Two Villains

Ch. 38- Lucid Interval

Thank God I had a chance to dine at the same dining table twice after stepping my foot into their opulent palace! What a joke!

Trying to slip into an empty chair beside Nina without drawing too much attention, I was caught by Ralf, who greeted me with enthusiasm.

"Kaya! Do you have any idea how long you've been asleep?"

All eyes turned towards me, but my gaze was fixated on finding Rhys. I had nightmares about him, visions of him crying like a child, haunting my thoughts.

I shook my head in response to Ralf's question. Rya playfully teased me, saying, 

"I wish I could sleep like this." 

Laughter erupted around the table, and I explained, "Well, some days I had to work 24-hour shifts in emergency wards, so I have the hobby of sleeping for the next 24 hours because my legs hurt a lot." 

Rya smiled kindly at my response. I smiled back at her in return.

"It's very hard to train as a surgeon," Royce remarked. I noticed Jas, who was seated to his right, struggling to cut a large piece of lamb shank on his plate. Emilie, on Royce's other side, was engrossed in writing something on her pad and didn't notice my presence. Their innocent faces filled my heart with a sense of love.

In that moment, I realized that I wished I had a younger brother like Jas, or a sister like Emilie. I knew I had to head back to my own monotonous life, and I was going to miss brainstorming with Jas and Emilie, or sneaking sweets to Ralf's suite, or talking with Maria at random hours of the day. I will miss Royce's sweet but erratic personality that's hidden behind the mask of the richest businessman on earth.

I wish Rhys knew how lucky he was to be a part of this family.

A chair was moved beside me; I noticed through my peripheral vision that Rhys came and sat beside me.

"Why is your plate empty?" He asked me. I turned back to see his face. His face had stubbles, and his hair was messy; he also had noticeable dark circles around his eyes. My last memory of his encounter with Eduardo flashed before my eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, letting my intrusive thoughts win. Rhys noticed the worry in my face.

"What?" He was smart enough to ditch my query. I realized it was pointless to ask when I knew very well that he had no intention of answering me. Emilie finally noticed me seated with Rhys.

"Kay, we need you, we have a lot of things to plan," she commanded me with such authority that it made me chuckle.

"Why?" Rhys asked on behalf of me, while serving me food from trays in front of him.

I mocked him with a fake smile, "So kind of you. What would I do without you. Serving me foods like a nice boyfriend." 

Rhys didn't respond to me.

"Uncle Royce approved our proposal," Emilie declared with pride. I pretended to be so happy and shocked, as if I had no idea of this massive news.

"Congrats!" I wished them. Then I noticed Maria was staring at me as if she were waiting for me to declare the truth that I already know all these, and I have to take on the role of babysitting the two cousins, running a multi-million dollar robotic firm.

"Bu, I can't stay any longer," I vented out my frustration.

"Why?" Maria asked me. I told her about the email, but she was shocked to hear that.

"But I already told the CEO of the NHS that you are here; she was supposed to deal with it," Maria explained in front of everyone.

"I have to go; I need to start studying for my MRCS exam," I said. Jas and Emilie became visibly upset and frustrated when I declared my plans.