Rachel had no time to duck.She closed her eyes subconsciously and lifted her hands halfway to protect her head.
Before she knew it, a large hand grabbed her wrist, then pulled her to the side forcefully.She found herself falling into a firm and warm arm.
Bang!
The plate shattered into pieces onto the floor.
Because of inertia, Rachelâs forehead slammed into the manâs chest heavily.It didnât hurt all that much, but she still felt a little dizzy from moving so abruptly.
Everything happened so quickly that Rachel didnât have the time to think.
Still in a trance, she heard the sound of Lukasâ voice, mixed with worry and anxiety.
"Miss Bennett, Mr.Sullivan! Are you okay?"
Mr.Sullivan⦠Rachel regained her senses, cocked her head up, and looked right into Victorâs deep-set eyes.She was utterly startled, completely forgetting about the broken plate.
Regardless of how much pain she was feeling in her forehead, she took two steps back to leave Victorâs arms.
"Donât move."
Noticing that she intended to push him away, Victor held her tighter.He pulled her in front of him, then turned to Lukas.
"Have someone clean this up and bring me the first-aid kit."
After he said this, Victor lowered his gaze.His angular face held an unreadable expression.
Rachel followed his eyes and discovered that her ankle was bleeding.
Even though she tried to avoid the plate, the fragments had still somehow managed to scratch her.
"Butâ¦"
Lukas looked at Victor and moved his lips to say something.
But before he could, Victor shot him a cold glance.
Lukas had to swallow his words.He right away sent the servants to clean up the mess and turned around to look for the kit.
Victor was still holding onto Rachelâs wrist.She eventually came to her senses.
At the thought that Joey was still missing, there was no time to worry about her ankle.
She moved her wrist out of his grasp and said in an indifferent tone, "Mr.Sullivan, please let go of me."
Victor turned to look at her.
Rachel struggled in his arms.
Scared that she might fall down later, Victor had to loosen his grip.
"Stop moving around.Your ankle is hurt."
"Iâm perfectly fine."
Rachel turned around, intending to walk away, but the moment she started moving around, the pain in her ankle intensified, making her furrow her brows.She underestimated the injury.She originally thought it was just a flesh wound.
Rachel rested for a bit and then proceeded to walk around.
Seeing how much pain she was in, Victor narrowed his eyes.
He made his way toward her, grabbed her arm behind the back, lifted her up, and walked in the direction of the sofa in the living room.
"Victor!"
Rachel was stunned, "Put me down at once."
With a straight face, Victor glanced over at her without saying a word.He went on to tighten his grip on her arm even more.He obviously wasnât going to listen to her.He set her down onto the sofa.
Rachel wanted to get up right away, but Victor pressed her shoulder down and made her stay put.
"Victor!"
Rachel was growing anxious.
Joeyâs safety was all that she could think of.
"Lukas, whereâs the first-aid kit?" Victor asked.
Ignoring her, he placed his large palm on her shoulder to stop her from getting up.
Lukas rushed over to hand the kit to Victor.
"Mr.Sullivan, itâs here."
Rachel grew exceedingly vexed.She tried pushing Victor away using all her strength, but failed.
"Victor, release me at once! Donât you know that Joeyâs missing? I have to go and find him! You can do whatever the hell you want, but I canât!"
"I know," Victor replied, pulling out the ointment and cotton swab from the first aid kit.
Rachel glared at him in a furious manner.
"Iâve sent my men out to search for him.Even if you head out now, how in the world do you plan on finding him?" Victor saw her red eyes.
He felt a pang in his chest, and unconsciously, he stretched out his hand, trying to wipe away her tears.
Rachel turned away before he could touch her.
"Thatâs my business.Now Iâm asking you to let me go!"
Rachel gritted her teeth tightly and clenched her hands into fists.
"Sit down and stop moving around.You need to take care of your wound.In regards to looking for him, Iâve already sent out people to do just that."
Victorâs hand hung in mid-air, his fingertips moving around a bit, then he took his hand back, saying, "You must know that without my permission, you canât leave this place."
"Iâve already said that you canât leave Sue Garden without my permission."
"Youâre not allowed to take off this necklace without my permission."
Rachel started to recall what Victor had said to her four years ago.
The accumulated resentment flooded her heart again.
She lifted her scarlet eyes, staring straight at him, and her voice became placid.
"For the very last time, LET ME GO."
"Rachel, I have made myself clear just now.You canât leave.Not until the wound is healed!"
Victor was very dominating.
"Thereâs one thing that I donât understand.You seem to care a lot about Joey."
Rachel pressed her lips together tightly, the redness in her eyes still obvious.
When she heard Victor say that, she held her breath.
Seeing that she was silent, he knew that she must be very worried about Joey.He tried comforting her.
"Sit here and let me clean your wound.I have already sent people to go find Joey.He will be fine.And donât forget that heâs not just your godson but also my nephew.Iâm not any less anxious to find him than you."
Rachel stared at him and kept quiet for a very long time.Her eyes were red and wet.
"If something were to happen to Joey, you will regret it."