Wooyoung turned into a nervous wreck as he waited to hear from the police to contact him over the next few days.
They had only managed to get a general location of where Lila could be, not the exact house, so they were setting up surveillance in several different spots to be on the lookout for either Nate or Lila.
Nate hadn't shown any sign that he knew the police would be on the other end, but he had said just enough that the police knew they needed to take action.
The way he spoke about Lila... It was chilling for Wooyoung to hear it first hand.
San had made it home ok and Yeosang had brought him to Seonghwa's immediately. He filled them in on what Hongjoong had said about getting a doctor that they trust to perform a test on Rachel, and that Hongjoong would fly out to do it if need be.
Wooyoung had called Roger, who said he was already two steps ahead and Yunho was already willing to perform the test. They just needed to get the court order first.
Meanwhile the news was still abuzz with the new 'pregnancy scandal' and while they didn't show the clip as promised, there were several discussions as to if Wooyoung really knew about the pregnancy or not. All attacks were against him... No one even thought that this could have come from Rachel's side.
It made him feel even worse about what happened... Rachel could do no wrong, and Wooyoung was the evil father-to-be who wanted nothing to do with the child and was denying that he was the father.
Rachel had even done a short interview with one of the local stations. Her words refused to leave Wooyoung's head... "Yeah, it is quite a shock. I mean, we had an amazing night together and for him to react like that hurts. I just want our baby to be happy and healthy. I know we had never discussed having kids, I mean, we had never even really put a label on our relationship before, but... I'm trying to do the right thing and give him some time to process. It's a big change for both of us. I'm ready. I just hope he will be soon so that we can go through this together."
Seonghwa turned off the tv. "Wooyoung, you don't need to be watching that." He said gently.
"I know... I can't help it though. I have nothing else to do Hwa. I'm tired of just sitting around and waiting for an update from someone."
"And you've run out of things to fix in my apartment." The other said with a teasing smile. They had never really talked about the work that Wooyoung had been doing, but he had seen the grateful look on Seonghwa's face when he saw any of the new changes. "I know it's hard, but Roger is working as hard as he can for you. Just give him a little more time. Would you like to come work in the kitchen with Jongho to give you something to do during the day?"
Wooyoung pursed his lips, then nodded. "That would be great, actually. Thanks Hwa."
.
.
.
.
Lila only left the bedroom to use the bathroom. Otherwise, she was locked in the bedroom. Nate would visit her several times a day, but she would always turn her back to him or pretend to be sleeping.
She kept waiting for something big to happen, or for Nate to try and take advantage of her. But except for a few small touches here and there, he seemed to control himself fairly well.
After he had found out about Wooyoung, Nate hadn't visited until late the following evening. He got upset when he saw that she hadn't touched the food he had left for her the previous day and practically forced her to eat the soup he had brought.
Not wanting to go through that again, she made sure to always eat at least something. He never got upset if she didn't finish a meal, so she took that as a plus.
But one day things changed...
Lila heard the lock click and she quickly laid down with her back to the door and closed her eyes.
Nate's footsteps padded gently against the floor and the wooden tray he used scrapped against the dresser top as he set it down. "Lila?" He sat on the side of the bed and shook her gently. "Lila, get up honey. I have something to tell you."
She opened her eyes slowly but didn't turn to face him.
He ran his hands through her hair and caressed the side of her neck. "I've taken care of things for you. I told Mr. Evans that you needed to quit your job. That the death of your father was too much and you had too many things to do back home."
"What?!" Lila pushed his hand away and slid away from him on the bed. "How could you do that! You had no right Nate!"
His eyes narrowed. "You're not at a healthy place to go back to work. I can provide for both of us." He reached for her again and Lila batted his hand away. "Why do you refuse to let me take care of you?"
"Because you are holding me against my will Nate! Have you completely lost it?" Her voice started to tremble.
"What are you talking about? I'm just trying to take care of you? I'm only keeping you in here for now until I know that you aren't going to try and kill yourself again..." He said, his face creasing in concern.
"I'm fine now! The only reason I ran into traffic the other day is because I was trying to get away from YOU." Lila shouted, getting off the bed. "Nate, you've taken my phones, you've kept me locked in a room, do you not see how crazy this all is?" She hesitated and brought her hand to the necklace she hadn't been able to bring herself to take off yet... "Has anyone even tried to call me?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
One thing that had come to her mind was the fact that she hadn't spoken to anyone for about a week now... The thought San would have at least tried to call her and explain what was going on. Even if Wooyoung had moved on... She didn't think San would too.
Nate sighed and stood as well. He walked around the bed and stopped a couple feet away. "No. No one has tried to contact you. I would have let you know if they did, Lila."
Her abused heart broke even more as she sank to her knees, fresh tears staining her cheeks. She had no one... They had all abandoned her for someone prettier and better than she was... All because she left to go take care of her dad.
What did that say about her? Or them? She had waited two months for them to come home... and they couldn't even wait a week or two.
Lila bent forward and started to cry into her hands.
Nate placed a hand on her back and rubbed it gently.
She didn't even care enough to try and push him away. Maybe this is the life she deserved...
"I'm so sorry Lila..." He whispered. "I would never do that to you. Ever. For him to get that actress pregnant."
Something clicked in her mind.
Wooyoung had tried to call her. That's how Nate found out about him. She lifted her head up and looked at him. "No." She shook her head and pushed his hand away. "No what you're doing is worse. They did try to call me, didn't they? Wooyoung tried to call me! Why are you lying to me?" She yelled.
