Patrick glanced at Gloria, who was sleeping on the sofa. He didn't answer Christine.
Patrick bent down and picked up Gloria from the sofa. He glanced at Leonard, and the latter immediately went up and took the infusion bag from the temporary hanging iron shelf next to the sofa.
"Mr. Hammond, where are you taking Gloria?" Christine quickly ran to the door of her office before Patrick could walk out, blocking his path with both hands.
Being stopped by Christine, Patrick looked down and glanced at her.
Patrick's gaze made Christine panic. She said, "Mr. Hammond, Gloria hasn't woken up yet. Where are you taking her?"
She thought, 'Patrick didn't look right when he walked in the door.
I know I shouldn't be nosy, but if I turn a blind eye also, Gloria will be left alone. What if the same thing happens again? She will be desperate.'
"Mr. Hammond, you can't take her away right now," Christine braced herself and said. The shirt on her back was already drenched with sweat.
"Christine, get out of the way, and Alpha Patrick will let what happened pass," Leonard's eyes flickered as he suddenly said to Christine.
Christine knew that Leonard was trying to help her out. However, she still clenched her fists and said, "Gloria's body..."
"Christine, I will only say this once." Patrick glanced at Christine coldly. He warned her, "Move."
He was very upset right now. at the moment. If Christine insisted on getting herself into trouble, she shall have it.
Christine saw Patrick's cold gaze, and her heart trembled, while a cold sweat broke out from her forehead. She then glanced at Gloria. Time seemed to be prolonged forever right now. Well, at least Christine thought so.
After a long time, she lowered her head and silently took a step to the side.
She said in her heart, "I'm sorry, Gloria."
Like others, Christine was afraid of Patrick as well. She knew Patrick had zero tolerance when facing a disobedient subordinate.
Patrick took Gloria away, leaving Christine in the office, who stood there quietly.
Patrick brought Gloria to the apartment on the top floor of Fittro Club. He seldom came here.
Leonard was silent all the way. He was like a shadow who followed the angry Patrick.
After placing Gloria on the big bed, Patrick grabbed the hanger by the door and took the infusion bag from Leonard without a word. "You can go," he then said coldly as he hung it on the hanger.
Leonard wanted to say something. Yet just as he made a sound, he stopped. He hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Yes, Alpha Patrick."
Patrick didn't look at the woman on the bed. He walked to the French window and sat down on the sofa by the window.
He wanted to shake the woman on the bed and ask her what the deal was between her and Derrick.
Yet finally, his rationality took the upper hand.
He sat on the leather sofa by the window, placed his elbows on the sofa armrests, and quietly looked in the direction of the big bed.
A thunderstorm broke out outside the window.
Lightning and thunder came one after another.
Compared with the loud noise, the woman on the bed was even quieter, like a soulless corpse.
If he had not seen her breathing as well as the regular rise and fall of her chest, he would have thought that she was dead, lying still in bed.
The main lights in the bedroom were off. Only the wall lamp at the head of the bed was on to show whether the infusion bag was running out of liquid.
On the bed, Gloria suddenly let out a painful groan. Patrick, who was on the sofa, kept sitting still.
She sounded more painful.
Patrick clenched his jaw but still did not move.
Gloria's voice sounded more painful. She was in so much pain that she gradually curled herself up in a huddle as she lay in bed.
Patrick felt an urge. He wanted to comfort Gloria and hug her. He was trying his best to hold back, but the longing only grew stronger.
It made him feel a little uneasy.
Patrick stood up abruptly.
He walked to the big bed.
He slowly stretched out his arm, his slender palm reaching toward Gloria's face.
He reached out his five fingers and locked Gloria's throat.
Patrick thought back to a conversation he had with Sean as a child.
He said to Sean, "I don't allow myself to have weaknesses. If my mate messes with my mood and affects my judgment, then I don't want my mate. I'll kill her myself."
Patrick was raised as a future Alpha. He knew that if an Alpha had a soft spot, the enemy would take advantage of it, so he knew this from an early age.
As the son of the Black Thorn Pack's Alpha, Patrick had received the most strict and ruthless education since he was a kid. His grandfather taught him to be a ruthless and cold-blooded robot.
Patrick's grandfather said to him, "You can't have weaknesses. If one day there is a person who can easily affect your decisions and your mood, then you should know that this person is your most powerful enemy. Patrick, you need to get rid of your enemies by yourself."
Hearing Patrick's words, Sean, who was also a teenager back then, only felt shocked. He didn't think Patrick meant it.
Perhaps Sean had long forgotten that Patrick had said such a thing, or perhaps Sean had taken what Patrick had said as a joke.
Patrick was beside the bed. He seized Gloria's throat, yet he didn't exert any force.
He thought, 'I don't get it. Damn woman, how come you always easily make me go through mood swings?
How come you can always piss me off easily?
Why does the sight of you curled up in pain make me want to check on you so badly?'
He sat on the sofa. He did not want to rush forward to check on her simply because of her cry of pain.
He had already tried very hard to control himself from going up to check on her.
He had used up all his self-control.
It was all her fault! Why did she have to cry out in pain again and again?