“How’s she?” Sebastian’s voice was low and tense.
“She’s okay. The nurses checked. She is untouched, not damaged or marked in any way… Well… apart from a few wound scratches and some large handprints on her…” Ryan, his close friend and an ER Doctor said, the last part slipping out before he could catch himself.
Sebastian’s face turned pale, the reality of Kourtney’s assault crashing over him like a tidal wave.
The guilt was suffocating. How could he have let this happen?
“But, wait! What really happened?” Ryan asked, his eyes enquiring.
“I mean, You are THE Sebastian Woods. You rule this City! How did you even let your wife get kidnapped? And she almost got raped?”
Ryan’s voice was incredulous, his medical professionalism momentarily forgotten while Sebastian shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
The questions came at him like a barrage of bullets, and he felt himself retreating into a defensive posture.
“Wait! What was she even doing at Coolaroo? That wretched place is no place for a lady like her. How did she even get there? Or she thought it was a good idea to stroll into the worst part of town?” Ryan kept asking question after question.
He was perplexed.
The whole thing felt foreign to him. It was hard to believe.
“None of your business,” Sebastian snapped, but the shame clawed at him.
He ran a hand through his tousled black hair, frustration simmering beneath his calm facade. The last thing he needed was Ryan’s incessant questioning.
He didn’t feel like explaining himself to anyone, as he felt somewhat embarrassed.
How could he even start to explain?
How could he even say he dropped her off at the danger zone himself?
How could he even tell anyone that he had endangered his own wife’s life because of his stupid temper?
“I’m just curious. You’re the Almighty Young Master Woods, for God’s sake! You just let your wife walk into a crime-ridden neighborhood? You know what happens there! What were you thinking?” Ryan pressed, his voice rising.
He didn’t give a damn about Sebastian’s pained expression.
Despite meeting her briefly only once, it seems like he cared deeply about Kourtney a lot.
Too much to have the audacity to raise his voice at the “Big Dog” himself.
“Just shut up!” Sebastian replied rudely, trying to mask the guilt he felt.
Ryan sighed, raising his hands in surrender.
At this point, he knew it was useless to press any further as he wouldn’t be getting any meaningful response from Sebastian – the most stuck-up and insanely snobbish man anyone would ever come across.
His tone quickly shifted from casual to professional. “I gave her some… pills to help relieve her stress and anxiety. She’s sleeping now.”
Sebastian leaned against the sterile wall of the hospital room, his eyes fixed on Kourtney’s peaceful face through the glass separator. She looked so beautiful and serene in her sleep… just as always.
He nodded, his jaw clenched tight. “Good. Cause I have important business to attend to!”
Ryan raised an eyebrow, confusion flickering across his face.
“What could possibly be more important right now than being by her side? Especially after everything she’s been through today?”
Sebastian’s eyes burned with a fierce determination.
“I have to go!” He said without turning back.
What could be more important right now than staying beside Kourtney?
Well…
He couldn’t let the instigator of this whole mess walk free. He couldn’t let that person get away with it.
He wanted so badly to stay by Kourtney’s side, to hold her and reassure her that he would never let anything happen to her again.
But at the same time… he had to deal with a rat.
That rat!
Brandon Smith!
************
Kourtney awoke in the sterile hospital room, the antiseptic smell sharp in her nostrils. Blinking against the harsh fluorescent lights, she pushed herself up, her mind swirling with fragmented memories of the day that had turned her world upside down.
The panic, the fear, the way she had fought and clawed to escape from the clutches of her captor before finally giving up and then getting rescued when she thought all hope was lost-each memory recollection hit her like waves crashing against a rocky shore, relentless and overwhelming.
The phantom pain reminded her of how close she’d come to losing herself.
She shot upright in bed, her mind racing. All she could think was that she needed to get out of there.
Away from that man… Sebastian Woods.
The name twisted in her mind like a bitter pill.
He was supposed to be her husband, her protector, yet here she was, lying in a hospital bed after a harrowing experience that was partly his fault.
He might have saved her, but he was also a part of the world that had put her in danger in the first place.
She couldn’t ignore or forget that fact!
After tossing for a while, Kourtney finally swung her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet touching the cold infirmary floor. She felt weak and disoriented, but she couldn’t stay here.
Not anymore!
She needed an escape.
She made a quick glance around the room, and her eyes landed on the door, flanked by two of Sebastian’s hulking bodyguards standing at attention.
As always, they were immovable, like statues, but she couldn’t allow that to discourage her.
She had to think of something-anything.
And fast!
With a deep breath, Kourtney stood up, swaying slightly as the world around her spun, but she steadied herself.
“I can do this,” she whispered to herself.
An idea sparked, and she gathered her courage, straightened her spine, and forced herself to look calm. She stepped toward the door, her heart pounding in her chest as she swung it open.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” she said in a voice that sounded more confident than she felt.
The bodyguards turned their heads, their eyes narrowing as they assessed her.