"Are you alright?" asked Zayn. He had walked over to help Carla up.
"Dori had always been an obedient pet. It has never behaved this way before." Carla frowned. She later complained, "You must've frightened it."
"I saved you. It's bad enough that you're not thanking me, but now you're even blaming me?" challenged Zayn with his brows raised. "Isn't that a little too much?"
"It won't have acted this way in the first place if it hadn't been for you!" insisted Carla, who looked furious.
Zayn turned speechless. He examined the bird and quickly found the cause for its rampage.
"This eagle is the most aggressive type of eagle. It may look like it has been tamed, but it would revert to its aggressive self if it saw human blood."
"You're right. My brother mentioned that it can't be exposed to human blood, " blurted Carla as revelation hits. "It must have been acting so wild because it injured you and some of your blood got onto it!"
"You would've gone blind if it wasn't for me, " reminded Zayn as he examined her wrist. "Go treat your injury once you get back. Don't let it get infected."
With that, Zayn spun on his heels and left.
Carla tilted her head down and checked her own wrist. That was when she realized that Dori had clawed her and left a few deep cuts on her.
"Ms. Lierger!" shouted Freda and Rogan while hurrying over. "Are you alright?"
"Take Dori home."
As Carla instructed her people, she heard a car engine starting. Zayn had left with his men.
Zayn was still staring at Carla from the car. The truth was that he was still worried, but he had suppressed his emotions. He understood that some things took time.
"Ms. Lierger has such a terrible temper, " commented Benard. "You rushed over just to save her, but she never even thanked you. She even put the blame on you."
"She is so different from Ms. Wigston, " said Bugara who, at that moment, found Carla's former self to be much sweeter.
"Both of them are equally shameless and coquettish, though, " said Zayn.
He recalled how Carla looked when she went back on her words all those years ago, and that got him to smirk.
Just then, Zayn suddenly thought of something and instructed, "Drive slower."
"Understood."
Carla and the others got into their car with the eagle. They were heading to the villa as well.
The forest's routes were confusing, and the navigation system couldn't get any signal. Rogan almost lost her way as she drove, but the Giblo family's car was right in front of them, so she simply followed them right out of the forest.
"Thank the heavens that the Giblos' car was right in front of us. We would've been lost otherwise, " said Rogan. "Did they come all the way over just to help us?"
"Or maybe they're there to watch the show, " scoffed Freda. "Zayn was fooled by Ms. Lierger, after all. Not to mention Dori injured him. I bet he came all the way over to seek vengeance on Dori. Yes, that has to be it."
"Uh-huh…" murmured Rogan. She didn't dare to say another word, so she simply glanced at Carla from the rearview mirror.
Carla had her eyes tilted down as she caressed Dori's injured wings. No one could tell what she was thinking at that moment.
Back at the hot spring resort, Zayn showered and was wearing a robe while towel drying his hair.
His phone suddenly rang, so he picked it up. "It's two in the morning. Why are you still up?"
"I need you to go to Serene Hospital right away, " ordered Jombo anxiously. "Selena is in trouble."
"What happened?" asked Zayn calmly.
"She was in a car accident and is fighting for her life in the emergency room right now, " replied Jombo nervously. "She waited the entire night for you and got into an accident while she was on her way back. The Giblo family cannot deny our part in causing the accident, so you are to hurry over right away."
"Got it, " replied Zayn before he hung up the call and instructed Benard, "Get the car ready. We're going to Serene Hospital."
"Understood, " replied Benard before he quickly arranged for everything.
Zayn changed into casual wear and put on his shoes before hurrying down the stairs. That was when he bumped into Carla and her people. They were dragging their luggage along and were getting ready to leave.
"Mr. Giblo, what a coincidence!"
Carla had changed into a comfortable dress and had her long hair down. All that made her seem more approachable.
"Leaving so soon, Ms. Shameless Liar?" teased Zayn.
Carla harrumphed. She raised her brows and put on a grin before saying, "I can't sleep well knowing that a beast lives in the next room, so it's better to leave earlier."
"Ah, so you know that I am a beast, " said Zayn as he approached her slowly. His sexy lips moved past her cheek and whispered into her ear, "Be careful. I might just eat you up."
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