Isla looked up, stunned, then frantically shook her head.
“Mr.
Miles, thank you, but you can’t help me.
You have no idea how much money I owe.
Winston Wyatt is the one paying for my mother’s medical bills.
I could leave him, I could defy him, but what would happen to my mother?
I can’t be that selfish.
I just can’t.”
“I’ll cover your mother’s medical bills, and I’ll pay back whatever you owe.
I’ve managed to save up a bit over the years,” Brendan Miles said, looking at Isla with a determined gaze.
Isla’s eyes widened, and she was too moved to speak.
But then, she shook her head again.
“You’ve already helped me so much.
I don’t know how I could ever repay you.
How could I possibly take your money now?”
Brendan Miles said, “I want to do this.”
Isla kept shaking her head.
“I can’t.
I’m already indebted to Winston Wyatt.
I can’t be shameless enough to owe you money, too.
The debt I’m in isn’t just about my mother’s medical bills.
It’s far, far more than you think.”
“It doesn’t matter how much you owe.
We can face it together.
I can’t stand seeing you in so much pain, so exhausted.
Isla, let me take care of you.
Let me be the one you can rely on.” Brendan tenderly caressed Isla’s face in a heartfelt confession.
Isla’s heart hammered in her chest.
She couldn’t tell if it was from the fear of being seen or if, for a fleeting moment, she was genuinely moved by Brendan’s sincerity.
“I’m sorry, Mr.
Miles, but I can’t accept.
You’re a good man, a wonderful man, but you don’t understand Winston Wyatt.
He’s a monster, a demon, truly capable of anything.
He was serious just now when he threatened to cripple your hands.
I don’t want him targeting you because of me.
I’d feel guilty for the rest of my life.”
Brendan’s long fingers twitched, and a phantom ache shot through their bones.
It was true he didn’t know Winston Wyatt well, but he knew enough to understand the man was immensely powerful.
Going up against Winston Wyatt would be a death wish, plain and simple.
A deep-seated dread flickered in Brendan’s eyes.
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Before their arrival, Aurora Rivers had already briefly described Winston Wyatt’s condition to the doctor over the phone.
After they arrived, the doctor observed him for a few minutes before requesting to speak with him alone.
So, after telling Winston to listen to the doctor, Aurora Rivers left the room.
About half an hour later, a violent crash echoed from inside the room.
The doctor then burst out in a panic.
“Miss Rivers!”
Aurora’s brow twitched with unease.
She caught the doctor, who nearly stumbled.
“What happened?”
The doctor pointed back into the room, but before he could get a word out, Aurora anxiously let go and rushed inside.
The room was in disarray.
Winston Wyatt was on a medical recliner, his limbs firmly restrained.
Winston’s eyes were blood-red.
He snarled, baring his teeth, and guttural whimpers and roars, like those of a wild animal, emanated from his throat.
He thrashed like a caged beast, struggling with such force that the metal restraints were starting to give way.
Without a doubt, Winston was having an episode.
“Winston.” Aurora rushed to his side.
Seeing him restrained, she frowned, her sharp, dark eyes fixing on the doctor.
“What did you do?”
A single glance was all it took for Aurora to know there was something suspicious about this episode.
The doctor quickly explained, “Miss Rivers, you mentioned Mr.
Wyatt’s unusual, animalistic behavior during his episodes.
So, with his prior consent, I restrained him and used hypnosis to induce an episode for diagnostic purposes.
Once it started, I couldn’t calm him, so I came to get you.”
After explaining, the doctor pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Release him,” Aurora said.
The doctor didn’t dare approach, instead pointing to a hidden button on the chair.
“Just press that.” With that, he retreated to a safe distance, swallowing nervously.
Aurora pressed the button without a second thought.
The instant the restraints released, Winston roared and lunged, aiming to tear at her throat.
The terrified doctor reached for the security alarm, but then he saw Winston freeze mid-lunge.
His sharp canines were less than half an inch from Aurora’s flesh.
Perfectly calm and composed, Aurora gently stroked Winston’s back.
“It’s all right,” she soothed.
Winston’s crimson eyes shifted.
The redness in their whites visibly began to fade as his sanity slowly returned.
He closed his gaping mouth and rested his forehead on Aurora’s shoulder.
“Teacher,” he murmured, “I would never, ever hurt you.”
A small smile touched Aurora’s lips.
“Yes, I know.
You’re doing so well, Winston.”
“Miss Rivers, I need to speak with you alone again.”
Aurora nodded.
“All right.”
This time, it was Winston’s turn to go outside.
The door had a small window with a sliding panel.
With the panel open, the clear glass offered a partial view of the room’s interior.
Winston waited anxiously on the other side, and Aurora offered him a small smile.
“Mr.
Wyatt’s condition…
is incurable,” the doctor said bluntly.
Hearing this, Aurora’s heart sank.
The doctor continued, “But you are the exception.
Miss Rivers, with you, I see a chance for a breakthrough.”
“You must be an incredibly important, indispensable part of Mr.
Wyatt’s life.
He depends on you and trusts you enough to be completely open with you.
That’s why you can so easily restore his sanity and calm his episodes.”
“And each time you calm him, his condition improves slightly.
Over time, it’s possible he could one day be completely cured.”
Aurora listened intently as the doctor went on.
“As for the animalistic behavior during his episodes, it’s because he either experienced or witnessed prolonged violence during his childhood.
He was too weak to do anything about it, which left him with deep-seated trauma.
A desire to become powerful began to grow in his subconscious.”
“He’s constantly giving himself psychological suggestions, imagining that he’s a powerful beast with a beast’s strength.
That way, no one can hurt him.”
Aurora clenched her jaw, her breathing ragged.
‘So that’s why.’
Aurora thought back to the scenes she had witnessed when she traveled back twenty years.
Winston’s father was a violent, deranged man.
He showed no mercy to Winston’s mother when she tried to escape, even developing a pathological obsession with the sight of her battered and bruised body.
Even when she was compliant, he would still resort to violence out of habit.
Winston’s mother suffered unspeakably.
Powerless to fight back against her husband, she eventually became just like him, turning her rage on young Winston.
She became convinced that Winston was a born demon, a bad seed who would grow up to be just like his father.
So she tried to destroy the “demon” while he was still a child.
Aurora closed her eyes.
She had always sympathized with what Winston’s mother had endured.
She didn’t believe the mother was to blame for her own suffering, but she was by no means innocent, either.
“Miss Rivers, Mr.
Wyatt has a severe case of what appears to be dissociative identity disorder.
I surmise that during his episodes, he dissociates into different, powerful, and bloodthirsty predators.
For example: tigers, lions, cheetahs, anacondas, wolves, bears…”