31. "Is that seriously your biggest concern right now?"
I couldn't hear anything. Not even the sound of my own voice screaming, not because an anonymous person was carrying me away, but because a bullet had pierced through Aiden's flesh and his blood had spurted out, staining his white shirt dark red and leaving marks over the cold pavement.
The voices around me merged into a deafening silence as people rushed out of the restaurant to see what had happened. Not a soul helped. Not me. Not Aiden. They watched as if it was a live show for entertainment purposes.
A wave of nausea and intense fear hit me as I realised the man holding me was taking me to an alley. Flashbacks of the most traumatising experience of my life hit me like bricks, like cruel reminders of the evil in the world.
The darkness hollowed in on me just like the somber haunting of the time I was touched without my consent, against my will.
My body felt paralysed. I wanted to kick, punch, struggle and break free.
Instead I remained like a vessel made of stone until the stranger dropped me to the cold, hard ground.
My frightened eyes met his eyes that exuded nothing but malicious intent. They did not resemble the ones that had deprived me of my security and self esteem. He wasn't Liam. But his intentions were none purer than his.
He knelt down as I propped myself up on my elbows.
My body felt heavy, a weight I could not seem to bear.
"You know who sent me, right?" His voice was gruff and evil.
"Do you know the consequences of slapping Liam Easton?
" He came closer until he was hovering over me.
"Is any of this reminiscent of something?
" I could picture the smirk behind his masked face.
Another wave of nausea hit me, my vision blurring momentarily. It was as if I had travelled back in time, reliving the most agonising time of my life yet again.
It's going to happen again.
Aysel, do something.
I'm going to be sexually assaulted.
It's happening again.
Do something, please. Fight.
His hand reached out to touch me, and the only response my body could produce was to squeeze my eyes shut as if not seeing would make the situation better.
I jumped as he uttered a grunt, my eyes flying open as my pounding heart swore to give up any second.
"Don't. Fucking. Touch. Her."
My eyes blinked rapidly as I watched the scene play out before me, wondering if I was hallucinating.
Aiden's blood stained hand was around the guy's throat, squeezing it as he pushed him to the ground before crushing his body with his flexed leg.
The guy squirmed and struggled beneath Aiden's weight, struggling to breathe and free himself.
Then Aiden let go of his throat, leaving him as a coughing mess. "Nobody is allowed to touch her." He growled, staring ferociously at him before punching his face and choking him again until he stopped producing any movements.
I sat in the corner, shaking, watching the whole scene with wide eyes. It was horrifying watching someone get killed right in front of me, yet it gave me relief. Made me feel safe.
Aiden dropped to his knees on the ground, bowing his head as he clutched his bleeding abdomen.
He's bleeding!
I finally sprung up from the ground, sprinting towards him. Peeling my scarf from around my neck, I wrapped it around his wound. His eyes were half closed as his head dropped on to my shoulder.
He's lost a lot of blood.
I wrapped my arms around him. "Stay with me, please. Don't leave me."
I felt his pulse, it was dropping each second. I need to take him to the hospital.
Footsteps running up in our direction alerted me, and I looked up in fear.
"Samuel." I breathed out in relief when I saw it was him.
His eyes widened when he saw Aiden's state.
"He's deteriorating. We need to rush him to the hospital!" I exclaimed urgently. He wasted no time in helping me lift Aiden off the ground.
We settled his unconscious body in the backseat, with his head on my lap. As Samuel drove as fast as he could to the hospital, I sat rubbing Aiden's palm and begging in his ear to hang in there.
———
"Why the hell am I in a hospital again?" Were Aiden Knight's first words when he finally regained consciousness several hours later.
I met his gaze with my tear stained face. "Because you got shot on the other side of your abdomen too." I croaked.
He studied my face, before scrunching his eyebrows together and glancing down at his abdomen. "Not this fucking ugly hospital gown again."
I palmed my face. "Is that seriously your biggest concern right now?"
"You cried for me?" He replied with a question, setting his gaze on my face again.
I sniffled. "No. I was cutting onions."
He snorted, immediately wincing afterwards.
My eyes widened as I neared him and impulsively grabbed his big hand. "Are you in a lot of pain?"
"No," He replied, and I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth. "I survived another gunshot. What the fuck am I made of?"
I sucked in a breath, holding his hand to my chest. "Shut up, Aiden." I reprimanded, blinking away new tears. How could I explain the fear I felt of losing him throughout the car ride to the hospital? And how I struggled to breathe and stay calm as he underwent another critical surgery.
