"Son, where are you?" The soft textured voice of a woman queried lovingly from the other end of the phone. "Are are alright? Did something happen to you?"
A deep crease lined Blaze's forehead as he stood up and quietly left Amelia's ward, shutting the door silently behind him.
"I'm perfectly fine, mom. You don't have to be worried about me." Blaze's initially cold and vicious aura was replaced with a soft and affectionate tone as he replied calmly to his beloved mother.
"Says who?"
'Here we go again.' Blaze massaged his forehead in slight frustration, instantly regretting not dropping a voice note for his worrisome mother.
"Blaze Darian Anderson, do I need to remind you that you are the only man in my life? Do you intend to abandon me just like your father did? You were supposed to return home last night after your four-day trip. I had the chefs prepare your favorite dish. But you never showed up. No calls, no text messages, no nothing. I stayed up late waiting for you, scared out of my wits. Your number was unreachable and at some point, it was switched off. I called Eugene and he had nothing to say to me. I called the office but you never showed up at work this morning. I even tried Marcus's number but it was unreachable. Tell me, do you want me to die of hypertension?"
"Mom, come on. Don't speak of death, please. You know how much I love you. You are everything to me." Blaze said in a slightly bruised tone.
"Then, don't you ever scare me like that next time?"
"I'm sorry, mum."
"Fine, but you will have to bribe me to forgive you."
"Name your price. I'm ready to get you anything that money can buy."
"Anything?"
"Yes, mum. Anything money can buy."
"Hmm...I will hold you on your promises. But in the meantime, tell me, why didn't you return home last night?"
"I ran into a little bit of an issue but I'm handling it."
"Is it serious?"
"No, mum. It's nothing you should worry your pretty head about."
"Are you in town?"
"No Mom, but I'm not far away either."
"Tell me where you are and I'll come this instant."
"What..." Blaze chuckled.
"Don't waste my time young man. Send me the address. I'm bringing you your dinner since you've missed three meals already. It's your favorite yummy and spicy chicken soup noodles."
"Mum, you do know I'm a grown-ass man right?" Blaze's frown slowly turned into a smile. He hadn't thought about food all the while he was taking care of Amelia. But the mere mention of his favorite dish made his stomach growl slightly.
"Not for me, dear. You will always be my baby even when you have children of your own."
"Ahem...." Blaze almost choked on his saliva at his mum's mention of the word, children. He could guess where this conversation was heading and he wasn't in the mood for this.
"Mom, I've got to go. Duty calls. I'll see you this evening."
"Blaze..."
"I promise. Love you." Blaze ended the call, chuckling at his mother's never-ending tactics about him settling down.
Back inside the VIP ward, Amelia's fingers slowly began to move by her side. The heart rate machine picked up it pace as she grimaced and twitched, struggling to flutter her weak eyelashes.
The smell of antiseptic, disinfectant and a slightly strong but alluring masculine cologne hit her highly sensitive nostrils. She could also hear the beeping sounds of different medical devices, telling her that she was probably inside a hospital.
As her blurry vision slowly adjusted to the brightness of the light inside her VIP ward, Amelia tried to swallow her saliva but it felt like tiny needles piercing through the soft muscles of her parched throat.
Tilting her head to the side and moistening her dry lips, her gaze fell on a half-filled bottle of water sitting on the table by her beside. She tried to reach out and get it but her body wouldn't cooperate. Her arms felt heavy and her legs were uncooperative.
"Shit." Amelia echoed in her heart. She observed that a chair was pulled close to her bed and she could perceive a male's cologne lingering in the air. This scent was unfamiliar to her.
This person was either a friend or foe and Amelia chose to believe in the latter due to her recent encounter.
'Could it be that this person was behind the kidnapping? Could it be that he is patiently waiting for me to wake up so that he can torture me?' Amelia began to panic. She tried to sit up and arm herself with whatever she could find. But her broken body refused to cooperate with her. She was about to reach out from the drip stand when her ears picked up the sound of someone approaching the door.
"Shit!" Amelia painfully reverted to her original position, shutting her eyes and suppressing her rapid breathing.
Blaze quietly opened the door and slipped in without making much of a sound. He made his way to her bedside and was about to sit when he observed something different about the sleeping beauty.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed and the heart rate monitor was now reading a higher heartbeat per minute.
Peering into her closed eyes and listening to her breathing, he could tell she was forcing herself to remain still.
'So the little sly fox is already awake and is pretending to be unconscious?' Blaze chuckled inwardly, finding her behavior both cute and annoying. 'I'm sure two can play this game of pretense.'
Blaze inhaled, leisurely taking his seat by her bedside, a wicked smirk curling up the side of his lips. He held up his left hand, checking the time on his customized leather wristwatch, before returning his cold gaze to her.
"1, 2,3,4...30, 31... won't this asshole say something?" Amelia cursed in her heart, as her cheeks slowly began to turn red due to lack of oxygen. She could tell whoever was seated beside her was currently watching her and any movement she made now - whether inhaling or exhaling- would give her up. So she held on.
"...57, 58, 59..." Amelia opened one of her eyes just to be sure she wasn't making up an imaginary stranger in her mind.
"Gotcha!" A mischievous grin played at the corner of Blaze's lips.
"Asshole!" Amelia inhaled and exhaled sharply, filling her lungs greedily with air while glaring at the drop-dead gorgeous man seated beside her.
"Asshole!" The smile suddenly vanished from Blaze's eyes and was replaced with something far more deadly. No one had ever dared to use such vulgar words on him. Yet this ungrateful and undeserving lady whom he had risked his neck to save just called him an asshole.
Blaze was simply at a loss on how to react. He was tempted to grab her by the neck and rip out her jaws. But he knew he couldn't bring himself to do such a nasty thing to her, especially in her condition.
Clenching both his fists, he simply stood up and was about to leave when Amelia called out to him.
"Hey, you..."
Blaze paused on his track, thinking she had just recognized her mistake and was about to apologize and beg for his mercy. But to his shock, she repeated the same forbidden word and this time with so much confidence.
"...asshole, are you planning to leave me like this? Aren't you going to tell me who you are or why you want me dead?"
Blaze could feel a raging storm brewing in his bulging veins. He was gritting his teeth so hard that his jaws began to ache. His darkened gaze slowly turned to meet those of Amelia's defiant ones, as he thought of ways to punish her for this level of disrespect. He didn't care if she mistook him for the bad guy.
Right now he wanted to be that bad guy and more.
Slowly returning to her bedside, taking slow and intimidating steps like a dark lord about to claim its helpless victim, Blaze's right hand slowly reached out for her neck.
Amelia's hazel eyes widen in alarm. She could feel her heart slamming widely against her chest as she shrunk deeper into her soft bed. She could feel her kidneys and liver failing her as she tightened her grip on the bedside, wishing she had not angered this handsome devil before her. But amid her fright, she recognized him.
"Blaze..."
Blaze didn't anticipate this three hundred and sixty degree switch in her personality. A second ago, she was as vile as a spitting cobra begging for death. And right now her voice was as gentle as a dove, calling his name in the most alluring tune.
"I know you. You are Blaze Anderson." Amelia repeated, tears welling up in her eyes.
Blaze felt weakened. He withdrew his hand to his side, clenching his fist.
"Why?" Amelia asked, still considering him as the enemy and the man behind her abduction. "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?" Blaze boomed, finally finding his voice, unable to bear the sting of her insults and accusations.
Amelia shuddered under the ferociousness of his voice. But this didn't stop her from confronting her fears. Her heart was breaking and her body was in a lot of pain as she glared at the man responsible for her misery.
"Are you going to deny that you had me kidnapped, tortured and almost killed?"
"What! Don't flatter yourself, Amelia." Blaze said between clenched jaws. "You are not that special and I'm not that sloppy. Reserve your anger for those who betrayed you. I'm sure you're going to need all the strength you've got."
With those cold words, Blaze left her beside and stormed out of the VIP ward slamming the door so hard that even the hinges complained bitterly.
Minutes later, a group of doctors and nurses came to the VIP ward to check on Amelia.
Amelia felt relieved upon seeing these friendly faces. She didn't make a fuss as the head doctor examined her vitals, ensuring she was healing properly and not overstressed. She was given enough water to quench her thirst and her almost depleted IV drip bag was changed, alongside some infusion medication.
"Miss Amelia, you need to avoid any form of mental, emotional and physical stress in the next couple of days to allow your body to heal. Any excessiveness on your part may delay your full recovery."
"Okay, doctor."
Amelia tried to question the head doctor about Blaze and why he was taking care of her. But she didn't get much out of the doctor except for the fact that Blaze was the one who brought her to the hospital covered in her blood.
"He did..." Amelia was left in a daze as she recalled seeing those hypnotic grey eyes before her car plunged into the river.
'If Blaze was the one who saved me, then who was responsible for the abduction.' Amelia pondered.
"Can I at least use your phone to contact my family? I'm sure they are worried sick about me." Amelia pleaded to the doctor.
"I am afraid I will have to speak with Mr Anderson first because he thinks your life is in danger." The doctor said dismissively as he rounded up his activity. "In the meantime, I will advise you to rest." He patted her on the shoulder and left the ward after giving strict instructions to the nurses on duty.