Ryan froze, and suddenly, realization dawned upon him. She was lying weak and vulnerable because she was drugged. Drugged with an aphrodisiac. His chest tightened, his fury flaring all over again. Those basta*ds hadn’t only tried to lay their filthy on her —they had drugged her, poisoned her body to strip her of reason and choice. His jaw clenched so tightly that it ached. His knuckles turned white as the urge to storm out and finish those men once and for all surged through him. But just then, Zenith’s arms found their way to his shirt, grabbing it and clutching it to tug him closer. "Pl-please ... help me. I am not feeling good. I ... help me," she urged, trying her best to hold onto the silver of sanity she was remaining with. Ryan’s brows drew tighter as he noticed Zenith —flushed, trembling, her hands fumbling weakly at her buttons as tears clung stubbornly to her lashes. The storm inside him stilled. She needed him. And right now, nothing else seemed to matter. Her top few buttons were already undone, showing the hint of her fuller cleavage. His Adam’s apple bobbed the moment he caught sight of it. But soon enough he realized his thought and he felt embarrassed. "Stop!" Ryan ground out through clenched teeth, catching her wrists before she could undo more. His grip was steady but careful, strong enough to stop her but gentle enough not to frighten her any further. "Don’t. You don’t have to do this. Not ." Zenith whimpered, twisting her body as though she was fighting against herself. "I can’t —It’s burning —please ... I don’t want to ... but it hurts —" her words broke into sobs, raw in desperation. Ryan exhaled sharply, dragging his free hand down his face before cupping her cheeks gently, but firmly enough to snap her out of her haze. "Listen to me. Look at me, Zenith." Her blurred gaze met his, drawing in panic. "You are not going through this alone. Not while I am here, okay?" His tone was edged with steel, but his eyes held nothing but determination and care. "I will help you. I swear I will do. But not this way. Not the way those filthy animals wanted. I will never take advantage of you. Never." Her tears spilled harder, but she nodded, trusting him even in her torment. Ryan paused for a moment, thinking. Then he quickly shrugged off his blazer and brought it to wrap it around her frame, covering her and shielding her body from her own frantic hands. He tightened it enough around her from tearing at her clothes, then scooped her up into his arms. She squirmed faintly. The drug was pulling her into torment, but when Ryan’s chest pressed firm and steady against her, her frantic struggling eased just slightly, like she could finally anchor herself in his warmth. "Shh ..." he whispered, his lips close to her hair. "Hold on, Zenith. Just hold on for a while." And then he didn’t linger. He strode out of the private dining room with swift, determined steps, ignoring the gawking staff and terrified manager who had gathered outside. No one dared to step forward to stop them. They all just stood and simply stared with curiosity burning in their eyes. They knew who Ryan was, but they were all curious to know about the woman in his arms. "Who is she?" someone asked in a whisper. "I don’t know, but she seems so lucky. Ryan Foster is one of the country’s most eligible bachelors. To be in his arms like that .... she must have saved a lifetime’s worth of luck." "I think something is wrong. Earlier, I saw a few men scrambling out of that room. Maybe they tried something on her, and Mr. Foster saved her." "Wow, knight in shining armour," another breathed. "I have only heard that Ryan Foster is a gentleman to the core. And today I witnessed it myself. Lucky would be the girl who would end up with him." The whispers followed him, but Ryan didn’t care. He had covered Zenith too well; no one could glimpse even a fraction of her face. And that was all he wanted to make sure of. So that tomorrow, there will be no gossip. Helping her into the car, Ryan took the driver’s seat himself. He glanced at her trembling figure, and his expression hardened. Without wasting a second, he started the engine and sped off. Not long after, he pulled up at a nearby five-star hotel. The moment he stepped inside with Zenith in his arms, the reception staff froze, their eyes widening —but none dared question him. Get full chapters from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝓷𝓮𝓽 They silently expedited the check-in, and Ryan wasted no time in taking her upstairs. Inside the suit, he didn’t head to the bedroom. Instead, he carried her straight into the bathroom. Her skin was burning, and her body was writhing in his hold. He was barely holding her, and he knew she was feeling worse than him. Her soft whispered pleas were just making it all a hell more difficult —in a way he couldn’t explain. Ryan turned on the shower, letting the cold water gush out, then carefully set her down on the tiled floor, still wrapped in his blazer. Zenith whimpered, trying to claw at the fabric. But he caught her hands again, his voice firm but low. "No, Zenith. This will help. Just stay in the cold shower for a little longer, and it will be fine. You will feel fine." He steadied her with one hand while his other hand moved to adjust the water to a temperature cool enough to soothe her but not shock her system. Standing with her, he got himself drenched as well. But he didn’t care. He stayed, pressing her body gently under the stream. Her lashes fluttered as she clutched his soaked shirt. Just when he thought she was calming, her breathing was growing steadier, she suddenly latched onto him —pressing her lips against the side of his neck.