“So that’s why you put a bullet in his heart?” she asks.
Waylen stares at her as if she’s just asked the world’s stupidest question. He curls his hands into fists and shakes his head at her. She turns away and stares out the window.
“You can’t just turn your back on me,” he says. “Please, have a normal reaction for once in your life.”
“What do you want me to do?” she snaps. “Do you want me to go to the hospital and slap him across the face? Unplug his life support? Beg the doctors to save his life so that I can take it from him? It’s in the past now, Waylen—just let it go.”
“Just let it go?” Waylen asks, his voice thick with rage. “How can I just let it go? He was drugging my wife. I put a bullet in his chest for it, and you act like it’s nothing at all.”
“Is that really why you tried to kill him?” she asks, turning around to face him.
Waylen nods and tries to take her hand in his, but she pulls away from his touch. He looks at her with a mixture of pain and confusion. Her heartaches, and she sighs and puts her hand on his forearm.
“Okay, Waylen, I promise I’ll seek revenge,” she says. “But I’m going to do it on my own terms—not in your violent way. And I’m not going to do anything until he wakes up and recovers a bit.”
Waylen’s face twists, and he almost shouts, “What?”
“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” she asks.
He sounds strangled as he says, “No, that’s not what I want at all. Do you want to see him after he wakes up? No, I won’t allow it. Do you hear me? You’re not going anywhere near him.”
Leilani sighs and takes her hand off his trembling arm. He’s so unreasonable, she thinks. I have to talk to Charles as soon as possible—it’s the only way I might survive this pregnancy. But how can I explain that to him? He’s so worked up, and he won’t see reason.
“We’ll talk about this later,” she says. “For now, we’re going to the hospital, and you’re going to do everything you can to make things right. Understand?”
Waylen nods, and they ride the rest of the way to the hospital in silence. The chauffeur drops them off next to the elevators, and she jumps out of the car and rushes in. Waylen tries to stand near her in the small elevator, but she glares at him until he moves away.
A hospital security guard waits outside the elevator doors. His thick arms are crossed, and a pistol hangs from a holster at his hip. He holds his hand out and signals them to stop.
“Who are you and what’s your business here?” he asks.
“I’m Waylen Bamford, and I’m going to visit Charles Meyer,” Waylen says.
“I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” the guard says. “The Meyer family is worried that Charles is in danger, and only a few people are allowed to see him right now. They just moved him here from another hospital—you’re not even supposed to know he’s here.”
“I don’t give a shit what the Meyer family says,” Waylen says, his voice cool and calm. “Do you know who I am?”
The guard’s eyes flicker with uncertainty, and Leilani feels bad for the man. If he disobeys the Meyer’ family orders, he could lose his job. But if he disobeys Waylen, he could lose his life. He nods sullenly, lowers his arm, and lets them pass.
“Tell the doctor I want to speak to him,” Waylen barks over his shoulders.
Leilani rushes down the hall to Charles’ room. As soon as she walks in the door, she realizes Charles isn’t alone in the room. A handsome blonde man is massaging Charles’ calves and feet to keep the muscles from atrophying.
Leilani feels a lump rise in her throat, and she swallows hard. Charles looks almost skeletal in the bed—pale, waxy skin stretches tight across his cheekbones, and his lips are almost blue. But his hair is still perfectly trimmed and combed, and he’s wearing a button-down shirt instead of a hospital gown.
Tears fill her eyes, and she doesn’t bother to fight them. As her vision blurs, she can almost see him as the man he once was—quiet and self-assured with eyes that sparkled and glowed with excitement when he was diagnosing a new disease or developing a new cure. She thinks about his shy smile and the way he blushed whenever she complimented his medical skins. The corpse-like man on the bed is nothing like the Charles she knew.
Waylen clears his throat, and she can feel the force of his glare on her back. She turns around and sees his face twisted with anger. A man in a medical coat stands next to him. The doctor swallows nervously and pretends to check his medical notes, and the man rubbing Charles’s legs gets up and runs out the door.
“So I’ve been talking with Dr. Shelby here,” Waylen says. “Care to repeat yourself to my wife? I don’t think she was listening.”
“Well, the patient isn’t ready for the transplant right now,” the doctor says. “We need to prepare his immune system and formulate a plan with the surgical team. Re-transplanting a heart is a hazardous operation, and we need time to take all the precautions.”
“So when will you be ready?” Leilani asks. “And why weren’t you making these plans all along?”
“We’re not sure about the exact time,” the doctor says. “The earliest would be a month from now, but that’s pretty optimistic. Of course, we’d like to be faster but—”
“But what?” she asks.
The doctor ignores her and says, “It also depends on the donor too. We need to make sure the heart is healthy and that he’s ready for surgery.”
“Well, he’s been in your care for a few days,” Waylen says. “Surely you should know by now.”
Leilani looks at Waylen in surprise. She wants to ask him how many days he’s talking about and how he found the man. She thinks about the frail man in the church and wonders how much money Waylen offered him to risk his life.
“He’s under observation,” the doctor says. “His condition is fine so far. But…”
“But what?” Leilani asks. “Why do you keep saying, but?”
“Charles’ mother doesn’t approve of the operation,” the doctor says.
Leilani can’t believe her ears, “What?”
Before the doctor can answer, the door swings open, and Charles’ mother bursts into the room. The second she sees Leilani, she screams and throws her crocodile skin purse through the air. Waylen reaches out and knocks it to the ground before it can hit Leilani.
“How the hell did you get in here?” Mrs. Meyer shrieks. “Get out! Right now!” She wheels around and glares at the doctor, “And you, I thought I made it clear that no one was allowed to visit my son without my permission. Why didn’t you report them to security?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Dr. Shelby whispers. “But it’s Mr. Bamford—I—”
“I don’t care,” she interrupts. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. Just get them out of here! Who knows what they could have done to my poor son.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Meyer,” Leilani whispers. “We’ll leave now.”
“You better,” she shrieks. “I don’t ever want to see you again, you bitch. Take your fake sympathy and get out of here. I’ve seen how you play men, and you got my poor Charles killed. Leave!”
“I know you don’t believe me, but I also want what’s best for your son,” Leilani says. “I just wanted to see how he was and find out if his condition had changed.”
“Shut up and get out,” Mrs. Meyer screams, her voice high and hysterical.
Leilani nods and rushes toward the door. Waylen follows, and the second he crosses the threshold, Mrs. Meyer slams the door so hard it trembles in the frame. The glass door is double-paned, but Leilani can hear her screaming at the doctor for several minutes. She sighs and heads toward the elevator.
“Wait,” Dr. Shelby shouts, rushing down the hall to meet them. “I’m so sorry about that. Mrs. Meyer has taken her son’s situation very poorly. We’re treating her for stress and depression, but it’s still challenging for her.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply