Chapter 32

— NOAH'S POV —

The moment Vilea ran off to the information unit, I was left with Anette and Chris. But then, Chris has to go to the interrogation room to talk to Dave and Jennifer. Which leaves us both alone in the room. I feel the awkward tension in the room, not going to get better anytime soon. I turn to leave the room but eventually stopped by Anette's voice. "Wait.."

I turned and she's reaching her hand but took it back shyly. "Stay.. a little longer..." Her voice lower than usual as if she's just mumbling her words. The way she asked me to stay made my heart beat. I smile a bit and sit on the chair beside her bed. I remained quiet since she only sees me as Dave and I don't understand why she made me stay.

"That person a while ago, who I think was Vilea told me you're Noah... in Dave's image..." She said, as she leans back on the bed. She doesn't look at me. I think it's because she doesn't want to see Dave's face.

"He said you've been injected with some drug." I told her. Her facial expression changes as she listens to me. Then she holds her head and groaned a little. I forgot about what Vilea said a while ago and I've lost my guard. "S-sorry!! I-I forgot about what Vilea said!! Sorry.."

"It's fine! Don't worry." She says, massaging her head, her eyes closed.

"I think you should lay down." I tell her as I touch her shoulder. But instead of doing something to defend herself, she doesn't move. Then she scoots to the other side and pats the space beside her without looking at me.

"I just want to confirm something.." She says. As I sit beside her, there's awkward atmosphere separating us. "What's the very first food we ate together?" She asked, a sudden question of food? I get confused.

"Eggs and bacon." I answer. Thinking that she might be testing me, I try to ease myself.

"First date?"

"Shopping mall"

She floods me with questions and I just answer them without hesitation. She's been glancing to me this whole time. She's slowly getting comfortable and for some reason, I could see her smile slightly.

"Last but not the least.." She says, as she looks at me with a playful smile. "Who always insists on cooking dinner?" That's when I laughed.

"I do!" I answer with a smile planted on my lips. She looks at me and smiles comfortably.

"Noah.." She mumbles my name as she brushes her fingers on some bangs covering my eyes. Just then her eyes becomes teary. "I'm sorry..."

She sobs and sniffles as she covers her crying face. Since she's hurt that badly, I couldn't resist not hugging her. She grips my clothes as she cries in my embrace. She's so fragile and all I did was hurt her. I hug her tighter, my eyes feeling teary also. Then she lifts her head to my shoulder, I could her breathing through my ear. Just then, she whispers words that calmed and reassured me, tears ran down my cheeks.

"I love you.."

I couldn't stop my tears. I feel my heart aching as I hear her crying. We pull away and look at each other. Her eyes full of comfort and reassurance, I could barely restrain myself. She closes her eyes and starts to lean close. The thought of her kissing me is heart melting, but being someone else, I can't take it. I press a finger on her lips and she opened her shimmering eyes.

"I don't want you to kiss anyone else.." I tell her as I brush her hair. Then she pouts, looking away from me. She crosses her arm, which I thought it was cute. I've always loved seeing her pout and the thought just makes my heart race.

"You see me as someone else so.. I don't want you to do that yet." She eased a bit. She leans back to the headboard with her arms still crossed. And I figured she should rest. I stand from the bed and just as I was about to get off the bed, she straightens up again and takes my sleeve.

"Wait! Don't go.." Her voice low but convincing. I just let out a chuckle as I hold her hand. I sit on the chair beside her bed.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to let you rest." I tell her. "The drug is still in effect so I'll take care of you." I carass her hair and she gives me a smile. She lies down and we continue to lock eyes. Then we hear a groan. Our eyes makes their way to Cherry's hospital bed. She's groaning in her sleep and without a second passing, Anette tries her best to go to her despite her injury.

