He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 25

Yorath stared at her blank expression, his eyes narrowing slightly, but he didn't say a word.

A knock sounded at the hospital room door.

A police officer's voice drifted in from the hallway. "Mr. Fordham? Is Ms. Sewell awake? We need to take her statement regarding last night's kidnapping."

Yorath went over and opened the door. "Ms. Sewell is highly traumatized. Please be gentle."

The two officers, a man and a woman, nodded understandingly.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ottilie still looked visibly disoriented.

The male officer approached gently. "Ms. Sewell, do you remember how you were abducted last night?"

"I don't remember."

"The warehouse collapsed last night. The three kidnappers were buried under the rubble, and only one survived. Do you have any idea what caused the collapse?"

"I don't know."

"Could you try to think back carefully?"

Yorath stepped in, moving to Ottilie's side, and addressed the officers directly. "My client is in poor health right now. If you have any further questions, communicate directly with me. As of this moment, I am her legal representation."

The officers had spent all night coordinating the rescue and felt immense sympathy for Ottilie.

They told her to get some rest and to contact them if she remembered anything before taking their leave.

Before they stepped out, Ottilie spoke up. "Officer, why exactly did they kidnap me?"

The officer paused. "The survivor confessed that he is an obsessive fan of Ms. Nyssa Tarrant. He was furious that he couldn't see her new movie and believed you were the reason it was pulled. That's why they took you."

"Was it strictly their own doing?"

"Yes. As of now, we have zero evidence pointing to any outside involvement."

Once the police left, Yorath poured her a glass of water. "It's not safe out there. You should move back in with me for the time being."

Ottilie held the glass, still somewhat in a daze, before finally registering his words. "Yorath, we aren't family or anything. I couldn't possibly impose on you."

Yorath's face darkened, and he didn't say another word.

They sat in heavy silence for a while until Yorath broke it. "The doctor says you need to be monitored for a few days. You'll stay in the hospital for now."

"I'll stay until tomorrow morning. I have to go to work. I'll pay you back for the medical bills, I'll write you an IOU."

Ignoring it entirely, Ottilie pulled a crumpled hundred-dollar bill from her pocket and held it out to him.

"Yorath, my daily wage is about ninety bucks, plus whatever the breakfast cost. Let's call it an even hundred."

It was a wrinkled bill she had kept in her pocket for days for emergencies, too afraid to spend it.

It represented exactly half of her total net worth.

Yorath didn't take it.

Ottilie simply placed the money on the nightstand, right on top of a handwritten IOU detailing the medical expenses.

Then she gave him a polite nod. "Yorath, I'm heading home now."

She didn't say goodbye, and she had no intention of seeing him again.

She flashed Soren a small smile, waved, and walked out.

The hospital room door opened and clicked shut, plunging the space into dead silence.

A suffocating, low atmospheric pressure radiated from where Yorath stood, freezing the entire room.