The Billionaire's Promise
Chapter 44: She Was Lucky

Chapter 44: She Was Lucky

Erik placed Aryana gently back on the bed. He positioned her towards the side so it will be easier for him to tend to her wounds. Marlon passed him the first aid kit that he has gotten from the car. He disinfected and bandaged the wound in her arm.

"Where the hell is the chopper?" Erik shouted at Marlon.

"Boss, it’s only five minutes since I called Jay," Marlon explained.

"How about the police?"

"They are coming."

Erik studied the woman on the bed. Aryana’s face was swollen. There was a bruise on her neck, and her forearm seemed like it was beaten to a pulp. The cut on her arm was unsightly. She must be in so much pain.

The helicopter arrived in no time and Aryana was brought to the Central District Hospital’s emergency room.

Erik was pacing in the corridor outside the ER when Marlon joined him.

"Aryana was pretty lucky. The man who assaulted her is on the police’s top ten most wanted list. He is a serial rapist. He is known as Lover Boy. He has assaulted over fifty women and murdered two of them in the span of three years."

Marlon paused and waited for Erik’s reaction. Erik was silent.

"There is a five million reward on his head. His real name is Rex Garsa. He was disfigured three years ago when he saved his fiancée who dumped him in the end because of his ugly face. He suffered mentally, murdered his fiancée, and started his journey as the ruthless Lover Boy."

Marlon finished his summary of the captor’s background.

"Rex Garsa? Isn’t he a famous photographer? I remembered him covering one of our company’s events." Erik took a cursory glance at the email Marlon has sent him.

"Indeed! He is wearing a hyper-realistic mask when he is acting as Rex Garsa. He could have gotten plastic surgery to remove his scar but he chose not to. He is really crazy."

"So he was at the photo shoot earlier?" Erik asked and Marlon nodded. He handed Erik his mobile phone and played a video.

"There is a hidden camera installed in the ceiling and in the closet. Aryana did pretty well. She stalled for time, otherwise, that bastard could have succeeded. But she was still a woman after all." Marlon said angrily.

Erik’s face grew colder and colder as he watched the video. His hands unconsciously clenched when he saw the whip hit Aryana’s arm and when Rex slapped her and the handcuff hit her forearm. Severe damage could have been inflicted on her face if she was not able to block that slap.

"Be sure that he never gets out of prison. He should pay dearly for what he has done." Erik blurted out angrily.

"He has already partially paid. You almost killed him if I did not stop you." Marlon joked lightly.

Erik glared fiercely at him and he cowered.

"Boss, he will definitely get a death sentence considering the number of his victims." Marlon hastily added.

"Erik." A tall slender man in a white coat with a stethoscope dangling on his chest came out of the emergency room. "The wound on the patient’s upper arm has been stitched and bandaged. She has no broken bone and she should wake up after the anesthesia wears off."

Erik heaved a sigh of relief.

"The nurse and the attending physician can take of her. I’ll head home now. I’ll visit her again tomorrow." the doctor turned around to leave.

"Thank you, Alex. I owe you a drink."

"Don’t mention it. It’s my duty as a doctor." He took a few steps then stopped and looked at Erik. "By the way, what is her relationship to you? This is the first time in five years you personally called me to attend to a female patient."

Marlon coughed.

Erik gave him a sharp look before looking at Alex. "I am her guardian."

"Guardian. Hmm." Alex’s eyes narrowed as his gaze darted between Erik who was looking serious and Marlon who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Without further saying anything, he turned around and walked away in big strides.

***

At the VIP ward, Erik was standing beside Aryana’s bed and has been staring at her for a long time. He bent down and brushed his thumb against her lips.

"Why are you such a trouble magnet? You make me worry." He pressed his lips against her forehead and tucked her in before he walked towards the sofa and lie on it.

Aryana opened her eyes. A shadow loomed over her face and her eyes widened when she realized she was looking into a pair of fiery orbs that glinted with evil. As his face came nearer and nearer, the scar on it looked scarier. She screamed, pushed, and kicked.

Erik jolted when he heard Aryana scream. He hurried to the bed and shook her gently.

"Yana... Yana ... hey wake up!" Erik pinned her arms as they kept on flailing.

Still half asleep, Aryana felt her hands being trapped so she used her knee to randomly hit her captor. Erik was hit in the crotch area. He pulled back and cried out in pain.

’This woman, she is nothing but trouble.’ He muttered while catching his breath and wait for the agonizing pain to pass.

"Yana, wake up." He patted her lightly on the cheek.

"Erik." Aryana sat up. She was fully awake. Memories of what happened came rushing back to her and she started sobbing.

Erik sat down on the edge of the bed. He gently pulled her towards him and let her face rest on his chest. Her tears and snot drenched his shirt. He was a neat freak but at that moment he did not care at all. He just wanted to comfort Aryana.

After some time, Aryana felt better, and only then did she realize that she cried her heart out on Erik’s chest.

"Sorry. I soiled your shirt." She murmured.

"It is alright. By the way, your captor is already in jail and he will definitely rot there."

"Hmmm." Aryana hummed. She did not want to think about her ordeal at that moment.

Erik stood up and looked at Aryana with a complex gaze.

"Yana... I have a proposal for you." He said gently and Aryana looked at him waiting.

"Marry me."