Ginger had her ropes untied and was told to leave.As she snapped back to her senses, she immediately ran to hug Belle. She could not be bothered to ask Belle about her relationship with Grayson. She was just worried about her safety."Belle!"Belle whispered, "Don't worry about me. Just go! I promise I'll be fine.""I'm not going! I can't leave you here by yourself! Why did you come to save me alone? It's dangerous! I—"Belle proceeded to knock Ginger out cold before she could finish her words.The men were surprised by her actions.Belle then turned to the masked man."Send her somewhere safe. I'll only hand the money over once I've confirmed her safety. Right, give me her phone. I'll get her brother to pick her up."The man made no complaints and handed over the phone.She immediately called Gabriel."It's me, Belle. Your sister is asleep … She's fine, but I need you to come get her in front of her favorite hot wings restaurant. Give me a call right away when you've gotte
Grayson frowned as he turned to face the exit.Noticing that Belle was not following him, he turned back and yelled, "Let's go!"Only then did she run up to him. "You still haven't answered my question! How did you know I was here?"Grayson ignored her until they were safely in the car."Did I not tell you to call me immediately if anything dangerous happened? Why did you come here alone? What if you ended up going against someone you couldn't defeat with brute strength alone? "You've said it yourself that you'll take care of yourself for your grandpa's sake. What happened to that promise?"He recalled how she had brought the bomb-strapped Patrick and jumped into the river. This time, she ran into a desolate abandoned area alone to save Ginger.Grayson was furious that Belle seemed to not make her own safety a priority.Belle did not even attempt to retort like she used to. She had already come to realize that Grayson was angry because he was genuinely worried for her safety.
The couple stared at each other for a few seconds until Belle spoke up."That's what I thought. If their target was just me alone, there was no need to involve Ginger in the first place. It seemed as if they were testing us."Grayson did not give a reply and just pulled out his phone to give Sam a call."Ask them if they had received any instructions to not hurt Ginger or Belle."A few minutes later, Sam replied, "You're right. They were instructed to threaten Ginger or Belle, but they couldn't cause any bodily harm upon them."Grayson was left deep in thought.After hearing Sam's explanation, Belle soon came to realize that Gabriel might be involved.Frowning, she said, "You should head back first. I want to visit Ginger.""Who do you think is behind all this?" asked Grayson.She decided not to mention Gabriel by name just yet. "I'm not certain just yet, which is why I'm going to visit Ginger.""I'll come with you.""There's no need. Ginger needs to rest. Your presence will
Gabriel prepared some tissues for Belle."I'll clean up the floor real quick."He went to the kitchen and returned with a cloth to clean up the floor.Belle stared at him for a few seconds before asking, "Were the hooligans working for you, Gabriel?"His hands came to a sudden halt.Belle continued, "You're the one who planned Ginger's kidnapping, aren't you?"He remained silent at her questioning.She realized that her assumptions were correct, seeing that he was not objecting against her claims. "Why?"Gabriel remained quiet for a while, then he continued to clean up the floor."I just wanted to test you, to see how much you cared about Ginger."Belle became slightly excited when she heard his confession."Where did your money come from? You've just given Ginger 800 thousand dollars for her house. Ginger told me that it was all you had, with half of it being a reward for saving someone by the river … Where did you find the money to pay the kidnappers 500 thousand dollars?
Belle was confused."My origin? My bloodline? What do you know about them?""Not much, but for one, I know that you're an Aspen."Belle was utterly confused by his words.Gabriel was unaware that Belle was oblivious to her own heritage as he looked at her with suspicion."I've already confirmed that you're an Aspen, but you don't have to be alarmed about the fact that I know. I won't be going against you … But you should know better than anyone how dangerous it is to have your identity revealed to the world. Not even Grayson will be able to help you if it happens."Belle was still dumbfounded by his words.He continued, "Relax, I won't tell a soul about it. You're a good friend of Ginger, so you're a good friend of mine as well. I've even thought about protecting you for Ginger's sake."I'm not one for nefarious schemes. I just want to be by her side for as long as I can, but I can't stay by Ginger's side forever … ""I'm just making you a deal for more time by her side. This
Ginger started sobbing uncontrollably as soon she saw Belle and hugged her."Belle, I was so scared! What happened back then? I don't know how I fell unconscious! Are you hurt? Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"Belle consoled Ginger patiently. "I'm fine! Here, look at me! I'm not injured or anything."Ginger took a deep breath."Thank the gods! If anything were to happen to you, I might die from heartbreak! Why did you stupidly come to my rescue alone? You should have called for help instead of listening to their demands!"She started sobbing once more.She was traumatized by the kidnapping, but she was also grateful that Belle came to her rescue.Belle came to realize that Gabriel did not tell Ginger the truth.She looked up at Gabriel to find him frowning. He had an expression of guilt and sadness over the pain he had caused Ginger.Gabriel looked back at Belle, his expression now mixed with various emotions as if he was trying to convey something.Belle decided n
"Make haste, Mister." Belle frowned as she urged the driver to speed up.She was especially scared of thunder. She just wanted to hurry up and hide herself under the blanket back on her bed.The driver replied, "This is as fast as I can go without breaking the law, Miss. Besides, it's dangerous to go fast in the rain."The driver glanced at Belle through the rearview mirror, only to find her seemingly distraught by the rain."Relax, Miss. You're safe and sound inside the car! I'll send you directly into your garage later so that you won't get wet, alright?"Belle was upset and scared of the thunderous weather despite the driver's reassurance.The sky was completely blocked by the clouds, as if welcoming the arrival of the final boss in video games.She took a glance out the window and averted her eyes out of fear.Everyone had their own phobias. They could range from an extreme fear of rats, snakes, and even insects. And for Belle, her phobia was the terrible sound of thunder.
Meanwhile, inside the hotel, Belle was rolled up in the blankets on top of the bed. She wrapped herself tightly in an attempt to ease her fears.Prior to this, she was overstimulated by the weather and had the taxi driver bring her to the nearest hotel.She felt safer in the hotel than in the taxi.But it still was not enough to calm her nerves. The thunderous roars could still be heard from inside her room. It sounded as if the gates of hell had opened up to swallow her whole.The streaks of lightning that lit up the darkened sky seemed like the eyes of the devil. They were constantly gazing at the weak and defeated Belle.She was completely swept up by her fear of thunder and could no longer function as a human being.Thunderous booms rang out once more, scaring Belle into losing her mind.Before she could catch her breath, several more bolts of lightning joined in the fun. It was as if the weather itself was displaying absolute power and toying with her.As Belle continued t