Defense

Phoenix sat in the warm water, a soft sigh escaping her lips as the soothing feeling seeped into her bones. Now she's done it. What would she do now, knowing how much Ryan had a hold on her. Although she still couldn't take the fact that he was cheating on her with another woman, she was still with him for the sake of her father's company.

A groan escaped her lips as she stepped out of the bathtub, sliding her feet into the bathroom slippers Draven had placed there beforehand. It wasn't shocking he was able to get everything she needed for the morning in less than an hour since he was a billionaire in the first place.

"Your dress is prepared, my lady." The maid bowed as she stepped out of the bathroom. She was still using his room which felt weird due to how large she felt the mansion was. Why didn't he just put her in another room? Not that it really mattered.

"Please, can you take me to Master Anderson?" She asked the maid after fixing her hair and dress.

The maid looked nervous for a brief second before nodding, showing her the way out. "This way, please."

The maid led her down the hallway as they stepped out of the room. One thing she noticed was that just like his room which had gray shades, the rest of the places she passed by also had the same cool shade, gradually getting darker as the maid led her towards the direction they were heading to.

They walked past what seemed like the living room and the view from upstairs, it looked simple for a huge place. The living room was also gray themed with gray plush seatings with sleek white side tables. A large coffee table made from dark stained wood with a glass top.

There was also a floor to ceiling bookshelf filled with books, making her wonder if he really loved reading that much.

They soon descended some stairs, stopping in front of a grand door made from dark wood. "I can't take you past here, my lady. Master Anderson is inside." The maid bowed politely before heading back up.

Phoenix pushed the huge door open slightly before slipping in. She knew he might not hear her knock due to the fact that the interior must be huge and she was just right. The room was a huge room painted in dark charcoal gray with recessive shelves holding rows of tiny bottles, notes, and raw ingredients.

There was a sleek black marble countertop spanning from the middle of the room down to the opposite wall, filled with different bottles and other stuff. It was huge.

Her gaze soon fell on Draven whose attention was drawn to her the instant she stepped into the room. "I'm sorry to intrude. I hope I don't seem rude." She said softly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"No. Do you need something?" He asked in a low voice, carefully setting down what he was holding.

"If you're busy, I can come–"

"No, it's fine. I can do anything," he cut her off quickly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I was hoping you could take me to the hospital. I have someone to see and it's important. I-I will leave after that, no need to worry about me." She quickly explained, not wanting to be a thorn to him. He was already doing her a big favor by giving her a place to sleep for the night after what happened last night. Although she had nowhere to go, she would deal with that after she got to the hospital.

"No, you're not bothering me. Are you done? I'll take you now." He offered and she nodded politely. He was just so kind to her, which made her wonder if he truly was the same man those articles spoke about. Then again, it wasn't everything in those articles that would be true.

LUCKY HOSPITAL - 12:45 pm.

Phoenix walked into the hospital with Draven behind her. She didn't seem to notice as she was in a rush to her destination. No one questioned them both as she visited regularly.

"Young Miss," the guards stationed at the ward she was heading to bowed, looking at Draven who was walking behind the young miss casually dressed. This made her turn back to look at him, finally noticing him.

"You didn't have to follow me. I'll be fine from here on." She said softly.

"It's fine. I'll wait. You don't have anywhere to stay since you don't want to go back to him, right? I'll take you back with me till it's all settled." He offered.

"I honestly–"

"Phoenix Brown." A feminine voice screeched from the other end of the hall, making her pause her sentence midway. Child ran down her spine at the voice of the one she didn't expect to meet here of all places.

"I knew she would come here to cry to daddy once she runs out of money for the night. We know her better than herself, mother." A similar voice, but much younger than the first said with a small cackle. "Oh, is she with a man?"

A woman dressed in an elegant black dress stormed over to Phoenix, landing a harsh slap across her face, the force pushing her down to her butt. Draven stood back there, a cold look creeping up his face. "You stupid ingrate. Can't you for once be grateful that the Brown family agreed to have a good for nothing like you join their prestigious family? How can you leave home and spend the night with some other man when you're a married woman? Don't you care about the Brown family's reputation? And most of all, the Osborne family's reputation?"

Draven was about to step in but was stopped when he heard a chuckle from Phoenix who was still seated on the floor, wiping the corner of her lips.

"Reputation huh? How interesting. You should be the last person talking to me about reputation, Delilah."