Stepping out of the building, Christian looked at his watch and suggested that they could still make it to the wedding dress fitting in time.
However, the moment was lost for Tabitha.
A furious scream cut through the air.
Out of nowhere, an armed assailant jumped out and pointed his knife at Tabitha.
“You must be Christian’s lover.
“You ruined the lives of my family, so I’m taking yours today!”
He slashed the knife at Tabitha.
“No!”
In that split second between life and death, Christian threw himself in front of Tabitha and took the hit for her.
As the blade plunged into his flesh, blood gushed out.
Christian slumped to the ground in agony, his hands over his abdomen.
The sight of blood sent the assailant into a panic, and he threw his weapon aside and took flight.
Tabitha held Christian up shakily, her breath hitched.
The bleeding wouldn’t stop. Yet, Christian fixated his gaze on Tabitha as if numb to the pain.
“Thank goodness you’re safe, Tabitha.”
Tabitha was quick to dial the emergency services and stayed by his side all the way to the ER.
She couldn’t wrap her head around the whole thing.
Christian was in love with Kelsey, even to the point of letting her crash the wedding. Yet, there he was, throwing his life on the line to save Tabitha.
What was all that for?
Three hours later, the doors to the operating room swung open.
The doctor emerged, looking exhausted. He peeled his gloves and mask off.
“Fortunately, the blade missed his vital organs by mere inches. However, the patient has lost a lot of blood, so he needs rest.”
Tabitha and the secretary, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, were relieved to learn that he was out of the woods.
The secretary expressed emotionally, “Mr. Loader risked everything to save you, Miss Bray. He loves you more than life itself.”
Tabitha remained silent.
Before, she had absolute faith that Christian loved her with all his heart. However, he redirected his devotion to someone else.
Yet, he took the knife for her in the face of danger. Tabitha could not read him.
Tabitha’s heart only had room for Christian.
Christian, on the other hand, could fit a lot more than one person into his.
Tabitha lowered her gaze.
She would never settle for such cheap, shared affection.
Once the anesthesia wore off, Christian demanded to see Tabitha.
Despite the medical staff’s protest, Christian yanked the IV off his arm and stumbled out of bed.
He bumped straight into Tabitha as she entered the ward with food.
Christian held Tabitha tight, his voice carrying fear.
“Thank goodness you’re okay, Tabitha. You have no idea how scared I was to lose you when he came at you with a knife.”
Tabitha broke free from his grip with composure.
“The doctor said that you need rest. You should stay put in bed.”
Tabitha’s presence steadied Christian’s nerves. Lying back down, Christian was compliant as the nurse hooked him up on a drip.
Noticing the packed food in Tabitha’s hand, Christian said with a smile, “I’m all wrapped up in bandages. I don’t think I can eat on my own.”
Tabitha sighed and opened the container to spoon-feed him.
With his belly filled, Christian rested his head on Tabitha and squeezed her hand.
“I had a terrifying dream that you left me, Tabitha. I woke up terrified, and my only thought was to find you.
“I’m so glad that it was just a dream. You’re never going to leave me, right?”
He looked up and stared intently into her eyes.
Tabitha paused and turned her head away, attempting to dodge the subject.
However, Christian was unusually persistent in getting an answer.
“Why aren’t you saying anything, Tabitha? Just tell me—Yes or no?”
The secretary emerged, holding a stack of papers.
“Mr. Loader, we’ve identified the assailant from yesterday and established his motive. Here are the details.”
Christian straightened his back, ruthlessness flickering across his eyes. He quietly took and read the papers.
As his eyes scanned the pages, Christian grimaced, and his breathing became shallow.
His voice shook.
“Hurry! Rally the security team now!”
Christian burst out an order before ripping out his IV once again. Not even taking a glance at Tabitha, he scrambled out of the hospital.
Tabitha stared at the dumped file on the floor in confusion before leaning over to pick it up.
She flipped through the pages, her hands trembling.
Everything made sense the moment Tabitha saw the name on the papers.
It explained the panic Christian was in.
Once more, it all came back to Kelsey.
Tabitha wasn’t meant to be the attacker’s target. Kelsey was the intended mark.
Kelsey, taking the role of Christian’s assistant, was responsible for external communications, but her incompetence had led to the downfall of multiple projects.
The assailant was a victim of one of those failed business ventures.
Upon arriving at the office building, the attacker mistook Tabitha, standing next to Christian, for Kelsey.
Christian was thrown into a panic, fearing the assailant would turn on Kelsey once he realized his mistake.
Surely, Tabitha would be in Christian’s thoughts too since her safety was compromised as well.
Maybe he simply didn’t care about her.
For the coming week, Christian didn’t even come home.
It dawned on Tabitha that Christian had reassigned his security detail, including the office’s security team, to protect Kelsey.
He even spared no expense to hire private investigators to track the attacker’s whereabouts.
