"Jared," Valeria's voice rang out from inside the room.
"Yeah, what's up?" Jared responded, somewhat taken aback by the sudden call.
"I knew you'd forget," Valeria sighed, "Remember the debutante ball for Count Alexandra's daughter I mentioned to you?"
Jared paused, recalling the event. "That's in two days."
"Exactly, we're flying out to France tomorrow. I've already booked our tickets. Can you make it?" Valeria asked.
Guilt washed over Jared. He had indeed forgotten about the event. With all his attention lately being on Agnes, he had overlooked the commitment.
"Don't worry, Valeria," Jared assured her. "I'll be there. I'll meet you at the airport."
After hanging up the phone, Jared returned to his room where Agnes was still fast asleep. She didn't wake up till dusk.
Agnes woke up to the dim light of the evening, her head heavy from the drug Hammer had used on her. She knew he had every intention of getting rid of her. She could only imagine what could have happened if Jared hadn't returned.
Agnes did not dwell on the thought. It was too scary to imagine what her fate could have been if she had been taken away by Hammer.
The mere thought of Beatrice orchestrating such a terrifying plot sent a chill down Agnes' spine. She should have seen this coming four years ago when Beatrice tried to kill her. But blood ties blinded her.
Jared was sitting on the nearby couch, slowly peeling a pomegranate. Even though he was doing it meticulously, there was a whole bowl of pomegranate seeds next to him.
Upon noticing Agnes awake, Jared quickly moved to her side, grabbing her hand gently. "How are you feeling, Agnes? Does your head still hurt?" he asked with a worried tone.
Agnes shook her head. "I'm feeling much better."
"That's good to hear," Jared said. "You were heavily drugged by Hammer. You might need a few days to fully recover."
Agnes nodded. "Jared, can you tell me what happened?"
Jared gave Agnes a brief rundown of the events, omitting the part where he almost crashed his car into Hammer's in the tunnel.
Agnes could only express her gratitude. "Thank you, Jared. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here."
Jared remained silent for a while before finally speaking, "When Hammer took you away, I kept wondering what I would do if he hurt you. If anything happened to you, I don't know how I'd carry on."
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