Daniel sat beside Elara’s bed, his eyes trained on the girl’s sleeping face while he massaged her knuckles with his thumb to ease her.
That was precisely what she wanted.
Tell me you will be here when I come out of the emergency room. Elara’s eyes at that time, when she had looked at him with so much trust and hope, were something he would never forget.
"How can I ever leave your side? Who do I even have in my life apart from you? Do you still not understand the extent to which I love you?" Daniel placed his forehead on her hand, leaning on the bed to relax a little.
Outside the room, Alen continued giving orders to the team handling the remaining perpetrators, and once he was done, he opened the door to inform his boss, but stopped when he saw his boss sitting in the chair, his head leaning on the bed, and his eyes closed.
Alen felt a little guilty as he watched. Maybe if he hadn’t asked Miss Elara to come and handle their boss, she would’ve never come to that point, never gotten kidnapped, never suffered so much, and maybe...
The more he thought about it, the more he blamed himself. With a sigh, he closed the door, then leaned on it, his eyes moist with tears.
His boss and the lady boss were in this situation because of him. The thought of what would’ve happened if they hadn’t reached there in time still sent shivers down her spine.
"Are you okay?" Antonio asked Alen when he saw the man placing his hand over his eyes.
Alen, caught off-guard, quickly cleared his throat and blinked his eyes furiously.
"Yeah, yeah, I am fine. Something got into my eyes and—"
"You blame yourself for everything," Antonio cut him off mid-sentence, and Alen paused, looking away.
"You won’t understand," Alen murmured under his breath; after all, Antonio didn’t witness what they did.
"I don’t think there is anyone here who relates to you better than I do. I blame myself too. This isn’t the first time she has been attacked under my supervision. It has made me start to believe that maybe I should quit being her bodyguard and let someone more professional take my place." Antonio sat on the bench.
Alen looked at the guy with furrowed brows.
What did he mean he wasn’t a good bodyguard?
He dared to risk his life when he punched Andrew so brutally. So many times, he protected Elara from others, always roaming around her, and while it was his job, anyone could see how he treated and cherished her more than he would love his own sister.
"What are you talking about? We all saw what happened. It was unavoidable on your part. If they had really found a problem with you, do you think George is the kind of person who would let you stay?" Alen asked.
"I understand that, but the guilt... I might not have been there, but I saw the condition in which she was brought here." Antonio trailed off.
Alen sighed and placed his hand over the man’s. It was a little unmanly, probably something normal men don’t do to comfort each other, but for some reason, he felt Antonio needed it.
Antonio looked at his hand, then smiled sadly. He just hoped Miss Elara would get well soon, and this incident wouldn’t leave her with any nightmares. She already had her share of them. He has heard her screaming in the middle of the night, sometimes not sleeping at all because of the past.
At the same time, Andrew, who had been looking for her for the past hour, unsure where he should even go at this point, stopped the car at the side of the highway.
Elara had blocked his number, and even if she hadn’t, there was no way she could pick up. Apart from her, he didn’t really have anybody else’s number close to her.
This made him realize how private her life was, or maybe he just never bothered to know more about her.
Unsure of what to do, he went to the police station to complain. That was the least he could do, just in case Daniel was looking for her and not lodging a complaint, because he belonged to a mafia group and thought he could deal with it himself.
As he drove to the police station, his phone rang, and he looked at the caller ID. It was his mother.
He pursed his lips before putting the phone aside, not willing to deal with any drama related to his family.
Once he parked the car, he didn’t waste a second in rushing inside the station.
"Hi, I would like to report a missing complaint. It’s a possible kidnapping case," Andrew said quickly.
The cops, who immediately recognized the man as one of the province’s most elite businessmen, left the other cases to attend to him. The chief justice was called from his office.
"Please tell us in detail about this person, sir." The chief justice sat before him with the file, ready to lodge the complaint.
Andrew nodded.
"The missing person’s name is Elara Frost. She is my—" Andrew paused, his heart skipping a beat.
She was his wife. She still was. Despite the divorce proceedings that were about to happen the day after tomorrow, she was still his wife, right? Then why did the word feel so foreign to him? As if he had never said the word out loud ever?
Andrew thought, jogging his memories as realization dawned upon him. He may have never said that word out loud to anyone.
"Elara Frost? Are you talking about this person?" One of the subordinates asked, pulling out a photo.
Andrew looked at the photo and quickly nodded.
The subordinate furrowed his brows.
"The missing complaint was lodged two hours ago, and it was withdrawn half an hour ago, sir. Are you not in contact with her family? They found the girl. We were leaving to get the official statement to ensure everything is alright with the girl," the officer said.
Andrew swallowed hard before heaving a sigh of relief. She was found.
"If it’s not a problem, can I come?" Andrew asked.
The officers looked at him, a bit hesitant. After all, he was someone who didn’t even know when she was kidnapped or found. What were the chances he really knew her?
However, before they could deny him, another officer who had been on a break returned and looked at the case.
He remembered going to Mr. Andrew’s house for their grandfather’s birthday, when a similar case of criminals entering the house had been reported.
"Aren’t you her husband, sir?" The officer asked, and Andrew quickly nodded.
"I am. I had been out for a business meeting and found out only now. As soon as I heard, I arrived to complain. I didn’t have the time to talk to her family. Since you guys were already going, I thought we could go together." Andrew twisted some facts, and the officers relaxed.
"We can totally understand it, sir. Work sometimes holds us back from a lot of other important things. It’s good that she was found. You can come with us." The officer said, and Andrew nodded with a smile before he walked out of the station to wait for the officer, his expression unpredictable.