"It's not what you think, Boss. I just turned on the shower, and she started to freak out," Armani hurried to explain, holding Nixxia tightly, who was now hugging him.
Vernon's eyes locked in on Nixxia's expression and he realized that she really did look scared, and it pissed him off.
"Take her clothes off," Vernon said, leaning beside the door, his brooding presence dominating the room.
Armani nodded, "Yes, boss," He faced Nixxia, "I've turned off the water; you can sit still now," He said to Nixxia, steadying her on the stool.
"I need to take off your clothes," Armani pointed to Nixxia's hospital shirt and pointed to his own clothes, pulling his shirt halfway up to show Nixxia what he meant.
"No -"
"You have a death wish, you -"
"B-boss..." Armani protectively stood in front of Nixxia, who was hugging his arm, scared.
"Please, calm down, boss; you know she has amnesia, and scaring would make it worse. If you really want to get any information out of her, I suggest you let her heal, I've promised to help, and I'll keep to my words," Armani reasoned.
Vernon scowled, seething in anger and frustration, "She's testing my patience, Armani, she should be dead by now, you know this," He growled, glaring at Nixxia, who shrank further away from him.
"I know, cousin, but she's a different case... if she's really Raja's spy, then you've got a huge advantage on your side; you can't risk losing her; just go; I'll bring her out in a minute," Armani suggested, looking at Vernon's cold face.
Vernon glared at Nixxia, his eyes filled with malice. He clenched his jaws and stormed out of the bathroom.
Armani sighed, turning to see Nixxia's pale face, he was about to say something when he heard a loud growl from Nixxia's tummy.
"You're hungry?" Armani touched Nixxia's stomach and pointed to his mouth, "Food?" He questioned.
Nixxia understood Armani's question; she was dying of hunger, "Yes, food," She nodded.
"Okay, let's hurry with the shower, I'll find you food to eat," Armani pointed at the shower above.
Nixxia suddenly shook her head and pointed to the side of her neck, "No, water hurt," she replied.
Armani's eyes widened when he realized that Nixxia's skin looked like it was scalding, "Damn, but the water wasn't even hot, just a bit warm," He stared at Nixxia in shock, not knowing what to think of her reaction.
"Cold water," Nixxia mentioned while pointing at the shower.
"Oh? Oh! I understand you don't like hot water; you prefer cold water, fine. Then, let's get you out of your clothes, okay? I'll turn you around; I won't stare, I promise," Armani asked, making sure his eyes were calm as he stared at Nixxia.
Nixxia nodded, "Okay." She replied.
After a successful but weird shower, Nixxia found herself sitting on her small bed, dressed in white clothing; the shirt was quite loose, and her pants were loose.
"Okay, so..." Armani looked at Nixxia and then at the door.
"Damn. Okay, let's go," He went and lowered himself in front of Nixxia, turning his head to the side so he could speak to her.
"Arms around my neck," Armani raised his hands above his head to show her the part of the body he was talking about.
Nixxia gently placed her arms around Armani's neck; she blinked in confusion when Armani raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist.
"Hold on tight," Armani said, grunting as he stood with Nixxia's weight pressing down behind her.
Nixxia understood that Armani was trying to help her move around, so she held on tightly, but not too tightly; common sense told her that she'd be choking the young man if she held him tightly.
Nixxia was staring at the white walls as Armani carried her down the stairs; she wondered if Vernon hated colors too; maybe he hated people and colors. Nixxia concluded that Vernon was officially a bad human.
She started to tense as she started to see the familiar living room, it meant that she was soon going to meet with Vernon again; she didn't want to.
"Oh my, would you look at that, Baby? How pathetic. I think she's pretending; Amnesia doesn't make anyone forget how to walk; look how stupid she looks," Linda pointed to Nixxia as she sat beside Vernon on the sofa.
Vernon, who was busy looking at his phone, immediately raised his head after hearing Linda's words.
He stood, staring at Nixxia as she tried her best to hide his face from him.
"Drop her," Vernon said, watching Nixxia closely.
Armani nodded and walked over to place Nixxia down on a couch but Vernon stopped him by blocking his path.
