John shot the club interior an exasperated glance before nodding reluctantly. “Mm.”
Having said that, he stepped aside to make way for me.
I was prepared to argue with Nathaniel if he refused to allow me to leave, but fortunately, no one stopped us as we exited the bar. It was nothing but a false alarm.
On the way to the hospital, I was filled with dread at the thought of Nathaniel taking his revenge as soon as possible. “You punched Nathaniel in public, and he won’t let this slide. You have to prepare in advance for he’ll leave no stone unturned. You have no idea how terrifying he is,” I warned.
John changed the topic and patted my hand gently. “Don’t be scared. I’ll always be here for you.”
I had no idea he would see through my fears and unrest. Without warning, tears threatened to spill out of my eyes.
I kept hypnotizing myself to calm down and act reasonably, but John understood my weakness. Yes, after Anthony’s attitude did a one-eighty, and seeing how Summer had gone against me, I couldn’t hide my panic and sorrow no matter how much I had been through in life.
“Thank you.” I grabbed his hand in return, my voice choking up. “Thank you, John.”
John ruffled my hair affectionately. “Aww, it’s nothing..”
That day, we waited patiently for Wilson to wake up at the hospital. After discussing all the compensation details with him, John sent me back home.
As he stopped his car at the entrance of the villa, there was a beam of warm light coming from inside the door.
I was reluctant to get out of the car as I could imagine what would happen next. Audrey would surely come running to hug and say she missed me. And then, she would routinely ask about Summer and Anthony’s whereabouts.
I feared my tears might break loose in front of them.
Noticing my concerns, John patted on my shoulder gently. “Keep yourself together. It would be a difficult battle from now on. I’ll fetch Emma and Drew here. It’s better if the whole family sticks together.”
Not only was he my brother, but he was also Emma’s husband and Drew’s father. The longer he stayed with me, the higher risk he was putting his wife and his kid in.
I knew I should not be so selfish. Thus, I smiled while opening the car door.
Before I walked in, John rolled down the car window and comforted me, “I’ll be back here in around an hour. Please make supper or something if you can’t sleep.”
My lips curled into a broader smile as I nodded firmly. “Okay.”
He turned his car around and drove off from the front yard of the villa. At that instant, I felt so fortunate to have a brother who loved me so much.
No matter how hopeless life might seem, I felt like I could keep moving on with him by my side.
Humans are indeed amazing creatures. No matter how much suffering one goes through physically, one could still feel happy as long as their spirit is not crushed.
I wrapped my coat around my body tighter and took a deep breath. After casting a last glance atJohn’s disappearing car, I turned around to enter the house.
A second after that, a loud crash pierced through the air. I widened my eyes in startle and started running out of the house.
John, please be safe! If anything happens to you…
Before the gate closed up, I rushed through it and went outside. The security guard saw it and immediately shouted into his walkie-talkie, “Hello, does anyone copy? Mrs. Featherstone ran outside alone. Please send someone here now! Hurry!”
I ran toward the direction where the car alarm came from. At that moment, all I could see was the rear light of the red car and I ran there as quickly as I could.
While I was approaching, I saw a group of black men carrying John out of his car. John seemed to have lost his consciousness. My heart fell with a thud as I shouted desperately, “Stop right there!”
I fastened my pace and ran toward them in panic. “Help! Someone, please help!”
As I got closer, I noticed John’s car had gotten crushed between two vehicles. I also spotted those black men holding steel pipes in their hands.
The heavy smell of petrol leaking from the car made me want to vomit. I tried to make my way toward John, but two tall black men blocked me mercilessly.
They forced me to kneel on the ground. One of them grabbed my chin forcefully, asking me to witness the relentless scene in front of me.
John was lying on the ground like a dead fish. He did not show any reaction even when they threw him recklessly onto the floor. Blood flowed down his forehead, covering his entire face.
A strong black man approached John and picked him up effortlessly. He lifted John’s hand with his other hand holding a steel pipe.
His lips curled into an evil smile as he spoke with an eerie tone. “Madam, please look closely.”
Thump!
“No!”
I shouted desperately, but the man did not stop beating John’s hand. As the steel pipe in his hand started covering in blood, he got even more excited. He started beating John harder and harder.
John regained his consciousness due to the arising pain, and he moaned on the floor in agony. “Ahh…”
Upon seeing that, the other men surrounded him and got hold of his limbs, making him unable to move an inch.
I felt as though a thousand needles were stabbing through my heart. “Please. I’m begging you. Please don’t hurt him! Help! Is someone there?”
John turned around and saw me getting seized by two men. He bit his lip, trying to pretend he was fine. However, he could no longer bear the agony in his arm. “Scar, please don’t cry. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I… Argh…”
Despite his pain, he did not seem to be intimidated. “Nathaniel! You’ll regret what you did today! If I come out of this alive, I’ll make sure you pay for this.”
“John, please stop talking!” I bawled my eyes out as I pleaded. Please. For this once, please stop trying to be a hero.
Nonetheless, what I feared the most still happened in the end. John’s stubbornness provoked the black man as the latter slowly lifted his steel pipe over his head.
Just then, the security from the residence and my house finally arrived at the scene. “Stop right there! What are you guys doing? Put down the weapons in your hands!”
As I heard those voices and the approaching footsteps, a ray of hope appeared in my heart. For a brief moment, I nearly believed John would be rescued.
However, I forgot that those black men were, in fact, a bunch of outlaws. Even though they knew they were about to get caught, they showed no intimidation. Instead, they all stared at the black man stepping on John as though they were witnessing a sacred ritual.
Crack!
A bone-cracking voice pierced through my ears. John’s gaze went dark as his body collapsed heavily to the ground.
The entire world seemed to have paused at that instant. All I could see was John’s bleeding arm.
The guards immediately engaged in a fierce battle with those black men. At first, they were at a disadvantage, and they had to call in for more backups. As the number of the guards increased, they eventually managed to hold down those black men.
As no one put their attention on me anymore, I slowly crawled to John’s side without much trouble.
I held him in my arms and murmured, “Everything will be fine. It’s just a scratch. You will recover soon. You’ll be fine…”
At that moment, I was not sure if I was comforting John or myself. All I knew was that I did not dare to touch or even look at his broken arm. This reality was too cruel to be true.
Why would such a thing happen to someone so kind as him? He didn’t do anything wrong but merely stood up for his sister. Why is this world so unfair?
The more I thought of it, my hatred toward Nathaniel grew stronger. How I wish I could end his life right now!
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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