“I am fine,” Lily mumbled, she eyed the man who was looking at her with a worried expression plastered all over his face. “You should stop worrying. Jack didn’t lay a single finger on me.”
“Hmmm.” Leaning on the door, Zhuo Jingren nodded. “Just some blood test and they are done. I just want to make sure that you are okay.”
“I understand,” Lily said. It was no surprise that Zhuo Jingren could find her just a few minutes after Jack left. In fact, she was already expecting this because of some files that Jack showed her. After a few minutes, the medical personnel finished taking her blood and left them.
After Zhuo Jingren found her, he insisted that they go directly to Sky City to have her checked. At that time, the fury and controlled anger that she saw swirling in his eyes were intimidating. It was almost animalistic. This made Lily agree to his words without telling him about Jack’s purpose of taking her away. “Your head is still bleeding.” She stated as she looked at Zhuo Jingren’s bandaged head. This should be from the explosion that happened at the restaurant.
She watched as he walked towards their bed and sat next to her. He didn’t say a word of response as he leaned his head on her shoulders and let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t one of those sighs that Lily was familiar with. It was something deeper like he had just released all of his pent-up emotions altogether. “You’re safe.” His voice was soft, gentle. The exact opposite of his tone when he first saw Lily at the underground room of a Casino.
Slowly, he lifted his head and folded his arms around Lily’s waist. He pulled her closer, tighter. As if he wanted to make sure that this was all real. That Lily is real.
“I’m here,” she said. She knew he wasn’t alright. She knew that he needed assurance. His crazed eyes and dark face when they saw each other again was enough to tell her that. Lily instantly wondered if that was the thing that Bei Tian told her about. The Zhuo Jingren when she disappeared. Not that it mattered. “I am here,” she whispered.
“I am going to kill that man.”
“George is dying.” Lily blurted out. “He told me that George is dying. He knows that he could not talk to me in my office, as he does not want to alert George’s enemies. So he tried to take me from the restaurant. When I refused, he got so insistent. At first, I became even more irritated as I felt that he was forcing me. But he said it was all because he knew that there was a bomb.” This was what Jack told her. Of course, Lily didn’t believe him at all. Plus, she was mad that Jack was willing to keep her safe but not warn Zhuo Jingren about the bomb.
Until now, she does not understand the latter’s purpose of doing what he did a few hours ago. “I punched him in the face.” Lily eyed her red knuckles. “I punched him in the jaw.”
Her words instantly earned a chuckle from Zhuo Jingren as he held her hand. “If that’s what he told you… then it does not make any sense.”
“I know. I also know that he is hiding something.”
“I will find him. That man…”
“Apparently the Zhous were one of the people who might have tried to poison George.” She said. silencing him in the process. “Jack wanted your help.” This was another thing that Lily does not understand. First, he kidnaps her, then tells her that she could leave Zhuo Jingren if she wanted to and finally, he asked her to help with George’s case. It was all a mess.
“He gave me this.” Lily gave the USB to Zhuo Jingren. “I hope it will help.”
“George was like a father to you.”
“George was the only father who treated me like a daughter,” Lily added. George was the reason why her grandmother found her. He owed everything to George and hearing his situation right now, is breaking Lily’s heart. She lowered her gaze as her eyelashes fluttered. She remembered the latter’s boisterous laughter every time they talk over the phone. She remembered how he would always pick up just after a few rings- no matter what time or where was he at. George was the only father that Lily knew. And he would be the only man that she would treat as one. Just the thought of George’s death is already making her throat tighten.
“Don’t worry. We will figure this out.” He assured her. “I will personally take care of it.”
Lily didn’t answer him as she remembered not being able to invite George for their wedding. She was originally planning to go back to Europe to talk to him personally and ask if he could walk her down the aisle. She pursed her lips when she felt a single tear fall down her cheeks. The adrenaline that she felt earlier left her as her hands started to tremble.
She could feel the incident and George’s current state weighing down on her, making the tears fall like streams in her eyes. She felt Zhuo Jingren hugged her tighter as her shoulders started to shake. Lily had always thought she was strong. Her schemes were deep, and she was proud of that. But right at this moment, she realized how this was only in her mind.
Her greatest flaw is not being able to prepare for situations like this. But who can she blame? She was not a goddess who can predict the future. She was not some immortal being capable of obliterating her enemies in one punch. She was only human- a flawed one at that.
“Shhh… I’m here,” she heard his deep voice against her ears. “If you want to get George from Jack, we can absolutely do that. We can find the best doctors that could…”
“Or we find the culprit and force them to give us the antidote.” She interrupted him. “If Jack was right about the Zhous then… I think we just found our reason to attack them first.”