"Look, Aysel," he began, and I returned my attention to him. "It's normal for me to feel enticed if you hold my hand up there," he gave a pointed look to my breasts. "I suggest you let go of my hand before I give in to my intrusive thoughts."
I dropped his hand, my cheeks burning up. "Aiden, you're in the hospital post-surgery, and this is what you have to say?"
"It's inappropriate of you to seduce a man who recently underwent surgery." He said playfully.
I narrowed my eyes at him, gasping. "Seduce you? You're out of your mind. I think the anaesthesia hasn't worn off yet."
He snickered, uttering a low grunt of pain immediately after. I winced, flinching as I imagined his pain. "I'm fine." He asserted, noticing my expressions.
I pressed my lips together. You were so close. So close to losing your life yet again.
"Let's go back home." He said.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead as I recalled his grumpy behaviour back when we first met. When all he wanted was to get out of the hospital. "You have to stay here for a few days."
He frowned. "I'm not doing this again."
"You don't have a choice." I snapped.
"Watch me walk out." He glared, sitting up.
I gasped, putting my hands on his chest and making him lay back down. "For God's sake, Aiden! You're not fully stable yet!" I chastised.
He clenched his jaw, but didn't make another move.
I removed my hands from his chest and went to sit on the bench parallel to his bed.
"Why were you with him?" He asked out of the blue, and I looked up into his questioning eyes.
Then I realised. He's talking about Andrew.
I sighed.
"Why did you lie to me?" He questioned.
"Because you wouldn't have let me go if I had told you. You don't like him." I answered.
"So? Was it so important having dinner with him?" He raised his voice a little, a coat of feeling betrayed in his voice.
"He said he needed to tell me something important." I mumbled, moving my gaze to the wall for a moment.
I watched him frown from my peripheral vision. "And what was that important thing? Him romancing you?"
I grimaced. "What romancing?"
"He held your hands!" He exclaimed, his eyebrows knitting together.
I let out a deep sigh. "He's my friend."
"Nobody can touch you!" He raised his voice.
"Calm down!"
"No! What the hell did he tell you?" He interrogated, growing more irritated each second.
"He confessed his love for me!" I revealed loudly.
His eyes darkened, his expression becoming ice cold, and before I knew it, he had peeled the blanket off his body and then stood right before me, towering over me with his tall and muscular body.
"How dare he?" He growled.
My eyes widened. "You need to lay down!"
I gasped as he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me close before cupping my face with both of his hands. "What did you say? How did you reply?" He demanded.
"I told him he's always been just a friend to me and will always continue to be. That we can't be anything more." I replied.
He nodded slowly. "That's right. He can't have you. Nobody can."
I gulped, moving my face out of his hold. "Lay down. Please."
He complied, moving back to the bed. As he laid on it, I pulled the blanket over him. "Come lay with me." He said softly.
My eyes flickered with surprise.
I shook my head no.
"There's enough room." He reasoned, shifting to the side to create space for me.
My heart fluttered. "I have to go speak to your doctor."
"Aren't you my doctor?"
"Not here." I said matter-of-factly.
He reached out to take hold of my hand and gently pulled me closer. "I don't care about anything. You're my personal little doctor."
I blushed, moving my hand out of his hold. "I'll be right back."
I heard him sigh quietly as I turned to leave. "Come back fast." He called from behind as I pulled the door open.
I turned around to give him an assuring nod, before leaving the room to speak to his doctor.
———
A whole week later, Aiden was finally discharged from the hospital. He was doing a lot better except for some pain that he refused to make obvious. But I could tell exactly which action caused pain to shoot up his abdomen, and when he tried to conceal it in the name of appearing tough.
He had resumed working from home, and made sure that I felt better too.
I was grateful for the times he didn't leave me alone, because the recent incident of me being dragged into an alley again had triggered my anxiety.
As if seeing Liam after years wasn't enough.
It made the hair on my body stand in sheer terror of what he would do to me.
Another week later, Aiden was doing so well it was like nothing ever happened. He didn't prefer discussing the events of that night, and neither did I. I witnessed and experienced a lot more than I was able to handle.
I sat on the bed with my legs pressed to my chest, immersed in all those thoughts when Aiden walked into the room. He had been in the other one, getting some work done.
"Are you okay?" He asked upon seeing the position I was in.
