Chapter 143 The attack

Chapter 143 The attack

NANCY’S POV

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

My body shivered, and I let out a shaky breath, listening to the crazy pound of my heart in my chest.

I was scared, but I also knew this was the last chance I had to put up a fight.

Exhaling again, I muttered firmly, “No.”

His chair let out a loud scrape, like mine had done earlier, before I heard his footsteps.

Every instinct told me to run, but I didn’t.

I stood there until I felt his presence close in on me.

Just as I prepped myself to turn around, his hand latched onto my arm. He spun me around, then slammed his palm into my shoulder, pushing me against the door.

The knob dug into my back painfully, and I swallowed down a whimper.

“I won’t repeat myself after this.”

“Now, go back and sit down.”

My eyes fluttered shut briefly. It was a reaction I hated, and I hated how my options kept shrinking.

But slowly and with an unconcealed show of reluctance, I dragged myself back to the table and sat down again.

Hudson returned to his seat like nothing had happened, like this was normal, and simply picked up his fork again.

I stared at my plate, at the food I no longer wanted, at the life I no longer recognized, and tears blurred my vision.

Even though my tears had laced my vision, I didn’t bother to wipe them again. My teeth were clenched really hard to keep them from falling already, and further stripping myself bare of my pride and dignity, and the fragile control I had been clinging to.

Across from me, Hudson continued eating like nothing had happened, like he hadn’t just threatened me back to my seat just so I could have dinner with him, and to make things worse, I wasn’t even eating.

The quiet clink of his cutlery against the plate grated against my ears, irritating me more than I already was.

My gaze dropped to my plate again, and I swallowed hard, forcing down the food that threatened to come up into my throat.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

His words made me jerk my head to face him.

“Are you serious right now?” I asked, eyes widening.

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he set his fork down slowly and stared deeply at him, like he was trying to see through me.

“You’ll need your strength.”

My brows pulled together.

“Need my strength? Need my strength for what?”

A slow smirk curved his lips and his eyes turned suggestive.

Another wave of nausea hit me when I connected the dots.

So, all along, all of this was just to…to set the mood?

My breath hitched, and I looked away immediately, the clogs already turning in my head.

I needed to get out of here, but first, I needed something to defend myself.

My gaze dropped to the only viable weapon of defence in front of me.

The fork on my plate.

It was small, but I could already imagine it sinking into the skin of his neck if I used enough force. The only thing I didn’t trust right now was myself- If I would be able to muster enough courage to actually act.

I stared back at him, trying to ascertain how fast I needed to move to stab him, while slowly reaching for the fork with numerous questions weighing on my mind.

Would he be fast enough to stop me?

Could I really kill him before he managed to call for help?

What if his men arrived before I did?

My heart pounded frantically in my chest as I debated the options I barely had.

Just then, a loud crash echoed from somewhere in the house. My head snapped to the door, where I assumed the sound had come from, while Hudson didn’t even flinch like he expected it all along.

Another sound followed, and this time, it was the sound of men yelling and swearing, then a gunshot followed.

My pulse spiked instantly. “What in the…?” I swerved my gaze back to Hudson, as my hands tightened around my fork.

Before I could ask him what the hell was going on, the dining room doors burst open.

One of Hudson’s men rushed in, breathless. I recognized him as the man who had restrained me back at the restaurant and forced me to return with him.

Now, I supposed he was one of his more loyal men.

“Sir, the house is under attack.”

“What?” I spat out in astonishment.

I was still trying to figure out what that meant and who it could be when Hudson stood up with a calm expression.

“I guess he finally made it,” he said with his gaze still fixated on me.

My heart lurched slightly. I already had an inkling, but my fingers still curled.

What if?

No, I didn’t want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed.

“Who?” I asked, swallowing thickly.

Hudson hesitated for a minute before he answered. That minute felt like hours, maybe even days. I could hear the thump of my heart in my ears, beating fast.

“Landon.”

The word tilted for a second. I was seated, but it felt like I was on the edge of a cliff, falling forward.

“La…Landon?” I repeated uncertainly like it was my first time hearing that word.

Mr Landon…He was here.

He came, he actually came for me. Hope exploded in my chest so suddenly it hurt, and I shot to my feet. The chair I was seated on fell backwards because of how fast I moved.

The hold I had on my fork loosened, and my hands grasped onto the edge of the table tightly, as though it could keep my hope from getting dampened if Hudson negated what he just said.

My mind was no longer on whether I could make the move to kill Hudson or on whether the fork could actually kill him.

My emotions were so jumbled that I had no idea what I was actually thinking at that moment.

“He’s here?” I breathed out, unable to hide my excitement.