Chapter 7

When Annabelle came back, the entire hall was a mess. Everyone was screaming and running for their lives. She had a bad premonition. Going against the flow of the crowd, she returned to the hall and saw Nathan pummeling another man like a madman. The man, whose face was already bruised and swollen, kept screaming in defense, "It's true! I really slept with that chick who just called you! It happened two years ago back in Velmora! "She was a wild one! In fact, she was involved with many international students! Even if you beat me to death today, it won't change the truth! I still have pictures and videos of it on my phone!" Seeing the man trembling as he handed over his phone, Nathan's face turned red with anger. The veins on his forehead pulsed. With shaking hands, he reached out for the phone. But Evelyn barged in right at that moment and called out to him, "Nate!" Nathan turned to look at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions. There was undisguised shock, wavering disbelief, and a mix of endless conflict and pain. Upon seeing Evelyn, the man lying on the ground got extremely worked up. "That's her! Open up the folder named Evelyn Mercer on my phone and enter her birthday as the password. You'll see that I'm telling the truth! She's a wild one in bed—far from the innocent lamb she appears to be!" All color drained from Evelyn's face when she saw the man. She immediately pulled Nathan aside and explained frantically, "It's not as it seems, Nate. I was forced to take those photos! He'd pursued me for a long time back then, so I said that we could give things a try. But he spiked my drink and—" "That's bullshit! Weren't you the one who threw yourself at me? Look at how wantonly you're behaving in those videos! How dare you claim that I forced you into anything?" Nathan finally couldn't take it anymore. He picked up a chair and a wine bottle and hurled both of them at the man. A shard of glass pierced the man's eye, and blood flowed down his face. He held his head in his hands as he wailed on the ground in agony. Nathan's first reaction was to hold Evelyn in his arms and cover her eyes. "It'll be alright, Evie. I'll handle all of this. Don't you worry. I won't let any of this filthy data leak." Then, he picked up the phone and smashed it into smithereens. Picking up a glass of alcohol, he splashed it over the remains of the phone and set it on fire. The flames burned strong, leaving the phone's memory card burned to a crisp. Annabelle stood a little way off, quietly watching as Nathan comforted Evelyn gently. "Don't be afraid, Evie. I'll send this rapist to prison. You can just think of this as a nightmare. I promise you'll never have to deal with such scum ever again." Evelyn clung tightly to him as her tears flowed freely. "Do you really mean it, Nate? Don't you think I'm dirty now?" Nathan gently wiped her tears away. The pain and suffering in his eyes were plain to see. "How could I ever? You will always be the pure and innocent young lady to me." Then, he picked her up and walked out of the hall. Annabelle smiled bitterly as she returned to her seat to collect her bag. Several members of the staff saw her and stopped her. "Excuse me, miss. Don't forget to take the jewelry that Mr. Caldwell bought you." She turned around and was just about to tell them that she didn't want the jewelry anymore when the man, who'd been lying in a pool of his own blood, stood up suddenly. Grabbing a bottle of champagne, he brought it down heavily on Annabelle. There was unconcealable rage and hatred in his voice as he shouted, "Damn it! He almost killed me for a bitch! I'll kill his woman too!" With a loud crack, the bottle smashed on the back of Annabelle's head. Warm blood gushed and flowed down her spine, staining the back of her white dress. She crashed to the ground, feeling as though there were currents of electricity flashing in her head. Her head felt heavy, and her eyes, which gradually lost focus, stared straight ahead lifelessly. She could hear screams all around. "Help! Murder!" "Mr. Caldwell! Your girlfriend's in danger!" In the mix of the chaos, Nathan carried Evelyn in his arms and disappeared into the crowd. He didn't turn back for even a second.