Husband With Benefits-Chapter 780: Savior or Kidnapper

Dora felt something cool and smooth pressed against her dry, cracked lips—a straw. Instinctively, she sucked on it thirstily, drawing in water that tasted like heaven to her parched throat. She gulped greedily, desperate for more, the water spilling from the corners of her mouth as her body cried out for relief. She couldn’t stop, couldn’t think, only focused on quenching her burning thirst.

Finally, after what felt like too little, the man pulled the straw away, "Slow down," he said, "At this rate, you’re going to make yourself sick."

The words barely registered at first, muffled by the fog that clouded her mind. She was still half-lost in a haze of confusion and disorientation. But the sudden absence of water snapped her back to the present. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she opened her eyes, blinking against the glaring light that assaulted her senses. Her head pounded, her limbs felt heavy, and her mouth was still dry despite the water she’d just drunk.

It took a moment for her vision to adjust, for her thoughts to align themselves into something coherent. When they did, dread settled over her like a weight. She realized two things immediately: she wasn’t tied to a chair anymore, but lying on a bed. And she had not been rescued. The person feeding her water was none other than her kidnapper still wearing the dreary mask.

"Where is this? Why haven’t you released me yet? I am sure that Kael already paid the ransom.

The man’s eyes narrowed under the mask as he sat back," Sigh! I would think it is obvious. You’re my safety net. That woman... she fooled me. According to our plan, we were supposed to take you, get the ransom and then leave your location to the Prince while we made our escape. But she changed the plans at the last minute. She gave me a flight ticket to flee the country while she decided to leave you to die there."

"I may be a bad man and a kidnapper but I am no murderer. Also, do you know how confident she is that she will not get caught? She had no intention of leavign the country as planned. She simply took the money and returned home, pretty as you please. It took me a while to understand why she did that thought. She must have planned to pin the blame for the kidnapping and your murder on me. So, of course, I returned and brought you back from there."

"Now, with you in my possession, I can surrender and even help the Prince identify who tried to harm you, while negotiating appropriately to not be punished too severely."

Dora frowned and stared at the man who was looking at her expectantly," Are you expecting me to praise you for being an upright bad man?"

The man shook his head," I need you to call Prince Kael and let him know that he needs to make the arrangements for my surrender and the rest. I don’t really have his number or anyway to contact him."

Dora blinked, her mind slowly piecing together the absurdity of the situation. Her kidnapper—this man sitting before her in his dreary mask—didn’t have a way to contact Kael? The man who orchestrated her entire kidnapping couldn’t figure out the final piece of his own plan?

She let out a dry, sarcastic laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "So let me get this straight," she said, her voice weak but laced with a biting edge. "You went through all the trouble of kidnapping me, hiding me away, dealing with whatever crazy partner you had... and you didn’t even think to get Kael’s number for the ransom?" She raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore how weak she felt. "You’re not exactly criminal mastermind material, are you?"

The man stiffened slightly, his posture rigid under her mocking gaze. "That woman was supposed to handle the contact. And she did give me a phone to make the contact but I didn’t exactly memorize the number and she took the phone back when she left.

"Big mistake," she muttered, still trying to grasp the fact that she was sitting in the middle of a botched ransom deal with a kidnapper who seemed just as out of his depth as she felt. She could practically feel the irony hanging in the air. Her kidnappings were... just not normal..

The first time she was kidnapped, the kidnapper left her with Olivia who promptly took her back to the Frosts. the second time she was kidnapped? Her kidnapper wanted to surrender...

The man leaned forward, his tone growing more serious. "Enough. You need to call Prince Kael. We don’t have time for games. I want to make sure my surrender goes smoothly, and you’re the key to that. If he can see that you are not harmed..."

"And where exactly are we?" she asked casuallly, "It doesn’t look like the kind of place anyone would find us easily."

The man scoffed, shaking his head at her attempt. "You think I’m that stupid?" he said, his tone condescending. "I’m not going to tell you where we are. The last thing I need is for you to leak our location to Kael the moment you get in contact with him. I barely managed to escape with you when that man arrived with his people."

That man? Did that mean Kael had really caught on to her clue and arrived there to rescue her? The man noticed her expression and scoffed," Yes yes. You’re guessing correctly. Prince Kael caught onto your clue and arrived there. So, this time, don;t even think of giving him a hint! I may not want to kill you but that does not mean I cannot keep you my prisoner for as long as I need to ensure my safety."

Dora nodded and extended her hand, "Give me your phone. I will make the call."

The man shook his head,"Just rattle off his number and I’ll talk. I will not be letting you say anything. If he needs to verify it is you,I will send a picture.