"You fucking bastard!" He wanted to throw another punch at the unconscious man, but Noah managed to grab his hand.
"Anton enough! You'll be in trouble, Ah!" The man tried to stop him and felt pain inside his mouth. The unpleasant taste of blood filled his mouth.
Hearing Noah's pleas, Anton quickly turned towards him and checked his slapped cheek with concern in his eyes.
"Open" He ordered, grabbing his chin, wanting to check the inside of his mouth.
Noah, nervous about the whole situation, opened his mouth with a slight grimace on his face. The blow hurt more and more.
"Tsk! Cut. We're going to the hospital. Sophie, come with us. Dad, take care of the rest."
Each of his sentences was said in a different tone. Fear, concern and rage.
Amidst all this, Bethany stood in the crowd, terrified. She had no idea how it happened that her father was lying unconscious on the ground and no one was doing anything about it. The perpetrator left with the other two as if nothing had happened, and the older one who stayed, talked to the security as if he had authority over them.
She suspected that if she interfered now, nothing good would come of it. So she watched from the side as her father was taken away by security and the older man returned to his gueue.
"Father will manage somehow. I have to take care of myself. You will regret it, Sophie. It's all because of you. I will never forgive you for this." Throwing the last threats behind her, she went on her way.
Meanwhile, Sophie, Anton and Noah reached their car.
"I'll drive. I know where the nearest hospital is" Sophie suggested, getting into the driver's seat.
Anton sat down in the back next to Noah, who was holding his cheek, which was already quite swollen. He felt the blood still rushing into his mouth.
"There are tissues in the bag," Sophie threw it back and her brother who quickly pulled them out, put them to his mouth.
"Open" He carefully placed the tissues into the cut. "Come here" He carefully brought Noah closer to him and rested his head on his chest, stroking his back.
Noah grabbed his hand and allowed himself a moment of peace. He felt safe in Anton's arms. He slowly began to calm down, but the discomfort caused by the cut kept him from doing so.
Fortunately, the hospital was not far away. Anton led Noah to the treatment room, not leaving him for a second. He had to use his influence because it would be impossible for anyone to accept them so quickly.
Meanwhile, Sophie texted Darell, not knowing if he was still at the meeting. A few seconds later her phone rang.
"What happened?" She heard Darell's nervous voice.
"We met Antonio at the airport. For some reason he was mad at me and wanted to hit me but Noah covered me. He cut his cheek inside and we went with Anton to the hospital. They are taking care of him now so I called to say we probably won't be back soon" She told him the whole incident .
"I see. After everything, ask Anton to take you back to your apartment. You probably won't find peace because Diana insisted on seeing you after work and she'll definitely be lurking somewhere. Take care of yourself." You could hear the concern in his voice.
"What about your promise?" She asked, wanting to cheer him up. Darell hummed contentedly into the phone.
"Mmm...I knew you'd like this idea. Let me know when Diana gets back to her place. I'll tell you what to do next." His deep voice sent shivers down her spine once again.
She ended the conversation quickly, feeling her face getting hot. She sat down in the waiting room and, calming down, waited patiently for the men to return from the procedure.
Anton, ignoring Noah's protests, informed the nurse who he was and demanded a doctor to help him. If that didn't help, he said he wanted a private visit and would pay for it in advance. After a few minutes, a doctor came into the room and started examining Noah's wound.
"The wound is quite deep. We'll have to stitch it up" Said the doctor to the scared assistant. Noah looked at Anton in horror.
"Relax. I'll be there for you." He squeezed his hand, knowing how scared he was of sewing. With his eyes squeezed shut and his hand firmly gripping Anton's, Noah submitted to the procedure. Having received instructions, they left the room and approached Sophie.
"Go to the car. I'll pay and be there in a minute." He rubbed Noah's arm and went to the front desk.
"We'll take you home. I talked to Darell. Don't worry about anything" Sophie tried to comfort him, seeing how he was hurting.
