Chapter 19: Game of Hearts

Xavier saw Zarah's state and anger grew in his heart. He went to her side so he could bring her out safely.

Meanwhile, Zarah thought that she was hallucinating because she didn't expect to see Xavier in the room and was looking at her with genuine worry.

However, before she could test if it was real or a hallucination, she had lost all the strength in her body and she collapsed. Good thing Xavier was already close and she had fallen into his arms.

Xavier frowned when his skin touched her neck. She was hot. He tried waking her up and she moved. She then mumbled, "I'm hot. Help me."

Xavier's ears rang after hearing her desperate words. He immediately carried her out of the room and saw the man being isolated by his men. Xavier grabbed his gun and shot him dead in the head.

He then spoke through his earphones and said, "Tonight, I want the Black Skull Bandits to cease to exist."

The message was intended for Bravo and Charlie's team commanders.

Gunshots broke out outside and inside the house as Xavier started shooting anyone who dared to stop him from leaving. Those who decided to fight against Xavier lost their lives.

Brian and the rest of the team Alpha also arrived in the area and helped in taking down the place. Brian then saw Xavier coming out of the house with a woman in his arms.

The leader and his son were immediately captured by his men and the rest of the bandits who decided to not fight against Xavier's men were forced to kneel on the ground as they surrendered.

Xavier grabbed his gun and shot the leader and his son dead with a headshot.

"Pledge your loyalty to the Lockbourne Mafia and I'll spare your lives." Xavier's message was loud and clear.

Xavier had always wanted to expand his group's territory. They had already started their expansion in Bridgewood City. This could be considered an easy win for him but he was not pleased by the result as Zarah's life was put in danger.

Xavier immediately boarded the helicopter and asked the pilot to bring them to the nearest hospital for Zarah's treatment.

After an hour, they reached Bridgewood Hospital and a team of doctors was already waiting on the rooftop.

Zarah was brought to the emergency room where she was given a drug that could counter the effects of the drug being injected into her.

Zarah was then brought into the VIP ward and was under observation. The wound in her forehead was also given treatment. She earned two stitches to close the wound.

Xavier entered her room and grabbed the chair and decided to sit beside her bed.

He watched her even breathing and he felt relieved and calmed down.

Meanwhile, the news about the incident at Mt. Zaltana broke out the next day and it spread across the entire Bridgewood Province and even reached Oakridge City.

Olivia became nervous after she saw the news. She started calling Zarah but her phone could not be reached.

She immediately grabbed her bag and car keys and left her room. She bumped into Josh in the hallway and the latter asked, "Where are you going? Lunch is about to be served soon."

Olivia thought that he still had the right to know and so she told him, "Something happened at Mt. Zaltana last night and Zarah could be in danger."

Olivia wanted to see how his brother would react and she was satisfied when he showed a change in his reaction, "What? What is she doing on Mt. Zaltana?"

Olivia realized that Zarah did not send her brother a message. However, she still asked, "Didn't she send you a message yesterday?"

"She did not." Josh was being honest.

"And you're not worried even a bit?" Olivia shook her head in disapproval.

"I knew she was upset about what I've done to her cat though it was that evil cat's fault. So, I just let her be. She will come around. This is not the first time that we quarreled about something."

Olivia was pissed off and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

She didn't expect her brother was this piece of s**t. He was an a*****e!

She left in a hurry and Josh followed behind her.

"Wait for me Liv! I'll go with you!" Josh shouted behind her but Olivia stopped him and said, "Don't! The last person that Zarah would want to see there is you, Josh. I felt disgusted having you as my brother!"

Olivia stormed off leaving Josh in utter shock.

'Did she know something?' Josh thought and the more that he had to chase after his sister into the garage. He had to stop her from telling Zarah what she knew.

Only then did it make sense to Josh why Zarah suddenly became cold to him.

He ran after her and grabbed Olivia's hand, "Wait! Did you tell her about what happened the other night? Liv, it's all a misunderstanding." He tried to explain but Olivia had enough.

"Misunderstanding?!" Olivia scoffed in disbelief. He thought he could put her inside his pocket and make her believe his made-up lies again. However, he was wrong.

She wanted to confront him so badly but she was in a hurry. "Save this nonsense for later, Josh. I'm not the person you've cheated on. And pray that Zarah's fine. Because even though she did not tell me, I'm sure she agreed to this trip because she's trying to avoid you."

Olivia said and shut the door in his face. It didn't take long for the garage door to roll up and Olivia did not hesitate to hit the gas pedal and sped off.

Josh went back inside the house to grab his phone, wallet, and car keys. He was worried about Zarah's safety. He deeply cared for her.

Once he had them inside his pocket, he changed his top and put on a face mask and sunglasses to cover the ugly plaster on his face.

His phone suddenly rang and he answered it without checking the screen of who was calling.

"Hello."

"Hey, honey! I miss you." Natalie sweetly said on the other line.

"Natalie."

"Yes, it's me. Can I come over today?" She asked him.

"No. I'm not going to be available today. Why?"

"Why? Where are you going? Your face has not fully healed yet." Natalie asked in curiosity.

"Zarah got involved in an incident and I have to go and check if she's okay." Josh did not hide the truth from her.

Natalie became silent on the other line and so he thought she had hung up. However, the phone was still ongoing when he checked.

"I got to go."

"Wait!" Natalie cried to stop him from ending the call.

"Natalie. What more do you want? I thought we agreed to this new setup. Please don't be greedy. You may have my body but you'll never get my heart."

Josh heard a scoff coming from Natalie. Natalie disliked what he said. She wanted both. She wanted all of him just like before.

Josh was so naive to think that she would settle and agree as his sleeping buddy or with this friends-with-benefits setup. No. She would not stop unless she achieved her goal.

