My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 144: I Beg You

Caleb Rhodes spun around to grab Nina Wynn, but only managed to catch the hem of her clothes.

She found a sudden burst of strength, shaking his hand off and bolting outside in an instant.

She was completely different from the last few times he’d seen her. She looked utterly distraught, as if she couldn’t care about anything else.

Caleb Rhodes quickly chased after her, but only caught a glimpse of her back as she disappeared through the door.

He stared grimly outside and then broke into a run, taking long strides to catch up.

A green taxi was parked by the roadside. She stumbled toward it, pulled open the door, and got in.

She looked so thin and frail, as if she might collapse at any moment. A sharp pain lanced through Caleb Rhodes’s heart. "Nina!"

Nina Wynn didn’t look back. She urged the driver, "Go to the nearest veterinary hospital!"

The driver glanced back, confused. "But... aren’t we already at a hospital?"

Nina Wynn clutched the carrier tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Sir, please, take me to the best veterinary hospital in the city."

The driver glanced at the pet carrier in her hands and seemed to understand. He shook his head and sped off.

They hadn’t gone far when he glanced back again. "Miss, I think someone’s chasing us. It sounds like they’re calling your name!"

Nina Wynn’s eyes were bloodshot. She said in a low voice, "It’s not me. Please, just go faster."

The driver was a local, and it wasn’t long before he pulled up in front of a large veterinary hospital. "This is the biggest one around."

Nina Wynn bolted inside.

The hospital was indeed larger than the last one, but when a staff member glanced at Roy, he just shook his head.

"There’s nothing we can do. It’s too small and too badly injured. It’s not going to make it."

"You should take him home and spend his last day or two with him. Keep him in the carrier, don’t take him out."

Nina Wynn could barely stand. She stood in the hospital corridor for a moment, then stumbled her way out.

On the streets of Jude, people bustled to and fro. She clutched the small carrier, feeling abandoned by the entire world.

’Why? Why can’t I even have one little pet?’

’All I wanted was this one kitten. Why were they so heartless? Why couldn’t they just leave me be? They had to smash him, stomp him to death.’

’They stomped his belly open, ruptured his intestines!’

’They’re so vicious!’

’Those people have everything. They can get anything they want with a snap of their fingers. So why did they have to take away the one and only thing I had?’

’This kitten was all I had. He was all I had!’

She stood on the street corner, buffeted by the bleak, cold wind. Her tears fell onto the carrier, freezing almost instantly.

The world was vast, and the city was immense. She had no idea where to go, or who she could possibly beg to save her Roy.

Suddenly, a black SUV screeched to a halt in front of her.

The car door opened, and a tall, strikingly handsome man stepped out.

The man looked at her, his handsome brows furrowing. "It really is you! What are you doing in Aethelburg?"

Nina Wynn looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "My cat..."

Finn Prescott took the carrier and glanced inside, shaking his head with a TSK TSK. "Poor thing. Its belly is completely torn up."

"It’s dying. It’s not going to make it."

A sharp pain seized Nina Wynn’s chest. Her face went white as she took a step toward him. "Please, save him. You can do something, I know you can..." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

As she spoke, she collapsed toward him.

Seeing her about to hit the ground, Finn Prescott caught her with one arm. He frowned. "Are you always this fragile? Fainting at the drop of a hat!"

He carried the carrier in one hand and scooped Nina Wynn up with the other, getting her into the car.

He settled her onto the back seat. At the sight of the tearstains on her face and her still-trembling eyelashes, he let out a soft TSK. "God, your crying could break a man’s heart. Poor thing."

After speaking, he pulled off his own jacket and draped it over her.

He picked up the small carrier again to check on the kitten, his frown deepening. ’This little thing is just as much trouble as she is!’

’She’s so little herself, and yet she insists on raising these pitifully tiny creatures. Just looking at them is stressful.’

After that thought, he turned and placed the carrier on the front passenger seat.

When Nina Wynn woke up, she found herself in a room that looked a bit like a hospital lounge, with a man’s black jacket draped over her.

Lifting her eyes, she saw Finn Prescott leaning against the window, smoking.

Even on such a cold day, he was only wearing a black sweater. Wind blew in from the half-open window, brushing the hair from his forehead and further accentuating his prominent brow and deep-set features.

He was as tall as Caleb Rhodes, but while he lacked Caleb’s intense, commanding pressure, his own aura was far from small. He looked lean and sharp, carrying himself with a maturity and substance that seemed beyond his years.

Sensing Nina Wynn’s gaze, he looked back.

Seeing she was awake, he stubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray and walked toward her.

"You’re awake?"

Nina Wynn hummed and handed the jacket back to him. "Where’s my cat?"

Finn Prescott clicked his tongue, placing a large, rough hand on Nina Wynn’s forehead. "Why are you just like that kitten? You were running a fever earlier. We gave you a shot to bring it down. I bet you didn’t even notice, did you?"

Anxious to see Roy, Nina Wynn grabbed his wrist. "My cat!"

Her voice was sharp with urgency. Her small face was impossibly pale, making her eyes seem even darker and more intense. As she stared at Finn Prescott, he felt himself momentarily stunned.

He ruffled her hair with a large hand and chuckled. "What’s the rush? You don’t care about your own health, only about that cat?"

Nina Wynn said urgently, "My cat! I want to see my cat!"

Seeing how frantic she was, Finn Prescott raised an eyebrow. "It didn’t make it. I just tossed it."

A pain shot through Nina Wynn’s chest as she stared at him in disbelief.

Then, she got to her feet and staggered toward the door.

Seeing her look as if her soul had been torn from her body, Finn Prescott stopped teasing her. He reached out, pulled her back, and gently pushed her down into the chair. "I was kidding. He’s been saved. He’s on an IV drip right now. The little guy got lucky; a friend of mine happened to be in the country."

Nina Wynn’s head snapped up. Her jet-black eyes, welling with tears, fixed on him. She didn’t say a word, just stared deeply as if trying to discern whether he was telling the truth.

The look on her face was utterly captivating.

Her gaze made Finn Prescott’s heart pound uncontrollably. He pressed a large hand on her small head. "You’re killing me. Don’t look at me like that. If you keep it up, I can’t promise I’ll behave."

Nina Wynn didn’t understand what he was talking about. She tilted her head, evading his hand. "Can I go see him?"

Just then, Finn Prescott’s phone rang.

He glanced at her, then picked up the phone and walked to the side.

The moment he answered, an angry voice erupted from the other end. "Where are you? I invited a whole table of people—all of them prominent figures—and they’re all here waiting for you! What the hell do you think you’re doing?"

Finn Prescott leaned lazily against the window, his gaze resting on Nina Wynn. "Then tell them to go home," he said nonchalantly. "I’m in Plainsgate. I can’t make it over tonight."

A roar came from the other side. "Finn Prescott, you get your ass back here right now!"

He glanced at Nina Wynn and lowered his voice, saying something else. The person on the other end seemed just as ill-tempered, and the two went back and forth, their words laced with hostility, for quite some time before he finally hung up.

He walked over to Nina Wynn and ruffled her hair. "Caleb Rhodes is going berserk in Aethelburg right now, tearing the city apart to find someone. Is he looking for you?"