Chapter 209


    ra saw someone falling toward her and instinctively tried to dodge backward. Stumbling a few


    steps, she realized she was about to crash into a tower of champagne sses. The sense of


    danger overwhelmed her.


    Just as she braced for a cascade of ss and pain, a pair of strong hands grabbed her waist,


    pulling her back into a protective embrace.


    ra heard screams piercing the air, followed by the tter of the champagne tower tumbling


    down. She felt a liquid ssh onto her, initially thinking it was the champagne. But as she regained


    herposure, she realized with horror that it was blood.


    Stunned, she couldn’t feel any pain of her own. Where had the bloode from?


    That was when she saw Ian bulldozing through the crowd toward her. His voice was shaking as he


    spoke, “ra, are you hurt? Let me see.”


    Only then did ra notice that it was Brodie who had shielded her. His body was now streaming


    with blood.


    ra understood the gravity of the situation. She watched Brodie with concern. “Mr. Brodie, you’re


    injured. I must get you to the hospital.”


    She tried to pull away from Ian’s grip to stand up, but Ian held her close. Relieved to see she was


    unharmed, he said, “You’re okay. That’s all that matters. I’ll have someone take him to the hospital.”


    “Ian, let go. He got hurt trying to save me. I need to be there with him,” ra insisted.


    Although Ian was reluctant, he knew that without Brodie’s intervention, ra might have been the


    one covered in blood. “Just stay put. Don’t move. You’re injured too. We’re going to the hospital


    now.”


    Chaos ensued at the scene. Chase and Sasha hurried over in a panic to check on them.


    Half an hourter, Brodie was rushed to the emergency room, while ra had only suffered minor


    scrapes.


    Sasha, terrified, couldn’t stop crying. “ra, it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t asked you to catch the


    bouquet, none of this would’ve happened. Oh, I’m so scared. What if you were the one crushed?


    You would have been ruined.”


    The thought of a two-meter-high champagne tower crashing onto someone was harrowing - it could


    leave scars, if not worse.


    Chase nudged Sasha. “Enough with the crying. People might think ra’s a goner. Are actor’s


    tears always this cheap?”


    Already distraught, Sasha ignited at his words. Sheshed out with a kick in Chase’s direction. Her


    tearful demeanor quickly turned fierce. “Shut it, Chase! If I wanted your opinion, I’d ask for it! I am


    not crying for you. Why do you care anyway?”


    Chase winced at the kick. “Even if I died, my wife would be the one mourning, not you!”


    “You wish I’d mourn for you! Go back to your beast of a wife and let her cry over you!”


    “Who said my wife’s ugly? Sasha, don’t you dare nder me or her!”


    This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.


    As the two bickered heatedly, the ER doors swung open. ra rushed to the doctor. “How is he? Is


    he going to be okay?”


    “All the wounds have been stitched up. No life-threatening injuries, just a bit of blood loss. He’ll


    need to rest.”


    “Will these injuries scar?”


    “Likely, but thankfully, they’re on his chest and back, less noticeable. And he’s a man; for a woman,


    it would be a different story.”


    ra’s heart gave a painful lurch at that. If it were her, she might never be able to slip into a dress


    again.