Chapter 2 Ignorant Bodyguard

Zacharias froze, but then he smiled evilly. He slapped her hard, and Wendy fell to the ground. The bastard started taking out his belt. "And so what? She should thank her lucky stars, I want her. I'm the Leafensteins' second-in-line. Her family only lives thanks to me. I'll tell Annabelle that you're the one who attacked her sister.

"It's your word against mine. She's going to kill you, and it'll have nothing to do with me."

I was panicking, but my legs were broken, and I couldn't move. I spilled the truth. "Enough! I'm the Leafensteins' second-in-line! Wendy is under my protection! Touch her, and my family will make the rest of your life your worst personal hell!"

Zacharias guffawed. "Nice acting, but the Leafensteins' heir has confessed that I'm his brother. You don't get to impersonate me."

That shocked me. No one told me about that. My parents were deeply in love and had no children outside of their marriage. Gregory told me I was his only brother, so who was this guy?

Before I could figure it out, Zacharias came up to me, dark and venomous. He was going to kick me. There was a river down there. If that kick were to connect, I'd die.

I pushed myself up with whatever strength I had left. I had to save myself. Then, Wendy lunged at Zacharias and grabbed his calf like our lives depended on it. "Go! Go, Horatio, go! I'll hold him off!"

Her insistence infuriated Zacharias. He was about to attack both of us, but then the roars of a helicopter's rotors interrupted him. My family was here.

The secretary leaped off the helicopter and saved Wendy and me. Someone knocked Zacharias out and dragged him to gods-knew-where. Wendy passed out from the shock, and I told someone to take her to the hospital immediately.

My bones were broken, but I just tied something around the wounded part to keep it stable. I waited outside the ER for what seemed like an eternity, but eventually, Wendy was pushed into a ward, and I calmed down.

I called Gregory and told him I was safe. I also told him about my story, and he was livid. "Give me their names! Dammit, work got me, or I'd have been there myself! I'd break the bastard! They'll never know peace!"

I really didn't want him to make this bigger than it should be. "I'm getting married next month, Gregory. The bride's not going to be Annabelle, though."

Surprised, Gregory asked, "Not Annabelle? You've dated her religiously for three years. I thought she was the one."

"No, she's not. I'm marrying Wendy instead. And I'm taking back all the resources I invested in Annabelle."

I thought of Annabelle as the love of my life, but she saw me as her simp. She saw me as a plaything her friends could insult however they wanted. In my previous and present lives, she was staunchly on Zacharias' side.

My disappointment in her could go no higher.

Gregory said solemnly, "Of course. The secretary's coming back, but the bodyguards are going to stay. Rest up. Recover. And don't even think about hiding any details from me. I will turn every stone if I have to. I will find out who hurt you and break them piece by piece!"

And he hung up before I could say anything. I was going to ask him about Zacharias, but that would have to wait. I was going to check on Wendy, but then the sounds of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor.

I looked up and was met with a furious Annabelle. She slapped me hard. The crisp ring echoed in the hallway. She demanded, "Are you mad? I can't believe you hired someone to attack Zacharias! He's the Leafenstein's second-in-line! Do you have any idea how protective his brother is? You're dead!"

My head turned to the side, but I smiled derisively. "Leafenstein? He's a Wisher!"

Annabelle said, "You don't know the first thing about this! The Leafenstein couple had him years after they had their first. Of course, they adore him. The whole family keeps a very close eye on him! It's natural they want him to live a low-profile life! I'm childhood friends with him, and I only found out about his real identity.

"You can't possibly know anything, you bumpkin!"

And then Zacharias showed up. He should've been in a warehouse, beaten blue and black, yet the bodyguard captain was leading them to us. Annabelle looked at me gleefully. She thought I was done for.

I was wondering why he was let out, and the bodyguard captain came up to me. Just when I thought he came to my defense, he whipped out his baton and swung it at me.

"How dare you attack the family's second-in-line! You're dead! Let this be a lesson!"

The baton hit my head hard, and blood was trickling out of my wound. My sight was dyed crimson, and my head was spinning. I thought I was going to faint again.

The bodyguard captain was glaring at me fiercely, as if the man behind him was his employer. Stunned, I blurted, "Are you mad? I'm the Leafensteins' second-in-line, not him!"