The Billionaire Who Saved Me

“How are you, sir?”

Amber’s expression was one of genuine concern as she received permission to meet with Garrett. Momentarily stunned, her hand covering her mouth, Amber hadn’t expected her boss to be in such a terrible state. In all her years of accompanying Garrett, Amber had never seen him in such a state. All bruised and battered. She had to take a deep breath to suppress her worries.

“I’m fine,” Garrett replied with a smile on his face. A form of courtesy he had a hard time maintaining. “No need to worry.”

Amber clearly knew that Garrett wasn’t fine. But she nodded.

“I called you here on purpose because there are some things that need your attention. Since I obviously won’t be in the office for a few days.”

Amber understood. “Of course, sir,” she nodded again. “What would you like me to do?”

For a moment, Garrett took a deep breath. He adjusted his sitting position on the hospital bed. At this point, only he and Amber were in the makeshift room while two guards stood outside.

Elice went home. It was because Garrett urged her to. He wanted Elice to rest because she had barely slept all night. Elice stayed by his side. She wiped the sweat from his face from the nightmare that haunted his subconscious.

But it wasn’t just that that made Garrett ask Elice to go home. Rather, it was Ariel’s arrival that morning that contributed to it.

Garrett didn’t want to take any chances. Even though he was sure that Ariel wouldn’t hurt Elice, he didn’t want to give Ariel the chance to get close to his wife. Especially with the message Elice had received from Ariel.

It wasn’t hard to guess who had sent the message. Garrett and Elice wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that the owner of the new number was Ariel.

An impression of care. Timing that coincided with his presence at the hospital. That was more than enough to indicate that Ariel had sent the message to Elice.

The message made Garrett’s chest burn. It was more painful than the beating he received last night. To see another man trying to get his wife’s attention? Oh, Garrett was no god. He was just an ordinary man.

Not only that. Not wanting to tire Elice, Garrett allowed his wife to see him only briefly. He also asked Elice not to accompany him to the hospital overnight. Something he had already done with Daphne and Norah.

Frankly, Garrett felt guilty when he told Daphne and Norah to go home last night. At the time, Garrett hadn’t wanted them to be tired. But with Ariel’s arrival, Garrett was relieved that he had made the right decision. Who could guarantee that Ariel wouldn’t resort to other means? Garrett didn’t want anything bad to happen to them either.

“Anyway, make sure no one knows about my current condition. No one. I want you to cancel all my appointments for the next few days. Maybe a week.”

Perhaps a week would not be enough time for Garrett to fully recover. Especially with the red and blue marks on his face. But they can arrange that later.

“You can say I’m traveling out of town or even abroad, as long as it doesn’t arouse suspicion.”

Amber understood Garrett’s intention. Garrett’s condition had to remain a secret. It shouldn’t leak out to the public, at least to avoid an uproar that could worsen the company’s atmosphere.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Of course, sir. I will take care of it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sir. But if I may ask. What actually happened to you?”

When Garrett had contacted Amber earlier and asked her to meet him at the hospital, the secretary hadn’t expected to find Garrett in such a battered state. She might have thought he needed treatment because he was sick. Fever, for example. So, it was not surprising when Amber was shocked to find out that her assumption was wrong. Besides, she was curious. What had happened to Garrett?

“Last night…” Garrett sighed deeply. After a moment’s thought, he realized that Amber was one of the few people he could trust right now. So, he told her everything without hesitation. “… after I returned from the meeting with Mr. Merten, I was attacked by some assailants. And this is the result.”

Amber quickly covered her mouth. To prevent her gasp from escaping. But from her widened eyes, Garrett could tell how shocked she was by his explanation.

“But I’m obviously lucky. Just bruises and no major injuries. Maybe a few scratches here and there,” Garrett continued, feeling guilty. “Dariel had it even worse.”

“What happened to Dariel, sir?”

“His hand had to be stitched up inside and out. He lost a lot of blood. And it looks like his nose is broken.”

Amber couldn’t imagine Dariel’s condition. Especially, she couldn’t imagine how dangerous the situation had been.

“This is clearly not a normal attack, sir,” Amber concluded. “We have to investigate, sir. We need to report it to the police.”

“No.”

Garrett’s firm answer left Amber stunned. “No?” she asked incredulously. “Your life is in danger. And I’m afraid this will happen again in the future. The police must investigate. Catch the perpetrator before he does something worse to you.”

“I already know who the culprit is.”

It seemed that Amber had to be confused several times that day. With a furrowed brow, she asked for reassurance.

“You already know the culprit, sir?”

Appearing calm, Garrett nodded. An answer that only made Amber more confused.

“If you already know the perpetrator,” Amber said with uncertainty in her voice, “why didn’t you report it to the police right away?”

Garrett didn’t want to answer this question. Instead, he remained silent. In any case, he had decided to take a different approach.

Nothing had escaped Nana’s attention so far. But what would happen this time?

Daphne, who usually acted immediately in any situation, seemed to do nothing. Frankly, Garrett wasn’t sure if Daphne didn’t know that Ariel was the mastermind behind the attack on him. So, it was strange to Garrett that Daphne did not immediately demand Ariel’s accountability.

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