A lancing pain suddenly shot through her back, pulling her away from her thoughts.Groaning, she
subconsciously raised her hand to touch her back.Unfortunately, she didn't have enough strength to
raise her hand.
Apparently, when she hit the chair earlier, it had done more damage than she had thought since she
couldn't even raise her hand.
Casting one last glance at the Sampson family's house, Patricia turned around and left.
It was a struggle to walk out the Sampson family's house gates and then to the nearby bus station.
She had initially planned on driving tonight, but she didn't have enough time earlier to go to the
company and fetch her car.
Now, it was so late at night that she wasn't sure if there were any taxis still running on the roads.
Standing at the bus stop, Patricia looked around, hoping that a taxi would appear and take her home.
Suddenly, a dazzling light blinded her as it slowly approached where she stood.
Patricia squinted her eyes subconsciously to see if it was a taxi that had pulled up.
While her eyes were adjusting to the bright light, she stretched out her hand to stop the car.
"Sir, can you give me a ride to my destination?"
Walking up to the window, she politely looked in to see the driver.
Patricia was stunned when the window rolled down to reveal Zac behind the wheel, looking directly at
her.
‘I thought Zac had left much earlier? So, why is he here now?’
"You..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Zac interrupted and said, "Didn't you say you needed a ride just
now? I'll drop you home." As he said this charmingly he winked at her.
"Thank you.But I wouldn't dare bother you, Mr.Reynolds," Patricia said politely.
Then turning around, she walked back to the bus stop.Zac became infuriated when he saw this.
Taking a deep breath, he angrily slapped the steering wheel.
‘What should I do to make her more compliant? She is always so stubborn!’ Zac was about to lose his
temper because of her stubbornness.
He had been observing her secretly since she left the Sampson family's home a while ago.
‘She has been waiting at the bus stop for half an hour without being able to get a ride.Yet, she hasn't
even thought of calling and asking me to come and pick her up! When this thought had occurred to
Zac, he was so furious but he drove over to her.
He still feared for her safety despite being angry at her.
Sometimes, Zac really wanted to open her head to see what was on her mind and what made her so
headstrong.
‘lf I hadn't shown up, would this woman have foolishly waited until dawn for a ride?’ Looking at her
receding figure, Zac thought how nice it would be to tie her to his side, so he never had to worry about
her again.
However, given her personality, he knew if he did such a thing, it would only frighten her, and she would
become more frustrated with him.
Not wanting this to happen, he had given up on that idea as soon as he thought of it.
Taking a few deep breaths, Zac reminded himself that he needed to remain calm and not in a state of
anger when dealing with Patricia.
After regaining his composure, Zac unfastened his seat belt, got out of the car, and walked quickly to
her side.
"There aren't any taxis running at this hour.Are you planning on waiting here until morning?"
Staring intently at her, Zac noticed how tired her face looked.
Seeing her like this made him sad, and he wished he could offer her a shoulder to Jean on.
‘Does Patricia have to torture herself like this?’ Seeing her like this, Zac stepped closer to her side as
he looked down at her.
"And even if that's what you plan on doing, I won't allow it!" Zac said in a commanding tone.
Stretching out his long arm, he wrapped it around her waist.
"Zac, don't think that..."
Patricia had started to reprimand Zac but fell short of her words.
Zac's determined eyes and concerned look stunned her to the point of leaving her speechless.
Patricia suddenly felt enchanted by the way Zac was looking at her.
Seeing her bewitched like this made him chuckle.
A hint of complacency appeared on his face.
‘Evidently, even Patricia could show such a charming expression! Good!’Noticing the smile on Zac's
face, Patricia bit her lower lip and quickly came to her senses.
She didn't know what had come over her moments ago, causing her to behave in such a manner.
"You'd better listen to me, Patricia," Zac said as he pulled her closer.
However, by doing this, he accidentally touched Patricia on the area she had damaged.She screamed
out in pain involuntarily.
"Ahhh!"
At that moment, her pretty face was distorted from the pain she was suffering. Zac was shocked by the
look of discomfort displayed on her face.
Looking at Patricia in astonishment, he quickly released his hand from her waist, fearing he would hurt
her further.
Looking her up and down with his penetrating gaze, Zac tried to figure out what had caused her to
scream in pain.
He noticed Patricia taking a few deep breaths.
Her face had paled, and her forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat.
She appeared weak and unable to breathe properly.
"What's wrong with you, Patricia?" Zac asked nervously.
He was starting to panic and didn't know what to do.
Remembering that it was her waist he had touched that caused that reaction, he walked behind her to
see if he could determine the cause of her pain.
That's when he saw her back slightly trembling, the kind of tremble that was uncontrollable.
This sight shocked Zac until he was at a loss for words.
When he looked at Patricia, he recalled when Lyndsy had bumped into her earlier at the party, causing
her to fall.
When she had fallen then, he remembered her screaming in pain.
He felt that she might have been injured by the fall, but he hadn't expected her to not say a word and
pretend she was fine.
"Patricia, you were just pretending to be fine? Why?"
Zac was so angry at her that he frowned and breathed deeply to calm himself.
‘How can this woman be so reckless? Here she is, seriously injured, but hiding the fact from me! Damn
it!’ The more Zac thought about it, the angrier he became.
So furious was he that he almost punished her on the spot.
However, thinking of her condition, he gave up on that idea, fearful it would cause a secondary injury.
"It had nothing to do with you, Zac."
Avoiding eye contact with Zac, she answered him coldly while deliberately keeping a distance between
them.
Hearing this, Zac became furious but didn't say a word.
He stared at her, wanting to see how long she planned on remaining stubborn.
When Zac suddenly fell quiet, Patricia's curiosity got the better of her.
Suspiciously glancing at him, her pink lips opened and closed several times before she gently said, "I'm
fine, Zac."
‘She's fine? Who does she think she's fooling? If she is fine, why did she scream so loudly just now
when I touched her waist? If she is fine, why is her face so pale? Patricia! This stubborn woman! She
could be so hateful!’ Then, Zac gasped out of rage.
His deep eyes were full of anger.
"You're fine? Can't you just be honest with me? Why do you insist that you're fine when you're not?"
Patricia's antics were pissing Zac off.He was losing his mind here.
He flung his arm up in the air in exasperation, not knowing what to do anymore.
Not only was he angry, but he also felt helpless.
Sometimes, he really didn't know what to do with Patricia.
Every time he heard her cold voice, he would get angry at her and storm off.
But once he had calmed down, he would start worrying about her safety and well-being.
He was so afraid that she would be wronged or bullied by others that he always unconsciously returned
to her side.
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