Chapter 48

48. BEATEN TO DEATH

CELINE’S POV

I was almost beaten to death. My heart was dying off. Suddenly, I find myself wishing that I would pass away so that I might be reunited with my mother in the afterlife. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to be my fate just yet…

“S-sebastian?” The old man’s face was flushed with rage a while ago, but now… I wanted to burst out in laughter even though I was wincing in pain all over my body as I watched the color drain from his face. He had turned pale. His face was a pasty, sickly white.

The whip in his hand was slowly loosening from his hold, and

eventually dropped to the ground.

“I… W-why did you come back so soon?” he said, staring at Sebastian with panic rising, thrumming, sweeping all over his face.

He swayed a little when Sebastian harshly released his hand.

“W-wait…” Julio stuttered, a sheen of sweat gathering and pooli his forehead. “This is not what it looks like. Celine came back she committed an unforgivable mistake. That’s why I’m punishing … I’m teaching her a lesson…” he said, his eyes darting back and forth like a trapped bird in a cage.

“Yes!” Sasha nodded in agreement, but she looked nervous as hell. He only wants to educate Celine. Yes, that’s it! He used extreme

methods for her to learn well…”

Sasha’s face was alarming. It’s like a white canvas stretched taut to the breaking point, as if it might snap any moment. And she’s sucking in air, huge gulps like she couldn’t breathe.

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The young man, however… paid no attention to them and instead c ocked his head to the side to look at me with his fists clenched and

his jaw twitching.

Sebastian did not utter a word as he approached me and quickly

removed his suit to cover my body as best as he could. He picked me up off the ground carefully as if I were a baby that was so fragile and carried me bridal style.

“You remember what I told you on the island?” I whispered. “You should know the answer by now…”

He sighed as he pressed his lips against my forehead and I closed my eyes, feeling the tears start to brim down my face. I sobbed in silence as I buried my face in his chest.

“Seb…” I heard Brylee calling out, and rushing over. “Where are you taking her?”

Sebastian swallowed. “To the hospital…”

“I-I’ll go with you…” she said. “I’m also worried about her and—”

“Sebastian… I’ve called the family doctor and I asked him to com here and check on my daughter…” Julio cut her off, as he hurried over as well. His voice was shaky.

“No need,” Sebastian’s tone was cold, holding me in his arms without turning his head to look at them. “I can take care of her…”

SEBASTIAN’S POV

“What if I told you that they refused to provide any kind of assistance. in any way? What if I were to tell you right now that both my dad and Julio found me a black sheep? They don’t like me… My mother and I… And if I wanted money from them, I had to give them or do something

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in exchange for it…”

I frowned deeply as I recalled what Celine said to me on the island. As soon as my eyes turned to her, my breath hitched. I sank to my knees with my eyes wide. I was trying to comprehend the scene I was

witnessing.

Only a devil could do this to someone, especially to his daughter. But Julio Lauren was more than a devil. Celine was slumped in the corner, all beaten and battered. Her face was black and blue and swollen. I saw blood on her whole body, her dress was even torn all over.

“You remember what I told you on the island?” she whispered as

soon as I lifted her in my arms. “You should know the answer by now

Η

I could feel the trembling of her body, but she was fighting for it. She didn’t even shed a tear. I haven’t encountered a woman such as strong as Celine. But the moment I kissed her forehead, she sobbed silently, her shoulders shaking.

I climbed inside the car and asked the driver to take us to the hospital immediately. I placed Celine on my lap, whispered sweet nothings. and reassuring words into her ear while caressing her hair.

My mind was racing with questions that were going to have to wait to be answered.

I laid her down on the hospital bed gently, and when I got a better look at her, my blood was boiling. Her dress was ripped, and she had deep blue and red marks of whipping all over her body.

Painful, bleeding welts and scratches covered her arms, and legs, and back. I padded her off gently, trying my best not to hurt her.

When the doctor came, he ordered me to leave the room and told me to wait while they treated Celine. I nodded as I made my way out of the room, but made a halt at the doorway when I received a message

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from Jason.

It was the result of the investigation I ordered him to conduct. And what I was reading made my eyes widen in shock.

Brylee…

It was the name that the young male model mentioned when he was asked about the girl whom he had slept with. Because of this new revelation, my anger towards the Lauren family has only grown stronger. They had all conspired to do this. I fell into their ruse! I was used!

What made me feel even more enraged was when Jason sent me. footage of the CCTV camera in the hotel wherein I had my first sexual encounter with Brylee. A girl had just got out of my room that morning and she had a conversation with the girl who was waiting outside. You can’t tell who’s who because they have the same dress, same hair, and same physique.

But my brows furrowed when the girl outside took off her sunglasses

and face mask and threw it over the other. And I was certain that this

was Brylee because of the way she glared at her. The same look when Celine threw up on her lap.

I was trying to understand why they did this to me. How could Celine

do this to herself?

At first, it was only a hunch, but after looking over all of the evidence,

I’m certain that Celine has been the one I’ve been having sexual relations with all along. It makes perfect sense why the scent of her body was so familiar. And I was getting addicted to finding it every time I was with Brylee.

The door to the private room suddenly opened and the doctor emerged from the room. “Mr. Anderson…” I could see the rage that was building up in his eyes as he got closer to me. “I’ve completed

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the examination on your…”

“Uh, friend…” Are we friends now? “Celine… Her name is Celine.”

“Yes. I’ve completed the examination on Celine and I have injected sedatives into the patient, so she’s sleeping right now. I don’t think she has a major concussion. I think she’s just incredibly exhausted and in pain because of the multiple welts due to the whip that hit her. I stitched a wound in her hairline and eyebrow…”

I clenched my jaw and ran my hand through my hair. I always knew. Julio wasn’t a good man, but I didn’t think he’d hurt his own daughter. Not like this anyway.

I wanted to scream for answers. Why would he beat the absolute s hit out of his own daughter? His own flesh and blood.

“I would like her to have an x-ray taken and we will do that when she’s awake to do a proper assessment and check for any damage to the head. I have given her pain relief and anti-inflammatory antibiotics for her injuries…”

He stared at me before hesitantly speaking.

“Forgive me, but I have to ask…” he paused. “Have you hit or abused your… Celine?”

My Celine…?

I furrowed my eyebrows. “No. I would never hurt her…” I said without

a doubt.

Dr. Barrett eyed me carefully before nodding. “There will be a lot of emotional trauma with this. I hope you’ll take care of her…”

“Of course, I will…” I groaned.

He walked past me and patted my shoulder. “Call me if there are any changes whatsoever. I hope you find whoever did this…”

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I nodded. “Can I see her now?”

“Sure!” he said before finally walking away from me.

I walked inside the hospital room and I looked down at Celine. Her eyes were closed. I touched her face gently, down to her neck, running my fingertips over her birthmark, and found that her skin felt cold. I climbed in next to her and ignored the flinch when I wrapped my arms

around her.

I rubbed her arm up and down to create some friction and generate some heat. “What’s really happening, Celine?” I whispered into her ear.

Is it true that she did something bad and she needed to be disciplined? Another possibility is that they ordered her to do -something and she disobeyed their request, which led to her being

beaten as a consequence.

I recalled the thing that she said: “If I wanted money from them, I had to give them or do something in exchange for it…”

Did she ask for money from them but they were unwilling to provide it

for her?

That was the last thing on my mind that I didn’t realize. I fell as with Celine in my arms.

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