“No, I need to go back today. If he does something stupid, it’ll be too late,” Teresa said.
“He won’t!” Jonathan picked Teresa up.
Teresa sank her teeth right into the back of Jonathan’s hand.
Jonathan winced in pain but, gritting his teeth, slowly set her back down.
Only then did Teresa notice the wound on his hand had already scabbed over. “What’s wrong with your hand?”
“It’s nothing,” Jonathan said. He frowned and ordered the bodyguard beside him. “Take Madam back to her room!”
“Yes, Mr. Lynn!” the bodyguard replied. “Madam, your room is on your right. Please go back. Don’t make this hard on us,” the bodyguard said.
Teresa took a deep breath and finally headed back to her room.
Benny called. He was able to see Lucas. Lucas started a video call, and Benny handed the phone over to Teresa so she and Lucas could talk.
The patches of bruises and scars on Lucas’s face broke Teresa’s heart. “Lucas, how are you holding up? What exactly did Yalena do to you? You have to tell me, okay? If you don’t, that vicious woman will never get what she deserves.”
“I don’t even know who Yalena is. All I know is, a bunch of guys jumped me at the Risemon World Studios set. They saw I was alone, with no one backing me up, so they picked on me. That’s it,” Lucas replied.
“Lucas, you don’t have to hide it from me. I know Yalena sent those men. Did they do something terrible to you?” Teresa pressed.
Lucas said that after those men kidnapped him, they really tried to tear his clothes off. He had no idea what they wanted, but in the darkness, he fought back with everything he had.
They punched him again and again, and everything went black. Then, out of nowhere, a voice came through some kind of voice changer, telling them to just go through the motions and not take it too far.
He was blindfolded the whole time, so he couldn’t see who it was. All he heard was that person making a call to one of the guys who’d beaten him, and after that, they just kicked him aside and didn’t try to strip him anymore.
“That’s what happened, Teresa. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine now, really,” Lucas said.
“Really?” Teresa still had her doubts. Some things you just had to see for yourself. Teresa couldn’t shake the fear that Lucas was being forced to say what he did.
Benny took the phone back. “We can’t talk for too long, so that’s it. Your brother really isn’t that badly hurt. He just needs a few days to recover. You should get some rest too, and wait until your family can be together again.”
Jonathan took the phone, exchanged a few words with Benny in private, then handed it back to Teresa. “Is that okay now? Anything else you need?” Jonathan asked gently.
Whatever Teresa wanted right now, Jonathan would do it for her. If she asked for the stars in the sky, he’d find a way to get them for her.
Teresa fell silent for a few seconds before finally glancing at Jonathan’s hand, the one he’d kept hidden in his pocket this whole time. “Is your hand alright?” she asked softly.
Jonathan replied, “I’m fine.”
Clear regret flickered in Teresa’s eyes. “Sorry, I lost control earlier.”
“No, I’m the one who should apologize. I was so careless that I didn’t protect you and the kids,” Jonathan said.
Teresa fell silent. “Go get your hand checked by a doctor. I really bit you hard, I’m sorry. I won’t run off again. I just want to be alone for a while,” Teresa said.
“Alright, I’ll be back soon,” Jonathan said before heading out. The door was left ajar, letting the moonlight spill into the room. Teresa finally felt herself calming down.
She thought back on everything she’d endured during her pregnancy, the pain, the injustice, all the pent-up grievances and humiliation. Now that her baby was finally here, she didn’t have to carry all that weight anymore.