Chapter 62
"It's getting late, you should go to bed early."
Benjamin made the decision first. He gently patted Evelyn's head and was about to get up and leave.
No!
Her body moved faster than her brain. She reached out and hugged him tight, not letting him leave.
"Evelyn."
His voice carried some tension, along with an inexplicable hoarseness.
His slightly rolling Adam's apple revealed the surging emotions in his eyes.
The soft warmth in his arms made it hard for him not to think of that fleeting glimpse from that night.
Evelyn's graceful figure was imprinted in his mind like a brand. Just the slightest recollection would bring it clearly into view.
An uncontrollable burning sensation spread through his body. He felt like a wild beast was howling in his chest.
"Let go." His voice became husky as his hand grabbed hers.
"No." She held on tighter, completely unaware that something had changed. "You're angry. You'll be unhappy if you leave."
They were both busy as it was.
Once they had a cold war, even living under the same roof, they would barely see each other.
Wouldn't that just give someone else an opportunity to take advantage?
She absolutely wouldn't allow that to happen.
Benjamin's eyes darkened. He looked down at her, his voice unconsciously softening: "Are you sure you won't let me go?"
The vibration of his phone stopped Evelyn's answer and made them both frown.
A phone call in the middle of the night was always urgent.
He picked up his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and pressed answer.
"Freya is having an allergic reaction. It could cause heart failure."
An allergy?
Someone unconscious can't eat anything, so how could this happen?
"Did someone enter the hospital room?"
After a few seconds, Samuel's somewhat apologetic voice came through: "I had something come up and left for a few minutes."
Benjamin thought of the figure he'd seen before leaving and understood what had happened during those few minutes Samuel was away.
"I'll be right there."
After hanging up, he looked down to meet Evelyn's big eyes.
"I'm coming too."
Seeing he was about to refuse, she immediately said: "My fiancé is going to see another woman in the middle of the night. I'm not happy about it, so I'm definitely coming along."
Her words lightened the tense atmosphere considerably, and Benjamin's expression improved.
He reached out to ruffle her hair: "It's a special situation. Get ready quickly."
She responded and immediately rushed into the bathroom.
Benjamin got up, picked up his phone to make a few calls, and went into the dressing room to change his clothes.
Earlier, when he'd been lying with her, his clothes had gotten quite wrinkled. It wouldn't look good if people saw.
Not long after he walked to the living room, Evelyn came downstairs.
She wore no makeup, her face bare and beautiful. Combined with her warm sweater and cashmere skirt, she clearly conveyed the arrival of autumn.
He reached out to help her into a coat: "It's still cold outside at this hour."
Evelyn wanted to refuse—this camel-colored coat didn't match her outfit at all!
But faced with his firm insistence, she accepted it anyway, just muttering under her breath.
"If I'd known, I would've picked out my own jacket. This one doesn't look good at all."
So cute.
She cared so much about her appearance, yet because he'd said they were pressed for time, she'd hurried to get ready anyway.
The hospital.
The emergency room entrance seemed especially cold and indifferent in the deep night.
Samuel leaned against the wall, a cigarette in his mouth. The smoke blurred his handsome face, making his whole appearance unclear.
But the gloomy aura emanating from him was not hidden.
Benjamin frowned and led Evelyn to the waiting chairs: "Sit here and wait for a bit."
"I..."
"Secondhand smoke is bad for your health. Be good."
He always indulged her, but when it came to anything that might affect her, he was absolutely dictatorial, never giving her a chance to have her way.
Evelyn knew he was worried about her, so she didn't insist and nodded.
"Samuel looks really upset. Does he think he's responsible for what happened to Freya?"
"I'll go check."
He gently ruffled her hair and strode over: "What happened?"
No small talk, no comfort—straight to the point, no beating around the bush.
Samuel bit down on his cigarette, his slightly lowered eyes suddenly narrowing, a cold gleam flashing through them.
"I'm the one who pulled the guards from the door. I'll take full responsibility for this."
Benjamin looked at Samuel's cold expression and didn't press further: "Did you find any clues?"
"Someone dressed as a nurse entered the room and gave her a penicillin injection."
Freya had a severe allergic reaction to penicillin.
Combined with the fact that Freya had just been injected with drugs tonight, her body was very weak, and her reaction was extremely severe.
"If I hadn't had someone give her a sedative, they wouldn't have succeeded so easily," Benjamin said flatly, essentially sharing responsibility with Samuel.
They looked at each other, the same doubt in both their eyes.
How could ordinary Freya become someone's target?
Benjamin had personally sent her here, with the White Group's backing, protecting her. How could someone be bold enough to do this?
...
Evelyn sat in the waiting chair, watching Benjamin and Samuel talking.
Due to the distance, she couldn't hear their conversation clearly, but she could sense the cold aura emanating from them.
A notification sound broke her observation.
She casually opened her phone to see a message from Sophia.
[Did Benjamin ditch you again? Looks like this Freya means a lot to him.]
How much Freya meant to Benjamin wasn't important. What mattered was how Sophia knew about Benjamin's whereabouts.
Following him?
Surveillance?
Impossible. If that were the case, Sophia wouldn't be unaware that Evelyn had also come to the hospital with Benjamin.
Various thoughts flashed through Evelyn's mind as she sent a message back.
[How do you know something happened to Freya?]
Almost as soon as the message was sent, a call came in.
Clearly, Sophia had been waiting for Evelyn's message.
Evelyn answered without hesitation, and Sophia's very smug voice came through.
"How does it feel to be left behind?"
A light laugh came through. Even without seeing her, Evelyn could imagine the smile on Sophia's face.
"That's not the right question. Matthew left you behind time and time again before, and now it's Benjamin leaving you behind."
"Evelyn, so what if you're beautiful and have a good family background?"
"You still can't hold onto a man's heart. Before, you cared about Matthew, but he didn't want you."
"Now you've found Benjamin, and he doesn't want you either."
"You'll never get a man's true heart in your whole life."
After Sophia finished her long tirade of mockery, Evelyn's unhurried voice finally responded.
"Everyone in Emerald City knows I'm the one Benjamin cares about."
"But you, Sophia—has anyone ever cared about you in your whole life?"
Heavy breathing came from Sophia's end, clearly angered by Evelyn's words.
But Evelyn's voice became even calmer: "You can't compare to me. You think it's because your family background isn't as good as mine, and you're not as pretty as me."
"Now, a Freya can attract Benjamin's attention, while you have nothing."
"So you went after her."