I was overwhelmed and at a loss for words. Biting my lips, I tried to digest the information that had been dumped on me.
Looking at my bewilderment, Joseph sighed again. “Mr. White’s condition has been stabilized. But he hasn’t come to as the anesthetic hasn’t worn off. He is being looked after by doctors and nurses so you don’t have to worry about him. More importantly, you really need to get some rest yourself.”
As Joseph helped me back onto my bed, my mind kept flashing back to all the things that he had just said to me. A pang of guilt rushed into my chest. In retrospect, I did hurt Anthony’s feelings for being insensitive.
Since I couldn’t fall asleep right away, I waited till the nurse came to remove the IV drip before I decided to take a walk.
Anthony was nowhere to be seen, hence I decided to check up on Marcus. After checking for his room number and arriving at his ward, I was relieved to see that a nurse was looking after him. The nurse greeted me with a smile.
Marcus was still unconscious from the effect of the anesthetic. His forehead was injured and his body was covered in a blanket, hence I turned to the nurse and asked, “How is his wound?”
“The doctor just came by to check on him. She said that he has sustained an injury to his head, but she’s not sure at this stage if he suffers from a concussion. A metal rod pierced through his right ribcage, but luckily, it missed his vital organs. There are a few other scratches but they are just superficial wounds. Judging from his current condition, he’s going to be hospitalized for a considerable amount of time.”
My body shuddered at the mention of his ribcage being pierced by a metal rod. That must have been where most of the blood came from. My hands started trembling and my legs turned wobbly as I relived the incident in my head.
I forced my weakened legs to move to his bedside and sat down, losing my bearings. If it wasn’t for him, the metal rod would have run through my body instead. Human lives are indeed very fragile and short. And yet, in the span of my very short life, he has saved me twice; this time he even risked his own life for me. It’s not easy to just stop worrying about him like everybody else has been saying.
“Ms. Stanhope, why don’t you get some rest yourself? I’ll be here to take care of Mr. White,” the nurse said.
I shook my head a little. “I’m okay. Besides, I’ve already rested more than enough. I might as well stay here. Please let me be.”
Sensing I was not going anywhere, she decided to stop persuading me.
“In that case, Ms. Stanhope, I’ll take a walk outside. Please call for me should you need anything,” she said while heading out.
I nodded before I suddenly thought of something and called after her, “May I know how I should address you?”
“My name is Layla Lane,” Layla replied with a smile.
I nodded. “Is it okay if I call you Layla?”
“Sure,” she said before leaving the ward.
After Layla left the room, I turned to Marcus. It was impossible to not be moved by what he had done for me.
I felt suspended in time, trying to decipher what I was feeling in my gut. Slowly, I came to the realization that I had been avoiding people who had displayed the slightest amount of kindness or affection toward me; people such as Anthony, Marcus, and John. It was as though I was incapable of accepting any kind of compassion.
For some reason, I kept looking for every little detail in my life to push Anthony away; subconsciously trying to sabotage every meaningful relationship I have had. A disembodied voice at the back of my mind kept telling me that there had to be a reason why they approached me, be it I could be useful to them, or that I could help advance their own motive. Whatever the reason, I was convinced that I was undeserving of true love.
Even though they always used their actions, and this time, their life, to prove that they loved me, I still felt profoundly insecure deep down. I wasn’t sure if this was due to my deep-seated low self-esteem, or that this happened to every other woman.
I ended up spending the whole night watching over Marcus. Layla had come in intermittently and asked that I get some sleep myself, but after I repeatedly rejected her suggestion, she decided to just leave me alone.
The next day, the morning sunlight shone through the window and lit up the room as though bestowing upon it a new life. Marcus finally woke up and when he saw that I was unharmed, he smiled in relief. “Thank goodness that you’re okay.”
At that point, all my suppressed emotions had escaped into the form of unstoppable tears and I started to sob uncontrollably. I held onto his hand and tried to speak in between my sobs. “Please… never do this again! I-If something happens to you, how am I going to explain this to Camelia? You have a wife and a kid! You can’t do something so silly again!”
He smiled weakly and stroked my hair gently as he said, “Don’t be silly, I can’t have stopped my instinctive reflex even if I tried to. Besides, I actually feel honored being able to keep someone I wanted to protect safe.”
It took me a while to collect myself. After which, a doctor came by to check on Marcus. I was glad when the doctor informed me that he would recover fully with enough rest.
As soon as my heightened sense of wariness subsided, I was overcome with a new wave of tiredness. After all, I did stay up all night and had had very little rest.
Looking at my bloodshot eyes, Layla said, “Ms. Stanhope, now that Mr. White has awakened, you should really get some rest yourself. I’ll continue to monitor his health. Please stop worrying.”
I nodded, finally feeling a heavy weight lifted off my shoulder. After leaving the ward, I headed to the hospital lobby, ready to take a cab home.
When I got to the hospital lobby, a familiar black Bentley was parked just outside the curb. Joseph rolled down the driver seat window and said, “Mrs. Featherstone, I’ll give you a ride home.”
I was puzzled. Did he just happen to be here or…
I wasn’t sure if Anthony was in the car and appeared hesitant. As though reading my mind, Joseph added, “Mr. Featherstone has left for some work stuff.”
I rubbed my nose awkwardly and got into the car.
As Joseph started the car, I hesitated for a brief moment before asking, “Have you been in the hospital this whole time?”
He tilted his head in my direction. “Not just me. Mr. Featherstone has been here as well. He had been scrolling through his phone all night standing by.”
I paused before biting my lips. “I…”
“He understands your concern for Mr. White. But the fact that you didn’t return to your ward or the villa all night did sting him. If I were you, I’d probably give him a call to check in with him even for just a minute. At least it shows that you care.”
Joseph’s words had once again stabbed right onto my sore spot like a dagger.
Saying no more, I stared out the window and was lost in my thoughts.
Joseph dropped me back at the villa before heading out again.
After the whole site incident and me staying up all night, the pain in my lower belly hadn’t subsided. Back in my bedroom, I tried to take a nap, but the cramp took a turn for the worse, forbidding me to sleep well.
I finally got up and searched around the room for some painkillers. Failing to find any, I resorted to ordering some from an online delivery service.
After finally taking some medicine to control the cramps, I already lost all desire to sleep. I checked my watch and realized it was already six o’clock in the evening. Anthony should be back soon.
Giving up trying to sleep, I went into the kitchen and found some ingredients in the fridge for me to cook a meal for Anthony as my way of saying sorry.
Now that it was September, the weather had started to cool down. It was almost seven o’clock when I finished scuttling about in the kitchen. However, there was still no sight of Anthony.
Looking over at Armond’s well-lit house, I decided to give Nora a call. She was quick to answer her phone. “Hey babe, have you eaten?”
I took another look at my neighbor’s house. “Not yet. Are you at Armond’s?”
“I am. Are you next door?”
“Yup.”
Just then, Nora called for me from her backyard. I put down my phone and walked toward my own backyard to meet with Nora who was dressed in thick pajamas. “How are you doing?”
I nodded. “Let’s just say that I’m happy to be alive.” I didn’t think she knew about what happened at Lavelian Village.
Nora rested her upper body on the railing before she said weakly, “It’s been a few days since I last saw you. I’ve been so tired for the past few days. And I’ve basically been lying down all day today.”
I paused for a brief moment. “Is it that time of the month for you?”
It was her turn to pause. “How did you know?”
I shrugged. “Because it’s my time of the month as well.”
Nora let out a long sigh before she said, “This is so unfair! Armond has been out all day and right now, all I want to do is to take my frustrations out at him!”
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.
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