Chapter 14 – Nightmares and Invitations

Bella fainted when the shark’s mouth almost caught her head.

Charles took Bella back to the mansion. She was drenched to the bone, and her face was ghostly white. Elsa was shocked by seeing this.

“My Lord, do you actually understand how important Miss Bella is to you, and to your heir? If she were dead, we would lose all of hope. And don’t you know? You need her blood to maintain your body. How could you be indulgent and do things like this?” Elsa felt so upset that she burst into tears, and the tears filled up every wrinkle on her aging face.

Charles glanced at her and said, “She won’t die, I have given her medicine.”

He walked past her, took Bella into the bedroom that she inhabited and put her into the bathtub for cleaning up.

Elsa stared at Charles’s back, she was fuming. Then she gave Ziv a hard stare, “What have you been doing, have you been advising him?

“I have.” Ziv felt a bit distressed, and looked to Elsa, “Don’t worry, Lord knows well about his heir. And he has given her some of the Water of Life, she won’t die.”

Elsa felt a headache because of his carelessness, she smacked him on the arm, “the Water of Life can heal most kinds of diseases and wounds, but you must remember, that does not include heart attack or other heart diseases. If the Lord scared her to death, even the whole Tree of Life could not save her. Do you understand?” She beat him violently and warned him seriously, “You must protect Miss Brook even though the Lord penalizes you.”

“But Aunt Elsa…” Ziv looked at her and wanted to reject her suggestion, but submitted finally by her threating eyes and said, “I will.”

Elsa left Ziv after warning him, she went to Bella’s room and knocked on the bathroom door and asked, “My Lord, do you need help?”

“No.”

Charles crouched before the bathtub, using a hair dryer to dry Bella’s long black hair. His slim fingers went through the thick hair, which was soft and smooth, it slipped through his fingers.

He looked at her pale, quiet face, and Charles felt a skip of his heartbeat. The words that Bella said before suddenly came into his head, “A baby is a gift for couples in love, that thing can only be done between the lovers.”

The lover?

How ridiculous! Love is a psychical product stimulated by hormones, and sex is a physical one. There is nothing different!

Charles straightened his posture; wrapped her body in a fluffy robe and put her down on the bed. He went out of the door and give an order to Ziv, “Go and investigate the erotic pictures that were taken.” He paused and said, “Have someone follow Len Sanders, report to me with whatever news they get.”

Though he could compel Bella to submit to him, he was a public figure, with so many enemies that waited for things to use to beat him down at any given time. He wanted a legitimate process to avoid any trouble they might cause. Bella’s father would never refuse to provide assistance, though it was against Bella’s willing.

Bella had a dream, it was so horrible in the beginning. She was thrown into the choppy sea by a monster, but the scene turned to be calm and romantic later. Bella changed into a mermaid and travelled everywhere under the sea, not fearful of the crazy waves, and while she was swimming freely in the sea, a shark dove for her and bit her head clean off.

“Ah…” Bella shouted out in fear, she grabbed her head anxiously.

Oh! Her head was still there!

But the pain in it was so real.

As she was still in a brain fog. Charles wiped the blood from his lips, cast her a look impassively, and murmured, “Stupid.”

Bella turned her head and found Charles standing beside her bed, panicking she grabbed a blanket to cover herself and screamed as she climbed backward, “Monster, what are you doing? You have allowed me time, haven’t you? You, you…You must keep your word.”

His face went cold instantly, a roll of gauze and a small bottle dropped onto the carpet from his clenched palm.

A resentful look twinkled in his blue eyes, “If you were not the chosen one, would you be here before me? Your ordinary body is meaningless to me.”

He turned his back to her and left the room arrogantly.

Bella held the blanket tightly against her chest until he had disappeared from the door, then drew a deep breath. She leaned upon the pillow powerless, her body was trembling with fear or weakness.

He was so malevolent, torturing her in the sea like an insensible creature. Fortunately, because he wants her to give birth to his child, he must maintain her life, but she knew she would be in the deep water from now on.

She took off the blanket while still trembling and sat on the edge of the bed to look for her shoes, but caught sight of a bottle and a roll of gauze on the floor.

There came three knocks on the door, Bella quickly hid in the blanket and looked at the door frighteningly. When she saw a maid come into the room, she relaxed.

The maid stood before her and picked up the bottle from the floor, expressionless she spoke, “Miss, Lord ordered me to give you medicine.”

Bella looked at the little bottle, it was the one she saw just now. She just realized that Charles was going to give her the medicine himself.

“Miss, do you want to have lunch in your room or in the dining room?” The maid asked her in a day-to-day manner after giving her the medicine.

“Can I have lunch in my room?” Bella asked in a softly because she was really unwilling to see Charles. She had lost all her strength after the fierce struggle in the waves yesterday and was not able to fight with Charles again today.

“Of course, as you like.” The maid left.

Bella then relaxed for she did not need to face Charles just yet. She could have a good rest today and regain her strength so that she could fight him again tomorrow.

After lunch, Bella laid down again to sleep, but she could only nap for a short period.

She woke up to some noise, being afraid of it being Charles in her room again, she sat up immediately and found that she was surrounded by a bunch of people. Alarmed she yelled out, “What do you want!?”

A maid approached her bed, “Miss, you will be accompanying the Lord to the opening ceremony of a new hotel tonight, which has been set up in Vancouver by William’s Group.”

Bella frowned, “Why would I attend this?”

Why should Charles bring her to this significant event, there must be something wrong?

“Miss, if you were not to go, the Lord would be very angry. You know well what will be the consequence…”

“I will go.” Bella interrupted her and jumped off the bed.

Undoubtedly, the consequence would be terrifying. The first time Bella was thrown into the White Dolphin Residence and played with like a toy by the Dolphin, then she was tossed in the sea and almost got scared to death the second time. What was he going to do if she angered him for the third time?

She could not imagine whatever would be.

She must be wise, and she really did not want to die.