I nodded.
He eyed me carefully for a moment. "I need to go to work. You're coming with me again."
I swallowed. "Again?"
"You sound dismayed." He remarked.
"I attracted a lot of attention from your employees last time. I'm not too fond of so much attention." I replied.
"Let me know if someone stares at you longer than a second. I'll show them the door." He said, gesturing me to get up.
I sighed, slowly getting off the bed. "I didn't mean to say that you should be taking people's jobs."
"Quickly get ready," he ordered, seeming to ignore what I said. "I'm waiting for you downstairs."
"Fine." I mumbled, heading to the bathroom.
A while later, we were in his car on the way to his grand building.
"It's been ages since I went to work." I voiced, looking out the window as the other vehicles and buildings flew past.
"It hasn't been that long." He contradicted.
"It has been long enough," I argued. "Where the hell is he?" I couldn't help the irritation that suddenly surfaced. It was exasperating that I could not freely go about my life because of that despicable guy.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. "I don't enjoy not having the freedom to do anything without a worry of being attacked, either, but unfortunately neither of us have a choice."
"You do have a choice..." I murmured. "You've jumped into this quicksand because of me. In order to protect me."
"I was always a part of this," he spoke. "Ever since that night. I have been searching for him for years, and now he has walked back into the city. I would have still been involved in all of this even if you didn't exist."
I gulped, taking a short pause. "Why are you offering me protection?"
He was quiet for a few seconds, either hesitating to speak his mind, or struggling to find words. "Because it's something I have wanted to do after so long. Something my heart told me to."
I bit my lip. "So I'm not your prey?"
He snickered. "I guess not."
I snickered too, watching him smoothly pull into the parking lot and park the car. Then he stepped out and walked around to open the door for me. Blushing, I put my hand in his awaiting one and stepped out.
His hand remained firmly wrapped around mine as we grew closer and closer to the entrance. I tried pulling it out of his hold, but he only squeezed it tighter.
Just like last time, the moment he entered, everybody rose to their feet for him and greeted him with respectful 'good mornings', that stood ignored by him yet again.
As we stepped into the elevator, out of the scrutinising gazes of everyone on the floor, I wondered if the elevator would malfunction again.
It didn't.
"You've lost your influence, little one. You don't intimidate elevators anymore." Aiden joked.
"You have a lame sense of humour." I rolled my eyes.
He squeezed my hand tightly as we stepped out. More greetings sounded around us, standing ignored. "Why don't you reply them?" I stood on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear, not oblivious to the looks of his employees who ogled us as if we were aliens.
"Because it's not necessary." He replied.
I shook my head disapprovingly, noticing a familiar woman approaching us as her heels clicked on the floor. "Who's that?" I asked curiously.
"My secretary." He replied quietly.
Oh.
"Pretty lady." I mumbled in jealousy.
"Not as pretty as you." He immediately muttered in my ear, giving flight to the butterflies in my stomach that had now made home there.
"Good morning, Mr. Knight," she greeted him. "Mr. Wilson is in the conference room waiting for you."
He gave her a nod before turning to me. "Aysel, go sit in my office. This won't take long."
I nodded, earning a light squeeze on my hand which was still in his before he let go. He turned to head down the corridor with his secretary while I headed for his office.
Directly heading for his comfortable chair, I settled in it and placed my legs on his desk. I wondered if me keeping my feet on his desk would piss him off.
Several minutes later, the door pushed open, and I stayed in my inappropriately comfortable position, thinking Aiden had returned, but it wasn't him.
My eyes met unfamiliar grey ones. Immediately removing my legs from the desk as his gaze grazed them, I scuttled to my feet. My male-associated anxiety kicked in. Something that hadn't happened until the recent incident.
"Wh-who are you?" I stuttered, watching his eyes gleam with amusement.
"Are you Aiden's new secretary?" He asked with a smirk instead of replying to my question.
"No." I pushed the word out of my mouth as I struggled to regulate my breathing.
Relax. Breathe. He's not going to harm you.
"Then?" He tilted his head to the side, looking at me from head to toe.
I want to get out of here.
"I-if you're looking for Aiden, he's in a meeting right now." I said shakily, averting my gaze from him.
It's okay. You're okay.
"That I know. I'll wait for him." He replied.
I nodded, forcing my feet to move because I didn't want to be in a closed space with a man. Just as I was about to pass by him, he held my arm, stopping me.
