Chapter 190: You Almost Killed Her
Madeline Sterling trembled as she watched Asher Keating approach, his body radiating a murderous aura. His fists were covered in blood, and he looked like a Reaper. She backed away, screaming, "Asher Keating, don’t come any closer! I’m from the Sterling Family! You can’t touch me!"
"Heh..."
Asher Keating grabbed her by the neck, forcing her close. "You think just because you’re from the Sterling Family, I wouldn’t dare to touch you?"
"Ah! Ugh... Asher... Asher Keating..."
Madeline Sterling quickly found herself unable to breathe. Asher Keating wasn’t holding back at all; his hand clamped around her neck like an iron vise.
"Third Brother! Let her go, you’re going to kill her!"
Ethan Shaw screamed as he frantically pulled at Asher’s arm, but neither he nor Riley Sterling could pry his hand away. Madeline Sterling’s eyes were starting to roll back into her head. Asher couldn’t hear a thing; right now, all he wanted was to kill the woman in front of him.
"Third Brother... don’t..."
Leah Sinclair had recovered slightly. Seeing the scene before her, she grew anxious again, but she was too weak to even get up. She called out to Asher Keating in a low voice.
Asher Keating’s hand faltered. The murderous glint in his eyes slowly faded at the sound of Leah Sinclair’s soft call. He came to his senses and released his grip.
"Cough... COUGH COUGH COUGH!"
Finally able to breathe, Madeline Sterling broke into a fit of violent coughing, collapsing to the floor and gasping for air. ’I’ve never been this close to death before,’ she thought. ’Not even when Asher Keating choked me three years ago.’
Chester Hale quickly spoke up. "Third Master Keating, Leah Sinclair needs to go to the hospital for a check-up. She’s in very bad shape."
Asher Keating stood up, shot a glance at Madeline Sterling, who was on the floor coughing as if she were about to throw up, and walked over to lift Leah Sinclair into his arms. "I’m taking her to the hospital. You guys help deal with the rest of this. Have Sean Yates call the police."
"I’m going with you!" Sheila Hughes shouted immediately.
"Okay. Nash, you should head home for now. You’re pregnant. I’ll call you after Leah’s examination is done."
"I’ll take Nash home first. See you at the hospital later," said Chester Hale.
"Don’t worry about driving me. You go on ahead. I’ll just wait here, and you can come get me later."
Nash was still worried, so she pushed Chester Hale toward the door, urging him to follow Asher Keating. "This is my family’s hotel. What could possibly happen to me?"
Chester Hale figured she had a point. After saying a few quick words to her, he hurried out after them.
As Asher Keating carried Leah Sinclair out the door, he glanced back at Madeline Sterling, who wore the expression of someone who had just survived a disaster. A sudden smirk touched his lips. "Madeline Sterling, you should ask your dear brother who exactly that ’random man’ he arranged for you was, back when you drugged me."
"What do you mean by that?" Madeline Sterling looked at him, completely bewildered.
But Asher Keating didn’t spare her another glance. He walked away with Leah in his arms, leaving the sound of Madeline Sterling’s frantic, questioning screams behind him.
「At the hospital.」
Leah Sinclair was taken away for various tests. Sheila Hughes saw the blood all over Asher Keating’s hand and insisted he sit and wait while she accompanied Leah.
Chester Hale came over with alcohol and cotton swabs, taking Asher Keating’s hand. "Let me clean this up for you."
"Her condition... is it serious?" If one listened closely, they could hear the exhaustion and a tremor of lingering fear in Asher Keating’s voice.
Chester Hale sighed. "It’s hard to say right now. From my preliminary check, it looks like she hasn’t eaten anything and is extremely weak. We’ll know more when the test results come back."
Asher Keating sat outside the examination room, his lips pressed into a tight line. He didn’t even flinch as Chester Hale treated his wound.
An unknown amount of time passed. Just as Asher Keating was finding it impossible to sit still any longer, Sheila Hughes hurried out.
She was slightly out of breath as she handed the report to Asher Keating. "The doctor said there are still traces of the sedative in Leah’s system. She needs an IV drip to flush it out. The main problem is hypoglycemia, which is why she’s so weak. She’ll need to rest and recuperate for a while."
Asher Keating took the report and read it, his brow furrowed. "The sedative... how long will it take to flush out?"
Chester Hale took the report and looked it over, also frowning slightly. "The report shows some residue. I suspect she was drugged to varying degrees after she was kidnapped. But with the IV drip and plenty of water, she should be mostly clear by tomorrow if we’re lucky."
Only then did Asher Keating let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you both for everything today. You guys can go home now. I’ll stay here with her."
"Third Brother, you should go home," Sheila Hughes said, looking worriedly at his bandaged hand. "You’re injured too. I’ll stay here with Leah."
"It’s nothing. You all should go home." After saying this, Asher Keating went straight to the hospital room.
When he pushed open the door and entered the room, a nurse was tapping Leah Sinclair’s wrist to find a vein for the IV. Leah’s face was scrunched up as she stared at the nurse’s movements. She had always been afraid of needles, and with her attention focused entirely on the syringe, she didn’t notice Asher come in.
Seeing this, Asher quickly walked over and covered her eyes with his hand. Leah Sinclair’s vision went black, and she was enveloped by a familiar scent. Just as she was about to turn her head, she felt a sharp prick on her hand and let out a soft hiss. A moment later, Asher uncovered her eyes.
The nurse glanced at Asher Keating, a pang of envy in her heart. ’Of course,’ she thought, ’all the handsome ones are already someone else’s boyfriend.’
After a while, when the two of them were finally alone in the room, Asher Keating reached out and stroked Leah Sinclair’s face. It was still swollen from being slapped several times, the marks of the blows yet to fade. His eyes darkened. "Does it hurt?"
Leah Sinclair shook her head and took his bandaged hand. "Were you... really going to kill her just now?"
Asher Keating was silent for a long time before he answered softly, "Yes."
Leah Sinclair’s breath caught in her throat, and her eyes reddened. "Are you a fool? It’s not worth it. If something happened to you, what would I do?"
Asher Keating pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently. "When did you figure it out?"
Looking a little embarrassed, Leah Sinclair told him about the nightmare she’d had. The look in his eyes during the dream had made her heart ache for him.
"And that day in your office... you so suddenly offered to give me a house. I was too upset at the time to think about it, but after I went home, it clicked. You know I don’t need a house right now. Then it suddenly occurred to me... all of your properties have security cameras."
After listening to her explanation, Asher Keating waited a long moment before speaking. "Why didn’t you come and ask me about it?"
"...I was afraid of messing up your plan. Besides, my jealousy was real. I was angry."
Leah Sinclair looked up at him, her expression serious. She really had been jealous. The image of Asher with his arm around Tiana Vaughn still made her chest tighten with pain, even after she had figured things out.
Asher Keating started to laugh. He leaned back against the hospital bed, pulling her into his embrace. "I was planning to explain everything to you properly after dinner that night, but you ran off halfway through. And you went to see that two-faced pretty boy, and then you tried to break up with me?"
Just thinking about it made a fresh wave of irritation rise in Asher Keating. Leah Sinclair felt a pang of guilt, which was quickly followed by her own flash of annoyance. "Well, you agreed to it!"
"I never once said that I agreed."
Leah Sinclair thought about it. ’He’s right, he never actually said he agreed.’
"But you thought about it!"
Leah Sinclair’s expression was stern. She remembered asking Asher Keating if he was starting to fall for Tiana Vaughn, and the look in his eyes... he had been conflicted.