Chapter 48: Goodwill

Elodie's POV

"What are you doing? This is bullying! It's illegal!" He stood in front of me, yelling at Samantha and her friends.

Samantha stumbled back from his push. When she saw who it was, a flash of wariness crossed her face, but it was quickly replaced by embarrassed anger. "Henry! Mind your own business! This is between me and her!"

"Bullying a girl in broad daylight - I'm making it my business!" The guy called Henry stood his ground.

Henry was a well-known top student at school - from a wealthy family, gentle personality, quite respected among students.

His appearance made Samantha's followers clearly back down a bit.

More and more people gathered to watch, some even pulling out their phones.

Samantha's expression kept changing. In the end, she didn't dare make things worse.

She glared at me hard, her eyes looking like she wanted to tear me apart. "Elodie, you just wait!"

With that, she left with her group in embarrassment.

The drama ended. Henry turned around, looking at me with concern all over his handsome face. "Are you okay? Your face and hands are injured. Let me take you to the nurse's office."

Only then did I feel the burning pain on my cheek and arm. During the scuffle, someone's nails had scratched several bloody marks. I shook my head, my voice a bit hoarse. "Thank you, I'm fine."

"You're bleeding, how can you be fine?" Without waiting for an answer, he held my arm. "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital."

His touch carried careful kindness, but I still flinched instinctively. He seemed to notice and immediately let go, just staying by my side protectively, keeping a polite distance.

I didn't refuse again.

At the hospital, the doctor treated my wounds - all superficial injuries, but they looked pretty shocking.

Henry stayed with me the whole time, running around to pay bills and get medicine, gentle and considerate.

"Thank you so much for today," I sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, thanking him sincerely. "If it weren't for you..."

"Don't mention it, anyone would have helped seeing that." He smiled, handing me a bottle of warm water. "But that Samantha was way out of line."

Just as I was about to say something, my phone in my pocket started vibrating like crazy.

It was Nelson.

My heart tightened. I quickly answered.

"Where are you?" His voice was low on the other end.

"I'm at the hospital..."

Before I could finish, he hung up.

Ten minutes later, urgent but rhythmic footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

Nelson, with Rod and surrounded by a group of black-suited bodyguards, strode toward me.

The moment he appeared, the air in the entire corridor seemed to freeze.

The noisy crowd around us unconsciously quieted down, casting respectful and curious glances.

He walked straight to me. When he saw the gauze on my face and arms, those deep blue eyes instantly erupted like a stormy sea.

He raised his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly, wanting to touch but not daring to touch my wounds.

"Who did this?"

"Elodie, she..." Henry beside me was about to explain when Nelson's icy stare stopped him cold.

Only then did he notice Henry beside me, and the jacket on me that clearly belonged to another man.

The pressure around him instantly dropped to freezing point.

Without a word, Nelson took off his own suit jacket, roughly pulled off the one I was wearing, and wrapped his jacket, carrying his body heat and scent, tightly around me.

He stepped forward, pulled me up from the bench, and without asking, held me in his arms with a force that showed undeniable possession.

Only then did he look at Henry.

"Thanks, you can go now."

Henry was intimidated by his powerful presence. He opened his mouth but said nothing in the end, just looked at me with concern before turning to leave.

Watching Henry's retreating figure, I couldn't help but look up at Nelson. His tense jawline showed he was extremely displeased.

"Are you jealous?" I asked.

He looked down at me, those blue eyes churning with complex emotions I couldn't understand.

He didn't answer, but directly cupped the back of my head and kissed me.

This kiss carried punishment - domineering and fierce, as if wanting to devour me whole.

He pried open my teeth. Only when I was kissed until my whole body went soft and I could barely breathe did he slightly release me, forehead against mine, breathing heavily.

"Yes, I'm jealous." His hot breath sprayed on my face. "Elodie, stay away from those men. I don't like it."

Looking at the deliberately suppressed panic in his eyes, my heart suddenly melted completely.

"Now can you tell me what exactly happened?" He touched the gauze on my face, the murderous look in his eyes surging up again.

I leaned in his arms and told him everything that happened in the cafeteria.

"I understand." He didn't ask more, just held me and coldly ordered Rod behind him, "Go investigate that girl called Samantha, and everyone in her family and their businesses. I don't want to hear about this family in New York tomorrow."

I rested at home for a few days. When the wounds scabbed over, I returned to school.

Campus was the same as always, just with a weird atmosphere.

Everyone who looked at me had an indescribable fear in their eyes.

Just as I walked into the academic building, I heard several girls huddled together whispering.

"Did you hear? Samantha's family went bankrupt! Her dad's company was found guilty of tax evasion overnight, all assets frozen!"

"That's not all. I heard her dad owed a ton of gambling debts. Yesterday debt collectors came to school, cornered her in the dorm, forced her to take nude photos as payment. The photos are all over the school forum now!"

"Oh my god! Really? Didn't she try to jump from the dorm building? She's still in the hospital!"

I stopped in my tracks, feeling a chill run from my feet to my head.

Nelson's methods were a hundred times more ruthless than I imagined.

Just then, my phone rang - an unknown number.

I hesitantly answered. On the other end came Alex's voice, filled with terror and trembling.

"Elodie... your boyfriend, is he... is he in the mafia?"

My heart sank.

"Alex, I warned you..."

"I was wrong! I was really wrong!" He sounded scared out of his mind, crying incoherently. "My dad's company is going bankrupt. Everyone says it's because I offended the head of the Nelson family... Elodie, please, talk to him, tell him to let our family go! I swear I'll never do it again, I'll never appear in front of you again!"

The head of the Nelson family.