First Date

"Commander, she's really not here."

"One." Richard directly ignored his words.

"Commander this is an abuse of power! We haven't done anything wrong!" Edward Jr. protested.

"Two."

"Commander please!"

"Three."

The moment Richard Carrington appeared asking about Celeste, Edward Jr. felt his heart drop to his stomach. When he remembered Celeste's words and confidence when telling him he would regret it, he wondered what the hell that ghostlike bastard had done.

Seeing the cold expression on Richard Carrington's face and the way the soldiers stood at the ready at his words, Edward Jr. decided to calm him down and go and find Celeste to explain the situation.

"Since Commander Carrington is so sure, then I will personally go and look for her and find her. Why don't you join my father in his office for a drink." Edward Jr. offered.

"Father, why don't you stay with Commander Carrington while I look for Celeste? Maybe she came back while we were still at dinner."

Seeing his father nod, Edward Jr. quickly hurried away to the basement.

When he entered the basement room where Celeste was locked away. The first thing he encountered was the stench that was emanating from where she lay prone on the floor.

"Hey! You! Get up! What have you done? What is Commander Carrington here?"

"Uhmmm Edward?" Celeste asked her voice raspy and hoarse. During the time she was locked in the room, she had somehow developed a fever as her body dried up from hunger and thirst. As she had been going in and out of consciousness, the only thought on her mind was hoping and praying that Richard would appear.

And it appeared that he had since Edward and come in here frantically. Finally seeing the light after several days of living in the dark, Celeste chuckled lightly to herself.

"What have you done?? Why is Richard Carrington looking for you?" Edward Jr. asked angrily, ignoring the fact that she had called him by his name. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to sit up and lean against the wall.

"Rather than asking stupid questions, shouldn't you be taking me to see him? Unless you have the balls to offend a big boss like him?" Celeste leaned weakly against the wall. Her vision was going in and out, but she could hear him grinding his teeth.

"You think you've done something huh? It won't go your way! You know what you're going to do, you're going to clean up and lie that you fell down the stairs. That's why your face is bruised. If you dare say anything to implicate this family, your life will become a living hell." Edward Jr. grabbed her by her hair and arm and dragged her across the floor and up the steps.

"I will do no such thing." Celeste struggled weakly, but between the fever and being starved for days, she was too weak to make a difference.

"You don't have a choice. If you think you'll get a chance to overturn anything, you're wrong!"

As Edward Jr. dragged her up the stairs, she could feel her body bounce on each step which would definitely leave a bruise.

Once they got to the main floor of the house, Celeste began to struggle harder. In response, Edward Jr. clamped his hand over her mouth and threw her over his shoulder. He would rather dirty himself by touching her than cross Richard Carrington. He still needed to get her cleaned up and figure out how to explain his previous lies to Richard Carrington

He had almost gotten her up to the second floor when suddenly Celeste began to struggle violently. She bit the hand he held over her mouth and began shouting.

"Babe! Babe! Baaaabe!!" Celeste cried out while struggling in his arms.

"You be quiet." Edward Jr. quickly clamped his hands back around Celeste's face before continuing up the stairs. He didn't know what she did, but Celeste suddenly fell out of his hands and hit the stairs with a thump. She rolled down the grand staircase, her shoulders, hips, and legs becoming bruised as she bounced down.

Before she could slam into the floor at the bottom, she felt large hands forcibly hold her up, stopping her momentum.

Celeste looked up at the familiar face looking down at her while carrying her like a princess.

Seeing that he had actually shown up, Celeste gave him an embarrassed grin while winking.

"Hey babe, I seem to have fallen for you."

"What happened to you?" Richard coolly asked. When he had dropped her off she had looked fine, but three days later, she looked as if she had been through a warzone. Her face had a large bruise on one side and deep shadows under her eyes and her body felt like a furnace. The previously white hair and dress were stained black and gave off a bad smell. Despite looking like hell, her purple eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Obviously it's because I missed you so much that I fell for you."

"Stop joking around. What happened to you?" Richard ordered.

"Babe, you remember how I said we should go on a date? I've decided on the location. Let's have it at the hospital." Saying that Celeste fainted, her head dropping down.

Richard glanced at down at Celeste holding her tightly before glancing up at Edward Jr. who had been trying to take her upstairs. Recalling how the man had been lying to him earlier and had been the only one who looked nervous when asked about Celeste, he turned to his men and ordered,

"Tie him up and bring him along." He ordered before marching out of the mansion.

"Wait what is going on?"

"Where are you taking him?"

"Commander, isn't this an abuse of power? What is going on?"

Richard ignored all the voices around him and entered the vehicle with Celeste in his arms.

"Straight to first hospital as fast as you can," Richard ordered Lieutenant Marshall. He looked down at the woman in his arms and wondered what she had gone through to get like this.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

Celeste slowly opened her eyes when the beeping sound that was worming its way into her consciousness became too much. She was laying on her back on a warm fluffy bed but felt uncomfortable as she had something poking her nose and arm.

She sat up and looked around the room. It seemed as if she was in the hospital room as everything was white and there were unknown machines making sounds beside her.

Disgusting. She hated hospital rooms.

She quickly reached up and ripped the oxygen tube from her face before attempting to rip the IV needle from her arm.

"Stop that." A cold voice ordered.

Celeste looked up and saw Richard Carrington sitting on the chair by the window.

His long legs were casually crossed, and he wore an all-black military uniform with gold buttons. The uniform was fitted and did nothing to hide his muscular build. His dark eyes were unblinkingly staring at her, and he seemed to have been sitting there for a while as there was stubble on his face. Although the sunlight coming through the window shone on him, Celeste thought that in the short duration of time that she had known him, this was the coldest expression she had seen on his face.

Seeing his cold eyes, Celeste tried to diffuse the tension in the room. She smiled softly before saying, "Good morning babe."

Getting no response from him, she shrugged and began trying to pull the IV needle from her arm again.

"Stop that," Richard ordered her again.

"I don't like hospitals. I feel fine so there's no need for this." Celeste replied stubbornly. She hated being in a hospital. The smell, the sounds, everything about it made her sick.

Richard snorted before stalking towards her. Feeling his angry aura as he glared towards her, Celeste felt herself inadvertently retreat backward until she could no longer move. Richard continued to angrily approach her until he loomed over her, and Celeste couldn't help but close her eyes and brace herself.

After a couple moments of nothing happening, she opened her eyes only to see Richard Carrington aggressively fluffing out a pillow before he gently placed it behind her back.

Seeing her look at him, he coldly snorted before speaking, "Did you think I would hit you? I would never lay a hand on you. You had a fever of 106F. Beginning stages of malnutrition. Bruises all over your face and body. In fact, its easier to mention where you're not injured than where you are. I recall dropping you off in perfect condition and based on the people I had observing you; you never left the Valentine mansion. What the hell happened to you in that house?"

"Aww babe, you had someone watching me? I'm so touched."

"Stop deflecting Celeste. You asked me to come 3 days later for a reason. What happened while you were in that house?"