Chapter 1031: It’s over… it’s… over.

Patricia wasn’t sent to a hotel; rather, they took her to a villa. She didn’t know exactly where it was, but she knew it was close to the city, as she had glimpsed the area earlier. She was now away from those men.

Guided to a room, Patricia barely heard the butler telling her to rest. She glanced at him and nodded before the door closed behind her. As soon as the door shut, silence quickly filled the room. Looking around, the room was completely different from the one she had been in an hour ago.

[Please, no!]

[You stupid bitch!]

[Ah!]

A tear rolled down her cheek as she fell to her knees like a leaf off its branch. "Hah..." she breathed out, her eyes filling with tears. "It’s over... it’s... over."

Her knees drew closer to her body as she hugged them, burying her face in them, and cried quietly. Her shoulders trembled, her sniffles echoing in the four corners of the room. Now that she was in a safe place, the pain in her body settled, and her adrenaline subsided.

"Hic!" she hiccuped, clasping her shoulders tightly. "Hic!"

********

Meanwhile...

"Boss."

Angel snapped his eyes up at the man who approached him, keeping the ice pack on his cheek to reduce the swelling. The other bodyguard lowered his head slightly before quietly reporting the situation.

"I see. How’s she?" Angel asked, only to see the man shrug slightly. "That damn woman..."

Angel put down the ice pack and waved dismissively. "I think I can go home now. Tell the nurse or the doctor I’m leaving."

"Yes, Captain."

With that, the man quickly followed the order. After all, Angel had already given the police his statement right after they arrived. Though there would be a need for follow-up, Angel didn’t want to stay there overnight. The real victim in this incident might end up killing herself.

Angel didn’t want that.

If Penny had asked him to watch Patricia, it only meant she still needed her. Otherwise, why would Angel care whether she died a painful death or not? Patricia, after all, was just someone very annoying and frustrating. If only she had lowered her pride and accepted Penny’s offer, none of this would have happened.

"Captain, it’s done." After several minutes, the bodyguard returned to Angel. "I finished the paperwork."

"Aight."

With that, Angel and the bodyguard walked out of the emergency room, where a car was already waiting for them. As they approached the car, the bodyguard couldn’t help but glance at Angel’s bruised cheek and the cut on the side of his mouth.

"Captain, are you alright?"

Angel arched a brow at him, only to realize that his subordinate was looking at his bruise. "Heh," he smirked, patting him casually on the back. "Don’t worry about it. Though I have to admit, you really didn’t hold back. I almost punched you back. Haha!"

When Angel ordered his men to get Patricia out of the scene, he asked the same bodyguard with him to rough him up a bit. The latter didn’t want to, but it was an order. Thus, he had no choice but to rough Angel up and even give him a few cuts.

After all, if Patricia wasn’t there, those men would be released within a few hours. Worse, they wouldn’t even be arrested because they could just claim it was all a misunderstanding. To avoid complications, they’d surely say they were just having a drink and things got heated. Angel could imagine all sorts of lies those men would tell to get out of trouble.

Thus, Angel needed to make sure they would be detained, which explained why they were there.

*

*

*

Sometime later...

Angel and his team stopped in front of a villa. A few of his men were ’idling’ outside, nodding at him as he jogged up to the porch. At the entrance, the house butler greeted him politely.

"Where is she?" was Angel’s first question.

"She’s in the room," the butler pointed upstairs, his eyes swirling with worry. "But the maid who came to help her told us that she’s not coming out of the bathroom."

"Shit." Angel hissed, ruffling his hair in irritation. After all the trouble he had gone through for her, she better not drown herself!

Angel panicked, sprinting up the stairs straight to where Patricia was. Two maids were standing outside the room, both looking anxious.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Angel as he approached. "She hasn’t gotten out of the bathroom?"

"She hasn’t, sir."

"Tch. Get the spare key," he ordered, and the maids quickly nodded, almost running to get the spare key. Angel, on the other hand, walked into the bedroom and stood in front of the bathroom.

He knocked and raised his voice. "Miss Miller, it’s me. I know you’re inside. Everyone’s getting worried about you since you’ve been in there for quite some time."

Angel waited for a few seconds, but when there was no sign of movement on the other side, he knocked again. "Miss Miller, can you answer if you’re fine?"

Still, nothing.

"Patricia Miller." This time, Angel’s tone was firmer and louder. "I asked the maids to get the spare key to open this door. But if you still don’t answer, I’ll kick this door open! You better not have any silly ideas!"

Angel counted to three in his head before stepping back to gain momentum. He wasn’t joking about kicking the door down. But before he could, he suddenly heard a click from the inside. His brows lifted slowly as he watched the door open just a crack.

Patricia kept the gap small, peeking at him. Even with the small gap, he could see the darkness looming over her and the helplessness in her eyes. Her damp hair was almost covering her face, but he could still see enough to take in her condition.

"Get out of there and don’t lock yourself in," he said, relieved she hadn’t killed herself. "This villa is one of Prime Group’s properties, so it’s safe. It’s where I live, but I don’t stay here except on my days off. But I’m not having any days off now, so I won’t be coming here. What I’m saying is that it’s safe here, and there aren’t many people here aside from the caretakers. You have the entire house to yourself. Just don’t lock yourself inside."

Another moment of silence passed between them until Angel took a few steps back. "Get out of there. I’m leaving anyway. Let the helpers help you, at least." With that, he turned around, only to stop when he felt a hand pinching his shirt.

Glancing over his shoulder, he arched a brow as she was already out. He didn’t look directly at her, since she was still in a bathrobe.

"I already settled things with the police," he said, assuming that was her concern. "I’m going back to the station tomorrow for a follow-up since I’ve already filed a legal complaint."

Patricia still didn’t answer, keeping her head down. Yet, she kept pinching his shirt until her thumb turned white.

"Can you... not leave?" her meek voice filled the silence between them as she slowly gazed up at him. "I’m scared, please."