Ryan’s face darkened, and he snapped, “There’s no doctor.”
He stopped what he was doing and glared at her.
Echo’s face went pale at his words. Seeing the flash of anger in Ryan’s eyes, she knew she was in trouble. He was terrifying when he got like this.
She felt so helpless, so she reluctantly let go of her clothes. Fine, she couldn’t argue with him when she was healthy, and now, in this state, she didn’t stand a chance.
Ryan nodded in approval as she released her grip. That’s more like it; he preferred people who followed orders. He then continued applying the medicine.
“Oh, it hurts! Be gentle!” Echo gasped as Ryan roughly pressed on her wound.
For a moment, she felt a strong urge to punch him.
“Do you even know how to treat a wound? It hurts so much!”
“Stop complaining and shut up,” Ryan snapped, clearly irritated.
This was his first time treating someone, and she was making such a fuss. It was just a minor injury; was it really so painful that her face had to scrunch up like that?
Despite his frustration, he did lighten his touch, though he wouldn’t admit he had been too rough.
“Ryan, are you trying to kill me?” Echo groaned as she saw him slather almost the entire box of ointment on her wound.
To keep it from slipping off, he pressed down hard with his palm, causing her to sweat from the pain. She couldn’t care less about his status or who he was-she just blurted out his name in frustration.
Hearing his name, Ryan’s expression darkened, the murderous aura returning. But seeing Echo’s face twisted in pain, sweating profusely, he hesitated before grumbling, “If you make another sound, I really will kill you.”
Too terrified to speak and in too much pain to protest, Echo just focused on catching her breath. All she could do was endure as Ryan clumsily and roughly finished dressing her wound.
“Ryan, I… I’m not injured there,” Echo gritted her teeth, enduring not just the pain from the bandaging but the whole torturous process.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief, only to see Ryan frowning as he grabbed and squeezed the uninjured side of her breasts. Any embarrassment she had felt was gone, replaced by frustration and anger.
Ryan shot her a hard look and said, “I know.”
“Then what do you mean? What do you think you’re doing?” Echo snapped, seeing the impatience in Ryan’s eyes.
He might be annoyed, but she was even more so. What started as a minor injury now felt ten times worse after his rough treatment.
Ryan’s grip tightened, and he squeezed the soft breast in his hand hard.
Echo gasped in pain, her body arching involuntarily.
Anger flashed in Ryan’s eyes as he said, “What do I mean? This is what I mean.” With that, he suddenly pulled Echo down and swiftly lowered his head to take her bright red nipple into his mouth.
Echo was shocked and furious. She tried to push him away and punch him, but Ryan pinned her down, leaving her unable to move.
She could only cry out in anger, “Ryan, you… ah-”
Her words were cut off as Ryan sucked hard, sending a sharp mix of pain and strange sensation through her.
Echo could only gasp, “Ryan, let go, let go!”
Ryan let out a cold snort, releasing her nipple and lifting his head to meet her eyes. “Still throwing a tantrum?”
Echo quickly shook her head. “No, I’m not. I promise I’m not.”
“You’d better remember, you’re mine. I do what I want with you. You don’t get a say.” Ryan gave her a cold look, his hand moving back to her breasts.
Echo squeezed her eyes shut, full of silent resentment. Inwardly, she cursed Ryan countless times. She swore she’d get him back for this one day.
Ryan’s hands roamed over her chest, touching every inch of her pale skin, squeezing and kneading roughly. Echo’s body went limp in his arms, her teeth clenched tight.
“Damn it, what is this?”
Ryan’s sudden outburst made Echo jump.
She opened her eyes to see Ryan’s face twisted in frustration, veins popping out on his forehead. His eyes were filled with irritation and a murderous gleam.
Echo glanced down and couldn’t help but be surprised. Ryan was holding a bandage in one hand, trying to adjust her chest with the other, but every time he wrapped the bandage around, it just slipped off. He couldn’t seem to secure the bandage around her wound.
