Despair for Cassandra

Chapter - 6

"Well, well… looks like your precious lover had a little accident." Cockroach grinned as he leaned forward towards Cassandra.

And hearing him, her body stiffened.

"Fell right into the river," he continued, his voice playful, "And no one has seen him since."

His words slammed into her like a punch to the gut.

Her chest tightened, her breath became ragged again in uneven gasps. A single tear slipped down her cheek, her heart screaming against his words.

Cockroach watched the tear fall with satisfaction. Like a true gentleman, he lifted a finger and slowly wiped it away, his touch lingering long enough just to make her skin crawl.

Then he chuckled. A deep, low, mocking laugh.

"He is gone, baby girl. Gone for good," Cockroach spoke, "And you should be happy. You are finally free. Free from his grasp"

Cassandra's entire body trembled with rage and heartbreak. If only she could breakfree. The Cockroach would be crushed for once and all. Even if it meant she died with him.

She shook her head violently. But she was not alone anymore. And He can't leave her alone. He needs to come back, He will come back.

"No," Cassandra spat, her eyes burning with fury. "He will come back. And when he does… He is going to kill you, you bastard. He will crush you like a Cockroach you are."

"Hahaha… Hahaha…" Cockroach couldn't hold back hearing her and laughed. A cruel, amused, merciless laugh.

"Oh, Cass… Dear Cass you are so fucking naive." He leaned in closer, his lips near her ear. "No need to deny. Your lover boy is gone." 

"Maybe he drowned. Maybe he got eaten by something. Hell, maybe he is still rotting at the bottom of the river like the pathetic rat he is."

And finally Cassandra snapped. She lurched forward, lunging at the old man, like an animal wanting to bite off his flesh.

But the zip ties yanked her back, digging into her wrists. She let out an angry cry, her breathing wild and uncontrollable.

Cockroach smirked as he pulled back, stretched his arms acting as if this was nothing more than a casual conversation to him.

"Well then, I will be seeing you around, sweetheart," he mused, flashing her a lazy grin. 

Then, turning to the women standing guard by the door he spoke.

"Keep an eye on her." His voice was cold, emotionless. "And if she tries anything funny…"

His gaze flickered back to Cassandra one last time, and the corner of his lips curled.

"Break her."

Beep… Beep… Beep…

In room number 17 of the VIP ward, the low hum of machines filled the room, and their steady rhythm was occasionally broken by the muffled chatter of nurses walking down the hallway.

Inside the room the heart monitor pulsed in a steady, mechanical rhythm, keeping time with the slow rise and fall of the unconscious man's chest. 

A faint drip… drip… drip echoed from the IV bag, its fluid slowly seeping into his veins.

Then, suddenly—

"Ughh…" A low, painful groan broke the silence of the room.

On the hospital bed, the unconscious man stirred in pain. His body ached as if he had been through hell and barely managed to claw his way back. 

The man tried to move, but even the slightest twitch sent a painful jolt through his body. The muscles in his head pounded like crazy, and his limbs felt like they had been weighed down by something.

With great difficulty, he tried to open his eyes, trying to fight the blinding light above him. 

He tried to look around, but his vision was blurry. He squinted, blinking rapidly until everything around him started to become clearer.

'Where was he? What happened?'

And then, he saw her.

She was sitting beside his bed, with a book in her hand casually flipping through the pages. When she saw him wake up, she looked at him with an expression that wasn't readable and strangely intense. 

For a moment, his breath hitched as he looked at the girl. She wasn't just beautiful… She was absolutely breathtaking.

The girl had a slender figure and she sat gracefully in front of him, her shoulder-length wavy brown hair, deep green eyes almost had him lost in them. But the small beauty mark below her right eye caught her attention. Forgetting his pain, he wanted to touch and feel that mark.

It took him a couple of moments, but he finally managed to get back to his senses. 

"Who… who are you?" The man asked, and because of the dry throat, his voice sounded hoarse.

Hearing him, the woman straightened and leaned forward, "You are awake." The girl said in her soft soothing voice.

"Who are you? Where am I?" The man asked again.

The woman's lips parted slightly before she answered, "You are in a hospital. I found you by the lake. You were injured… badly."

"Lake? Injured?" The man frowned as he tried to scramble through his memories trying to find something… anything… anything to explain what had happened to him. 

But there was nothing. He felt a stinging pain in his head from exerting extreme pressure on his brain. It was like a big empty void. Frustration surged through his veins. His hand fisted into the sheets.

And it was not just about the lake or how he got hurt that he forgot.

"I don't remember anything." His voice sounded with panic.

The woman sighed, crossing her arms, "You lost a lot of blood. The doctor said memory loss is possible."

Her words should have reassured him, but they only made the pit in his stomach grow.

"It's not that… I don't remember…" He opened his mouth to explain, but he was cut-short by the girl.

"You need to rest," she said softly, her voice soothing as she gently stroked his hair.

His body screamed for rest, but her comforting voice put her mind to ease. His thoughts that were running wild a moment ago suddenly began to dwindle. His eyes became heavy and he found it hard to focus on her.

"Who are you?" He rasped, his voice barely above a whisper.

She smiled. A slow, knowing curve of her lips.

"Sleep now," she murmured, her voice almost a whisper, "You will know soon enough."

He wanted to continue asking... Persist on demanding answers… Fight the darkness.

But despite the recent soothing in his head, the pounding in his skull only worsened. His eyelids grew impossibly heavy. His limbs felt leaden. His breathing slowed.

And then the darkness swallowed his consciousness.

The girl watched the man for a long moment, with a small unreadable smile on her face. And then finally tearing her gaze away from the man, she stood up and turned towards the door. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How is he?" The girl asked as she sat on the comfortable sofa.

The doctor hurriedly got up from his chair and adjusting his glasses, walked up to her, "He is stable for now. But his wounds are deep and he has lost too much blood. His condition…"

" I want him discharged," The girl interrupted the doctor, her voice firm.

The doctor frowned, "Madam… That's not advisable. That boy has suffered significant injuries. We need to monitor him a while longer. And we can pro…"

But the girl interrupted him, "I will take care of him at home."

There was an eerie authority in her voice that made the doctor hesitate. 

"Madam, I am sure you understand the risks… But…" He asked carefully.

"You don't have to concern yourself with the unnecessary stuff," The girl looked nonchalant in the face of the doctor's concern, "You do your job, and I will make sure you are adequately compensated for your work."

The doctor hesitated, but someone like this girl owing him a favour was worth a fortune, so without a moment's delay, he agreed, "I will arrange for the discharge papers."

"Good," The girl nodded and she stood up to leave, but she stopped at the door, "This man… He was never here." She said without turning back.

"I will take care of that as well," The doctor said, almost bowing down ninety degrees.

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[Author's Note: If you are enjoying the story or if you have any suggestions. Do let me know in the comments. Also don't forget to vote the story with power stones and golden tickets.]