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
Belle choked on her tears and spoke like a frightened child, "I'm scared. I… I just saw ghosts… There are ghosts here!""There are no ghosts! You're just frightened.""I saw them! They were in the room with me! They came in from the windows. They were about to drag me down to hell with them … There was also a woman crying … My heart hurts. It hurts so much."Grayson continued consoling her, "Open your eyes. It's safe here. There are no ghosts anymore.""I'm scared.""It's alright. I'm here with you. They won't dare to approach us with me around. Look around, you're safe."Belle carefully opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. She saw nothing."What did I say?""I wasn't making things up.""You just mistook something to look human."Grayson was an atheist and did not believe in ghosts and gods. He felt that the ghosts Belle claimed to have seen were simply overstimulation from fear.And that was indeed the case."Let's get out of here." Grayson picked up Belle and he
Grayson said gently, "Don't worry about it. Robert will be able to handle it.""How is he going to deal with it?""I don't know, but it's his job to do so. If he can't manage to do it, then he would've failed at his job."Belle decided not to probe further into details.Noticing that her emotions had stabilized, he caressed her hair gently."What about you? What happened?"Belle could still hear the woman's wailing echoing in her ears, which made her heart throb with pain.Noticing her current position, Belle immediately sat up straight on the bed. "I don't know. I'm just … afraid of thunder.""Have you been scared of it ever since you were young?""Yeah, I would always have nightmares whenever the weather turned for the worst. My grandpa was always with me to make sure I was okay. But I've never been as scared as today.""What made you so afraid today?""I think it's because I found out that I'm from the Aspen family."Grayson was shocked. She turned to face him. "I'm a
Grayson's tone was gentle and warm. His protective gaze on Belle was mixed with various emotions.Belle felt her heartbeat speeding up, but she could not understand why.She subconsciously averted her eyes to avoid looking at Grayson. She even tried to struggle and break free from his embrace.Her efforts were in vain as thunder strikes caused her to retreat back into his arms.He smiled as he lovingly held onto her. It was as if he was consoling a crying child.Knocks came from the door before Sam spoke up, "Mr. Page, the hot stew has been prepared, along with the toiletries that you requested."Grayson whispered to Belle, "Have it while it's hot. It'll help ease your nerves and keep you warm. Don't worry about the ghosts. They won't try anything funny as long as I'm here."He then called Sam into the room.Together with Sam came Simon into the room.When Sam left the hotel, he decided to give a call to Simon and tell him about Belle's abnormal behavior. He was worried that s