Chapter 108

I glanced at Simon and Royce and said, "No wonder you two look kinda alike."

Right after I said that, everything started to get fuzzy. I saw Simon's mouth moving, but I couldn't hear a thing.

A bit dazed, I asked, "What did you say?"

Simon seemed to repeat himself, but a shadow passed before my eyes, and my consciousness slowly faded until I collapsed into a warm embrace.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital room, the smell of disinfectant filling my nose.

I looked around and saw Royce leaning on the side of my bed, seemingly asleep.

I tried to move my hand but found it was held tightly in Royce's grip.

As soon as I moved slightly, Royce woke up immediately. He looked at me with a gentle tone, "You're awake?"

I nodded and asked, "What happened to me?"

Royce's eyes showed a hint of surprise, then he understood what I meant.

"You've been out for more than a day."

I stared in shock. I had slept for that long? When I was rescued, I felt like I could hold on, but I didn't know why I passed out in the car.

Royce seemed to read my mind and patiently explained, "When you were kidnapped, you were super stressed, and your body isn't in great shape. So, even though you didn't faint at the time, once we got you into the police car and you relaxed, you passed out."

"And your body hasn't fully recovered. Plus, you've only been eating sandwiches these past few days, so you haven't been getting enough nutrition."

I nodded. No wonder I felt so alert at the time; I thought it was because I was getting better. Turns out it was just fear keeping me focused.

I suddenly remembered the time Royce mentioned and was startled. I quickly asked, "Won't Brandon notice you're here?"

A strange emotion flashed in Royce's eyes. "You don't want me here?"

I shook my head. "It's just that your current situation isn't suitable for appearing in front of Brandon."

This explanation seemed to satisfy Royce. He snorted lightly.

"Brandon came by for a bit this morning. He cried his eyes out next to you, then went to work, leaving me here to watch over you."

As he spoke, his tone turned a bit aggrieved. "You don't even ask if I've eaten, just worry about Brandon."

He was throwing a tantrum. But Brandon is my husband; who else should I be concerned about?

Should I worry about Royce, who seems to have nothing to do with me?

Of course, I didn't dare say that out loud because I knew if I did, Royce would throw an even bigger fit.

I cleared my throat. "Have you eaten?"

Royce turned his face away, looking at the sunlight outside the window.

His profile was as finely chiseled as a sculpture.

"No!"

I looked at his sulking face and couldn't help but smile. He suddenly reminded me of Brett.

Royce turned back, looking at me strangely. "What are you smiling at?"

I pressed my lips together. "You look just like my son, Brett, when you act like this."

Royce squinted his eyes, his tone turning dangerous. "Say that again."

Seeing his expression, I knew better than to repeat myself.

I turned my head. "I'm hungry."

Royce continued, "Say it again. Who do I look like?"

I never expected him to be so childish.

I looked at him. "Don't you think so?"

"Only my son would care about such trivial things."

Royce gritted his teeth, looking at me. "Caroline, you're just trying to annoy me."

I stuck out my tongue, feeling a sense of relief after the ordeal. "I'm hungry."

Royce reached for an apple. "Have an apple first. Simon and Kathy are outside. I'll ask them to bring you something to eat."

It was then that I realized I hadn't seen Savannah.

"Where's Savannah?"

Royce snorted, a hint of coldness in his eyes. "She failed to protect you this time. I'm planning to replace her."

I was stunned and immediately widened my eyes. "No, no, I really like Savannah. Don't replace her."

Royce looked at me. "But I assigned her to protect you, and this happened right under her nose!"

He didn't seem to be joking, so I quickly said, "Even if you had a special forces team protecting me, I would still have been kidnapped in that situation. She was alone. Why blame her?"

"If you want to blame someone, blame the kidnappers. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be in this situation. It has nothing to do with Savannah."

Seeing Royce unmoved, I continued, "If you have to blame someone, blame me. I insisted Savannah go get the car alone. It's all my fault!"

Royce silently handed me the apple, not saying a word.

I frowned. "If you don't let Savannah come back, I won't eat this apple!"

Royce sighed helplessly. "Fine."

His tone was heavy. I asked him what he meant.

Royce looked at me, his eyes filled with helplessness. "I'll let Savannah come back, but she has to face some consequences first."

I finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least Savannah could come back. As for the consequences, I could talk to Royce about that later.

I took the apple from Royce. He pulled out his phone and called Simon and Kathy, asking them to bring some food.

Soon, Simon and Kathy returned to the room. Kathy rushed over and hugged me as soon as she saw I was awake.

"You scared me to death these past few days. Do you know that?"

I patted Kathy's shoulder. "It's okay. I'm fine, aren't I?"

I felt her body trembling slightly. I realized Kathy was crying.

I patiently comforted her. "It's okay, really. I'm fine. Don't cry. I'm in one piece. You're making it seem like I was seriously injured."

Simon placed a bag of food on the table and laughed as he watched us. "I can't tell who was kidnapped. Why is Caroline comforting Kathy?"