night, he had been well and full of energy, even extending his stay in her room and making her have tea with him.
"I don’t know either," Zen replied. After all, she had been lying in a hospital bed all this time.
...
Mystified, Wendy stood where she was and watched as they tried to revive Christian.
The entire basement area was thrown into a state of confusion and panic.
Wendy returned to Zen’s side and whispered, "I’ll go find out what’s going on."
Zen knew what Wendy was insinuating. Wendy was going to see if there was a chance they could escape amidst the confusion. Zen murmured a soft acknowledgment and looked resolutely at her. At that, Wendy walked out of the basement while no one was paying any attention. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Since she had not been here long enough, she did not really know her way around.
She spent all her days sitting with Zen and would usually wind down with a stroll in the back garden. Then, she would only return to her own room to sleep at night. This was the first time she’d made it to the front gate.
As expected, there were bodyguards at the gate. Looking up, she said nonchalantly, "I need to run an errand outside."
"Sorry, you are not to venture outside without Mr. Lucas’ explicit permission," the bodyguard said.
"I’m running an errand for Mr. Lucas," Wendy grasped at any excuse. "I need to go buy some stuff. It’ll only take half an hour."
"I’m sorry. Mr. Lucas gave us explicit instructions to stop you from going outside, regardless of any excuse that you might come up with," the bodyguard replied.
Bowing apologetically, he continued, "Mr. Lucas said that he’ll have us all killed if we let you out from here. So, please don’t make things difficult for us."
When Wendy did not budge, he quickly interrupted her just when she was about to speak up, "I would suggest that you save your energy. All the exits at the front, the side and back of this building, including any walls that could be scaled, are guarded by us. There is no way you would be able to get out of here without us knowing."
Judging by the bodyguard’s attitude, Wendy knew that Christian had given him strict orders. Apparently, he had predicted that she would try to escape from here amidst the panic and confusion.
As such, Wendy decided not to waste her time. Since Christian had taken all the precautions to stop her from getting out of here, there was nothing she, a pregnant woman, could do about it. She was better off conserving her energy.
In fact, Wendy had known from day one that it would not be easy for her to get out of here. That was why she did not have high hopes of success. She went to the kitchen to pick up some food. Then she returned to the basement and lunched with Zen.
While they ate, they occasionally stole glances in Christian’s direction. Time went by slowly. It was more than an hour before the doctors began to slow down and eventually stopped what they had been doing. Once again, there was peace and quiet in the basement. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Wendy and Zen made eye contact. Obviously, they were both curious about how Christian was faring. When Wendy saw that the doctor who had travelled with them had stopped what he was doing, she walked over to him and whispered, "Come over here for a moment." They walked back to Zen’s bedside where Wendy asked softly, "What’s the situation?"
Sighing, the doctor said, "Mr. Lucas suffered high-voltage electrocution and was already in a coma when they brought him back here. If we had not applied emergency treatment in the nick of time, it would have been too late. We could have lost him."
"Electrocution?" Wendy was even more mystified now. "That’s so weird. Why would he get electrocuted?"
"I have no idea," the doctor shook his head. He had been dragged here and ordered to revive Christian, and so he had no clue as to what had happened exactly.
Keeping her head low, Wendy muttered almost inaudibly, "Why bother saving him?
It would have been great if the treatment had been delayed."
Hearing what she had said, the doctor was quick to remind her, "We’re still captive in Christian’s stronghold. Best be careful with what we say."
...
After her comment, Wendy stole a glance at Zen. She was frowning, looking decidedly worried. There were no prizes for guessing whom exactly she was feeling anxious for. Wendy pursed her lips and stopped herself from saying anything else.
She was relieved that Christian was hurt. However, she did not expect him to get out of bed on the following day.
She was having her meal when Christian sat down suddenly across the table from her. He looked well and properly attired, and was glaring at her. Was it only yesterday that he had been pulled back from the jaws of death? Why was he already walking about without any help? Unable to help herself, Wendy looked up and searched his face. She could see that he did look a tad paler than his usual color.
"Don’t pop the bubbly in celebration. I’m not dead yet," he spoke curtly.
He had not been surprised when he woke up and was informed by the bodyguard manning the main gate of Wendy’s attempt to escape. He knew that she would definitely take advantage of the confusion at that time to try and get away form there. But he was no fool either. Since he had gone to such lengths to capture Wendy, what made her think that he would now let down his guard and give her a chance to escape from his clutches.
"Yeah, it was a short-lived happiness," Wendy retorted with a scoff.
Jerking his head up to look at the woman seated across from him, Christian remained emotionless as he spoke icily, grounding out each word, "Are you really intent on seeing me dead?"
"Of course not. I was so shocked when I heard that you were dying and I prayed fervently that nothing untimely would happen to you. Perhaps the good Lord heard my prayer and decided to let you live," Wendy replied wryly with a smile. Anyone could tell that Wendy did not mean a word she said.
With glaring eyes Christian ate some of the food that was before him and uttered, "That is so fake."
"Then why’d you ask me that question if you already knew the answer?" She hit the nail on the head. Christian had merely been grasping at a topic to start a conversation. Truth be told, there was really nothing that he and Wendy could talk about.
"Ms. Stewart, don’t you want to know why our boss had been so badly hurt?"
Christian’s assistant had decided to speak up in his defense.
Wendy looked up at the assistant who had been standing beside him. With eyes squinted Wendy pondered for a while before asking, "Why?"
"Because of you," the assistant replied instantly.
"Oh, really?" Wendy responded calmly. Then she asked, "But why is it my fault when I’ve been stuck here all this time and not even allowed to go outside?"
Upset by Wendy’s nonchalance, the assistant felt sorry for Christian and spoke up a little angrily, "The boss did it for you. He endured the electrocution to protect you.
When Clement turned up to apprehend you, the boss protected you and refused to let him take you. Instead, he made himself accountable for everything. Yesterday, he could have gotten off scot free, but again, because of you, he opted to take the punishment for betraying the organization. Do you realize that he nearly lost his life?"
At that, Wendy looked up at him and asked, "But I don’t understand, why is that my fault at all?"
"Because the boss likes you and that is not allowed in this organization. Having feelings for someone means adding a weak link and putting oneself in danger. The members in the organization had asked our boss to hand you over to them. But the boss refused and chose instead to take the punishment. That was how the matter was resolved," the assistant explained.
