Chapter 58

Holding his breath, Sean carried Athena bridal style and ran out of the dressing room, the fire has gotten worse than when he came in and he just prays to God that they would be a little way to get her to the people outside, he doesn t care if he doesn t make it but he has to make sure she was safe. Approaching towards the exit, there was no way to pass, the fire has eaten up everything and the heat was scalding him, he only has his singlet to protect his upper body. He could feel the burns all around him but there was no time to worry about that. The fire cackles around him and a loud snap told him something was falling, he looked up and saw the wood, there was no way to dodge it as he was surrounded by fire and it would have been easier to maneuver it if he wasn t carrying Athena. Then taking the first idea that came to his mind, he wrapped his arms around her and shielded her with his body. He felt the weight of the wood on him, part of it hitting his head and he grunted in pain. But his pain didn t last long as he noticed that the wood created a little space in the fire. Without a second thought, he took it right before the fire could eat through it.
Finally seeing the front door or what was left of it, hope rose in his heart, perhaps they could both make it after all, he thought as he noticed that the fire was denser there, evidence of the effort the fire fighters were making. Finally outside and could breathe in fresh air again, he felt someone try to take Athena away from him but he refused to let her go, not even when his vision was blurry and he was falling, his legs were growing weak that they couldn t hold their weights again.
"Mr. Brand, let us take care of her and you as well, don t worry, you are safe now," someone was saying but he didn t release Athena.
"Sean, it s the paramedics, they would take care of you and her, you just have to let her go," he recognized the voice as TB s and looked his way, trying to see his face through his blurring vision.
"They won t, they would only let her die," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
"Mr. Brand, you have to let go now, let us attend to both of you, you are losing consciousness, do you want her to die?" the last words repeated in his mind like a thousand bells and he finally released his strong grips on Athena and felt her taken away from him immediately just as he also felt many hands trying to hold him down.
He looked at where he heard TB s voice earlier and said, "don t let them take me away, I…I hate hospitals," he whispered.
TB grabbed his hand just as he was put on oxygen, "don t worry, Sean, they would take care of you, you really need their help. You have inhaled a lot of smoke and if not properly taken care of would result into a serious issue."
Sean finally saw his face a little clearly and looked pleadingly at him but TB shook his head and looked away, then he switched his attention to Smith who was also kneeling beside him, but just like TB, Smith ignored his look and he could do nothing but resign to his fate as he was picked up and put on a stretcher and carried to the ambulance car, he lost consciousness before they could get to the hospital.
***
The news of the fire at the Brand s studio became the talk of every discussion, unfortunately, the fire burnt down the security cameras and no one could say for sure what really happened or what started the fire. Although the police believes that the fire was started intentionally because of the gallon of fuel that was seen lying around few miles from the studio. That left everybody wondering who started the fire and why?
Sean and Athena were still unconscious in the hospital and if it wasn t for the fact that Athena was unconscious, it was almost hard to believe that she was in a fire for there was no scratch or a single wound on her. Unlike Sean who has burn marks all over his upper body and also a concussion. It was also believed that his long unconscious state was due to the concussion and TB felt like dying when he heard that. As for Athena, it was said that her idea of covering her nose with her wet clothes prevented her from taking in too much smoke, but the same was not said about Sean and no one needs to be told that Sean has it a lot harder than Athena despite being in the fire shorter than she was.
Leo was enraged when he heard the police reports as well as the doctor s report about Sean s health, and he was hell bent on finding who started the fire and God save their soul when he finds out. The anger in him terrifies TB that whenever he comes to the hospital, TB would run away, he doesn t want to receive Smith s treatment. Leo had had men beat up Smith for failing to protect his boss and his words had been, "what good is a bodyguard if he can t protect his charge?" And if it wasn t for Jorum and a lot others telling him that Smith tried to stop Sean but Sean punched him and ran in on his own, TB feared he would have killed Smith. Never had he seen Leo so enraged, he has always known him as the smiling type, always searching for something to interest him and makes fun out of everything. That was the time that TB realized that even though Leo would talk to Sean as he wants and joke with him, he doesn t joke with Sean and found himself praying for Sean to be okay, if not, neither he nor Athena would be safe from Leo s wrath.
He knew Leo was angry with Athena for he had heard him mention a few times that if she hadn t have herself stuck in the fire, Sean wouldn t have ran in to save her. Although Leo knew he wasn t judging fairly, it s not like Athena would purposely stay in the fire but he just needs someone to blame. Sean has never acted so irrational before and it hurts him that he was doing that for a girl who doesn t even want him. He has always wished for Sean to be happy, knowing the kind of past he has and how he really needs someone to help him forget. He had thought Athena was that person, that someone to give him that happiness but when he found out that she left him to go back to Frank, he had been angry with her from then on and now finding out that Sean was in that state because of her, he disliked her even more and to calm his anger, he had fired Frank from his company and cancelled the release of Red Sea and also made sure that no clothing company would hire him. They made a bad choice hurting Sean and if Sean won t take revenge for himself, he would take it for him, that s what brothers do.
Three days later, it was announced that Sean left the hospital and no one knew where he was. He didn t go to his mansion, neither did he go to any of his hotel suites; he didn t leave the country either. So where was he? Every one panicked, everyone expect Leo who sighed and shook his head softly when he saw the news with the headline: "Where is Mr. Brand?"