I sighed and calmed myself down. “In the future, Mr. Featherstone, please reflect on your actions before you lecture others. Also, pick your subjects well if you want to talk about sincerity and love. To me, that is all too laughable. But I’m sure Ms. Lorraine wouldn’t mind.”
With that said, I broke away from Anthony and decided on a whim to leave the villa for the hospital.
Layla was caught by surprise when I walked into the ward just as Marcus had fallen asleep. “Ms. Stanhope, what are you doing here so late at night? You should be at home resting!” she whispered.
Despite being exhausted, I still managed to smile back in response. “It’s no problem at all. How is he today?” I asked as my gaze fell on Marcus.
“Much better, even though he still can’t get out of bed. By the way, Mr. White’s phone has been ringing the entire day, but he wouldn’t let me answer it. I’m not sure if it was his family calling to check on him,” Layla said concernedly. Since I insisted on staying, she promptly left after packing up her things.
I sat beside Marcus before glancing at my phone. There weren’t any messages which only added to my disappointment as I sighed in resignation.
The next day, Layla came back early in the morning only to find Marcus still sleeping. Since there wasn’t anything she could do, she decided to head back out to buy breakfast.
I, on the other hand, had had a pretty awful night. The extra bed in the ward wasn’t the most comfortable, and it also happened to be my time of the month. All that meant that I have barely gotten any decent sleep, and I woke up even more exhausted than I had been the night before.
Marcus had just woken up when he spotted my less than flattering dark eye circles. “Have you been staying up late again?”
I shook my head and smiled. “No, I’ve just been worried about you. Get well soon, and I’ll be fine again.”
He winced a little as he tried to sit up in bed. “You can’t be moving about now. Your wounds have only just been stitched up. If you moved around too much, you might risk reopening them and getting them infected,” I chastised as I held him down by the shoulders.
Thankfully he heeded my advice and lay back in bed to rest until Layla came back. She had bought soup for him since that was all he could eat after his surgery. He only managed a few spoonfuls before the pain set in again. Setting the soup aside, he turned to me. “There’s hospital staff and Layla here to take care of me. You don’t have to worry. Why don’t you go home and have a good rest? The weather’s getting colder. You’ll fall sick easily if you don’t rest enough.”
I nodded with a smile, knowing that he was just being concerned for my well-being.
After chatting for a while more, Marcus dozed off again.
Since he had fallen asleep, I decided to make a quick trip to the villa to pack more things for the coming days. With me staying at the hospital for a few more days and with the Harvest Festival coming up, I definitely needed to be more prepared.
Anthony was nowhere in sight when I got home. Even his clothes in the closet were gone, and there was no message to say where he would be staying.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but I couldn’t brush away the bad, nagging feeling in the back of my head.
After having packed a few sets of warmer clothes and daily necessities, I returned to the hospital.
Harvest Festival was only three or four days away, but I doubted Marcus could recover in that short period of time. Unfortunately, that meant I wouldn’t be able to make it back to K City for the celebrations.
I had taken time off work, so for the next few days, I dedicated all my time to Marcus. I would either be chatting with him or accompanying him to his physical therapy sessions. All in all, it was a far easier job than having to work on the Lavelian Village project, which was now in Linda’s good hands.
On the fourth day, Marcus’s condition had improved enough to walk a bit more. He was in such a good mood that he even wanted to attempt peeling an apple on his own.
I knew he hadn’t been able to move his arm in the past few days due to broken ribs. Now that he had regained control of it, he was understandably on cloud nine at being able to tackle an easy, menial task.
Just then, his phone started ringing again. Marcus hardly glanced at it before moving it out of sight.
He had been getting countless calls from the same number and had been ignoring them all. I felt nosey and decided to peek at it, only to see it was Camelia’s number.
I looked at him quizzically. “She must be so worried about you. You should at least tell her you’re fine and recovering well.”
He stopped peeling the apple and looked up at me with pursed lips. “Is it because of her?”