It never occurred to Tabitha that Christian, a man defined by logic and composure, would get carried away over another woman’s well-being.
Due to Christian’s blatant favoritism, those in their friend circle were eager to see what Tabitha, the fiancée, would do.
Another week passed, and Tabitha read about the assailant’s arrest in the papers.
That night, Christian returned home all worn out.
He gave Tabitha a hug from behind.
“Stay still for me, Tabitha. Let me hold you.”
Catching a whiff of another woman’s perfume on Christian, Tabitha felt sick to her stomach.
She asked in a dry, hollow voice, “Do you still love me, Christian?”
Christian froze as a wave of fluster washed over him.
He nuzzled against her neck and pulled her closer into his embrace.
“Don’t be silly. Why would I marry you if I didn’t love you?
“In less than ten days, I’ll get to tell the world that you’re mine.”
With the wedding around the corner, Christian scaled back on his workload.
When he wasn’t overseeing the wedding arrangements at the venue, Christian stayed close to Tabitha.
One night, Christian left his phone on the nightstand to take a shower.
While rummaging through her things for her passport, Tabitha looked up and saw his phone lighting up. She happened to catch a glimpse of the notification.
It was a text message from Kelsey.
“I’m standing right outside your house, Christian. I must see you today, come rain or shine.”
Tabitha furrowed her brows.
She unlocked Christian’s phone and scrolled through their chat history. Christian hadn’t been responsive to Kelsey’s messages lately.
Christian had been keeping by Tabitha’s side in the last couple of days, and Kelsey was starting to get desperate.
Tabitha put down the phone and made sure the message was marked as unread.
Christian stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair while discussing details of the venue layout with Tabitha.
He grabbed his phone for a look, and his words trailed off.
Tabitha asked, “Why did you stop?”
Christian put away his phone in a hurry. Keeping his cool, he kept the topic on the wedding venue.
However, his gaze kept wandering outside the window.
“It’s late. We should get some rest.”
Tabitha turned off the lights, and a bolt of lightning split the sky outside.
Without warning, heavy rain poured down.
Seeking comfort, Tabitha shuffled closer toward Christian.
She wasn’t one to be meek, but thunder was her kryptonite.
Understanding her fear, Christian once promised to never let her face a storm alone.
However, Christian’s heart and mind were elsewhere.
The last thing on his mind was Tabitha’s need for reassurance and her fear of thunder.
All it took was five seconds of the rain, and he rolled out of bed. Without a word, he bolted out of the house.
Curled into a ball, Tabitha pressed her hands over her ears.
At that moment, her heart felt as if it had been split apart by the thunder and washed away by the pounding rain.
Christian didn’t come home the entire night.
Waking up to her alarm first thing in the morning, Tabitha dragged her weary body out of bed.
Her visa appointment was today.
Given Christian’s resources, Tabitha knew the harassment was bound to follow, even when she left him at the altar.
She was better off planning ahead for the post-wedding escape.
Her plan was to travel overseas for a change of pace. She could even attend seminars and conferences she had missed many times before.
Tabitha came home after the visa appointment, only to find that something in the air was off.
She sneezed repeatedly, her throat itchy and dry.
Then came the sound of a cat meowing.
Tabitha glanced down and saw a cat sitting right under the coffee table.
Terrified, Tabitha recoiled.
Her allergy to cat hair was severe enough to trigger respiratory failure.
Tabitha struggled to breathe. However, the cat, seemingly taking a shine to her, drew closer.
Whipping her hands to the hand, Tabitha tried to shoo the cat away, but it had little effect.
Despite her heaving chest, Tabitha couldn’t get oxygen into her airway.
Amid her disorientation, Tabitha smashed the glass to scare the cat away.
The approach somewhat worked.
The cat let out a sharp hiss before scurrying to a corner in shivers.
Slumped against the wall, Tabitha fought for air.
Meanwhile, Christian burst through the door in a panic.
His priority was not Tabitha’s well-being, though. He simply rushed over to scoop the cat up with the utmost attention.
“What did you do?
“It’s just a tiny kitten. You shouldn’t frighten the little thing even if you don’t like it.”
Everything went dark before her eyes, and even Christian’s voice seemed faint and far away.
Tabitha crawled to the doorway, desperate to fill her lungs with fresh air. The suffocating pain in her chest just wouldn’t let up.
Moments later, Tabitha fought back the agony in her throat and asked Christian, “I’m allergic to cat hair, Christian, and it can be fatal. Have you forgotten?”
The revelation hit Christian like a ton of bricks, and his mind went blank.
Christian’s expression turned to one of terror.
He had witnessed one of Tabitha’s allergic episodes, and it was serious.
Not only would Tabitha break out in hives, but she would also suffer respiratory failure and risk of asphyxiation.
He could not believe that such important information slipped his mind.
