Chapter 15: Collection

Avery closed the door as soon as the ambulance took the man away and turned around to look at the men inside the room. 

The bloodstains on the wall and the ground were the only thing that could tell her that everything was not a dream, that Aidan saved her in time before anything worse could happen.

"Thank you…" she whispered to him as she passed by him. 

Although she was angry that he went too far to punish that man, it didn't mean that she forgot to be grateful for what he had done for her. 

"You don't have to thank me." Aidan still refused to accept her gratitude like the first time she thanked him at the hospital. 

"Are you still angry?" he asked her. 

He didn't know why, but the thought of her being angry at him for losing the control he had over himself made him feel bad. It felt like there was a knife that was stabbing his chest, just one more push, and it would have gone through his chest.

He had never felt this way towards anyone, no matter what he did to them. The guilt never tortured him like this before. 

Avery's eyes widened in surprise at him. 

"No, I'm not angry at you." Or at least, she didn't have the right to be mad at him. He had only done the initial reaction someone would have when they find out someone they knew was being harassed. 

"Still, it's not alright to resort to violence and render someone to be that injured," Avery spoke softly at him. She could still see his fists shaking. Has he not recovered from his anger? 

Before she knew it, her hand had already touched his, shocking them both. 

Avery pulled her hand back, but in the next second, Aidan held it in his hand, reversing the position of their hands. Now, he's holding her instead of her holding his. 

"I think the two of you need to see this." 

At that moment, Liu Yan, who was conversing with Captain Kang and the other men, took their attention away from each other as he called them. 

He held a phone in his hand, and with a grim expression on his face, he spat out, "That guy is seriously out of his mind." 

At this, Avery and Aidan stepped forward to him and looked at the phone he was holding. 

On the phone screen displayed the gallery collection. It looked normal at first, but upon closer inspection, Avery couldn't stop feeling herself from shivering in horror and disgust. 

'How could this be?' she thought to herself as she looked at the few photos that were recently added to the collection. 

Four photos… and it was all her in it. 

It was a vulgar or explicit photo of herself. However, to think that the man Aidan beat up actually took pictures of her while she laid unconscious on the bed scared her. 

What would have happened if they hadn't found her? If she hadn't called Aidan and he didn't understand the meaning behind her actions, would the guy stop from just taking a photo of her face?

Certainly not. That man wouldn't stop at all, given the advantage he had over her. 

Aidan's eyes changed instantly. It went from being gentle to its previous ruthless and bloodthirsty look when he was bashing the face of that man. 

Liu Yan cleared his throat and said, "It's a relief we found you before he could take any more pictures of you. Though, it is still our fault that he got four pictures…" 

Avery quickly shook her head and expressed her gratitude towards him and the others. "No, no. It's not your fault! I'm already thankful enough that everyone arrived and helped me." 

He smiled at her and replied, "It's our duty to help the citizens of the country. The one who deserves your gratitude is that guy, Aidan. If he didn't throw me in his car and 'asked' me to dispatch some people, we wouldn't have been there in time to find you." 

Liu Yan carefully took out the truth. Aidan did not only 'ask' him, he threatened the sh*t out of him and drove the car so fast that Liu Yan thought he paid for unlimited access to a bungee jump.

"In any case, we got solid evidence of his act of violating the law. We will try to contact the other victims and ask them if they want to testify against him." 

"Other victims?" 

Liu Yan nodded and said, "If you scroll down, there are even more photos of other girls in his collections. He must have taken them without their knowledge."

Avery's hand on the phone clenched tightly when she heard this. It was not only her… there were other girls.

Her face turned grim with disgust and anger. This time, she really thought that what Aidan did was all for the best. He beat the guy not only for her sake, but all the other girls who couldn't do anything while being clueless about being victimized by that guy.

"I'll go to the police station with the others," Liu Yan informed her. "Do you want to come?" 

Avery thought about it for a second. She clenched her fists, and as she was about to nod her head, Aidan stepped in and said, "I'll take her there. But for now… she needs to rest." 

Liu Yan nodded once at him before waving goodbye at them. The other men followed him out of the room, and soon a peaceful silence enveloped the entire place. 

She didn't know why, but as soon as everyone left; the atmosphere became uncomfortable. But it was not the type of discomfort that she didn't like. Rather, it was because she felt it was too awkward to look at the man behind her in the face. 

It was too embarrassing to think that the second time they would meet face to face would be in a situation like this. 

But she couldn't let the silence continue… She had to say something to change the atmosphere.

"Uhm…" she started, but paused upon realizing that she didn't know where to begin. She thanked him already earlier, doing it once again would be insincere and troublesome for Aidan, who already refused to take her gratitude. 

Just as she agonized about how to liven up the place and make the uncomfortable situation disappear, Avery felt a warm and heavy feeling on her back and shoulders. 

The scent of pinewood and musk that uniquely belonged to a man also followed it, invading her senses and wrapping her warmly.

Then, a hot and large hand gently grabbed her wrist. 

And she heard him say, "Let's go."