"I said, drop her, on her damn feet," Vernon's face was set hard, his dark eyes piercing right through Nixxia.
"She can't -"
"Drop her!" Vernon barked, angry veins popping out from the sides of his neck.
"Just drop her already, Armani; I don't know how you can carry that criminal; don't make Vernon suspect you, or are you working with the enemy now?" Linda asked, her voice cunning and suggestive.
"Don't be crazy, Linda. Fine, I'm going to drop you now, Nixxia, ready to come down?" Armani asked, turning his head to look at Nixxia.
Nixxia gulped, her chest already vibrating with how hard her heart was pounding, "Yes," She replied.
Vernon didn't move, he stood beside Armani, watching as he slowly lowered Nixxia's feet to the floor.
Nixxia didn't let go of Armani's neck; she knew she'd fall if she did so.
Armani sighed and gently turned to face Nixxia while holding her hands, "I'm going to let go of your hand -"
"Leave her already," Linda suddenly drew Armani away from Nixxoa, causing gravity to pull Nixxia sideways, right into Vernon's arms.
Vernon wasn't expecting the fall toward him, instinctively, he reached out his arms and caught the person falling toward him, feeling two smooth arms around his neck.
"Ah!" Nixxia moaned as her nose collided right with Vernon's broad chest; blood oozed out, and her face reddened.
Vernon was frozen in place; he couldn't explain what he felt as Nixxis's arms wrapped around the skin of his neck; all he knew was that the urge to push her away wasn't there anymore; it was more of a strange curiosity and confusion.
Linda was surprised when she noticed that Vernon wasn't making any moves to push Nixxia away, so, she made a move.
"Get off him, you bitch!" She went and drew Nixxia's arms off of Vernon's neck, pushing her onto the floor.
"You idiot!" Linda raised her hand to slap Nixxia, who was still trying to understand what was going on but Vernon held Linda's hand from behind, stopping her.
"Enough, Linda. Leave; I need to discuss something confidential," Vernon said, his eyes not leaving Nixxia's scared face; the blood had dripped onto her white shirt, staining it.
Nixxia looked tired, and for some strange, annoying reason, Vernon wanted to give her a break for a second.
"You're sending me away because of this -"
"Linda!" Vernon's voice thundered all over the room, scaring Linda.
"Linda, just go," Armani warned, seeing the darkened look in Vernon's eyes; he knew Linda was about to see the other side of Vernon if she didn't obey him.
Linda's lips wobbled as tears brimmed her eyes; she scowled at Nixxia before stomping out of the house.
"Damon and Dane," Vernon said in a quiet voice.
Armani immediately nodded and slid his phone out of his pocket, "He's asked for you," He simply spoke into the phone and ended the call.
The living room was quiet after the call; Vernon's eyes hadn't left Nixxia since Linda left, and his curiosity was growing each minute.
He started to question himself if he'd really made the right choice by bringing Nixxia home; what if she was really a nobody? He should have just left her to die, but now Nixxia had become his problem, a liability.
A growl suddenly came from Nixxia's tummy, making her snap her head to Vernon in fear.
"Not me... here," Nixxia pointed to her tummy, looking at Armani for help.
Vernon was less concerned; he didn't care if she ate or not; it wasn't his problem; the only thing he wanted from Nixxia was a freaking confession.
"She's hu-"
"It's not my problem," Vernon cut Armani off.
"Yes, boss," Armani replied and walked away.
Nixxia grabbed Armani's hand as he was about to walk past her, shaking her head at him before glancing over at Vernon.
"He won't hurt you, I promise, he needs you...alive." He tapped Nixxia's head before leaving.
Nixxia was left with Vernon, who was staring at her with dark and deep gray eyes; she looked away from him, staring down at her non-functional legs, and felt like the room was closing in on her due to how intense Vernon's eyes were.
Vernon had two thoughts: shoot Nixxia and kill her once and for all. He didn't give a fuck that she was a female; an enemy was an enemy, and gender didn't matter. Or, he could follow the doctor's advice.
Following the doctor's advice was the more feasible option; Raja was hard to trace, and if Nixxia was really one of his spies, then he needed to keep her alive.
Nixxia might just be the key he'd searched for after many years of plotting his revenge.