His words baffled me for a moment, but I soon got back to my senses. “Marcus, are you mad? It’s not because of anyone. It’s just not going to work between us. Camelia is a good girl. Please don’t let her down.”
Marcus ignored my words as he looked down and continued peeling his apple. I knew it would be useless to go on. It was impossible to talk sense into someone who refused to be receptive to it.
That night, Summer called and sounded very excited over the phone. “Mommy! Granny said the Harvest Festival is almost here and that it’s a day for the family to reunite! Are you done with work? Will you be home soon?”
I had initially wanted to tell Summer that I couldn’t go back because of Marcus. But after hearing how excited she was about the festival, I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint her. Now that I had promised her to be home soon, I couldn’t go back on my word.
Marcus knew I felt bad about it and smiled at me. “Go be with Summer, and don’t worry about me. I will be fine with Layla here.”
I knew he would be in good hands with Layla, but leaving him alone during Harvest Festival didn’t sit right with me.
Besides, when Harvest Festival came around, Layla would be home for her family reunion too. It would be so lonely for him to stay in the hospital.
Maybe I could let Camelia come to A City?
Once that thought flashed through my mind, I decided to put it into action. One way or another, I was going to get Camelia to come.
I decided to call Camelia while I was out buying things. It took a few tries before she finally answered.
“Sienna, what do you want?” she snapped. “Are you calling to show off how much you’re enjoying your time with Marcus?”
“No, Camelia. I called to let you know that Marcus got injured in Lavelian Village and is currently recovering in the hospital. He wouldn’t be able to make it back to K City to celebrate the Harvest Festival with you. If it’s possible, could you come to A City to keep him company? He doesn’t show it, but I know he’s afraid of being alone. It’d be nice to have you here and help him feel closer to home.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call. “Sienna, why are you helping me?” Camelia finally asked.
“Don’t overthink it. I’m only doing this because I owe him too much. I genuinely want the best for him. I want him to find someone who loves him and who can give him a sense of belonging. I can’t do any of that for him, but you can.”
Camelia was silent again as she thought about it. “I hope the words you uttered are truly what you felt.”
I hung up the call without saying much more, and my thoughts started to wander.
The call to Camelia made me realize that it had been three days since my last communication with Anthony. He had never been one to take the initiative to call or text, so his radio silence wasn’t much of a surprise either.
Marcus wasn’t happy when Camelia showed up unannounced the next day. She had clearly not wasted any time in getting to A City after my call with her. However, I could barely recognize her when I saw her, a petite girl wheeling around an enormous suitcase while carrying a baby in her arms.
The Camelia standing in front of me was a stark contrast to the Camelia I used to know. In the past, she was the most beautiful and best-dressed girl in any room. But now, she had switched out her high heels for flats and tied her once luscious curls up in a messy bun. She had even ditched her dresses for oversized clothes to make breastfeeding easier.
How did a girl who had everything going for her end up looking like this?
I was in complete disbelief as I stared on.
“Marcus, how are you now? Why didn’t you answer my calls and let us know how you were doing?” Camelia asked frantically as she hurriedly set her luggage aside. She looked relieved when she could finally take a seat and stretch her arms and shoulder.
Marcus ignored Camelia and cast a steely gaze at me. “You told her to come?”
“Yes. Harvest Festival is almost here. Don’t you want to spend it with them?”
He remained silent as he looked at the baby in Camelia’s arms. “Why don’t you head over to the hotel to rest? It’s too noisy in the hospital. Toby wouldn’t be able to sleep well here,” he said bluntly.
Camelia shook her head resolutely. “It’s no problem. Toby’s very well-behaved. He’s even more well- behaved when he’s around you!”
Marcus held his tongue as his brows furrowed even more.
I silently observed Camelia and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness. The girl who used to be so beguiling had now become just like any other ordinary girl.
Who do I blame for her complete transformation? Time is ruthless, but so is Marcus.
Just then, Camelia’s baby was awakened by the noise in the hospital and started bawling his head off. When Marcus glared at her, she hurriedly apologized and left the room with the baby to coax him back to sleep.
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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