Chapter 40
I swallowed nervously and instinctively asked, "What do you want?"
I didn't believe it was a coincidence that they were blocking my way.
One of the men spoke with a nasty grin, "Don't be scared. We're just doing someone a favor - we need you to leave Michael, that's all."
I kept backing away, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.
Seeing my reaction, one of the men pulled a small knife from his pocket and casually played with it in front of me.
Seeing that they had a weapon made me even more nervous and scared. I could only try my best to suppress these emotions.
They kept closing in on me, clearly planning to attack.
I was extremely nervous, backing up constantly until I tripped over something.
I instantly lost my balance and fell backward.
But at that moment, I felt the fire hydrant on the pillar.
The instant I hit the ground, I immediately grabbed the fire extinguisher on the floor and threw it at the person closest to me.
He obviously didn't expect me to suddenly fight back. Caught completely off guard, I hit him right in the knee.
The man lost his balance, cried out in pain, and dropped to his knees.
Seeing me fight back, the other two men came after me.
"Oh, you've got quite a temper. Perfect, we'll have some fun with you in a bit."
I forced myself to ignore the pain in my ankle, got up from the ground, and ran screaming toward the parking garage exit.
Seeing me escape, the three men chased after me desperately.
I was terrified and used every ounce of strength to frantically press the emergency call buttons throughout the parking garage.
The entire parking garage instantly filled with the sound of alarms.
The three men panicked when they heard the noise, but even so, they didn't plan to let me go - instead, they decided to finish this quickly.
After falling, my legs had already gone weak.
Watching them gradually approach, I kept backing up.
But I had run the wrong way and ended up at a dead end.
The men cornered me. My back hit the wall - there was no chance to escape anymore.
Just when I was in despair, hospital security rushed over with riot shields and restraint poles.
Seeing security arrive, the attackers exchanged glances and instantly reached some kind of understanding.
Though unwilling, they quickly avoided security and fled in panic.
Watching those attackers leave, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Miss, are you okay?" Security came over to check on me.
Still shaken, I shook my head and silently walked toward the ward.
From falling earlier, my sleeves and hands were covered in dirt, and my wrist was even scraped and bleeding.
Not wanting to worry Michael, I deliberately used my sleeve to cover the wound, trying my best to keep him from noticing.
At the ward door, I steadied my breathing and acted as if nothing had happened.
"Michael, I'm back. I didn't see anywhere selling chargers downstairs, so I'll just go home and get one later." I made up an excuse as I walked in, then went into the bathroom to wash the dirt off my hands.
Only after doing all this did I dare to sit back down next to Michael.
I thought I'd hidden it well, but when Michael's gaze landed directly on my sleeve, I started to panic.
"Did you fall just now?" Michael stared at the tear and dirt on my sleeve, asking with concern.
Seeing he'd noticed, I could only go along with it. "I accidentally fell just now, it's nothing serious."
But seeing my guilty expression, Michael directly grabbed my wrist and pulled up my entire sleeve.
The scrape on my arm was completely exposed in front of Michael.
Michael's expression instantly turned cold, but he didn't ask anything.
The more he acted this way, the more nervous I became, constantly making excuses. "I'm really fine, I just fell, that's all."
But Michael didn't believe me. Looking at me with a serious expression, he said, "Nancy, I hope you can trust me and tell me the truth."
Seeing his eyes, I sighed helplessly and could only give in and tell him what really happened.
After hearing my story, Michael's face became even colder and more serious.
After a few seconds, he contacted his assistant to pull the surveillance footage and investigate those three attackers.
Seeing how worried he was, I tried to comfort him. "I'm really fine, it's just a small injury. You don't need to worry so much about me."
Hearing my words, Michael stayed silent, just quietly looking at me.
The more he acted this way, the more panicked I felt. I knew lying to him earlier was wrong, but I just didn't want him to worry.
Seeing him remain silent, I got a bit annoyed too. Looking at him with some dissatisfaction, I said, "Michael, what exactly do you want? I already told you I'm fine and you don't need to worry, so why are you giving me attitude?"
I vented my frustration.
Sensing my emotions, Michael sighed helplessly and finally gave in. "Nancy, I know you're very independent, but I also hope you can rely on me more when you're in danger. I'll protect you for the rest of my life."
When he said this, Michael's eyes were especially determined.
Emotions stirred in my heart as I looked at him, not knowing what to do for a moment.
After a few seconds, I responded quietly, "I know. I'll tell you if anything happens from now on."
Seeing me soften, Michael's mood improved. He patted the edge of the bed and said, "Come here, let me put medicine on it for you."
He was already injured himself. I didn't want to trouble him and instinctively refused. "Michael, you don't need to bother. This is a hospital - I'll just have a doctor help me later."
But as soon as I said this, Michael's expression darkened again. "I can still handle this small thing. Are you looking down on me because I can't move?"
Somehow, hearing Michael say this, I felt like his tone carried a hint of pitifulness.
Not wanting to hurt Michael's pride, I quickly waved my hands in denial.
"Of course not. Then please help me with the medicine." As I spoke, I sat on the edge of his bed and handed him the medical kit.
They were just minor scrapes - simple disinfection would do.
Michael carefully took out the iodine from the medical kit.
Then he carefully rolled up my sleeve and used a cotton swab dipped in iodine to carefully disinfect my wounds.
When the iodine touched the wound, I instinctively sucked in a breath, but still held it in.
"If it hurts, just say so." Michael guided me while also lightening his touch.
That afternoon, I stayed in the ward with him.
But Michael's phone kept ringing, and each time he took a call, he would deliberately send me away, looking very mysterious.
If he really couldn't get me to leave, he would deliberately keep the call details vague.
My intuition told me Michael seemed to be hiding something from me.
Seeing him act so strangely, I was curious but didn't feel right asking too much.
Seeing Michael's phone ringing constantly all day, as I sat by his bed peeling fruit, I casually asked in a probing way, "Are you investigating something?"