Chapter 46 : Regretting It?
Jareth’s thoughts tangled as he removed her shoes and pulled the blanket around her.
When Director Jake arrived to check on Allison, Jareth stepped out into the hallway to speak with Oliver.
Oliver looked worried. “Ronan took a serious beating. Someone from the Lopez family came to pick him up.”
Jareth was still simmering with anger. If anything, he thought Ronan had gotten off far too lightly.
Hesitating, Oliver then offered a suggestion. “Jareth, maybe you should pretend to be injured, too. Otherwise, the Lopez family…”
The Lopez patriarch was fiercely protective of his bloodline. Ronan was his only direct heir, and he had made it clear that all the family’s assets would be handed to him one day.
Jareth might have been Ronan’s uncle in name, but in that family, he had never been welcome.
By laying a hand on Ronan, Jareth had crossed an unwritten line. The old man would definitely retaliate.
But Jareth did not care. He leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. “I’m supposed to be afraid of him?”
Oliver knew better than to argue. He dropped the subject.
More than an hour passed before Jake finally stepped out of the room. “Jareth.”
Both men turned to him.
Jake glanced at Jareth. He had been standing there the entire time?
Seeing the impatience in Jareth’s eyes, Jake pulled himself together and said, “Ms. Rogers has a high fever from catching a cold. But I also found several untreated internal injuries. Honestly, they look like signs of long-term abuse.”
Jake’s tone hardened. By now, he had grown to respect Allison, and the thought of her being mistreated genuinely pissed him off.
“Abuse?” Oliver frowned, clearly doubtful. “I’ve dealt with the Rogers family before.”
“They spoiled her rotten. I even brought gifts for her on Nigel’s behalf when I went to England.”
Jake shot back abruptly, “Then where did all those injuries come from?”
He was certain of it. Someone had abused her.
Jareth stayed silent with his eyes distant and cold.
Oliver was still trying to figure it out. “I heard she spent some time in a psych hospital, but the Rogers family probably pulled strings. There’s no way they’d let her be bullied. Maybe the injuries came from something else.”
He glanced toward Jareth. “Do you want me to look into it?”
Jareth did not answer. Instead, he asked Jake, “Can she recover?”
Jake knew he was talking about Allison. “With rest and proper care, yes.”
Jareth stubbed out his cigarette against the cobblestone. His voice turned dry and sharp. “Madam Berry was on the brink of death, and Archer already gone ahead to clear the way?”
Oliver blinked. What? Weren’t they just talking about Allison? Why bring up Archer all of a sudden?
Jake suddenly slapped his forehead. “No one’s watching over Madam Berry. Jareth, you should send someone to get Mr. Berry.”
Archer was her biological grandson. He had the time. He should have been there.
Jareth had Archer come over to look after Madam Berry, which meant he planned to stay behind and watch over Allison himself.
Oliver figured it out immediately. He made a quick call and had someone drag Archer out of a billiards hall and bring him over.
Archer had a close-cropped haircut, dyed a reddish-brown. He stood slouched in Madam Berry’s hospital room like he owned the place. He did not appear to be a privileged heir. He looked more like a thug.
Just a few days earlier, he had been arrested for hitting a woman and had been beaten by his father because of it. Still holding a grudge, he had been hiding out at the pool hall ever since.
Now that he knew his grandmother was stable, his confidence came rushing back. Looking for trouble, he sneered, “Where’s Jareth? Isn’t he the one who loves pretending to be the devoted grandson? Couldn’t keep up the act anymore?”
Oliver told him bluntly, “Jareth’s with Ms. Rogers.”
Archer’s face darkened. “Which Ms. Rogers?”
He knew the Rogers family had two daughters. One was the golden girl. The other was labeled a lunatic.
What angered him most was that his useless parents had actually arranged for him to marry that lunatic.
Oliver did not soften his words. “The one they arranged for your marriage. She’s the one who saved Madam Berry.”
“Huh?” Archer burst out laughing so hard he nearly bent double. “You expect me to believe a nutcase saved someone? That’s the best joke I’ve heard all year.”
Oliver was about to explain that Allison was no longer unstable, but Archer suddenly cut him off. There was a manic gleam in his eyes. “Wait. So Jareth ditched my grandma to take care of her?”
“How touching. How rare.” Archer’s expression twisted. “Didn’t Jareth swear off women after he wrecked his leg? Unless…” He sneered. “Don’t tell me he’s actually fallen for that little nutjob. Hahaha!”
Oliver rolled his eyes. There was no point arguing with a rabid dog.
He had no idea why Jareth even bothered calling someone like Archer in the first place.
Allison woke up not long after her fever broke.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and the swelling in her cheek throbbed painfully.
Only then did it come back to her. Ronan had hit her.
She looked around and saw Jareth sitting across from her. She was utterly shocked.
He did not move as he offered, “Do you want some water?”
Allison slowly pushed herself up and nodded.
After such a high fever, her throat felt unbearably dry.
Jareth stood and went to pour her a glass of water.
With his back turned, Allison finally let out a breath. When she had first opened her eyes, it felt like he had been staring straight at her face, and it made her skin crawl.
She did not even think she was pretty. Was Jareth’s taste really that niche?
The pain in her face was impossible to ignore. She reached for the mirror on the bedside table.
When Jareth turned around, he saw her eyes widen in shock.
Ronan had been wearing a diamond ring. When his fist landed, the ring cut like a blade.
A four-centimeter gash ran across Allison’s face. It was deep and ugly. No one could shrug that off.
“Regretting it?” Jareth held out the glass, watching her.
If she had known she would be disfigured, would she still have blocked Ronan’s fist to shield him?