The Dark Captor's Irresistible Love

One moment, the woman was handcuffed and imprisoned in the hospital. The next, the handsome man holding her captive was proposing! "The way to repay me is by marrying me," Blake repeated. The sudden proposal made Cornelia's mind go blank for at least 20 seconds. Blake, however, calmly sipped his coffee as if he hadn't just asked her to marry him. The cold, sterile ward certainly didn't have the romantic atmosphere for a proposal, and Cornelia was baffled. 'How did things escalate to marriage so quickly? Well, I'm an actress. I'm young and pretty. Yes, I'm wanted. They suspect me of harming another actress. But it's not a big deal. My future is still bright. I don't want to settle down now. Plus, I've only met the man a few times.' "No way!" Cornelia exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "Thank you for saving me out there in the ocean, but we've only known each other for seven days." 'As expected, handcuff enthusiasts are rarely normal!' she thought. "That's irrelevant. Marrying me would be a win for you," Blake responded, still unbothered. Cornelia scoffed in frustration. "Sir, you're not a 50-carat diamond ring. I'm not interested in scoring a pair of handcuffs!" This is so weird. Cornelia carefully recalled the chain of events. She was wanted on suspicion of assaulting fellow actress Tracy. Her fiancé Johnny pretended to rescue her, but in reality, he wanted to kill her! He took her to the cliffs by the Caeliorian coastline, drugged her into unconsciousness, and threw her into the sea. Just as Cornelia was about to lose hope of survival, this man saved her! 'Am I falling into some scam where they steal everything from me?' Cornelia considered this possibility, 'Otherwise, why would he save me and then trap me in a hospital? And then propose to me? This has to be a scam!' "Why me?" she demanded. "I don't like people challenging my decisions," Blake said as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Remember, right now, you don't have any other options." His gaze was so intense that it felt like lava burning through her, and the mole on the left side of her nose made her dizzy. "I have things to do. Let's have lunch tomorrow," Blake said, checking his Richard Mille 65-01 watch, released Cornelia, and started walking toward the door. "Turn on the TV and watch Channel Five. You'll figure it out." He waved his hand casually and left without another word. Cornelia couldn't calm down. She bit her thumb, her face scrunched up in thought. 'He hadn't explicitly claimed to be part of the Perry family. Isn't it too rash to assume that just from his name? Is he planning to use our marriage as an excuse to sell my organs?' Cornelia's mind flashed to her ex-fiancé, who had once tried to drown her. After standing frozen for a while, Cornelia suddenly realized Blake hadn't cuffed her before leaving! She bolted out of the room. As she walked along the shaded path outside, her whole body felt invigorated, every muscle relaxed. Even more surprisingly, no one stopped her. 'Is this what freedom tasted like?' But she was still in the hospital, surrounded by guards, with three layers of electric fences around the perimeter. The nurse responsible for her care was tightly following behind her. Even though the handcuffs were off, Cornelia was still Blake's bird in a cage. "Whether he's really from the Perry family or not, I can't marry someone I barely know," Cornelia muttered as she looked at the hospital's front gate, feeling more and more uneasy. Then, opportunities came when she least expected them. Nearby, an elderly patient suddenly suffered a heart attack and died. The doctors declared him dead on the spot, and the staff moved him onto a stretcher. On the way back to her ward, Cornelia couldn't resist asking the nurse, "Where will they take that old man?" "The morgue, in the basement of Building B. His family will come to claim the body tomorrow. We don't offer cremation services here. They'll have to take him to the cemetery 18 miles away." "Oh... I'm so sorry for their loss." Cornelia devised a plan! That night, she willingly cuffed herself to the bed and hid under the covers. The nurse, as usual, sat on the couch, scrolling through t****k with her Bluetooth headphones in. The hours ticked by, and soon it was 3:50 AM. Cornelia heard the door open. She had noticed in the past few days that the nurse disappeared for a short time every night at 3:50. If there was ever a time to escape, this was it! Previously, the handcuffs had been too tight to escape, but not tonight. She had rigged the cuffs, making it look like she was locked to the bed rail when she really wasn't. Once she confirmed the nurse had left, Cornelia placed a pillow under the quilt to create the illusion of her still lying there and then swiftly slipped out of the ward. Her room was in Building C, and she needed to get to Building B. The only way was to sneak through the third-floor hallway. Along the way, Cornelia struggled to stay close to the walls and tiptoe to avoid cameras and security guards. She was already drenched in sweat by the time she reached the hallway. Hospitals at 4 AM were eerie. Pretending not to be scared was impossible. But as someone who had already died once, Cornelia feared getting caught by the guards more! She quickened her pace and finally made it to Building B. Having learned her lesson, she avoided the elevator and dashed down the emergency stairs to the basement. She quietly pushed open the morgue door and peeked around the corner. The hallway leading to the cold room was empty, likely because the attendant had sneaked off to sleep. Cornelia glanced at the duty roster on the wall before slipping into the morgue's locker room. The next morning, the old man's family arrived early. Before the family signed to take the body, the masked morgue duty staff clumsily unzipped the body bag to confirm the identity of the deceased with the family. "Please wait in the underground parking garage. Someone from the hospital will bring the body to the car shortly," the duty staff said before coughing twice, her voice a bit hoarse. Fifteen minutes later, the transport driver arrived with a gurney. After loading the body bag into the vehicle, he complained, "They were in such a hurry on the phone! And now there's no one here. Alex must have sneaked off to take a nap again!" Apparently, Alex had told the family they could pick up the body early and arranged for the driver to come. But when the driver arrived at the hospital, he didn't see Alex, only a note she left: The body was already prepped in the morgue. Please load it directly onto the car. The family's car led the way, followed by the transport vehicle. As they passed through the hospital gates, the zipper on the body bag suddenly opened from the inside. Cornelia burst out of the bag!