Chapter 192 Marcus
She glanced at her palms; they were also scraped.
Maybe it was when she reached for her phone, or perhaps when she fell and grazed the ground.
There was no bleeding, but the skin was broken, and it hurt.
Isabella turned and walked towards the bathroom.
Sebastian watched her go, his hand at his side clenching into a fist again, as if trying to crush it.
Isabella stood under the shower, stripped off her filthy clothes, and let the water wash over her.
When she emerged in a bathrobe, the bedroom was empty.
She had no idea where Sebastian had gone.
She flopped onto the bed, and soon, her dizziness overwhelmed her. She was aching all over, her heartbeat quickening, and without realizing it, she drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, in the study...
Sebastian lit a cigarette and stood by the window, looking off into the distance with a solemn expression.
The ash at his fingertips had grown long.
His hand trembled slightly, causing the ash to fall softly downward.
He'd been standing there for quite some time.
His cellphone was ringing and so was the landline in the study, but Sebastian acted as if he heard none of it, only remaining still.
The cigarette burned down to the filter without a single drag. It wasn’t until the burning ember singed his fingertips did he flinch, snuff out the stub, and leave the study.
The phone was still ringing.
Sebastian pushed open the door to the master bedroom and instantly saw Isabella curled up in the corner of the bed, sound asleep.
Her hair dangled off the side of the bed, still dripping wet; she was wrapped loosely in a bathrobe, her pale feet bare and visible.
He hesitated, almost wanting to leave her be and exit, but then his heart softened.
Sebastian approached, "Isabella, Isabella."
He called her name several times, but she didn't stir.
Begrudgingly, he stooped, lifting Isabella into the center of the bed, then tucked her in snugly beneath the covers. Grabbing the hairdryer, he sat at the head of the bed and set it to the lowest setting, slowly drying her hair.
Isabella was out like a light, so she was unaffected by Sebastian's fussing over her.
Sebastian muttered. "Haven't I treated you well enough? And still, you pine for Marcus."
"Or is this your way of getting even with me? I had Lynda, so you cling to Marcus just to get under my skin."
"But Isabella, I—"
Sebastian stopped midsentence, his expression sinking. He turned off the dryer, rose from the bed, and left the room.
Once again, Isabella lay alone in the silence of the bedroom, blissfully unaware of the chaos that had erupted outside.
"What do you mean he's been rushed to the hospital?" Grace eyed the two ruffian-looking young men before her—one tall, the other short—neither gentle with their means. "Can't you idiots control your strength?"
"It was an accident," the taller one answered.
"Exactly," the shorter thug also piped up. "The dude was huge—over six feet tall and no pushover. He even tried to snatch our knife. If I hadn't defended myself, we'd be the ones in the hospital—or even worse, behind bars."
"Yeah, we were just doing a job for you, lady. We didn't sign up to risk our own lives."
Both men sought affirmation. "We didn't mean for it to get out of hand," said the taller one. “Now what?”
Grace was fuming. “If this guy dies, we’re all going down!”
“Relax, he won’t die,” the shorter one assured her. "We know how to throw a punch without killing. It was just a slice that missed his vitals. A little blood, a trip to the ER, a month of rest, and he'll be as good as new."
"You sure?" Grace demanded.
"Unless the docs screw up, he'll make it," came the response.
Grace fell silent as she lost herself in thought. When her cell phone rang. She stood up. "I've got to take this call," she said, walking away. "We'll talk more later."
Grace answered the phone briskly, "Yeah, what's up?"
"Have you reached Sebastian yet?"
"I've called him like seven or eight times. No answer." Grace was irritated. "What about you?"
"He's ignoring my calls too," Lynda confessed.
"What's Sebastian thinking... It's odd. He saw everything and did nothing. Aren't you two close? Do you have any clue what's going on?"
"I haven't seen him; how would I know?"
"What are we going to do?" Grace fretted. "I am afraid he may take this out on me."
Lynda reassured her, "Don't worry. We've planned every step of this so meticulously, and Sebastian is in on it. If he wanted to harm you, he would've stopped you the moment he got wind of it."
"That's a relief."
"Even if, by some slim chance, he does decide to give you trouble, I've got your back," Lynda said with a smile. "This is our first collaboration, and it's been such a success; I can't afford to lose a perfect partner like you."
Grace, puzzled, replied, "A success? How so? Those two had the audacity to actually pull knives."
"Don't worry about Marcus; he's not going to die," Lynda said confidently. "Besides, he got hurt because of Isabella. Now, there's no way they can clear their names of this."
After Grace hung up the phone, she turned around and walked back.
The two thugs were both eyeing her; their looks unmistakably a demand for payment.
"There was a slight hiccup, but luckily no disaster ensued," Grace stated with arms crossed. "You'll get what's promised."
With that, she reached into her bag and pulled out several stacks of cash.
"Here," Grace said. "Take it and get lost. Don't breathe a word of this to anyone, got it?"
With greedy smiles and in unison, the thugs replied, "You got it."
Shorty counted the money, adding, "We're professionals. We know the rules."
"Okay, scram," Grace gestured dismissively. "Pretend you never saw me."
Chuckling, the pair pocketed the money and left.
Five minutes after they were gone, Grace finally left, sliding into a car by the roadside.
"Miss," the driver began, "about those two..."
"Keep an eye on those brothers," Grace commanded. "If they slip up again, call the cops and bust them."
"You're brilliant, miss," the driver praised. "This way, our hands stay clean, and we can get those goons behind bars. Two birds with one stone."
Grace tilted her chin up with a smug hum of satisfaction.
The car drove off and seamlessly blended into traffic, everything looking serene.
When Isabella awoke, dusk had settled.
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