Chapter 444 In the End, She Turned and Left
Susanna caught sight of Aaron's hand reaching out. She froze for a sec; she totally didn't see that coming!
What was he trying to pull?
Was he making her choose between them?
Susanna thought Aaron was being kinda clueless. What made him think she'd stick around with him now?
She wasn't the same girl from four years ago.
She glanced at his hand, then turned and headed towards Michael. "Michael, done with your stuff already?"
Michael nodded. "Yeah, just dropping off some papers; no big deal."
Michael looked down at Susanna. Truth was, he came because Austin told him Susanna got a concussion and was in the hospital. He was worried, so he made up an excuse to come by.
But he didn't expect to see Aaron here with her.
Being a guy, Michael could tell right away that Aaron had a thing for Susanna. Why else would he ditch his CEO gig to play bodyguard in Novaria?
Earlier, Michael had called Austin to figure out why Aaron was with Susanna. He figured Aaron was trying to win her back.
Susanna nodded after hearing this and said, "Alright, let's bounce. Aviana just texted me asking where I'm at."
"Cool, let's go."
Without looking back, Susanna walked out of the hospital, totally ignoring Aaron.
Michael, though, turned and shot Aaron a look that screamed, "Stay away from her."
Aaron stood there, watching Susanna leave with Michael.
His hand slowly clenched into a fist, and he went silent.
Even though he kinda saw this coming, it still sucked to see it happen right in front of him. He wished Michael would just vanish.
He knew if he didn't step up, he'd lose Susanna for good.
Just after Aaron pulled his hand back, the staff member who had left earlier came back, trying his luck again. "Sir, I saw you had a run-in with that Jones family dude. Is it 'cause the deal fell through?"
Aaron, in a bad mood, snapped, "Beat it."
"Sir, don't be so quick to shut me down. Our company's contract isn't as bad as people say. If you're up for it, we can talk terms. I can call my boss right now, and we can hash it out."
Seeing the scout pull out his phone, Aaron reached out. "Lemme borrow your phone for a sec."
"Sure, no problem."
The scout handed over the phone, feeling a bit weird. Even though Aaron was kinda bossy, he still handed it over without a fuss.
The scout watched Aaron make the call, thinking Aaron didn't seem like just any guy.
Aaron turned away, staring blankly at the hospital entrance. The call connected, and Tyler's voice came through. "Hello, who is this?"
Aaron spoke slowly, "It's me."
Tyler, on the other end, sounded all jittery, "Mr. Abbott, is that really you? Where you at?"
"Where else? Novaria."
"Mr. Abbott, we've been hunting for you forever. But here in Novaria, I gotta stay low-key. Can't risk the Jones family shipping me back."
Tyler had been laying low in Novaria. Back in Lindwell, he was the CEO's right-hand man, getting respect left and right. But here, he’d been through hell trying to help Aaron get Susanna back. Hearing Aaron's voice almost made him tear up.
Aaron, ice-cold, said, "Hit up the branch office and find out who's trying to team up with the Thornberry family on that project."
"Mr. Abbott, we should come get you first. Where you at? The Jones family’s got eyes everywhere. If they find you, they might actually kill you."
"I've already met with the Jones family."
"What? You’ve already seen them? Are you hurt, Mr. Abbott? Should I bring the crew from Lindwell right now?"
Tyler knew firsthand how brutal the Jones family could be. They didn’t play nice and were quick to throw punches.
Tyler had been sweating bullets over Aaron, thinking if the Jones family found him, it’d be game over. But he didn’t expect Aaron to have already faced them.
"I'm fine. Your top priority now is to get to the branch office and dig into this Thornberry deal. Who's the moron that greenlit this?"
"Mr. Abbott, we should come get you first. We can handle the branch office together."
"Didn't you hear what I said? You get to the branch office ASAP and sort this out."
Aaron hung up and handed the phone back to the scout, saying, "Thanks."
"No problem."
The scout, holding the phone, cautiously asked, "You're not just some regular guy, are you?"
The scout had eavesdropped on Aaron’s convo, catching bits about the branch office and the Thornberry family. This wasn’t the talk of an average Joe. Clearly, Aaron was more than just a bodyguard.
Aaron glanced at the hospital entrance. "I'm just a regular guy."
At least, when it came to Susanna, he was just a regular dude.
After Aaron left, the scout suddenly remembered the buzz about the Thornberry family teaming up with the Abbott Group. 'Could this guy be from the Abbott Group?' he wondered.
Meanwhile, Susanna and Michael were cruising away from the hospital. Susanna glanced back at the building they’d just left. Michael, sitting next to her, asked, "You sure it's cool to leave him there?"
"He's a big boy; he'll manage."
"I heard from your brother that Aaron stuck around to see Lillian. What’s your plan for that?"
"I'm gonna set up a visit for him to see Lillian at the hospital tomorrow. Lillian’s gonna help me put on a little show."
For now, that seemed like the best move.
Just then, Susanna's phone rang. It was an unknown number. She instinctively answered, "Hello, who’s this?"
"Susanna, is Aaron with you?"
