bChapter /bb174 /b

[Got it.] Ste replied

Jordan replied to her with a love emoji.

Ste felt like she was falling for him, her heart fluttering. Back in high school, she used to sneak a peek at magazines and romance novels with her friends, reading about love in those pages.

She always thought what she had with Lionel was true love, and looked forward to their first kiss and all the sweet things couples do together. But none of that ever happened.

All she got, in the end, was Lionel’s relentless hurt. Now, with Jordan, she was experiencing what love felt like. ‘Maybe it is just because I

finally met the right guy,‘ she thought.

As Ste stepped out, Kevin spotted her. “Did Mr. Erwin call you?” he asked.

Ste wasn’t surprised he knew. They weren’t that far apart, so it was not surprising he overheard the call. Ste just said yes.

“He really cares about you,” Kevin said with a teasing smile, shaking his head.

Ste nced at her watch. “Let’s go. We don’t want to keep them waiting too long.”

“Nice to meet you, Ste.”

They made their way to the restaurant. A bunch of big shots showed up–people they’d only ever seen in the media before.

Cavan introduced them, “This is Ms. Hayes. She managed to escape from a remote ce all on her own. Now, she wants to open a brand–new type of supermarket, and she’s hoping we can all lend a hand.

“By sharing her inspiring story, we hope that those who’ve been abducted can find their way home someday.”

“Absolutely. We’ve all heard her story. We’d be more than happy to help,” one of them said.

“Yeah, Ms. Hayes is someone we admire. We’ll support her.”

With Kevin, everything went smoothly.

As Ste took a sip of water, she noticed it tasted a little off, but she brushed it off. After all, everyone here was trustworthy–there was no way they’d do anything to her. She figured it was probably just something weird with her taste buds.

Halfway through the meal, Ste started to feel a bit unwell. She politely excused herself from the group and went to the restroom.

Her head was spinning–she’d never felt like this before. At first, her whole body felt feverish, but then a chill crept in, only for the heat toe rushing back momentster.

“What’s wrong?” a voice asked. Monroe had been standing there for a while, watching her before finally speaking up.

Ste caught sight of Monroe standing behind her in the restroom mirror. Her voice was a bit shaky as she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here on a business trip. You look like you’re not feeling well,” Monroe replied.

“Someone like me probably deserves to feel this awful, right? Just leave me alone. Go wherever you want.”

Monroe felt he was an idiot. Running into Ste here of all ces, while he was on a business trip—it was a crazy coincidence. For some

690

reason, seeing her like that made him worried,

He’d been holding it in for a while before he decided to ask her. ‘What’s wrong with me, poking my nose into her business?‘ he thought, annoyed with himself. Shaking his head, Monroe turned and walked out of the restroom.

Just then, a few people walked by, and he overheard them say, “The drug should be working now.”

“Come on, let’s hurry up and get her out of here.”

Monroe stopped in his tracks. He felt these people were after Ste. He turned and saw them heading straight for the restroomb, /bjust as he’d suspected. Not long after, he heard Ste’s scream.

Monroe told himself that whatever was happening to Ste had nothing to do with him. He thought, ‘She must have crossed someone, so now she is being targeted.

‘She deserves it. I’m not going to get involved. Not my problem.‘ But after he hesitated for a minute, Monroe still spun around and dashed toward the restroom.

Ste was feeling a little better, but she still couldn’t move and think as usual. With just a sliver of rity left in her mind, she struggled desperately, trying to resist the fog that was taking over her senses.

The restroom was a bit of a walk from their private dining room.

Ste hade out here because she was afraid that if she threw up in the restroom of the private room, the noise might ruin everyone’s appetite, so she slipped out to avoid making a scene. She never expected to run into trouble.

She had no idea who was out to get her, but there was no way she could just leave with them. But she was all alone, and it felt like someone had drugged her.

Her body wouldn’t listen to her at all, and she waspletely at a loss for what to do. Just then, someone rushed in and kicked the men

aside.

The men turned to Monroe and said, “This has nothing to do with you. Mind your own business.”

Monroe stared them down. “I don’t care how many of you there are–you can’t beat me. I’m giving you one chance: if you want to take her, you’ll have to take me down first.”

The men nced at each other, uncertain. They’d seen what Monroe could do, and none of them were stupid enough to take him head–on. So, they all nodded at each other and quickly left.

Ste copsed to the floor, her hands fumbling with her clothes, trying to pull them off.

Monroe soon realized what was happening to her. He quickly took off his jacket and covered her up. Then, he scooped her up in his arms and said, “Hang in there. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Ste was burning up, her mind barely hanging on. She just wanted to do something reckless and wild.

As Monroe held her, seeing her so hot and desperate, he couldn’t help but think she looked incredibly seductive. He felt his body responding in a way he hadn’t expected at all.

He’d been with Anna for so long, and even though he liked her, he’d never had this kind of physical reaction before, so he was shocked about olliit. /li/ol

He thought, ‘Ste is Anna’s sister. How can I even think about doing something like this to Anna’s sister?‘ Monroe quickly forced himself to look away from her.

Fortunately, there was a hospital nearby. When he got her inside, he exined the situation to the doctor.

The doctor said, “There’s not much we can do for her. Usually, it’s either cooling her down or having sex with her. Since you’re her boyfriend, you can take care of it.”

“No, doctor, I’m not her boyfriend. She’s weak and has been through a lot. Cooling her down just isn’t an option. I’m worried she won’t make it through,” Monroe said firmly.

“Well…” The doctor hesitated and didn’t know what to do, either. After thinking, the doctor said, “How about this? I’ll give her some injections. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but it’s worth a shot.”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Monroe replied. He wasn’t sure why he was so on edge. Then, something else urred to him, and he quickly added, “She might only have one kidney. You need to be extra careful.”

“Got it,” the doctor said seriously.

Monroe waited off to the side, so distracted that he didn’t even notice when Anna called.

Ste was still burning up, trying to take off her clothes. Even though the doctor was just trying to treat her, Monroe still stepped in front of her and pulled the covers back over her.

For some reason, he couldn’t stand the thought of another man seeing Ste’s body.