Take Me Away novel Chapter 67

"Does your foot hurt? Let me see!" Before Fiona could say anything, Spencer had rushed to her side and lifted her foot to check it.

'I was just pretending. Didn't he realize that?' she thought as she looked at him.

"Does it still hurt?" Spencer asked as he gently rubbed her foot.

Fiona shook her head. She felt touched by his sweet gesture.

A few steps away, Sophia watched the two of them with growing curiosity. 'Something isn't right,' she wondered.

"Sophia," Fiona called. "I can't walk properly because my foot's injured. I don't want to sketch today. Can you tell the teacher for me?"

"What? Oh... okay. But you haven't had your breakfast," Sophia said.

"It's none of your business!" Spencer stared at Sophia. "I'll have someone send breakfast to her. You have no business here. Get out!"

"How rude!" Sophia stomped in anger. "What's wrong with me being here?"

Fiona sighed as the two bickered. Not wishing to be caught in the middle of a fight, she pulled the blanket off her and tried to get out of bed.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, Fiona?" Seeing her struggle, Sophia quickly rushed to her side to help her. "Why did you get up?"

"Go back and lie down!" Spencer frowned. "Your foot's injured. What are you standing up for?"

Fiona threw him an incredulous look and replied, "Since the two of you wanted to argue, I thought I'd give you the room."

Sophia was speechless for a moment, and then she managed to reply with a smile, "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you. Please sit down. We'll behave."

Spencer only shrugged before taking out his phone. "I'll just make a call to Grandpa and have someone bring you breakfast. As for you, quit talking so Fiona could get some rest!"

Fiona nodded. When Spencer turned his back, Sophia made a face, making Fiona laugh.

Sophia helped Fiona back into the bed and covered her with the blanket. "Hey, Fiona," she said as she held her hand. "Did you sleep with Mr. Cheng last night?"

The question came out of nowhere. Fiona was speechless, but the color on her face told Sophia everything she wanted to know. Her face turned red at the thought of what they'd done last night.

"You don't have to answer," Sophia said with a sigh. "I can tell by your expression that you did sleep with him."

"I..." Fiona didn't know why, but Spencer looked so handsome last night. Could she have fallen in love with him?

"Didn't you say he bullied you? Sure, he saved you yesterday, but have you lost your mind?" Sophia was fuming. "Do you think he'd just magically be good to you from now on? And didn't you say you were going to divorce him? And you promised we'd study abroad together! Have you forgotten?"

From red, Fiona's face turned white. "No, I haven't forgotten."

She could never forget the first time she met Spencer and how he told her he wished she were dead. Nor could she forget how he dragged her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage licenses. And she knew that the memory of how he and Celine kissed each other on their wedding night would forever be imprinted in her mind.

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

It was Ryan carrying a breakfast tray. "May I come in?" he asked.

"Ryan, please come in!" Sophia stood up and ushered Ryan to the dining table.

After setting the food on the table, he walked up to Fiona with a smile. "I thought you could use some breakfast so I brought you food. That doesn't sound flirty, does it?"

"Of course not." Sophia smiled. "I'm happy you came, Ryan. I'm so hungry, but I can't go out to eat because I'm worried about leaving Fiona alone. Since you're here, I can go now! See you two later!"

With that, she happily dashed out of the room, leaving Ryan and Fiona looking awkwardly at one another.

"So, how's your foot?" There was a look of genuine concern on Ryan's face.

"It's much better now. Thank you for asking." Fiona gave him a warm smile. "I'm sorry I made you worry."

"I'm just glad you're okay," Ryan said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Well, I hope you're hungry. I'll help you to the dining table."

It was then when Fiona realized that she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's incident. The threats to her safety made her hunger seem like a petty concern. But safe on her bed, she could feel her stomach grumbling. She quickly nodded and thanked Ryan for his help.

Ryan held her arm as she walked to the dining table. As she took her seat, he carefully laid out dishes in front of her. "Eat up and finish everything."

"Oh, I will," she said with enthusiasm. Fiona spooned food and ate with much gusto.

"Take your time. Chew your food," Ryan reminded. He looked at her fondly as he poured her a glass of milk. "Drink this. It will help you recover quickly."

"So what brought you here, Ryan?" Fiona asked.

"Sophia called me and said that something happened to you, so I hurried here." He raised his hand to wipe off crumbs beside her lips. "I'm glad you're okay."