I stared wide-eyed at him.
"Where are you going?" He inquired. "You still didn't tell me what your relation with Aiden is."
Even I don't know what my relation with him is.
"Or are you one of his one night stands?" He chuckled.
I couldn't help but frown at his comment as I pulled my arm out of his hold. I tried approaching the door the again, but he stood in my way. My nerves were almost getting out of control at that point.
"Such a shame," he chuckled quietly. I gasped as he suddenly tucked some stray strands of my hair behind my ear. "A pretty girl like you deserves to be so much more than just... that. Or are you with him because of his money?"
My mouth gaped open at his audacity. I hated the way panic spread through me, rendering me unable to react or to even speak. I hated how weak and incapable it made me feel.
He took a step closer to me, making my heart drop to my stomach. My vision blurred as he grabbed my wrists. As the familiar nauseating feeling pushed me to the brink of passing out, the door clicked open, making him drop my wrists and take an instantaneous step back.
I felt like I had been pulled out of a dark abyss as Aiden's face came into view, restoring my sense of security. A slight frown coated his features as he took in my panicked state and then acknowledged the guy.
"What are you doing here?" Aiden asked him.
"I'm here to discuss the project, Aiden. What else?" The guy replied.
"The project is off. I already told you." Aiden asserted.
"Come on, can you just sit and talk? We can work it out." The guy reasoned.
Aiden's attention seemed to be focused on me as I stood stiff as a statue, my chest rising up and down abruptly. I almost teared up when I looked into his eyes and felt him glancing into my soul to figure out what was wrong with me.
Before I could contemplate, I had scuttled up to him and thrown myself into his arms, burying my face in his chest. His arms snaked around me the very next second, holding me firmly.
"What's wrong, Aysel?" He asked gently, his voice holding concern.
"He... he..." I sniffled back tears.
I felt his body tense up. "He what?"
"Aiden, listen—" the guy started speaking, but Aiden held his hand up, causing him to instantly halt.
"What did he do, Aysel?" He demanded as I looked up from his chest, teary eyed.
"He... he made me uncomfortable... and touched me." I croaked, biting my lip hard to hold my pathetic cries back. All I could picture in that moment was the haunting, frightening memory of the time Liam's hands had violated my body.
I watched as his eyes darkened, consumed with rage and vengeance as his eyes shot to the guy's, glaring at him with the most murderous look I had ever seen.
"She's dumb or what? I didn't do anything of the sort." The guy argued agitatedly, but I didn't fail to miss the hint of fear coating his voice.
Aiden tapped my back gently, before removing his arms that had enveloped me into a blanket of safety and warmth. I stepped back as he stalked up to the guy in the manner a predator does a prey.
"You had the nerve to touch her?" His voice came out surprisingly calm yet firm as he towered over the guy by a few inches.
"I held her wrist. That's barely touching." He casually defended his action.
For a couple of seconds, complete silence fell in the room.
And then I flinched as Aiden grabbed him by the throat and hurled him at his desk like he was merely a toy. A loud grunt of pain sounded from the guy's throat at the impact on his spine, causing him to drop to his knees on the ground.
Aiden bent down to his level, the rage in his eyes not having died down a bit as he roughly grabbed and squeezed his face to the point I thought his jaw would break.
"Who the hell do you think you are invading a girl's personal space and having the audacity to touch her?!" Aiden growled.
The guy groaned. "I'm sorry."
"You shall be." Aiden promised, his other hand fisting up as he brought his arm back.
I quickly rushed up to grab his arm before he could punch the guy. "Aiden, that's enough."
He turned to give me a stern look, yanking his arm out of my hold. "Stand back and watch what I do to anyone who dares to touch you."
"Aiden, please. I bet he has learned his lesson. He won't ever touch a girl again or say anything inappropriate to her," I reasoned, not wanting to witness anymore violence. "Will you?" I directed my attention to the shaking mess on the floor.
He vigorously shook his head.
I grabbed Aiden's arm again, pulling at it. "Let's go please." I implored.
Catching the plea in my tone, he roughly pushed the guy away and stood back on his feet, before pressing the button on the intercom. "Send security to my office right now." He commanded.
Within the next minute, a couple of guards were dragging the miserable guy out of Aiden's office.
As soon as they left, Aiden walked up to me, carefully studying my face. "Are you okay?"
I nodded. "I want to go home."
He nodded, offering me his hand.
I took it, letting him lead me out.