Husband With Benefits
Chapter 165: A Rescue

Chapter 165: A Rescue

In the dark cabin, Nora’s senses slowly returned to consciousness and she came to the realization that she was tied back. She opened her eyes carefully, trying to listen for any sounds, to judge where she might have been brought this time.

Panic surged through her when she spotted the silhouette of a man rushing toward her, heart pounding, and fear etched across her face wondering if she was going to be killed the moment she opened her eyes.

Relief was the first emotion as she recognized the man, followed by fear as she remembered that it was Demetri’s look-alike who had brought her here and fooled her. Her eyelids fluttered, and she recoiled, instinctively frightened.

"Nora," he whispered, his voice trembling with worry. As he knelt beside her, he gently began to shake her awake, his touch tender yet urgent. It made her realize that this was probably Demetri who was here to rescue her. She wanted to ask how he found her so quickly but could not speak a word.

"Shh, it’s me," he murmured, his voice quivering with emotion. He moved closer, wrapping his arms around her, and his familiar scent enveloped her. "I’m here, kitten. You’re safe now."

As Demetri untied her swiftly, she realized that she had in fact not been tied too tightly just loosely secured to the chair. Nora looked around at the empty cabin in confusion and then outside the window where it was already night...

As questions raced through her mind, she moved to ask Demetri but he beat her to it," Nora, you are safe here in this place. It belongs to my brother. Ian and the others are going to be here soon. Until then, I need you to stay here. Will you be alright?"

Nora nodded her head shakily, unsure what Demetri was speaking about. Why would someone go to all the trouble of impersonating Demetri, then kidnapping her and ultimately putting her in a Frost brothers’ house? And what about Lara, Sara and Arabelle? But before she could ask any of this, Demetri had already run out of the cabin.

Shivering, Nora hugged herself and stared around the empty place. Where was she and who did this cabin belong to? As she moved around carefully, trying to grasp her emotions, she looked out of the window and frowned.

The soft glow of flickering flames in the distance caught her attention. The night sky seemed to glow red and thick plumes of smoke billowed into the night, climbing high into the sky and obscuring everything. Her breath caught as she realized what was happening. There was a huge fire some distance away. Some cabin like the one she was in was probably ablaze.

But what made her tremble was that Demetri had probably run in that direction. A sinking feeling settled in her chest and she knew that she needed to go and check out this situation.

With a surge of determination, Nora sprinted out of the cabin, intent on finding Demetri. However before she could have left the cabin, her way was blocked by the arrival of Ian and Seb.

They exchanged a quick, alarmed glance, their faces etched with worry.

"Nora, are you alright? Where are you running off to? What’s happening?" Ian questioned directly.

Gasping for breath, Nora urgently explained, "There’s a fire! The cabin in the distance is on fire, and Demetri ran in that direction! We need to find him!"

Ian and Seb exchanged another glance, their expressions filled with dread. Demon had only messaged them this place, ordering them to come and pick Nora and that she was safe. But he himself had run away from here instead of staying to console her? It could mean only one thing. Demetri had gone to Erasmi.

Without wasting a moment, they followed Nora to the scene of the inferno. The night air was filled with the acrid scent of burning wood, and the heat from the blaze was intense. Panic set in as they scanned the area, desperately searching for any sign of Demetri or Erasmi.

And then, their worst fears materialized. A figure engulfed in flames stumbled out of the burning cabin. Nora let out a horrified scream and would have run there blindly when a man appeared in front of her, catching her and shielding her from the gruesome sight.

Tears of relief came to her eyes as she looked into Demetri’s eyes, realizing that he was safe.

Just then, another man came to stand next to them and she turned her head, looking into the eyes of the man who had kidnapped her. Her hands clenched and she pointed a finger at him as she said, "You..."

Demetri turned her head, hiding her face in his chest and hugged her close to him," Hush... You’ll be fine, kitten. I’ll explain everything."

Feeling faint, she jolted as she came to another realization," Is that..."

"Don’t think, Nora. Just come with me. The fire truck is going to reach here any minute."

As he spoke, they could hear the sirens of the fire engines in the distance and with tacit understanding, Demetri took away Nora.

However, Ian and Seb chose to stay with Erasmi as the man continued to watch the horrid site. The two men each stood beside Erasmi in silent support.

They would never have thought to bring someone to such a gruesome end. But now that the deed was done, they would stand beside Erasmi, come hell or high water.

The flames reflecting in Erasmi’s eyes were a testament to the fire he had held in his heart all these years. It was this fire that had held him incapacitated all these years. He had hoped that he would find relief when he watched these people suffer but even as every scream echoed in his ears, his heart felt nothing.

It hung there in a state of indifference and he realized that he should have simply stayed inside. Now that he was alive, he would never be the same. Almost instinctively, he took a step towards the fire... but was stopped by Ian and Seb.

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