Chapter 20
After Fletcher set everything up, he retreated to the adjacent room to avoid contaminating the hypnotherapy chamber with his presence. He watched the situation inside the patient's room through a surveillance screen.
Trying to suppress his inner turmoil, Stuart lay down and fell asleep.
Quickly, he picked up on a scent that felt familiar, but something about it seemed off.
The girl sat quietly, her gaze glancing at the sleeping man secretly. He was strikingly handsome.
Stuart seemed asleep, hovering in that liminal space between dreaming and waking.
In his dream, it was dark and oppressive. The figures caught a frail cat.
"Come on, beg me. Crawl over here, and we'll let it go."
"Oops, sorry, my hand slipped. How did it die just like that?"
Stuart was about to kneel.
The scene shifted.
It was a car crash. From a superior vantage point, Stuart watched a man with both legs crushed. With a calm, almost indifferent voice, he said, "Oops, sorry, I stepped on it too hard. How come you didn't die?"
Blood and malice soaked into him, inch by inch.
In the room, the girl noticed the handsome man was having a restless sleep.
Hesitant, she moved toward him, hoping to soothe him. Despite being instructed to stay put, she thought it could change her life if the man favored her, freeing her from her miserable and oppressive days.
She approached him.
Stuart suddenly opened his eyes.
His gaze was fierce and bloodshot as he grabbed the throat of the person who dared come close.
He was like a demon cloaked in malevolence.
The girl struggled weakly in his choking grip.
After seeing it through the monitor, Fletcher rushed in and doused Stuart with a pitcher of water, pulling him back from the brink and saving the girl.
It took a while for her to recover from her fright.
Fletcher gently consoled her. "It's okay now, miss. "You oughta have listened to me and avoided getting close to him. Go home and forget about today. We'll have the remaining hundred thousand transferred to your account later."
The girl staggered away quickly.
Stuart looked at his hands, realizing he had almost killed her.
He recalled when Morwenna came close, he hadn't managed to hurt her. Instead, he nearly got beaten.
That girl seemed different from everyone else, radiating a vibrant energy.
Realizing his thoughts were wandering, Stuart darkened his expression and refocused.
After that, several other girls tried.
They even fetched Morwenna's used personal care items.
But no, no, none worked!
At that moment, Stuart realized the problem.
Morwenna was special, even unique. The scent that soothed him seemed impossible to replicate.
Stuart disliked feeling so passive.
He was used to controlling everything.
Seeing Stuart's stern face, Fletcher said with a resigned look. "Come on, Stuart, why fuss over one woman? Whether she's special, I can handle it and keep her close for you."
Stuart's voice was low. "Fletcher, don't mess around."
Somehow, Stuart didn't want to resort to dirty tricks with Morwenna.
Fletcher waved his hand dismissively. "Okay, okay, I won't mess around. But, Stuart, we need to be flexible. There are many ways to make a woman willingly stay, like money, threats, or romance."
"Hmm?"
"The simplest way is money, the most direct is intimidation, and the most sophisticated is romance," Fletcher suggested, eager to see what would happen. "Stuart, why not try the last method? With your looks and wealth, winning a woman's heart is as easy as pie."
Stuart's expression darkened. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
He couldn't let her slip away from his control if she was that special.