Chapter 9
Chapter 9
In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared, running toward me. I was still processing everything when I suddenly heard the sound of wind whooshing past my ear. The hand gripping my arm loosened. Then, I found myself falling into a warm embrace.
Frederick’s chest rose and fell rapidly. As I leaned against him, everything around me seemed to fade into silence. All I could hear was the frantic beating of his heart.
Daniel was knocked to the ground with a single punch. As he lifted his head to look at the unfamiliar man standing over him, his eyes were full of pain and disbelief. He shouted, “Who are you?”
Frederick gently wrapped his arm around my waist, as if staking his claim. He said firmly, “I’m her husband. Frederick Cortez.”
Then he lowered his head and placed a
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light kiss on my forehead. In a voice so quiet, only I could hear, he murmured,
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
My heart was still racing from the fear, but those words gradually calmed me. It was as if I were a wounded bird finding safety in a warm nest. The unease in my chest slowly eased away.
“It’s impossible. Lenore, what he’s saying isn’t true, right?” Daniel struggled to get to his feet, his dull eyes full of hurt and disbelief. He couldn’t seem to accept that I was already married.
I reached for Frederick‘ s hand, showing him our wedding ring. “See? I really am married, so stop showing up in front of me and forcing me to go with you, Daniel!”
“To hell with that! We can still be together, Lenore. We love each other,” Daniel said, refusing to give up. He charged at me, trying to drag me away. “Do you really think he’s a good guy? He’s just making the most of the situation, Lenore–our
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situation.”
Then Frederick’s usually calm face turned dark. He gently pushed me away and whispered, “Stay back. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Without thinking, I stepped back a few paces. In the blink of an eye, the two men were already in a violent struggle. Frederick landed a few forceful punches. Daniel, though he usually worked out, clearly wasn’t a match for him. Soon, he was left helpless, with no way to fight back.
“Stop! I said stop, Frederick! He could die. If he dies, you’ll be dragged into it.” I quickly stopped Frederick before calmly. taking out my phone to call an ambulance.
At those words, he snorted and released his grip. “Fine, but just because you told me to stop.”
“Lenore…” Daniel, still lying on the
ground, groaned in pain, stretching out his hand as if to grab my ankle.
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I looked at him with disgust and said,
“Daniel, can you stop being so pathetic?”
I couldn’t bear to look at him any longer. After telling my parents that the ambulance would arrive soon, I left with Frederick.
Back at home, I noticed a bruise on his face. “Where’s the first–aid kit? Those wounds needs to be treated.”
He retrieved the kit and sat obediently on the couch. Dealing with Daniel’s temper was something I’d done countless times before. Whenever he got into fights, he
would always come home hoping no one would notice the damage. It was always me who cleaned him up before he went back to his family. Because of this, I was quite experienced with handling minor injuries.
But just as I reached for Frederick, a blurry image flashed across my mind.
“What’s wrong?” Frederick asked when he noticed I had paused.
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“I… I suddenly feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before…” I murmured, still
unsure.
“You got your memory back?” he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.
I blinked, still feeling confused. He chuckled softly, gently squishing the tip of my finger. “You scatterbrain,” he teased. “I was the one who helped you, when you get jumped by those scoundrels. Back then, you were just like you are now, putting medicine on my wounds…” I froze. I remembered now. It was in our senior of high school. It was during our senior year of high school, when Daniel had skipped class to play basketball with some guys‘ off–campus. Afterward, he had me taking his bag to meet him after school.
year
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