Kendrick felt his body grow cold at Niamh’s words.
He watched through the swaying camera as Niamh harshly pressed the sharp end of the clip against her wrist.
The clip was hardly a lethal weapon, but Niamh was using all her strength.
A red line quickly marred her left wrist as bright red began to trickle out of the wound frightfully.
“Nia!”
Kendrick yelled heart-wrenchingly as the pain of having his skin peeled alive spread to every inch of his body.
He knew that Niamh must have been tortured to the point of hopelessness or she would never do such a thing.
Ryan was taken aback by Niamh’s actions. He stared dazedly at Niamh as the woman faltered. His heart ached, but at the same time, anger bled into his eyes.
“Why? Am I so incomparable to Kendrick?”
Like a ragdoll, Niamh looked pitiful with her messy hair and clothes. However, her eyes were still clear and untainted.
“You’ll never compare to him.” A light smile graced Niamh’s lips as she spoke weakly, “He’s the only man I’ll ever love and want to protect.”
Kendrick could not stop the tears from falling from his eyes.
The camera was moving too much for him to see Niamh’s face, but he heard her every word.
He was about to speak when he heard Niamh’s soft voice again.
“I know that you must be upset, Kendrick, but you have to remember that I belong to you and only you— heart, soul, and all. Do everything you can to catch Ryan, this madman, and bring my body home. Even in death, my soul is yours.”
Kendrick’s eyes reddened as he choked.
Through his blurry tears, he saw Niamh’s bloodied palm falling and landing on a large pool of blood. His mind blanked at the sight.
“Nia. Nia…”
“Ryan! Send Nia to the hospital now! What are you going to use to threaten me if she dies, huh?
“Do you hear me, Ryan?!”
Kendrick’s roar rang out from the screen.
He was going mad.
He really was!
There was nothing he could do even as he watched Niamh being forced to the edge.
“Nia!”
He yelled, but there was no reply from her. Ryan seemed to have gone blank at Niamh’s actions and the camera stayed at the same stagnant angle.
Just then, someone pushed the room door open.
Kendrick heard rushed footsteps, followed by Adam’s figure appearing in the camera.
“How the hell did this happen?” Adam’s tone was solemn.
He seemed to have come prepared. Kendrick watched Adam walking over with his medical kit before he squatted down to quickly administer first aid on Niamh.
There was no doubt that Adam was a professional in this field. Kendrick felt the fear in his chest placate to some degree.
While in a frantic state of mind, he watched Adam sanitize her wound and stop the bleeding before he dressed it.
He reached out to the kit to take something when Ryan finally broke out of his stupor and spoke.
“Bring the syringe and needle as well.” Ryan threw the reagent bottle that he had planned to inject into Niamh himself to Adam.
“What’s that, Ryan? What are you injecting into Nia?” Kendrick questioned furiously at the scene, terrified that Ryan was injecting the slow-acting poison into her.
Ryan merely replied with a sinister sneer.
Kendrick watched Adam ready the syringe and inject the substance into Niamh’s bloodstream.
The next few seconds felt like an entire century to him.
Niamh remained unconscious the entire time.
Unable to do anything but watch, Kendrick’s consciousness began to fade. He felt the unforgettable stab of pain spreading through his senses once again.
“Will she be in life-threatening danger?” Ryan asked plainly.
Kendrick was waiting for such a reply as well. He watched Adam who was squatting by the floor. He started to keep his medical kit before he started to speak, “Her major arteries are fine. Or I wouldn’t be able to do anything at all otherwise.”
Ryan then turned the camera to himself.
“You heard him, didn’t you, Kendrick? Follow my demands earlier or you’ll never get to see Eveline again.”
Ryan then hung up the call.
Seeing the screen change, Kendrick’s mind immediately replayed the piece of information he had just hurriedly glimpsed of just now.
He turned around frantically without a moment’s hesitation.
…
Niamh slept the entire night away and by the time she woke up, she caught a warm ray of sunshine entering the corners of her eyes.
Blinking her eyes tiredly, she knew that she was still alive. Her mind felt heavy and her thoughts were haywire.
Niamh turned around to see Ryan standing by the bed. Instinctively, she shuddered as a cold feeling settled in her body.
Ryan scoffed at Niamh’s reaction. “You don’t even fear death, so why fear me?”
Niamh stared at Ryan blankly, her eyes filled with unease and fear.
She was truly afraid of him.
He had finally managed to smoothen such a strong and courageous woman’s sharp edges and push her to a corner.
Ryan walked over. Sitting by the bed, he reached out for Niamh’s chin.
Niamh did not have the strength to escape or speak, so she merely stared at the man in front of her in fear.
“I didn’t want to hurt you. You were the one who forced me to.”
Ryan leaned closer toward Niamh, his warm fingertips tracing her pale and cold face.
“I really don’t want to hurt you. I want to be good to you, but you’re not giving me the chance.”
“I want to see and be with my parents,” Niamh parted her lips and begged softly.
Ryan hesitated. He was stunned for a few seconds before he finally nodded. “Very well. I can allow your parents to return to Glendale, but you must stay with me.”
Niamh stared at Ryan in slight confusion before she finally nodded.
Ryan felt his heart aching inexplicably at the dazed look in Niamh’s doe eyes.
She had suffered quite a bit over the past few days and lost a substantial amount of blood. In addition to him pushing her over the edge, her body and soul suffered considerable harm.
However, this was his only option to keep Niamh by his side and for her to listen to him.
Ryan left and had the maids send her food.
Niamh seemed terrified when she saw the maids entering the room. Her actions were exceptionally careful and drastically different from how she used to act.
Adam came over to perform a simple check-up and realized the difference as well. “Something seems wrong about her today.”
Ryan had realized it as well. “Could it be the effect of the reagent?”
Adam’s gaze shifted slightly as he replied ambiguously, “It might be.”
Then, a bodyguard suddenly rushed into the room on their own accord to report to Ryan, “Kendrick Waldburg has found us, Mr. Jones!”
Ryan’s expression shifted, and a ripple of emotions flashed through Niamh’s eyes at the mention of Kendrick’s name.
“How could Kendrick have found his way here?” Ryan questioned and instructed the two maids, “Watch over Madam and stay inside.”
They nodded as Ryan rushed to leave. She walked toward the bed to watch over Niamh.
Adam spared Niamh’s sluggish expression an intrigued glance before he turned to leave.
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.