So that’s what he had been doing. He wasn’t trying anything else; he was just trying to find the right angle.
Echo silently cursed him. Couldn’t he just communicate instead of doing everything his own way? He clearly wasn’t cut out for taking care of someone.
She didn’t know what had possessed him to help her bandage up, but now she felt like she had only a third of her life left.
She quietly suggested, “Just wrap it around this way.”
Ryan frowned but followed Echo’s instructions. Sure enough, the bandage was secured quickly. Ryan raised an eyebrow, realizing he really wasn’t suited for this kind of task.
Echo, relieved that the ordeal was finally over, let out a long breath. Her body ached even more than when she had first woken up, leaving her exhausted. She had no choice but to lean against Ryan’s chest, breathing heavily.
After Ryan finished bandaging, he glanced at the exhausted Echo in his arms. Seeing the sweat beading on her forehead and body, his expression darkened. After a moment of silence, he grabbed some cotton and carefully wiped the sweat off her skin.
“Hurry up and get better. I don’t need useless servants.”
Feeling Ryan gently lay her back on the bed, Echo secretly rolled her eyes.
It’s not like she chose to get injured, and just wishing to heal doesn’t make it happen any faster.
It was almost laughable how domineering he was. Too tired to argue, she drifted back into a groggy sleep.
Ryan watched Echo as she slipped back into unconsciousness. His brow furrowed slightly before relaxing again. He quickly left the room, closing the door quietly behind him-he had plenty of other things to deal with.
Bill, who seemed to have a knack for treating gunshot wounds, had done a great job. In just a few days, Echo was much better and able to get out of bed and walk around.
That day, Echo slowly made her way to the garden.
Seeing the lush green trees around her, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of happiness. After being stuck in bed for so many days, finally getting to breathe fresh air felt like a real treat.
The garden might have been missing flowers, filled instead with large trees, but Echo decided not to complain. Greenery was better than nothing.
Watching the people rushing around the villa, with many unfamiliar faces, Echo raised an eyebrow.
Not that it concerned her-staying out of trouble seemed like the best plan.
Echo thought about how she should be grateful for this injury, which kept her from having to follow Ryan into dangerous situations.
The idea of dodging bullets made her heart race, and yet, suffering this kind of injury didn’t seem worth it. Even though Ryan hadn’t mentioned the exact location or severity of her wound, she knew her own body well enough. If she could go back in time, she’d definitely choose not to get hurt.
“Feeling well enough to be out and about?” A gentle voice interrupted her thoughts, and Echo looked up to see Bill approaching with a smile.
Echo nodded, “Yeah, Mr. Ryan’s not around today, so I figured I’d get some fresh air.”
Bill burst out laughing at her words. “Fresh air, huh? If the Boss hears you, you’ll be locked up again.”
Echo shrugged, “So don’t tell him.”
If Ryan found out she compared his care to being in prison, he might really make her pay for it.
Lately, Ryan had been acting strangely, spending every day with her-eating, sleeping, bandaging her wounds, wiping her down, and even feeding her. It made her uncomfortable and even more miserable.
Ryan’s hands weren’t exactly gentle, and his lack of skill was obvious. Treating her like a patient? More like a prisoner. Honestly, a quick bullet would have been less painful than this slow torture.
Just look at her-red, sore arms, burnt lips, and a few extra pounds. All of it spoke of Ryan’s rough handling.
When she started feeling a bit better, she tried to offer some gentle suggestions, but one glare from Ryan and she quickly surrendered.
Ryan was too tough to argue with. Better to endure the suffering than lose her life.
Echo always figured Ryan was punishing her for only looking out for herself and not considering him.
But really, with his skills, it was already good enough she didn’t expect him to help her avoid danger. In such a dangerous situation, who had time to worry about him being the boss? Besides, she got hurt too.
Ryan was just being petty.