Undercover Princess Mia | ✔

Undercover Princess Mia : Chapter Twenty

I woke up as the dancing sunlight kissed my forehead and I squinted my eyes. I was lying on an enormous bed in a beige coloured room which was so plain and gloomy, one of the many unused rooms in our house. It would have been difficult to carry me upstairs so they left me in one of the guest rooms downstairs. I felt like I had given up, my emotions and feelings were being mirrored on the dull objects surrounding me or perhaps, my perspective had totally changed.

I recalled the heart-wrenching sound of Katy's wails. All the memories of last night raced through my head which caused my head to throb in pain. I rubbed my temples roughly and lumbered towards the bathroom.

I splashed cold water on my face and wiped it with a towel. My reflection was haunting, my eyes puffy and bloodshot and my cheeks swollen. The pins of my wig hair dug painfully in my scalp and I removed it for a while to massage my head and then wore it again. I changed into yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt with some random print of cartoon. I truly wished that yesterday whatever happened was just a nightmare, but the harsh reality swept over me every time I felt a hard feeling tugging at my heart.

I wore my boots, fished some money out of my old jeans pocket for the cab so I could rush to the hospital and check on Noah and even Katy who was nowhere around me. I dashed outside the room and stopped abruptly in my tracks when I saw a similar figure. "Dad?"

"You woke up, princess," he said with a warm smile and for a while I was frozen until I realized that he was really there. My dad was right in front of me.

I ran and hugged him. It had been weeks since I met any of my family members although I did talk to them through Skype. Something tickled my cheek and I smiled when I realized it was my dad's feigned beard. He had even worn sunglasses and a very funny brown wig with long hair reaching his shoulders. He couldn't be recognized easily and I didn't want anybody to know that a King was here. I cried softly against his broad shoulder and he tried to soothe me by gently rubbing my back. I still didn't like my dad since he sent me over here, putting danger over Noah and his family. On the other hand, if he hadn't sent me here, I would have never met someone as amazing as Noah.

"Dad, where is Katy? How is she?" I asked worriedly while pulling away and sniffing.

"She is alright wherever she is. I think you should take some rest," he suggested, but his words did not assure me. Instead, it angered me. I gave him an incredulous look and staggered back.

"How on earth will I just lie down and do nothing?! Jack died because of me, Katy lost her love again because of me! And now, Noah is admitted in the hospital, it's all because of me!" I yelled as fresh tears rolled down my flushed cheeks. I looked around and there were some people from the town gawking at me, so I marched right out of the house.

"Where are you going? Stay here!" dad called out and I shook my head.

"No! I'm going to the hospital, no need to follow me."

I ran down the street and hailed a cab. The cab-driver looked at me with sympathy and I just flashed him a saccharine smile. This town was quite small, so the news spread like wild fire. As I later learnt, dad made everybody believe that it was just a case of robbery and kidnapping as I was alone in the house and the criminals took advantage of the situation. It had no connection with royalty or mafia, but in reality, it did have a connection with both of them.

The cab halted right in front of the hospital. I hopped out of the cab and hurriedly handed over the money.

"Hope everything will be fine, ma'am," the cab driver spoke softly.

I nodded and bolted towards the entrance.

"Ma'am, you can't go in unless you're a family member," the nurse said from behind me as I reached the desired room. I wanted to desperately meet Noah, to apologize to him, to just hold his hand.

"Please, let me go in. The patient may want to meet me too," I pleaded with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but you can't--- "

"Let her in, I'm his mother and my son wants to meet her." I turned around and saw Carla standing with a cup of coffee. The nurse nodded and I smiled ruefully at Carla, muttering, 'Thank you' and 'I'm sorry' consecutively.

I walked in the room hesitantly and saw Noah lying on the bed. His eyes were closed and I sighed in relief. Besides him, I saw Kyle who was joyfully playing with an aeroplane, unaware about the sadness around him. He was oblivious to all the tragedy and we all wanted to keep it that way, to protect the innocence of a child.

"Amelia? Noah, Amelia came!" he started shouting enthusiastically and I quickly placed my hand over his mouth.

"Hush . . . Kyle, you don't want your brother to wake up, do you?" I whispered and Noah stirred in the bed.

Kyle shook his head and I gingerly released him. He exited the room with his aeroplane, all the while pretending to fly it. My lips curled into a faint smile as I sat besides Noah and reluctantly held his calloused hand. He looked pale due to the blood loss and his hair was disheveled, but still he looked peaceful in his sleep. I didn't want him wake up because I didn't know how to confront him. However, that was exactly what happened.

His eyes slowly fluttered open as he rubbed his forehead. Our eyes locked into each other's and I quickly averted my gaze towards the window. He stared at me as I rocked back and forth, trying not to cry. After minutes of silence, I looked down, my fingertips digging into his fingers. A tear slipped and landed on his cheek.

"I'm so sorry Noah--- "

"Hush . . . " He took my hand and gently rubbed it against his cheek. "What happened to Jack?"

His deep rich voice was soft and it was almost as if he was whispering. He was gently drawing circles with his thumb on my palm and I felt appalled by myself. It was he who needed comfort after the injury, but he was trying to calm me. I was such an emotional wreck.

"Jack succumbed to his injuries," I forced the words out of my mouth as hot tears were continuously streaming and landing on his hospital gown. The green fabric was soaked and I wiped my glasses to put them on back.

Noah was so awfully silent. He was staring at the clear sky through the window. His jaw was clenched, but he didn't ask me about Ethan or the kidnapping. He just stayed quiet and so did I, secretly grateful for his silence.

I had lost track of time until I heard Carla knock on the door. I immediately got up from the bed, adjusted my jeans and pecked Noah on his forehead. I didn't glance back and instead walked quickly out of the room, the heels of my boots clicking against the wooden floor. I half-smiled at Carla and stormed out of the hospital.