Chapter 23
"Ms. Thomas got into a car accident!"
Benjamin didn't even know how he made it to the hospital.
When he saw Evelyn lying in a hospital bed with bruises from the impact on her forehead, pain clearly flashed in his eyes.
But as his hand was about to touch her, he worried about hurting her, so it just hovered above her.
"What happened?"
His dark, oppressive voice made the temperature in the hospital room drop several degrees.
Chase, whose blind date had been interrupted, had wanted to cry earlier, but now, seeing this scene, he became serious too.
"According to the surveillance footage, Ms. Thomas was making a U-turn on Willow Street when she encountered a drunk driver."
"An accident?"
"That's what it looks like right now."
A sinister expression flashed across Benjamin's face: "Go investigate."
"Yes, Mr. White." After Chase walked out of the hospital room, he looked back, somewhat puzzled.
Evelyn was supposed to pick up Benjamin at the White Group branch office, so why would she appear on Willow Street, which was in the opposite direction? Wasn't she coming from Belle & Chic?
But this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before he pushed it down.
Right now, he needed to find out whether the car accident was truly accidental or deliberate.
People are vulnerable when unconscious.
Evelyn's pale little face was full of unease as she fell into a deep nightmare.
She was locked in a basement in the red-light district, helpless against the abuse. Her cries brought no mercy, but instead aroused more people's desire to humiliate her.
At her most desperate moment, Matthew appeared.
"Save me..."
She reached out crying, thinking Matthew was her last hope.
Instead, he coldly watched her being abused and told her about the tragic destruction of the Thomas family.
"Matthew!"
A sharp cry rang out as she suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.
The stimulation of the light made her eyes, already brimming with tears, instantly stream down her face.
For a moment, she didn't know where she was.
"So you really can't stop thinking about him. Are you playing with me on purpose to get revenge for him?"
Benjamin's angry questioning startled Evelyn so much that she forgot to cry, only murmuring: "Benjamin."
His extraordinarily handsome face showed obvious anger, and his beautiful eyes harbored a dark, overwhelming gloom.
He just looked at her quietly like that, making her heart tremble.
Evelyn's eyes slowly moved in a circle. After noticing her surroundings, she immediately realized: "I'm in the hospital? Right... I got into a car accident..."
She raised her hand to touch her already bandaged temple, frowning from the pain.
A trace of heartache flashed in his eyes.
"You were in such a rush to get to the hospital, you didn't even watch the road. An ambulance would indeed be faster than driving yourself."
People with bitter hearts really have poisonous tongues.
Knowing she was at fault, Evelyn couldn't help but twitch her lips and quietly retorted: "I'm not that stupid to use this method just to get here faster."
"Really? I thought that to see Matthew quickly, you'd even stage an act of self-harm and wouldn't care about anything else." Benjamin said mockingly, the sarcasm in his eyes stirring a dull pain in his heart.
She opened her mouth to argue back, but suddenly remembering everything before the accident, her eyes flickered.
"Where's Matthew?"
"What, you're not even pretending anymore?" His lips pressed into a straight line, and deep in his eyes seemed to be a kind of pain.
Looking closer, you couldn't see anything clearly.
"No, he called me and told me to come to the hospital to see him..."
The more she said, the worse it got.
Evelyn watched Benjamin's face grow darker and realized her way of explaining had problems.
He snorted coldly and turned to walk out.
She looked at his tall back and suddenly panicked.
There was already no trust between them because of Matthew.
Benjamin was already angry with her before, and now, if she let him misunderstand again, she really wouldn't see him anymore.
Evelyn didn't care that she was still on an IV drip. She directly pulled out the needle, threw off the covers, and got out of bed barefoot to hug him from behind: "Don't go, listen to me!"
The soft curves unique to women pressed against his back, along with her urgent tone, hit his heart hard.
Benjamin closed his eyes, his heart full of self-mockery.
No matter what, he could never be heartless toward her.
"Let go."
His low, hoarse voice carried a hint of weariness.
"No!"
Evelyn directly refused, and her arms around his waist tightened even more.
"If I let go, you'll definitely leave. You won't answer my calls or pay attention to me, and I'll have no way to explain."
"Don't... Benjamin, I can explain!"
His hand gripped her wrist, forcefully pulling her away. Evelyn cried out, her voice almost breaking.
In this moment, she seemed to see him leaving, while she was sold by Sophia to the red-light district, her life completely falling into darkness...
His warm hands picked her up horizontally, his stiff but caring voice sounding: "You're already injured, and you still get out of bed barefoot. What, trying to make Matthew feel sorry for you?"
"No," she raised her hand to hook around his neck, burying her head in his chest, "I don't care about him at all. I only want you."
Lies are always the sweetest words.
Benjamin didn't speak and placed her on the bed.
As he got up, her arms around his neck tightened: "Don't go."
"I'm not going." His deep voice sounded almost like a sigh, "Your feet are dirty, let me wipe them for you."
He sat on the edge of the bed, carefully wiping her feet with a nearby towel.
Evelyn was beautiful, and her feet were also fair and delicate. In Benjamin's large palm, they looked particularly striking.
There was an indescribable intimacy between them.
She couldn't help but blush and tried to pull her foot back, but he was quicker to hold it. Her foot was held in Benjamin's palm.
His burning warmth came through, and Evelyn's heart couldn't help but tremble lightly. Looking up, she met his deep gaze.
In those eyes, undercurrents surged—clearly visible affection and desire.
Panic spread. She turned her head away at a loss, and his husky voice sounded again: "Didn't you want to explain?"
"Yes!"
Evelyn nodded heavily and explained in detail the misunderstanding from this morning. She couldn't tell from his expression whether he believed her or not, and her heart was very uneasy.
"I was already preparing to pick you up, but then I got a call from an unknown number..."
She met his gaze and decided not to lie: "It was Matthew calling from someone else's phone, saying Grandpa showed signs of waking up and telling me to hurry to the hospital."
Hearing the news that Preston might wake up, she immediately drove to the hospital.
She wanted to tell Benjamin on the way, but didn't expect to get into a car accident.
After finishing, her wavering emotions became even more panicked: "Please believe me, that's really what happened. I wasn't trying to be angry with you or deliberately stand you up—it was really an accident. Now... how is my grandpa?"
Thinking about how Matthew seemed to target her everywhere, but actually aimed at Preston behind the scenes, her expression changed, and she wanted to get up again to check.
Benjamin applied force with his hand, pulling Evelyn directly into his arms, giving her no chance to leave: "Are you planning to..."
"Mr. White, we found out!"