I Refuse to Be Your Second Choice novel Chapter 157

"Alexander!"

Natalie screamed, trying to shove Alexander out of the way. As if sensing the danger, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace.

There was no dodging the blow. A muffled grunt escaped Alexander's lips.

With her face pressed against his chest, Natalie heard the sound vibrate through him. She looked up and saw his face had gone pale, though he managed a faint smile for her.

The man she had stabbed was back on his feet, raising the iron pipe again, this time aiming for Alexander's head.

"No…" she whispered, shaking her head as tears streamed down her face. Her heart ached so fiercely she could barely breathe.

The man's face was a mask of fury as he brought the pipe down once more.

Natalie broke free from Alexander's grasp and threw her arms around his head. The pipe crashed down on her hand, and the agonizing pain of breaking bone shot through her. A cold sweat broke out across her skin.

Yet, she felt a wetness on her hand. When she looked down, it was covered in blood.

"Mr. Ramirez!"

Aaron Lee burst in with a team of men. He kicked the assailant to the ground and, seeing both Alexander and Natalie injured, grabbed the iron pipe and began beating the man senseless with it.

"Alexander? Alexander?" Natalie cried, looking down at him.

"I'm… I'm fine…" he managed, forcing another weak smile.

How could he be fine? His head was bleeding!

"Aaron Lee, call an ambulance!" Natalie yelled at the enraged assistant.

Soon, Alexander was on a stretcher, and Natalie was helped to her feet. The scene outside was a chaotic mess, but the police had arrived and secured the area.

Natalie cared about none of it. Her only concern was Alexander. She climbed into the ambulance with him.

Though his head had been bandaged, he had already lost consciousness.

Outside the emergency room at The Ramirez Hospital, Natalie stood waiting by the door. Every available specialist in the hospital had been summoned.

After a flurry of activity, someone finally noticed her.

"Ms. Watson, your left hand looks to be in bad shape as well. Let me have a nurse take you for an x-ray."

It was the hospital director. He recognized her from when Charlotte Roberts had been admitted.

"You can't blame Natalie entirely for this," Gabriel Ramirez said with a grim expression. "Very few people know about Prestige Properties Group's background. Once a contract is signed, you can't just break it."

On the way over, Gabriel had already been briefed on the situation. Prestige Properties had a complex history, and the charity auction likely had a hidden agenda. But if the auction was just a front, he couldn't understand why they would involve Billy Firth and specifically request Natalie as the auctioneer.

He walked over to Natalie. "How do you know Mr. Byron?"

"I don't know him. We only met for this partnership…"

"How is Alex?"

Before Natalie could finish, the elevator doors opened, and Camila White rushed over, her face etched with panic. Arianna Mitchell was right behind her.

Aside from those directly involved, news of the incident hadn't been made public, yet Camila had found out. Arianna, as Natalie's emergency contact, had been notified by the police.

"Camila? How did you know Alexander was in the hospital?" Savannah asked, surprised.

"I was at the police station dealing with a matter concerning my brother and overheard the officers talking. Is Alex's life in danger?"

Just then, the doors to the emergency room opened, and Alexander was wheeled out.