Would you do it?
If your best friend asked you for a favor, would you do it?
I guessed the answers could be varied and by varying, I mean it had to do with lots of things. Lots of facts. The task they asked you to accomplish. The situation you both were in, and the most importantly who that person was.
When Luke asked me for a favor, I couldn't help but say yes to him. Did I regret it? It was still too fast to tell. But given the situation I was in, I couldn't afford losing another person in my life who actually gave an eff about me.
With Luke in the picture, I definitely felt much better and safer now. Apart from Giovanna, he was this other person who had always been looking out for me, protecting me, and sticking up with me through difficult times. From the very first day I set foot into the Luciano Mansion, he was one of the reasons I chose to stay. It was like he was the only other person who speak my language. He gets me. And I get him. Although lately, he had been behaving differently and it might seem a little absurd under any normal circumstances. But desperate times call for desperate measures and at the moment— Luke is desperate.
Looking down at my sweaty palms, I rubbed them dry with the bed sheet. A deep breathe slowly taken in, then hastily out, I used to feel like I could say everything and anything whenever he was around, but now only the idea of him stepping into the room terrified me.
A soft knocking burst upon the door. Entered into my hospital room was a kind-looking lady, dressed in a nurse's uniform. Her dirty blonde hair neatly tied up in a bun. She looked like she was around my age perhaps, a year or two older.
When she finally looked up at me, her concern was evident on her face.
"Glad to see you're awake, Miss." She smiled and breathed a deep sigh of relief. My eyes automatically dropped to the green folder she was holding to her chest. She then opened it and began scribbling something down on a sheet of paper, "How're you feeling this morning?"
"I am okay." I mumbled, weakly and she gave me a nod in apparent satisfaction.
"Let me alert the doctor that you're awake." She said before reaching behind me and pressed on a red button on the wall, "Doctor will be with you in just a moment. Meanwhile, I am going to check your blood pressure and temperature. Is that alright?"
"Of course." I nodded and leaned back comfortably into the pillows, "How long have I been asleep?" I asked while the nurse busy wrapping the blood pressure cuff around my arm. She checked her watch, briefly meeting my gaze.
"It's half past one in the afternoon right now. I would say about sixteen hours."
"Wow." I gasped. I knew it had been some time since I went missing from Mrs. Luciano's birthday party, but I didn't know it was going to be that long.
Sixteen hours of not knowing where I was and who I was with, for sure Liam was going to freak out. There was no questions. The only question I had was probably what he was up to, and if he was still searching for me or had already given up.
Though, the second point I feel was a far more reasonable and realistic provision. I wasn't trying to get my hopes up too high. We are divorced now. The only reason he would still be looking out for me was probably because of the baby.
And then it hit me.
"T-the baby...h-how is-" I was stuttering like I was about to lose my head.
"Oh, he is in great health." She responded and I could finally breathe again, "But I am afraid you are going to have to stay for at least a couple more days, in order to-"
Everything she said after that, I couldn't hear. I didn't know if she noticed but she lost me right at the very beginning, from the very first sentence falling from her mouth.
Forget the stupid plan.
I could barely think straight right now.
"Sorry. You said...he?" It took me a moment to register what she meant in my head, while trying desperately to regain control of my fluttering heart and flipping stomach. I could every fiber in me locked tight.
The nurse stopped taking notes at once upon noticing how my body stiffened.
"Yes, Miss. You're having a boy." She confirmed and there was a weird look playing on her face. She was probably thinking what kind of a mother was I to not remember my baby's gender.
Well, nurse. I would if I knew.
"It's a boy?" I asked her again. My blood went rushing to my head when she bobbed her head in a sharp yes.
Unless I was experiencing an episode of sudden cardiac arrest, why the bloody hell was my heart beating so loudly? I could feel it all the way up to my throat, thudding against my ribcage. I could even hear it through all the monitoring devices in the room.
This is not normal.