The gesture made Fiona a bit uncomfortable that she instantly stopped chewing. She felt her face turn hot as soon as her skin met his touch.

But Ryan didn't seem to notice. He watched her with a caring expression on his face. 'Nothing happened between me and Leona. And it's Fiona I care about. Nothing's wrong with that,' he thought.

"Ryan..." Fiona bit her lip as she struggled to put her feelings into words.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"About Leona..."

The mention of Leona's name completely threw Ryan's mood off. Before she could continue, he said firmly, "There's nothing between me and Leona! I don't know if you heard me clearly yesterday, but you have to believe me, Fiona! I can show you the surveillance video at the bar that night!"

"I believe you." Fiona nodded. "But what I wanted to say was... she pushed me down the mountain yesterday."

"What? She did?" Ryan's hands tightened into fists. A wave of shock and anger descended on him. "She pushed you down the mountain? I'm going to find her!"

He stood up with all intention of confronting Leona.

"Ryan!" Fiona immediately stood up but her injured foot made her loose her balance. Ryan swooped in to pull her up.

"Fiona!" He held her in his arms. "Are you okay?"

Fiona shook her head and said, "You've never been impulsive, Ryan. Don't do things without thinking! You can go look for her afterwards, but listen to what I have to say first!"

Ryan was lost for words. "Okay," he said after a while. Restraining his temper, he focused on helping Fiona back to her seat.

"I'm not telling you this because I want you to teach her a lesson. I just want to warn you against her. You need to be on your guard." There was a look of pity on Fiona's face when she spoke. "She was furious because she heard me talking to you on the phone yesterday."

"She's crazy!" Ryan exclaimed.

"I don't understand her either." Fiona sighed. "Ryan, please be careful when you're around her. We're trying to deal with the matter through legal means, so please don't do anything rash."

"Yes, I understand." It was everything Ryan could manage to say. Trying to change the subject, he asked, "Anyway, are you done with your plate? I'll help you get back to your bed."

"Yes, I'm done eating," Fiona said.

Before Fiona could turn, Ryan bent down and lifted her up in his arms.

"Hey..." The gesture surprised Fiona.

"Put her down!"

Spencer's shout resounded in the room before Fiona could even struggle. He was standing by the door with breakfast on his hands. His eyes were filled with fury.

Spencer turned from Ryan to Fiona to the half-eaten breakfast spread on the table. He strode inside glaring at Ryan and said firmly, "Put her down!"

Fiona looked away. She was too scared to meet his gaze.

As if he didn't hear him, Ryan calmly brushed him aside to put Fiona on the bed.

Just then, a loud noise from the dining table made the two turn around.

Spencer had brushed the plate off the table, breaking it into pieces at his feet.

"Spencer!"

"Shut up!" Spencer shouted over Fiona's plea.

"Mr. Cheng!" Ryan called out fearlessly. "Please behave yourself around Fiona. She's still traumatized by the incident yesterday and you're stressing her out."

"How I treat her is none of your business!" Spencer growled as he marched towards the bed.

"Mr. Cheng!"

"Ryan, please!" With a hopeless look on her face, Fiona grabbed Ryan's arm. "Please leave us, Ryan! I need to talk with Mr. Cheng."

Ryan opened his mouth but no words came out. Seeing the look of embarrassment on her face, he had no choice but to agree. "Please rest well, Fiona. I'm leaving now. I have classes this morning, but I'll come to visit as soon as I'm free."

"Thank you, Ryan," Fiona said with sincere gratitude.

Ryan gave Fiona a reassuring smile before turning to walk out of the room. He felt pain in his heart when he walked past Spencer. 'Why did you ask me to leave, Fiona? Could you tell I was upset?'

As soon as Ryan left, Spencer sneered, "What did you two talk about?"

"Nothing. It was just small talk." Fearful of where the conversation could lead to, she asked, "Did you call Grandpa?"

"Don't try to change the subject!" Spencer was livid. Recalling how Ryan held Fiona in his arms made him shook in anger.

The room was silent but the atmosphere was nothing but tense.

Fiona tried to explain, "Ryan just came to check on me. I was so hungry that I couldn't wait for you to get food. I told him what happened yesterday, and that was when you arrived. That's all that happened."

"Then why was he holding you? Tell me!" Spencer glowered at her.

"Well... I didn't expect he'd do that." Fiona kept her voice low. "You came in before I could even struggle." She looked up at Spencer, trying to assess his expression. "Did you bring breakfast with you? I'm still hungry. So hungry..."