Her Return, His Regret
Chapter 76~ The Thugs

"Ryan, wake up it's time for your meds," Lora said to the man who was sleeping soundly on the hospital bed.

A few days had passed and Ryan's injuries had started to get better. Throughout the days, Lora stayed by his side as she promised. However, the man spent most of those days sleeping due to the strong pain medication he was being given. When there was no response from Ryan, Lora frowned. It's normal for someone to oversleep when not well but she had noticed that Ryan was taking longer to wake up the past few days.

She reached for him and shook him lightly, saying, "Ryan, wake up, it's time for your medication."

Lora frowned. Ryan was usually a light sleeper. How come he couldn't wake up even after she shook him?

"R-Ryan?" She tried again, shaking him lightly.

However, Ryan's head suddenly lolled to the side, making Lora's heart drop to her feet.

She glanced at Ryan and noticed his face was pale and his lips looked too dry. Fear crept into her and twisted her gut. He looked lifeless...

"R-Ryan, wake up. You're scaring me," Lora called out, her stomach churning.

Why did she only notice now how pale Ryan's skin looked? Didn't he have a blood transfusion when he was brought in a few days ago?

Lora's heart raced as she got closer. She raised her hand and placed her index finger under Ryan's nose to check his breathing.

"Ryan-"

Ryan suddenly grabbed Lora's hand and opened his eyes. He arched an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you calling me so desperately? Did you think I won't wake up?"

Lora's eyes widened. She gulped and stammered, "I - I wasn't calling you desperately. You weren't waking up, so I got worried."

Ryan smiled from ear to ear. He brought Lora's hand to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss on her fingers before saying, "I'm happy to see you so worried about me... but don't worry, I'm fine. I have no intention of leaving you soon, my wife." Lora's cheeks flushed a light pink. She tried to pull her hand back but Ryan was holding it firmly. How could he still be so powerful when he was injured?

"You... it's time for your medication," Lora uttered, averting her gaze.

"Seeing you by my side makes me feel better," Ryan remarked. He kissed each of Lora's fingers before releasing her hand. "How I wish those were your lips." Lora blushed and said, "Ryan, I told-"

"I know... I'm not going to force you but I won't give up on you, Lora," Ryan replied, a small smile crossing his lips. "I'll make you fall in love with me again."

Lora's heart raced as their eyes locked, several emotions swirling between them. However, that lasted only a few seconds as the door to the ward was suddenly opened. "Ryan! We found the thugs!"

Both Ryan and Lora turned to look at Adan who had walked into the room.

"That's great... have they talked?" Ryan asked.

Adan shook his head and replied, "Unfortunately, no. We've tried all methods but they won't say who hired them."

Lora furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "What thugs are you two talking about?"

Ryan glanced at Lora and explained, "I've been re-investigating your kidnapping case. I want to bring the culprits to book."

Lora's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know that Ryan was looking into the kidnapping incident as well. Lora had began to search for evidence that Ivy was involved in the kidnapping six years ago but so far, she hadn't found anything. "Actually... before the thugs set the warehouse on fire six years ago, they mentioned that a woman wanted me gone," Lora remarked.

Ryan's stomach plummeted. He

glanced at his friend, Adan, his

brows meeting before saying, "I'm "I'm sure it's y. I was thinking that the method of killing was the same. They tried to kill you with fire fire six years ago and Ivy did the same

again."

Adan nodded. "That's why we need to interrogate these guys to have them confess to the police. Thugs usually keep evidence to protect themselves, so they might be able to have something on Ivy."

Ryan clenched his hands into fists and said through gritted teeth, "Ivy Williams. I swear, I won't rest until she pays for her crimes. She ruined my life."

"She will pay for her crimes," Adan commented.

"Where are thugs right now?" Ryan asked. "I need to interrogate them myself."

Lora's eyes widened when Ryan pulled out his IV and got up from the bed. She yelled, "Where do you think you're going with those injuries?"

"I need to get the evidence I need to make sure Ivy rots in jail," Ryan said, his eyes flashing at the thought of the lies that Ivy told him.

Whenever he thought about how he fell for Ivy's deception, his blood boiled with anger. How could he be so stupid?

Lora frowned and pushed Ryan down on the bed, saying, "You're not going anywhere, Mr Kingsley. You already have the ceremony to attend tomorrow, if you move today, you might disturb your wounds which are healing."

Ryan smiled, his heart soaring when

he saw how concerned Lora was about him. He grabbed her hand and said, "Thank you for worrying about me... but these injuries are not that painful. I need to replace evidence against Ivy as soon as possible. The ceremony tomorrow will not only be her downfall, but I want her to end up behind bars."

Lora sighed. She suggested, "I'll come with you."

"No... it's dangerous. We are dealing with thugs here... anything can happen," Ryan objected.

"Don't underestimate me... I'm not a weak female who needs to be protected. If you're going there in your condition, then I should be there to make sure you don't exert yourself."

Ryan sighed. He didn't want to put Lora in any form of danger. However, he didn't want to control her either. She was capable of making her own decisions.

Nodding, he said, "Fine, but if anything goes wrong, I want you out of there as fast as you can."

And so, the three of them left the hospital and Adan drove them to an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of the city.

Lora frowned and remarked, "A warehouse again? Couldn't you replace a better venue? I have horrible memories of warehouses."

Adan scratched the back of his neck

and said, "This is the only venue we

could replace in such a short time. It was this or handing them over to the police. But these are thugs who've been in and out of prison. We won't know the truth unless we use other

means."

The trio entered the warehouse and found the thugs inside surrounded by Ryan's men. They were kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. Lora gasped when she saw the thugs. It was really them... the men who almost burned her alive.

Fear and trauma crept into Lora. She grabbed Ryan's shirt tightly, her body trembling.

Ryan noticed this and stopped. He pulled Lora into his arms and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Lora didn't know why but as she was in Ryan's arms, she suddenly felt safe...

She pulled back and nodded before bravely turning to face the thugs. The leader recognised her and his eyes widened. "I-It's you! You're a ghost!"