"Is everything alright, Miss. Are you in pain?" The nurse suddenly asked worriedly. I shook my head.
"N-no."
"Alright then." She concluded, closing the folder in her hands and slipped her pen back into her pocket, "There will be an investigating team here shortly. They will probably ask you to provide some sorts of an identification document and ask a few questions regarding the incident. By the way, would you like me to contact anyone in your family for you?"
Finally, she asked me the one question I had been yearning to hear.
Recalling the plan Luke and I had agreed on earlier right before he left, I then told the nurse.
"Yes. If you could. That would be great."
"Please write down the name and the number." She said, handing me a yellow post-it note and a black pen. With no hesitation, I wrote down his name on that tiny piece of paper before I gave everything back to her.
She took the paper from me, looked down at the note while pushing a strand of hair out of her face before she blinked, like thrice. Her eyes tightened for a split second before she flashed me a quick tight smile and off she went, racing out of my room.
God bless her soul.
_______________
It wasn't so long after the nurse left my room when a few policemen and a team of investigators had entered. They wasted no time and started questioning me on literally everything related to the accident. I didn't want to tell them anything. I was told firmly not to. So, I continued to play pretend games and acted like I had lost most of my memories of last night. I even faked my illness, threatening to throw up on one of them but they didn't seem to care.
At this point, I might as well just do it for real.
"Miss, If you choose not to cooperate," One of the officers stepped forward and he seized the empty spot right next to my bed. His large frame towered above me.
"I told you I am not feeling well." I whined, averting my gaze and looked down into my lap
"I can't believe she has survived unscathed from an explosion that size. There is no way..." I overheard one of the guys in the investigation team spoke to his friends. I shot him a nasty glare and he didn't fail to give one back.
"Miss, I will not ask again..."
"Alright then don't ask again." I said, rolling my eyes at him.
"What is your name?! Damn it!" The officer growled. I could tell he was losing his patience with me. I don't blame him honestly. I had been acting pretty annoying.
My teeth caught my bottom lip and I start to nibble it anxiously.
"Are you deaf or what?" The same guy spat at me and when I didn't respond again this time. He turned to his friend, "Take her fingerprint. Run it through the system. I need her name, age, address, occupation. Everything! Now!"
As soon as he finished giving order, the bald guy turned on his heels and was about to walk away when the door to my hospital room was pushed open.
Half-reclining against the pillow, I quickly sat up straight and get ready to act. I was awaiting for a pair of strong arms to wrap themselves around me, squeezing me in a tight embrace. But it didn't happen.
Instead, I heard an even colder, even scarier and even more powerful voice broke off.
"And, who the fuck are you?" He didn't even have to shout. He didn't even have to scream. His tone itself was already captivating and terrifying enough. It didn't need to be raised louder.
Stepping in front of the officers, his presence had them paled in seconds. All of them, suddenly looked as if they had seen a ghost. The effects he had on people.
May these officers' souls rest in peace.
His ghostly dark eyes cast upon each and every one of them before they finally landed on me.
My breath hitched in my throat.
He looked...devastated. Sleep-deprived.
Don't get me wrong. He still looked utterly gorgeous without question. Like his charm and aura, absolutely nothing could ever interfere with them. Not even that lean jaw, under eye bags and pale lips, he still looked ten times way hotter and more attractive than all the men in the room.
"Get. Out."
Two words. Six letters. And he had everyone shuffling out of the room. Clearly, all of them were aware of who he was. They took one glance at him and everything clicked inside their sweet little heads. Except for that one boy. One clueless boy. He seemed young. His face had the word newly-hired written all across it. A big red folder gripped to his chest, he stood unwavering, staring back at Liam.
Oh boy.
"I am sorry, big guy. But I am afraid we're in the middle of a serious crime investigation and I would suggest you-"
"Boy, if I have to repeat myself again." Liam let out a long, bored groan as he rolled his eyes. He shook his head slightly in disgust.
