Chapter 8

• 8
• Kyle was grateful for having a friend like her. He reached out for her hand and held it as his eyes shone in brotherly affection.
• "Thanks, Lila. What would I ever do without you? I don't think anyone would have understood my situation better than you."
• Lila's lips curled with a soft smile, "Kyle, I'm here for you. You are regretful and it's enough."
• Then they resumed eating their food. After a few bites, Kyle raised his head with a thoughtful look.
• "I'm thinking to go to the hospital and investigate myself, Lila. What do you say?"
• "Hmm, good idea. Would you mind if I join you?" She asked as this situation was a little more serious than it seemed.
• Kyle never took interest in any person or in their pain ever before. But if he was asking to go to investigate that woman, it was a bad sign. It also meant that the woman could be a problem for Lila.
• Hence, if she could go, she could thwart his efforts to find her. It was best for that woman to remain gone.
• Kyle agreed with a grateful smile again. He suggested Lila to stay the night at his place, that way they could go to the hospital together tomorrow the first thing in the morning.
• She couldn't be any happier. Her heart swirled in her chest. Lila agreed to stay on condition that Kyle would let her sleep in his room as she hates his big house and the noise the insects make at night. He nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
• They were childhood friends, which is why sleeping in the same room never seemed like a wrong thing to him. It never felt awkward.
• Sleeping together still felt like a nostalgic slumber party to Kyle, just like the ones they had as kids, and Lila often used that to her advantage.
• He just offered to take the couch— like he always did when she slept in his room— while leaving the bed for her. Once under the quilts, Lila smiled from ear to ear as the couch was positioned directly across from the bed.
• She admired Kyle as he scrolled through his phone before clenching her thighs. She was helplessly imagining straddling his waist to distract him from seeing his phone, kissing his jaw and grounding her hips against his boner.
• 'I will soon do that to you, darling. I love you so much! And anyone who dares to come between us will meet their demise.' Lila mused before his good looks lulled her into a peaceful slumber.
• ***
• Jasmine winced as she struggled to walk. Her entire body was stinging with pain. She kept her teeth clenched as she moved by the support of the walls.
• Her right calf had a minor slit and it was bandaged. But as she moved forward, it ached like a festered wound. It didn't stop her from trying to escape. She was still in the vicinity of the hospital. She could look at the building if dye looked over her shoulder.
• "I need to hurry away before they come to look for me!" She muttered and tried to make haste.
• She wouldn't have bailedout had she not heard the doctors discussing her reports outside her ward. Her condition wasn't severe. The damage on her arm was not worrisome. It was expected to heal in a week's time with proper rest and care. Then the bandage on her head was covering a small cut, which was not even stitched.
• All in all, she sustained minor physical injuries. It wasn't something big which would threaten her determination. They doctors even cited that the bruises would completely heal and the marks would disappear if she used the ointment they prescribed for her.
• She had the prescription with her. She made sure to grab it at the last minute before she gave a slip when no one was around.
• Economically disadvantaged individuals wouldn't even rush to the hospital to treat the wounds she incurred. They would treat it as superficial damage. She was here only because she was hit by a rich jerk with fat bank balance— who probably also had a father, with strong connection, to back him up.
• Jasmine's anger stirred at his thought. That devil incarnate's face was burned into her memory. She would never forget him. Can someone forget a murderer? And to say, this asshóle murdered her unborn child— her hope amidst the miserable time she was facing in life.
• Jasmine was asbent-mindedly moving forward with a limp. The hospital gown made her look even pathetic. The dusk had settled, and under the street lamps, it didn't look that noticeable. Not that the passersby cared even if they took note of her clothing. They were more focused on arriving at their destination.
• Her eyes followed the flat, grey concrete beneath her feet as she forced herself forward. She was wondering where to go when she bumped into someone.
• "Oh, I'm sorry I wasn't—" Her words faded as a bitter taste filled her mouth and bile rose up in her throat, looking at the person she ran into.
• "Not a problem, sweetheart. You can run into me even harder and I wouldn't complain. I just need a reason to touch you." A man's amused voice reached her ears.
• As Jasmine looked up, her nerves tangled in fear. Time was definitely not in her favour. Having escaped one malevolent force, she ran into another— Max Digby.
• Max was her husband's stepbrother, a man who exuded menace with his unsettling gaze that lingered far too long. He was the son of Vince's mother's second husband, Jenson Digby, from his previous marriage. However, there was nothing brotherly about him.
• Max had always harbored a dark obsession with Jasmine. His leering eyes always made her skin crawl. At every family gathering in the three years of her marriage, he always had an excuse to get too close to her. His hands always seemed to brush against her body—especially over her nether regions or around her bréasts— 'accidentally' all the time.
• And no one gave it a thought... That it could be serious.
• What hurt her the most was when she confronted Vince about Max once, but he dismissed her saying that she was being paranoid. Like others, he didn't believe her.
• Vince didn't find Max nefarious at all. But it did nothing to calm her nerves around Max. Jasmine always found his presence suffocating. Many times she made excuses to avoid attending gatherings just so she wouldn't have to see him.
• Unfortunately, she now stood face-to-face with the very monster she feared—completely defenseless.
• "Mmm, yummy tits!" Jasmine jumped at his muttering.
• Next, the unexpected happened, catching her unprepared.
• Tbc...