"Cherry..!" She called as she stood in front of her bed, leaning to her. She looks at her worriedly. She mumbles her name every five seconds, praying she'll wake up fine. Just then, Cherry started shaking and groaning louder, as if she's being tortured in her sleep. I run to Anette and pull her away, protecting her. Somebody entered the room, we turn ti see Vilea. Just as she saw what's happening, she immediately comes over and holds Cherry's arms, to prevent her from moving. Her grip wasn't that strong and she's been thrown on the ground. We gasp as we see Vilea on the ground, and Cherry already conscious. She opens her eyes and slowly examines her surroundings. As she saw us, see backed away with a frightened look on her face.

"Who are you people?!" She asks. Then she groans again with her hands on her head. It's evident that she's in pure pain.

"Cherry!!" Anette shouted as she broke free from my grip. She groaned even more. Anette walked to her, shaking as she's holding her own injury. "Are you alright?" She asked but she was push away.

"Get lost! Who the hell is Cherry?! Where's my boss?!" She shouted. She got off her bed and ran towards the door. But stopped by a man. The man feels fairly familiar to Anette and Vilea.

"Altair!! Thank Goodness!!" Vilea called, running towards him. I heard Anette gasp in suprise.

"What happened?" He asked as he saw Cherry on the floor. But she stood and is stomping her way towards them.

"Get the fuck away!! I'm leaving this hell!!" She suddenly balled her fist and aimed to punch him in the face, but he dodged it. Instead, he took her arm and twisted it to kneel her with her arm behind her. He was swift and fast. "Let me fucking go, you imbecile!!"

She struggles to break free with his strong grip.

"Shut up while I'm nice" He told her as he stretches her arms even more. Suddenly, people came running from the door towards Cherry, holding her as she keep trying to escape their grip. She's taken back to her bed, tying her limbs. That's when Chris went in.

"What happened?" He asked me as he ran towards me. His face full of worry, he's almost going to cry.

"She tried to escape and that man helped us" I tell him, pointing to the man talking to Vilea. He looked to their direction and he gasped at the sight of him, he covered his mouth.

"I-Is that...?" He hesitated as he hid behind Anette. His face frightened and he whispered to her. "Anette! Tell me I'm having a dream... I'll let you punch me if I am.."

"You're not the only one who's shocked" She said. I got confused and decided to ask them who he is.

"He's Vilea's husband" Anette said. "He's a psychiatrist and I thought that I was having hallucinations when I saw him enter that door."

It's a relief to finally meet her husband, but why is Chris acting this way? I ask myself but he suddenly spoke up before I even ask my question.

"He's the guy who punched me because I walked his wife home late. She just came back from a trip that time and went here before going home, and when he saw me he shot me a deadly glare that I never want to see again. He's the very aggressive type when he's jealous and I don't want to get on his bad side if I were you. I'm the living experience." He explained. Just then, the man came to us with Vilea beside her.

"I never thought I'd see you again soon, Anette. Or should I say.. Junniper?" He chuckled. Anette's eyes full of question, but he suddenly turned to me. "I haven't seen you yet. Are you new?"

"Noah. I'm from the branch of America, came here for a mission." I explained as he offered his hand for a hand shake. "Altair"

He gave me a small smile and his eyes made its way behind Anette, where Chris still is.

"Hey boss" He grinned mischievously. "You don't know how long I've waited to reveal myself to you 'sir'" He walked towards him. Just then, Chris gave him a forceful smile. He's trying his best not to shiver in fear of this man.

"W-What are you even doing here?" He asked politely, without a spec of calmness.

"I'm Agent Stark, from the Information Department! I've been working here for more than a year now but I still look forward to working with you all!" He says, making me confused. So this man is the husband of Vilea, a psychiatrist, a hacker, and they didn't know he was working here for one whole year?! This man is mad! I idolize him already. "So then I'm changing roles now. I'm Dr. James now. The husband of the most beautiful Havilea James." He winks at Vilea and she becomes embarrassed.

"So then let start with Cherry since I think her situation now is more critical than Anette's. Fill me in you guys. Tell me what happened."