Nate started to speak, but Lila slapped him.
While he was dazed, she scrambled over the bed and ran for the door.
"Dammit Lila!"
She could hear him shout after her as she slammed the door behind her and turned the lock.
"Lila! Open the door!" Nate shouted as he pounded against it.
Looking around the room, she saw one of her phones sitting on the desk in the corner. She lunged for it and started to dial as she ran down the stairs.
When she reached the bottom, the door to her room splintered and a large thud shook the house.
Trying to think quickly, she ran to the front door and pulled it open, then slammed it shut before quickly speeding down the hall to the back door of the house.
"Lila!"
She pressed herself against a wall and looked down at her phone.
The call couldn't be completed... Lila opened her phone book. She had grabbed her normal phone, and there was a list of callers that were blocked.
Nate had blocked every one of her friends... Even Abigail and her boss.
She selected Wooyoung's number and unblocked it, then listened. Once the front door slammed again, Lila slipped out the back door and pressed dial.
Her legs nearly gave out from under her when it started to ring. She prayed that he would pick up.
The phone stopped ringing and it was silent on the other line. Lila let out a shaky breath, fearing the call had dropped.
She was just about to take the phone away from her ear when she heard, "L-Lila?"
Wooyoung's voice did things to her that she couldn't explain. She was heartbroken, happy, sad, relieved, and thankful all at the same time as she sobbed before covering her mouth. "W-W-Woo..."
"Oh my god, Lila I'm here. Where are you? Are you ok?"
"N-No... I'm s-scared." She whimpered, looking around before she started heading to the fence. She knew she needed to try and get out.
"It's going to be ok. Can you tell me where you are?"
"I d-don't know. N-Nate..." She forced out between her sobs.
At this moment, she didn't care if he had cheated on her. His voice was the only thing keeping her anchored to the earth right now.
"Where his he?" Wooyoung's voice got dark.
Lila started to answer when the back door slid open. "Lila!" Nate called out. He looked mortified when he saw that she had her phone.
She cried out and ran to the fence and jumped, grabbing the fence with her free hand and hissing as it cut the palm of her hand open.
"Lila, what's going on?" Wooyoung asked.
"He's h-here..."
"Fuck... Lila I need you to-"
Lila screamed as Nate tore her from the fence. He knocked the phone out of her hand and stomped on it with his foot while slapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.
But that didn't stop her from trying. Lila flung her legs forward, trying to knock Nate off balance. It worked for a second, but he caught himself and worked on dragging her back into the house.
"Look at what you did. Why do you insist on hurting yourself? Now your hand is all torn up. You make it so hard for me to take care of you Lila. Do you not want someone to love you?"
She whimpered into his hand and tried to pull away again. Especially when he started taking her to the basement door.
"I can't very well put you back in your room after you made me shatter the door." He growled. "You're lucky I wasn't hurt."
Nate yanked open the basement door and started to pull her down the stairs. Lila tired to stick her arms and legs out, but he was able to pin her arms to her sides and lifted her off the ground so her feet flailed in the air.
Lila whimpered into his hand as his heavy footsteps echoed around her. The basement was all cement, and unfinished. There were boxes stacked all over the placed, exposed pipes, and shelves of random items.
"Most of this is junk left behind by the previous owner. Lazy ass didn't feel the need to get rid of it. But I guess today that will come of use, he left behind a few things that will benefit you." Nate growled. He took her to the far back corner and threw her to the ground.
Lila whimpered and tried to back away from him, but all it did was back her into a corner.
"Now be a good girl and stay there while I get you situated." Nate turned and pulled down a box that ended up having a blow up mattress in it. When he got it connected to an air pump, he grabbed a first aid kit and roughly grabbed Lila's hand to start patching it up.
She kept her head turned away and tried not to wince when it stung.
Her mind drifted back to Wooyoung. He had been concerned about her, and he had taken her call, so maybe... Could he still care about her?
But what would that mean about the baby?
It would need a father... And there was no way Rachel would never share...
Lila wouldn't let the baby grow up without it's father...
She whimpered again as Nate bandaged up her hand before returning to the blow up mattress. He pushed it into another corner that was surrounded by pipes.
Then he grabbed some blankets out of a storage bin and layered them on top of the bed, as well as some pillows.
When he was satisfied, he returned to Lila and grabbed her upper arm and dragged her to the mattress.
"N-Nate... Please d-don't do this." Lila said as she watched him pull out a coil of rope.
Her tears came back when he tied it around her wrists and attached the other end to one of the pipes, securing it so she had enough slack to be able to lie down, but wasn't able to reach anything around her.
"Please Nate, please stop. I'm begging you. I'll be g-good..."
His eyes flashed to hers and she felt a chill go down her spine. "I can't risk you hurting yourself anymore, Lila. I've tried to be patient with you. I've tried to be understanding... But you refuse to let me in. All I want to do is protect you and love you. And if this is how I have to protect you, then I will."
He pilled out another coil of rope and tied her ankles and calves together.
There was no way she would be able to escape now.
As her sobbing got louder, Nate groaned and pulled out the last item he had set aside. He tore off a piece of duct tape and placed it over her mouth. "Now be a good girl like you promised, and once I get your room situated again I'll move you back upstairs. Ok?" He caressed her cheek and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
Lila's muffled sobs continued as he stroked her hair and placed a hand on her waist. She scrunched her eyes closed and tried not to feel anything.
"I love you." He whispered, his lips grazing her ear before he kissed her one more time and left her in the corner of the cold, cement basement.