Chapter 297: Agonizing Torment (Part 1)
The sound of water echoed through the small attic while the wind whistled outside.
The water rippled softly, turning her pale foot almost translucent beneath the surface.
Gabriel cautiously touched her wound, and her jaw clenched as a tremor ran through her.
“Does it hurt?”
His voice was hoarse yet gentle.
His tenderness made her heart flutter.
Flustered, she tried to pull her foot away.
“Thank you, but I can do this myself.”
Her face flushed crimson.
Facing a half-stranger man, she still couldn’t accept the intimacy of his touch.
But he refused to release her.
His gaze was fixed on her foot, making her uneasy.
“Don’t move. Otherwise, I’ll cripple this foot.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Despite the pain, Alison smiled up at him, finding the contrast between his icy exterior and warm gesture amusing.
He suddenly splashed water onto her wound, making her cry out.
“Ah…”
“Now you believe?”
He said it half-jokingly while wiping away the grime from her wound.
His gentle movements gradually eased her guard.
After washing her injured foot, he dried it with a clean cloth.
When everything was done, she was still quietly reluctant to pull away — a trace of warmth lingering where his fingers had been.
He then rose and retrieved a medical kit from the cabinet — the inside glinted with syringes, neatly arranged in rows.
Alison instantly understood their purpose.
“Don’t inject that anymore, okay?” she pleaded.
He paused, offering no reply.
Instead, he took a small bottle of anti-inflammatory hemostatic powder.
He dusted the powder over the wound before wrapping it with gauze.
After finishing the bandage, he slumped sideways, his head lolling back against the bedside.
Beads of sweat covered his forehead, and his lips had turned pale.
He remained frozen for so long, breathing heavily.
Instinctively, she reached out and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Suddenly, his face twitched sharply, revealing a row of teeth.
Something in the sharp line of his jaw — the pain, the restraint — made her chest ache. Why does he always remind me of Jack?
“How I can help you?”
She gently clasped his large hand.
As their palms touched, his body trembled.
He opened his eyes, pulling her with him.
When their eyes met, he pleaded,
“Don’t move. Just let me hold you for a moment.”
She nodded, her nose brushing against his.
The warmth sent a jolt through her body, making her tremble.
They were so close that she could hear his heartbeat.
His breathing grew ragged — the struggle inside him sounded deeper, rawer than before.
Time ticked away.
She wished it would slow down because she felt the man lying beside her could have been Jack — the same warmth, the same ache.
Then, she drifted into sleep.
When she awoke, daylight flooded the room, and she found herself back in her own bedroom.
She sat up abruptly, memories flooding back like a dream.
“Gabriel…” she murmured, her gaze falling on the bandages wrapped around her foot.
The nanny pushed open the door.
“Madam, you’re awake? Here are your medicines. The gentleman who brought you home insisted that you may take them or your foot injury won’t heal properly.”
“Oh.”
She nodded, took the pills, and swallowed them.
Her mind was filled with Gabriel’s image.
However, he still hadn’t given her a clear answer, and she didn’t even have his phone number.
“Take them to me,” she instructed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The nanny responded, bringing over a small bag containing medicine and gauze.
“Madam, shall I apply the medicine for you now?”
“No, I can manage myself.”
She stared at the bag, unease prickling through her. How had he endured his withdrawal? And… how had he carried me home?
She emptied the contents of the bag onto the bed.
Besides the medicine, she found a small note.
Scrawled in messy handwriting:
[Take your pills and apply the ointment. I don’t like keeping women around, especially freeloaders.]
[Also, I don’t know any Colton. The text you mentioned wasn’t from me. I have no interest in rescuing people.]
Furious, she reached to tear the note, but her hand froze mid-motion.
No! I shouldn’t tear it!
I’m not the freeloader.
I should be independent! I should get a job!
Her resolve was fierce, but her injured foot told her rest was the only option for her now. — for now.
The days passed peacefully, with only her kids around.