Chapter Twenty One - Suspect (Part 2)

- Aera

I wake up to unfamiliar, high ceilings and a canopy bed. This isn't the hospital.

My swollen eye refuses to open for long — a relentless throb spreads from my right cheek to my lower jaw. Carefully lifting my arm, I flinch at the severe pain on my shoulder. It stirs memories of the attack, and my body trembles as I recall the indescribable fear for my life, leaving me wretchedly cold and shaken.

With my good eye, I take in the sights of the enormous room. It's lightly furnished, cozy and screams of wealth. My attentions snaps to the door when I hear shuffling footsteps out in the hallway. The door opens with a soft click. I nearly gasp at the sight of Dae entering with a tray of what appears to be breakfast. He pins me down with observant eyes. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"As well as anyone can be after being used as a punching bag." Comes my snarky reply.

"Save your energy." He chastises, setting the tray down. "I'm not your enemy."

"Where am I?" I demand instead. "This isn't the hospital. I want to go home."

"No, it's not." He agrees, padding over to check my temperature. "Your fever is gone. That's good." He removes a cooling pad I didn't notice on my forehead. Has he been nursing me all night? The thought warms me considerably, though I refuse to acknowledge it.

"This is where you'll reside until we catch your killer." His statement catches me off-guard.

"What? No way!" I strongly object, pissed that I can barely move. Being a patient sucks. "You can't do that."

"Already did." He contends with a smug smile. "And I have your mother's approval. In fact, I invited her to stay, but she respectfully declined. Rest assured, I have my men watching over her. You can rest without worrying."

"Argh! You're being annoyingly dominant again." I complain, feeling angry and tired. "This is kidnapping!"

"Not when I have the hospital's approval and the consent of a family member."

It's irritating how he has a comeback for everything. Think, Aera! I need to get out of here.

"There's no use. You can't run away, Aera." His wolfish smile sends a prickle of dread down my spine. "I've got you where I want you. And hellcat, you're going to stay put like a good girl until we catch this guy." He brings the tray over. "Now, eat your breakfast. Detective Cha will be arriving to give us the rundown of the investigation progress. He'll need your statement of the attack." Dae's handsomeness turns criminally vicious. "I want this bastard behind bars for the rest of his life. I would gladly kill him myself." Stupidly, his savagery makes my insides flutter.

What am I thinking about? I shouldn't entertain such thoughts. Mentally shaking my head, I struggle through breakfast until the Detective arrives. I recite last night's event in detail and through it all, Dae holds my hand, acting as my emotional anchor.

"We retrieved a black box feed helping us to pinpoint the driver's starting location." Detective Cha explains, his gaze flicking to Dae. "He or she was found exiting the residential areas in Gangnam, a street near the Yun household."

"What are you insinuating, Detective Cha?" Dae frowns darkly.

"Ms. Yang, you mentioned your attacker warning you to stay away from a HIM, am I right?" Detective Cha throws the question at me and I nod. "Well, based on the threat letters and this new piece of information, it's obvious someone doesn't want you close to one man in particular. Is there anyone in your life that might have garnered enemies or maybe an ex-lover? Anything you can think about that is odd or suspicious might be useful."

A flashback to the day I bumped into Dae's wife comes to mind but, at this point, it's circumstantial and I don't want to accuse an innocent person. Or look like a fool. "It's hard to determine a suspect, Detective. All the men in my life are knees deep in business. Any one of them could be HIM."

Detective Cha closes his notebook, looking grim. Another dead end. "Something doesn't add up. I have my suspicions but it's too early to voice them out. I'll get in touch again. Take care, Ms. Yang."

Dae sees the Detective off and when he returns, I ask. "Oh by the way, how is your son?"

"He's better. I'll have to leave you for a bit to go check up on him."

"Sure. I'll be fine." I mumble, a little distracted.

"What's wrong? You look anything but fine." He sits on the bed. "Ask me what's on your mind."

"Does your wife know about us?" I blurt out, searching his gaze. "I mean…about our contract…,"

His brows draw together. "No, she doesn't."

"How sure are you on that?" I push for a little more.

"Aera, what are you trying to say?" A hint of impatience seeps into his tone. "Are you suspecting that my wife is trying to kill you?"

"Don't get mad." I say, not wanting to hurl accusations but I needed to know. "I met your wife at the company lobby that day." Dae stiffens and I continue. "We bumped into each other and she asked if I was a staff there. I replied I was there to have lunch and she said she was meeting up with you. The way she said it…it's like…she's trying to get back at me. There was a weird vibe coming off her...,"

"My wife can't possibly pull off a scheme like that." He scoffs in denial, like the idea is plain ludicrous. "She may be difficult but, she's as fragile as a flower."

Wow. I cross my arms, glaring at him with my good eye, lips pursed in irritation. "Really? A flower? Do you even know your wife?"

"Better than you do." He shoots back peevishly. But remorse soon replaces his ire.

My brow arches at that undeserving low blow. A sarcastic laugh erupts from my throat. Trust the husband to back up his wife. "You know what? I'm tired, so why don't you get out. I don't want to see you until it's dinnertime." I bury myself under the covers, shutting him out. Right now, anything we say to each other, will just be pointless hurt and resentment.

"Fuck." He swears hotly under his breath. A moment of silence persists, before I hear him sigh and leave.

Certain that he's gone, I throw back the covers and search for my phone. Seriously, I need someone to get me out of here. "Where the hell is my phone?" Then, it hit me that none of my belongings are with me. He confiscated them all. With a frustrated growl, I fall back into bed, and fantasize how good it will feel to wring his neck right now.