Chapter 6:
1286 Words
Yet, she didn't dare make a sound, running off for the entire evening! Doesn't she know how dangerous it is out there? Or does she simply have no sense of propriety?
Daenerys froze, instantly realizing she had dug her own grave. She was so frustrated that she wished she could slap herself.
She bit her lip, remaining silent.
Austin's eyes were fierce. "Do I need to interrogate you to get the truth?" Daenerys knew there was no way to avoid this, so she decided it was better to come clean and hopefully receive some leniency. "I was planning to go to Midorri City on Sunday..."
His heartbeat quickened. "To see Jackson?"
"Yes." She nodded, feeling guilty.
The grip on her hand tightened even more.
Daenerys's forehead was covered in cold sweat; she couldn't bear it any longer and pushed his hand away. "Alpha Austin, you're pressing on my injury. It hurts!"
"Alpha Austin, Miss Anderson's paperwork is complete. Should I start the process for Miss Keel now?" At that moment, Ricard entered and asked.
"No need!" Austin snapped, pushing Daenerys’s hand away and glaring at her. "Let her stay locked up here!"
"This..." Ricard was taken aback.
Even Lyly had been bailed out, yet Daenerys wouldn’t be? It was absurd.
Daenerys, too, was shocked. She clutched her aching hand and stared at him in frustration.
"What are you glaring at? Shouldn't you be locked up?" Austin's voice was cold, his face rigid, and each word dripped with frost. "Didn't you declare you wouldn't rely on me? You told me that so boldly earlier tonight, and now you've already forgotten?"
Heartless! Cold as stone! Utterly despicable!
Daenerys cursed silently.
Her injured hand was already causing her discomfort, and now, with his harsh words, she felt even more bitter and angry.
Without thinking, she raised her chin and retorted, "I haven't forgotten. Lock me up if you want. I won't rely on you! Do you think I want to rely on you? It was them who foolishly called you! Lock me up for a day or ten, I don't care—better that than accepting your help!"
Austin clenched his hands at his sides.
This girl always knew how to push his buttons!
"If you’re so disdainful of seeking my help, then stay here!" Without the slightest hint of mercy, he turned and walked away after delivering these words.
He didn’t pause for a single step, nor did he look back.
Watching his cold, unfeeling back, all of Daenerys's frustration turned into deep resentment.
After a day of everything going wrong, her nose stung, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
But she bit her lip, wiping her tears away repeatedly.
Daenerys! You can't cry like this! Don't rely on him! Don't rely on that hateful jerk!
Meanwhile.
As Austin left, Lyly had already been taken home.
Everyone in the police station saw him off.
He had taken away someone who wasn't related to him, yet left his own niece behind, a situation that left everyone scratching their heads, unsure of how to proceed.
Before leaving, Austin had spoken to the police chief. "A doctor will be here shortly to treat her injury. Please make the necessary arrangements."
"Of course, anything for Alpha Austin," the chief replied.
"Also," Austin paused, lowering his gaze, then looked up with a profound expression, his mind replaying the stubborn image of her that had been irritating him. "Tell the doctor it was you who called them."
"Understood," the police chief agreed, though he was somewhat puzzled.
Austin said no more and got into the Bentley.
For the entire ride, he sat in the back, staring out into the night, his expression somber.
Ricard glanced at his boss in the rearview mirror. "This time, I’m afraid Daenerys will be truly upset."
Austin was a quiet man, one who did more than he said. He clearly cared deeply for Daenerys but rarely expressed it.
Of course, given their age difference and their respective roles, Austin was more worried that his own feelings might scare the timid girl.
"She brought this on herself." Austin rubbed his temples. "Without some discipline, she’ll just keep making the same mistakes."
What angered him the most was her constant preoccupation with Jackson.
But what infuriated him even more was her leaving without a word, sneaking off in the middle of the night to an unfamiliar city.
That, he could not tolerate!
She was lucky to have only suffered minor injuries.
If something worse had happened, he would never forgive her!
Suddenly, Austin recalled her final words to him, and a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Ricard."
"Yes?"
Ricard glanced at his boss through the rearview mirror.
"Am I being too strict with her? Is that why she’s so afraid of me, even defying me now?"
He thought of how she was always so anxious around him, and now she was rebelling. He smiled bitterly.
This had always been his way.
And with her, he had already been more patient than usual.
"Don’t worry, sir. Daenerys is just stubborn, but she’s not ungrateful. She knows you care for her, and one day she’ll understand. Right now, she’s young, 18 and still in her rebellious phase, so it’s normal for her to push back."
Austin said nothing more.
Outside the window, the streetlights flickered past his eyes.
His handsome face, tinged with the darkness of the night, became even harder to read.
Meanwhile.
Daenerys was left behind.
Even though she knew she was at fault, the feeling of being locked up was so bitter that it made her want to cry.
She was an orphan.
No parents, no one to lean on.
At that moment, the bitterness, the helplessness, and the loneliness in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
It was as if a sharp sword had pierced through all the tough defenses she had built over the years, striking directly at the softest part of her heart.
The next day.
The police officers respectfully escorted her out.
Standing on the street, the resentment in her heart hadn’t subsided.
She didn’t want to go back.
She didn’t want to see that despicable man!
Besides, that place had never really been her home...!
She called Lyly, hoping to stay at her place for the night.
But Lyly had already gone out to pick up her parents.
Daenerys couldn’t help feeling envious.
Not wanting to disrupt her plans, she swallowed the words she wanted to say.
Putting away her phone, she wandered aimlessly down the street.
She didn’t know where to go, and the pain in her injured hand was growing worse.
She didn’t know how long she had been walking when it suddenly started to rain.
The heavy rain poured down, soaking her to the bone, but Daenerys didn’t seek shelter; she just stood there in the rain, as if punishing herself, letting the cold rain drench her.
After all, no one would care, no one would feel sorry for her.
She didn’t know how long she had been standing in the rain when a car suddenly pulled up beside her.
The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face.
"Daenerys, get in the car!"
Meanwhile.
5 PM.
At AOF Corporation.
"Alpha Austin, the housekeeper Sandra just called. She said Daenerys still hasn't returned home! And no one has been able to reach her by phone!"
The office door swung open as Ricard walked in.
Austin put down the documents in his hand. "How long has it been since she left the police station?"
"Over five hours now!"
Five hours?
Austin’s eyebrows twitched. And only now was Sandra reporting this?
Clearly, this girl was protesting against him for abandoning her last night.
- Writer
