Chapter 172
Zabelle sighed as she looked at the time. It was already morning, and she didn’t get a wink of sleep.
She had tried, closing her eyes, lying in bed, forcing herself to breathe evenly, but every time she slipped into a haze of exhaustion, flashes of Antonio behind bars jolted her awake.
The events of the previous day played over and over in her head, and each time, she wished she could change the turn of events.
Alicia had tried to make her come with them, tried to convince her to at least spend the night in their presence, but for the first time, Zabelle had put her food dosen.
And what shocked her most was how firmly she had done it. She loved Antonio’s parents and their company, but she wanted to be alone so she rould be sad as she wanted to
Even when William added his voice, saying she shouldn’t be alone, she had refused.
Het insistence wasn’t loud or filled with frustration
It was calm. Resolute. Unshaken.
She needed to be alone, and thankfully they had respected that and left. However, Alicia did call her as soon as she was home to ask how she was doing and if she was fine.
That woman was an angel in human form.
She could hear the blazing of engines from a distance, which meant that people were already out and doing their daily activities.
Zabelle sighed once more as she felt no relief, only a growing unease that refused to let her rest.
With stid limbs, she dragged herself from bed and made her way to the bathroom.
Her reflection in the mirror was almost unrecognizable.
Her eyes were dull, rimmed with exhaustion. Her lips were dry. Furthermore, her hair, which she usually took care of, was in disarray.
It was amazing to see
to see just how much she had changed within a day, but she didn’t care.
There was only one thing that mattered.
Antonio
Within the next hour, she was dressed, her mind set on seeing him.
She had only taken that long so she could hide her eyes bags and to make herself presentable before him, as she didn’t want him to have to worry about her while he was dealing with his own battles.
When
she got out, Elias was already waiting by the car.
“Ma’am,” he greeted, his voice cautious, like he knew she wouldn’t want small talk. Without wasting time, he opened the door for her.
“Good morning. Elias,” she nodded and got into the back seat.
He closed the door behind her, after which he issued orders to the order guards as usual before getting into the driver’s seat.
The drive felt suffocating, and Zabelle stared out the window, anxiety clawing at her insides the closer they got to the station.
She just wanted to see him. To touch him. To make sure he was really okay, so it would calm the uneasiness that had been gnawing at her ever since the watched him walk out of the visiting room.
When they got to the police station, she heaved a sigh of relief when she didn’t see any reporter around, and she stepped out of the car
But the moment she stepped inside and spoke to the officers, her world crashed around her as she listened to what they were telling her Antonio was attacked overnight and he had been stabbed.
Her breath hitched and the officer’s words blurred. What she had feared had come to pass, and now her husband’s life was in danger.
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Chapter 172
She barely y managed to ask where he was.
Her heart was t
thudding so loudly she barely heard the response,
“He has been moved to another facility, ma’am” they informed her.
Another facility. A place where they treated injured inmates and one that would keep him safe, according to the officer’s words
That was all she needed to know.
She turned on her heels and strode out of the building
“Elias,” she called urgently, her voice strained when she got back to the car. “We need to go, she informed him as she gave him the name and address of the facility where Antonio had been moved to
Elas saw the look on her face and didn’t ask questions. Even without her saying g much, he recognized the urgency of the situation as he drove fast, breaking some traffic niles.
Zabelle’s hands clenched in her lap the entire ride.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry.
But most of all, she wanted to see him. It seemed the rest
t of the f
family weren’t aware, as they would have informed her.
By the time they arrived, it felt like they had taken years to do so, even though Elias got them there as fast as he could
She barely registered the multiple security procedures. The questioning. The scanning. The waiting.
Her heart pounded against her ribs as she was finally led into the infirmary.
And there he was
Antonio
He was lying on a bed and his eyes closed
His broad frame looked far too restrained in this setting, the usually powerful man now forced into helplessness
A thick bandage wrapped around his side where he had been stabbed. This caused Zabelle’s breath to hitch.
Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them
She rushed forward, barely noticing the guards who were still standing nearby.
Antonio stirred at the sound of her footsteps.
And the moment his eyes landed on her, she saw something in his eyes
Relief.
Pure, unfiltered relief.
His lips curled slightly, though his body remained heavy with exhaustion.
“Zabelle. His voice was hoarse, but wa
She choked on a sob and sat on the bed, beside him, grabbing his hand and pressing it against her cheek
Antonio’s fingers immediately curled around hers, squeezing gently,
Her voice broke as Jier eyes
went to look at his wound. She couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“Hey. His thumb brushed over hier knuckles. “Tin fine.”
Zabelle shook her head violently, her tears falling freely now.
“No, you’re not You got stabbed, Antonio, how is that fine!”
“It was just a scratch. Besides, it was with a penk
ire was instant.
Her glare was
a pen knife, so it didn’t really go in deep.” He exhaled, tilting his head slightly.
“You’re just making things worse. I don’t care if it was with a pencil‘ knife, you were stabbed!” She cried out.
Antonio sighed, but there was
was amusement in his eyes.
Zabelle didn’t see what was funny about this. It irked her to see that even in a life and death situation, he was so calm while she was unraveling with
every passing moment.
“This is my fault,” she whispered. “If I hadn’t…
“Don’t,” Antonio interrupted gently. “Not this again.”
