Chapter 20 Chapter 20: Fainting
Earlier, in her dazed state, Selena had dialed the first number in her contacts. Previously, because her parents were both old and lived in the countryside and didn't know how to use a phone, she only saved Wyatt's phone number to contact them.
At the same time, Selena had just married William, and she lived alone in the bustling capital without anyone to help her. Because of this, Wyatt's phone number was always at the top of her phone contacts.
To her, family was always the most reliable support.
Therefore, when her mind was hazy and not clear, the first person she called was her younger brother, Wyatt.
If she had been more clear-headed, she would have called Kelly instead. Now, her little brother had to skip school because of her.
Wyatt smiled and took her hand in his, saying: "I’m happy that I’m the first person you thought of. Now that I’m here, I’ll take care of you."
"Really? So, you’ll take care of her in my house, will you?"
Hearing Balthazar's voice, both Selena and Wyatt turned to look. He stormed toward the bed, angrily shoving their clasped hands apart and gritting his teeth as he yelled: "You shameless woman! How dare you bring a man into my house?"
Selena was stunned, staring at him in confusion, while Wyatt, infuriated, shouted back: "Who are you? How dare you insult someone like that?"
Balthazar sneered.
"Who am I? This is my house. Who do you think I am?"
Wyatt was taken aback. Initially, he was only concerned about Selena’s health and hadn’t paid attention to his surroundings. Now, hearing those words, he suddenly realized he was standing inside a grand mansion.
As if something occurred to him, he asked: "Are you Selena’s boyfriend?"
A wave of disappointment washed over Wyatt. It made sense—someone as beautiful as Selena surely had a boyfriend.
However, Balthazar responded: "Boyfriend? I’m—"
"Yes, he’s my boyfriend," Selena hurriedly interrupted. She didn’t want her younger brother to know she was someone’s sugar baby. If her true identity were exposed, how heartbroken would he be?
Wyatt pressed his lips together, glancing from Selena to Balthazar, then said: "Even if you’re her boyfriend, that doesn’t give you the right to insult her. She had a high fever and didn’t dare call you, showing just how neglectful you are. Now you come here and speak to her so harshly? That’s too much!"
"Damn it, who the hell are you to speak to me like that?"
Angered by the young man's challenge, Balthazar grabbed Wyatt by the collar and shouted.
Wyatt, only seventeen and underdeveloped due to a life of hardship, barely stood over 160 centimeters. When Balthazar lifted him by the collar, he was completely powerless to resist.
Still, Wyatt didn’t back down, yelling:
"Let me go! Am I wrong? You’re a terrible person! Selena is sick, and instead of caring for her, you yell at her. You’re not worthy to be her boyfriend!"
"Not worthy? So are you saying a snot-nosed kid like you is?"
Blinded by anger, Balthazar didn’t even realize that he was truly seeing himself as Selena’s boyfriend. He wasn’t questioning whether Selena deserved him; he was furious because Wyatt had wounded his pride.
After hearing Balthazar's words, Wyatt's face flushed with embarrassment, and he avoided eye contact.
Seeing that her brother was about to get hurt, Selena wrapped her arms around Balthazar, struggling to say: "Please, he’s just a kid. He doesn’t know how to choose his words. Don’t hold it against him."
Balthazar turned and saw the concern in Selena’s eyes. His chest tightened further—was she really showing this much care for a younger man right in front of him?
"Get off!"
He shook Selena’s hands off, but she clung to him tightly. Taking advantage of this moment, Wyatt wriggled free. Just as he was about to continue confronting the man who had caused Selena so much suffering, she pleaded desperately: "Wyatt, please go home. I’m begging you."
Wyatt pressed his lips together, seeing the tears welling in Selena's eyes. Finally, he exhaled heavily and turned to leave.
Selena held onto Balthazar, only letting go once Wyatt was out of the mansion.
Immediately, Balthazar grabbed her chin, squeezing it hard, and growled: "You’ve got some nerve! Bringing a man into my house, have you grown that bold?"
Selena winced in pain, trying to endure the throbbing in her head as she explained: "Master, he’s my brother. I wasn’t feeling well, so I called him over. There’s nothing between us."
The effort of speaking left her utterly exhausted, and her eyelids grew heavy. But the man standing before her had no intention of letting her off.
"Brother, huh? Do you take me for a fool? Do you think I can’t tell whether the two of you are really siblings? Or is he your so-called ‘friends with benefits’?"
"He’s not…"
Selena’s eyelids slowly closed, and she muttered: "His sister died… I have to take care of him and… his mother…"
Before she could finish her sentence, her arms fell limply by her sides. Balthazar quickly caught her, realizing for the first time how hot her body felt—like she was burning up. Without a second thought, he lifted her and rushed downstairs, driving straight to the hospital.
After another two hours, Selena's fever finally broke. Standing by her hospital bed, Balthazar muttered resentfully:
"With such poor endurance, how did she think she could handle being a high-class girl?"
He knew that not all clients were as normal as he was. Some indulged in sadistic games, tormenting their toys. He couldn’t fathom how she had dealt with such people in the past if a single incident left her with a high fever like this.
Ting ting…
The sound of a text message notification chimed. It was from Balthazar’s assistant.
Assistant: \[Boss, we found no information on Selena, but we did uncover details about the boy named Wyatt. He’s the younger brother of William Sterling’s ex-wife. His sister went missing a year ago.\]