His eyes widened and he jerked up from the chair. " Carl? " he frowned and his expression darkened after remembering their encounter at the amusement park.
His eyes darted to her with shock. "Does that mean. . . " his heart sank and he stared into space. 'Was he the reason for her depression,? was she in love with him, ?...' So many thoughts ran through his head and his heartache intensified.
He came back to his senses and noticed that the nurse had already come in and was attending to her.
She now looked calm and was sleeping peacefully, completely different from how she looked seconds ago.
" Sir, she's running a fever. . . I need to inform the doctor, " the nurse said anxiously before running out of the ward.
Jack nodded absentmindedly then his attention turned to Clara and he sighed heavily before slouching down on the chair. " Clara, " he whispered and dropped down his head. Just some minutes ago, he was very happy and couldn't wait for tomorrow to come but now his hope was completely shattered.
'Carl!!!'. Why does he always have to cause him pain, the greatest regret in his life was the trust he gave him that day, and now he had snatched Clara away from him, after finding happiness in a long time.
No, he can't let that happen, if Carl was the reason for her illness he had to make her forget him. after all, he doesn't deserve her. He can't let Clara suffer because of Carl just like he did. He was truly heartless, only God knows what he did to her. His eyes turned cold and he vowed to protect her from him no matter what it takes.
Some minutes later, the doctor came in together with the nurse who was now carrying an IV fluid on a tray.
The doctor examined her before looking toward Jack while the nurse was attaching the IV fluid to her hand. " Her immune system is currently weak and we have to examine her for a few more days to make sure this kind of sudden illness doesn't occur again.".
" Alright. . . thank you." Jack nodded and wondered just how much she had tortured herself because of Carl.
After the doctor and nurse left, he took out his phone then dialed his assistant, and informed him to cancel all their arrangements before going inside the bathroom.
He came out later with a towel and a bowl of water which he used to wipe her burning forehead for a long time until her fever started subsiding and he could hear her even breathing.
********
__ At The Basement __
Mira's eyes slowly opened and she sat down while rubbing the back of her head which was aching painfully with a frown.
Her eyes darted around the spacious room which looked like a hotel suite and she instantly became alerted then everything started sinking in slowly.
" Mark! " she clenched her fists with gritted teeth. She didn't expect him to knock her out and only thought he wanted to convince her to follow him willingly.
She chuckled sadly. That was so like Zach, he gets everything he wants and when tired of them, he tosses them away like trash. Just like he did to her. Now he had even resorted to kidnapping her. What does he really want?, she chuckled again and felt how unlucky she was to have fallen for a heartless person like him.
She slowly got down from the bed and headed for the door but found it locked. Her expression darkened and after pounding on it aggressively for some time, she slumped down on the floor and curled herself in a corner. No, she doesn't want to see him. . . she knew that the moment her eyes lay on him, all those memories would come flooding back.
_____
Meanwhile, outside the room, Zach was pacing around agitatedly and Mark stood in front of him while looking down on the floor with his chin almost touching his chest. " I'm sorry boss, I __"
" Shut up, I told you to watch her not capture her!." Zach cut him off and ran his hand through his hair. 'Shit!!' he was in big trouble this time, what if she hated him more, he had intended to win her back gradually but now this idiot standing in front of him had foiled his plans.
" Boss I'm sorry, I thought that we would lose track of her again that was why we captured her. . ., " Mark said regretfully. Mira had always been his role model and he had looked up to her from the moment he entered the organization. Even though he didn't know the misunderstanding between the two and the reason why she left, he wanted her to come back to the gang just like the old times.
Zach heaved a sigh and dismissed him, seeing that it was pointless to scold him as what was done can not be turned back.
He took a deep breath and strolled toward the bedroom, wondering if she had woke up, then slowly reached for the doorknob.' Shit!!! the idiot had locked her inside.'. His eyes turned cold and made a mental note to punish him later.
He took the keys from the small rack beside the door and quickly opened the door. However, he didn't see anyone on the bed and strode inside anxiously.
His heart pounded heavily as he surveyed the room and wondered if she had escaped but thought it was ridiculous because no one can get out of there without him noticing as he was just standing outside.
He strode inside the bathroom and even checked the walk-in closet but couldn't find her then his eyes subconsciously darted to the door and there she was, curled up in a corner and while watching him expressionlessly.
" Mira, " he whispered and carefully walked toward her, as if afraid that she might disappear from his sight. He knew the pain he had caused her was unbearable but why was she like this. Looking closely at her now, he realized that she had changed a lot and even her aura__ just what had he done. His heart throbbed painfully and he was about to squat in front of her when her voice suddenly stopped him.