A police officer entered the room and saw them hugging, "We need to cuff him, he is still a suspect," Ronan turned around on his voice.
He stood up and placed Shael on the bed, "Don't worry, it's alright."
The officer came up to the bed and cuffed one of Shael's hands to the bed, "There are officers on guard outside. You are not allowed to walk out of here," he said before turning around and walking out.
Ronan noticed Shael was scared of the officer, "Don't worry, I'm right here with you," he held onto his free hand, "Just take a rest."
Shael lay down on the bed, but he was still looking at Ronan. He didn't want him to walk away. He was tired as his body was in immense pain last night. His eyes got heavy, and he fell asleep.
The day went by, and Ronan was sitting beside him all along, except when he had to step out to take calls.
Shael woke up in the evening only to eat dinner with Ronan briefly and went to sleep again. He was under medication because he went through a huge shock.
Ronan couldn't sleep for two days, he fell asleep on the sofa nearby.
He woke up at a stronger grip of hands that were trembling. He opened his eyes and saw Shael sitting on the floor clutching onto Ronan's shirt.
"What happened?" Ronan came down to the floor.
"It's heat... I don't like this feeling... I'm scared," he started sobbing.
Ronan took him into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"No... No, don't touch me... Don't touch me," Shael started wailing, trying to break through his sturdy arm's grip.
Ronan quickly let go of him, but Shael was still holding onto Ronan's shirt. Long Yi turned around to look at his cuffed hand, it was bleeding. When he looked at Shael, he plopped into Ronan's lap.
Ronan quickly transferred him onto the bed and pressed the emergency alarm button. It started ringing, and the nurses entered the room after a while.
"He passed out, could you please inject him inhibitors, cause he panicked because of the feeling of being in heat."
The nurse injected medication into Shael's IV drip.
"He is sleeping right now. I think there are some triggers that bring back the bad memory. But we can't give him too many inhibitors. It seems like he has been using inhibitors previously, they are deteriorating his health. I suggest you comfort your partner instead of using inhibitors," the nurse said while wrapping a bandage around Shael's wrist.
"Why is it dangerous to take inhibitors?" Ronan asked in his head.
[Long term use of inhibitors could lead to hormonal imbalance, reproductive problems, and increased risk of diseases. It could also lead to mental issues such as depression, anxiety, and feeling of disconnection.]
"That really sounds dangerous," Ronan mumbled, looking at Shael who was sleeping.
"But please be careful, he seems to have developed a trauma, and physical intimacy might trigger the trauma," the nurse advised before walking out.
"Thanks," Ronan replied in a weak hushed voice, still staring at Shael.
Ronan walked out and stood in front of an officer that was on watch outside, "Can you uncuff him, his hand was bleeding."
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have the authority to do that."
"But he is injured," Ronan almost shouted.
"Sir, we don't even have the keys to uncuff him, nor do we have the authority to do so." The officer voice went timid.
"Then call your superior..." Ronan closed his eyes and sighed before entering the room without completing his sentence.
He settled down on the stool and softly arranged Shael's messy hair. He took a deep breath and clutched his fingers onto his hand. He spent the rest of the night awake.
Caelen entered Wahan Kael's office with speedy steps, "I told you he was related to Sparkle CEO, or else why would he barge into my office like a rabid dog? But you never listened to me," he was almost yelling every word.
"Do you think I knew they were dating?" Kael frowned as he walked to Caelen. "And keep your voice lower, you are in my office."
"Shut the hell up, we are about to go to jail," Caelen countered.
"We are not going to jail," Kael rather seemed calm, "Because we are aiming for settlement."
"Settlement? You think they will settle?"
"Just think about it, Shael is not the victim, the victim is someone else."
A sinister smile spread across Caelen's face, "Exactly! They are not the victim, that will make things easier."
Kael was Shael's younger stepbrother. He was the current CEO of his father's company, as he was favoured by their father due to his excellence in business administration, but he always saw Shael as a threat. Shael was the only legitimate son and older than him, which made him a possible heir to take over his father's business. Although Shael wasn't interested in business, he graduated in business administration from a well known university. That made him more of a rival for Kael.
Kael planned to frame him to throw mud at the Wahan family, and his father never bore someone messing with his family's reputation nor his own family. It was another attempt to get Shael out of the family register.
Yet they never expected Ronan to be this close to him. That backfired, and they now focused on settlement with the victim Samuel, who was lying unconscious on the hospital bed.
Shael didn't wake up until the afternoon. When he finally opened his eyes, the first voice he heard was Ronan's voice.
"I'm sorry about last night, I didn't think it through."
"Don't say that," Shael grabbed Long Yi's hands and turned around to him while sleeping, "I am sorry that I panicked when you touched me. I hate myself for that."
"Shael, it's just a reaction to a bad memory," Ronan was staring right into his eyes, "And let's avoid something that could trigger that dark memory," he pulled his hand slowly out of Shael's grip.
Shael closed his eyes for a while and opened them, "Mmm."