Avery didn't know what had happened after she fainted. She was only aware of the pain that came rushing into her head as soon as her eyes opened.
She stared at the ceiling above her in a daze and thought it was peaceful.
But then, that peace was obstructed by the sound of wails and pounding noises that came somewhere inside the room.
'Hm?'
Frowning, Avery propped her upper body with her elbows on the mattress. She looked toward the direction of the sound and was immensely shocked at the sight before her!
Several men were inside the room. Each had their backs onto her, seemingly not noticing that she was awake, and every one of them was distracted by something.
Fear began to course through her body as she couldn't figure out the current situation she was in. Who were these men? Who had brought them in?
And what was going on over there?
Because there were some people in front of her, the place where the loud voice was coming from was blocked from her eyes.
But in the next moment, the people who had been blocking the way moved, and she finally saw a glimpse of what's going on and what was causing that sound.
In the center of the human wall, she could see a man with a similar appearance to Aidan, gripping the hair of the man who had slapped her earlier and banging his face against the wall that was stained with fresh blood.
No, they weren't just similar. It was Aidan.
Avery was instantly shocked awake.
It took a moment for her to understand what was going on. More importantly, why was he here?
She remembered calling him for help, but she hadn't explicitly told him anything. So, how did he get here so fast? And what was he doing to that guy?
'Crunch!'
"AHH!!!"
Snapping out her thoughts, Avery shuddered when she saw Aidan stepping on the man's hand.
Avery's face turned pale when he made a move to do the same to the other hand.
"That's enough!" she screamed, loud enough for everyone to glance at her and for Aidan to stop his movements, leaving his leg hovering in the air.
Aidan lowered his foot.
Avery was afraid that he would continue stepping on the man, so she got off the bed, and she took a step forward. But the sudden action made her world spin around her eyes, pulling her body to the side.
In the next second, a shadow flashed across the room and reached her. Before she fell, a hand snaked around her waist and pulled her into someone's embrace.
Aidan, who should have been on the other end of the room, arrived beside her. He looked at her worriedly.
Avery gritted her teeth and forced down the dizzy spell she was feeling, and forcefully pushed Aidan away.
"Are you crazy or what?"
"Do you even know what you're doing?"
Aidan let her shove him, the concern in his eyes didn't decrease and instead intensified.
"Why is no one calling an ambulance?!" She looked at the crumpled body on the ground where Aidan originally stood, then at everyone else inside the room.
"Why?" Suddenly, she heard Aidan speaking to her. "Are you scared for him?"
Avery frowned and stared at him as she said, "Of course, I am!"
As soon as she let go of these words, the air stilled, and the temperature inside the room became colder and suffocating.
Liu Yan looked at her and blinked his eyes fast, silently pleading. Please, don't make the situation even worse!
But, unfortunately, Avery was not looking his way nor did she notice the way Aidan's eyes turned indifferent and cold, lacking any sense of guilt.
"Why wouldn't I be scared?" Avery looked at him with her eyes clear and bright. "What if he files a lawsuit against you and report you to the police?! What are you going to do if, because of this, you will lose your job!"
Aidan blinked in response to her words. He looked at Avery with a bewildered expression, as if he didn't understand why she was angry.
Logically speaking, Avery had a point. What he had done tonight might become a troublesome matter for him. But it was not to the point that he would lose his job. And he had only done this because the other party had done something horrible to her.
He just couldn't stop his anger.
Controlling his temper was an even harder job to do than cleaning up the messy affairs his family was involved in.
Aidan looked into Avery's angry eyes and offered a brief explanation.
"He touched you."
Avery was surprised. "What?... Hiss—!"
Aidan gently caressed the bruise on her left cheek with his thumb, causing her to flinch. Then, he repeated, "He touched you. He hurt you. No one is allowed to do that."
His voice was low and hoarse, and particularly airy, as if what he said did not carry any hint of warning or possessiveness.
Avery met his eyes.
"You shouldn't have done this."
Her words were a solemn and stern reprimand.
The two stared at each other, neither wanting to back down.
Avery especially did not want him to act so darkly like this.
Rejecting his explanation, Avery turned to look at the people who stood indifferently on the side.
"Please call an ambulance."
…
Soon, the ambulance arrived, and the medical staff lifted the injured man onto the stretcher and took him to the hospital.
Before the man was taken away, Avery approached him and said, "I will come to visit you later."
The man viciously glared at her and hoarsely spat out, "What for? D–do you think I will…ha… let you and that man go?"
Avery looked coldly at him without a hint of fear.
"Don't worry, I won't run away. But… will you be okay?"
The man stared at her as an ominous feeling entering his chest.
"Trespassing, harassment, blackmail, assault, and attempted r*pe…"
"These are all the things I will file once you get out of the hospital… it's okay to do that, right?" Avery smiled at him.