"Josh, do you think that Zarah will still be happy after finding out that her boyfriend is still sleeping with his ex? I forgot to tell you last time that I took a snap and sent Zarah our intimate photos."

"What did you say?! Where are you?!"

Natalie smiled as she knew he now got his attention.

"Nope. I won't meet you because you're upset. Think about it, Josh. You've messed up. You've already lost the game before the game even started."

Natalie knew how to crush a woman's self-confidence and trust in the relationship.

Natalie thought that once Zarah would end their relationship, he would come back to her and she would willingly comfort him.

And when that time finally happened, she would be the happiest woman ever.

Meanwhile, Zarah was awakened by the strong smell of disinfectant in the air. She moaned and her eyes immediately opened. In an instant, she looked around to check if she was still in the same dark room and if she was still bound to a chain and iron handcuffs. 

The white walls of this spacious room surrounded her aside from the floor-to-ceiling window on her right side.

She looked up and saw the IV drip on her bedside and followed the tube which was attached to her left hand.

Hospital. She was in the hospital. She was saved.

She thought that she was hallucinating last time because she saw Xavier barging inside the room where she stayed.

She shifted her gaze to her left and saw two piercing grey orbs looking deep into her soul and making her throat dry.

"You're awake," Xavier said in a gentle tone that calmed Zarah. His face looked haggard and his beard started growing.

"Do you want something?" He offered and Zarah felt thirsty. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She tried one more time and it was successful.

"Water." Her voice came out hoarse because she had gotten ill overnight.

Xavier got up from his seat and grabbed a water bottle. He opened it and put on a straw so she could take a sip easily. He then adjusted the bed to her liking before assisting her. "Just sip enough to wet your lips and throat."

"Thanks," Zarah said after she had a sip. Xavier took away the bottle and sat back on the chair beside her bed.

She felt relieved after hearing her voice returning to normal.

"Where are we?"

"Bridgewood City Hospital."

"How long have I been out?"

"Today is Saturday."

"What?!" Zarah wanted to leave the bed as soon as she heard that she was out for that long.

However, Xavier's strong arms pinned her back to the bed. She wanted to be stubborn and resist but his gentle words stopped her from doing so, "Careful. You have just recovered from a fever. Don't push yourself."

'How did he know that I have a fever? Did he stay by my side all night? Maybe the nurse or the doctor told him.' Zarah decided to believe the latter over the former as it was more believable.

Xavier then got up and without any warning, he got closer and touched his forehead with hers.

"What are you doing?" Zarah asked him and he responded.

"Don't move. I'm checking your temperature." He said and Zarah felt awkward. He could use a thermometer to find out her temperature but he opted for the traditional method.

With their face so close to each other, Zarah suddenly became conscious as she might smell bad.

"Be good," Xavier said and after confirming that her temperature was the same as his, he retracted and calmly looked at her.

"I'm feeling better so can I leave now?" She said but it's not up to Xavier, "The doctor will be coming later to check on you. You may ask him."

Xavier was about to leave however, Zarah grabbed his hand. "Wait!"

She did not know that what she was doing was making Xavier's heart beat faster like he was running a marathon.

Despite all that, he knew he had to stay cool so she wouldn't suspect him. "Why? Are you hungry?" Xavier asked to distract himself. She should be hungry as it was already seven in the morning. However, he didn't expect to hear her say something else that triggered his emotions.

"Don't leave me." Zarah didn't know why but she blurted out those words. It was not out of impulse, right?

Xavier looked at Zarah as he wanted to make sure that he heard her right. Did she finally recognize him? Xavier felt like he was on cloud nine. However, he knew that it was impossible thus, he snapped back to reality.

"Come again?" He pretended like he did not hear her as he wanted to hear it again.

"Don't leave me," Zarah repeated what she said.

"Are you afraid that those people will come to take you again?"

"No, I'm not afraid that they'll come back. I'm just worried that they might come to you since you saved me."

Xavier didn't know if he should be happy or upset. She might be either worried for his safety or she might think of him as a weak man.

"Then you don't have to be worried as it will never happen."

Zarah frowned after hearing him and so she asked, "Why? What did you do?"

"You don't have to know the full details but they'll no longer bother you. I'm sure that they have learned their lesson." He vaguely said and somehow, Zarah could understand what he meant by his words.

Xavier on the other hand was surprised that Zarah did not show fear in her eyes after he said it.

Was it possible that she was not afraid of danger?

"Zarah, I'm more dangerous than the man who drugged you. Aren't you afraid of me?" He probed and Zarah was sent in deep thoughts.

Even though he mistreated her many times, it was Xavier who saved her from danger. He put himself at risk just to save her. Therefore, she felt that she could trust that he would never harm her.

"No. Why should I?" She challenged him.

Zarah was never afraid of him anyways. The only thing that she was afraid of was losing control of anything.

She then remembered the child that she met on the mountain.

"The child. What happened to the child?"

"What child?"

"Before I passed out near the campsite, I met a child. I'm sure that she's not a member of the tribe. They must have also taken her."

"I'll ask my men to look for her. For now, let go of my hand so I could get your breakfast."

Zarah realized that she was still holding his hand and so, she awkwardly released it and apologized. "Sorry." She didn't want him to think that she had other intentions of doing so.

Xavier had the urge to tease her but he decided to shrug it off as she might be upset and it would affect her health.

Xavier went to the door and left the room. Behind the door, he looked at his hand which she grabbed and held, and his heart ached. He never wanted to let go of her hand but he knew he should not rush things.

He should follow the original plan and be patient. He was positive that he would be victorious in the end. He would make sure that he would not lose her again in this game of hearts.

***