"Noah" She looked the man in the eye. "Thank you. You protected me. I'm sorry it ended this way" Sophie bowed her head.
When she picked it up again, they smiled at each and got into the car. Anton returned a moment later.
"Let's go take you back to your apartment first. I'll take Noah to his house" Anton announced, to which Sophie just nodded and they set off.
All the way back, the brother was stroking the hand of the mute assistant. The doctor forbade him to speak for some time so as not to move the stitches and he could only eat liquid meals through a straw.
They reached Sophie's apartment relatively quickly and dropped her off. This time Anton got behind the wheel.
"Enter your address here" He handed him his phone.
Noah hesitated for a moment, but looking at his worried eyes, he wrote it and handed back the phone. The journey passed in silence. Anton knew this wasn't the time to talk, even if he had a thousand questions for him.
When they arrived at the house, Noah bowed to him as a thank you and went to open the door. He was surprised when the man entered right behind him.
"You don't think I'll leave you like this. Go take a shower and I'll prepare something to eat." He pushed him lightly in the back and went to look for the kitchen.
Noah didn't know what to think about all this. He didn't suspect that he would be so happy to see him and that the situation would turn out this way. He entered the bathroom thoughtfully and took a quick shower.
In a loose T-shirt and sweatpants, he came out, drying his wet hair with a towel. As soon as Anton saw him, he couldn't take his eyes off him.
"Sit down and drink this." He offered him a glass with a straw, taking the towel from his hands. Sitting down at the table, he slowly began to drink oatmeal puree with fruits. Meanwhile, Anton stood behind the man and started drying his hair.
"Will you let me stay with you overnight? My next flight isn't until tomorrow" Anton leaned over him, seeing that he had finished drinking.
Noah tilted his head back, obviously thinking about something. Anton's gaze was unable to move away from his lips. Noah straightened up in his chair and nodded. Delighted, Anton kissed him on the top of his head and went to the bathroom to take a shower without asking.
Meanwhile, Noah went to his closet and took out a T-shirt and sweatpants. Opening the bathroom door quietly, he placed them on Anton's clothes. With his heart beating fast, he sat down on the sofa and played the movie. The clothes he brought him, belonged to Anton. He took them with him when he left him. From time to time, he dressed them to sleep and remembered the moments spent with the man he loved.
Tired of constant work and accumulated responsibilities, he slowly began to fall asleep.
Anton smiled to himself when he saw his clothes. He left the bathroom and, hearing the TV on, went into the living room. There he found a man half asleep, his head swaying from side to side. Anton picked him up carefully and took him to the bedroom.
"Anton" Noah mumbled in his sleep, snuggling into his chest.
"Shh...Don't say anything. Sleep, honey. I'll be with you" He said quietly, putting him to bed. He lay down next to him and took him in his arms. Noah snuggled for a moment, finding a suitable position. After a while, he fell asleep for good, letting Anton stroke his back.
"I finally have you back" Anton kissed his forehead and fell asleep feeling his pleasant warmth on his skin.
As soon as Sophie stood in front of her door, a pleased Diana appeared out of nowhere.
"Come in quickly! I want to know everything! What, where, how and why! Or I'll go crazy!" She called out, pushing her inside and closing the door quickly behind them.
Sophie, knowing what awaited her, told Diana to make them some tea and she went to change into something comfortable.
Sitting next to her hyperactive friend, she started to tell 'almost' everything that had happened to her. She skipped all the bloody scenes, knowing Diana wasn't ready for it yet.
"Oh mother Sophie!" She hugged her tightly with red eyes. "How twisted it all is. If they hadn't kidnapped you, you wouldn't have met your real father and brother. It's lucky that nothing happened to you." She patted her on the back.
"Now. Now. I'm safe and sound. But, what about you? How's the situation with Tomas?" She pushed Diana away from her and, looking at her with a smile and narrowed eyes, watched the girl's face turn red…