A soft metallic clicking sound could be heard, echoing throughout the dead quiet room. My glance shifted from Liam to the gun in his hand, pressing to the young officer's forehead.
My hand flew up to my mouth.
The young officer's eyes frantically searched the room. He was looking a bit stunned— but his face soon drained of everything once he noticed nobody was holding up their guns or tried to fight Liam.
"Is he new?" Liam turned to the guy who looked the oldest among the group. He was the same guy who asked for my finger print and identification earlier. It's weird seeing how fast his character developed in a blink of an eye.
"Yes, sir." The old officer nodded, "I am truly sorry, sir. Timothy here is new to the team and it's my fault-"
I squeezed my eyes shut when a loud click cut the officer short. Whimpering noises mixed with the heavy intakes of air, I was eagerly anticipating the high-pitched scream, but it never came.
"Better do your research next time, Timothy."
What.
I flashed my eyes open to see Liam lowering his gun before he handed it to Travis, who then quickly slipped it into his pocket.
Timothy, on the other hand was standing frozen like a statue. His mouth hung opened before he closed them to apologize to Liam.
"I guess today is your lucky day." Liam said, dryly before he looked over at the older guy, "And Cornell, if you and your team require further investigation, you can discuss the details with one of my assistants. Wayne. You've met him before, as I recall, yes?"
Mister officer, Cornell then nodded his head so hard. It looked as if he was trying to rip it off his neck.
"Yes, sir."
"Perfect." Liam clapped his head together in subtle satisfaction while the officers gathered their files and briefcases, getting ready to leave. They were about to make it through the door when a strong voice boomed.
"One more thing, Cornell." Liam called. His eyes fell on me. I knew it wasn't his intention, but his gaze made me feel so small and so vulnerable. But then he went ahead and said, "She's my wife, so you might want to watch your tone with her next time."
Cornell didn't get another chance to open his mouth when Travis and a few other guys threw them out of the room. Some of the guys followed them outside and left only two people guarding at the door. It was Travis and Sergei.
Awkward.
I didn't realize how nervous I was until he brought himself closer, standing on the side of my bed. My hands turned sweaty and cold. So did my feet. My lips pulled up faintly to say something, but I pulled then back down.
I was too shy to meet his gaze. Too shy, or too afraid, I wasn't sure. The last time I went missing and he managed to find me, things didn't end so well. He left me at home alone for nearly a month and not to spoil the moment or anything, but there was another girl involved. The idea of Liam and his favorite mistress, Felicia traveling the world together had jealous burning a path through my heart. My already-completely-destructed heart.
A part of me wanted to hate him. Yelled at him. Screamed at him for standing here. But there was this other part of me that was dying to be in his arms. Old habits sure died hard. So, I guessed we all knew which part of my brain was going to take the win at the end.
Although, I had to make a mental note for myself; there was a task left to be accomplished. But while I am at it, why not live this fake fairy tale for a while.
I could hardly muster the courage to look up at him, but once I did overcome my fear, I wasn't surprise to see he was already staring down at me.
Tears were building up in my eyes. There was no denying it, I was afraid of him. In my head, I was already thinking of the worst things he could have said to me. I just had to sit through it. Try not to cry and once his anger died down, we would be all happy again.
At least, that's what I thought.
"I-I..." He was quiet for too long. Too long that it was getting uncomfortable and I had to say something.
I bit my lips. Curled my toes. Fisted my hands.
I was doing everything to hold myself back from bursting into tears in front of him.
I wanted to feel safe around him, yet he made me so terrified.
"I-I'm s-so.." I am sorry. That's what I was hoping to say. I knew he was upset. Angry that I ran away so I didn't have much choice but to apologize.
But then he sat himself down on my bed, just right next to me. Our arms touched and I could feel his breath on my face as he came closer and closer.
"Liam, I am so-"
Releasing a shaky breath, as he scooped me up into his lap in one easy pull. He found my cold hand on my lap, and held it tightly while his other free hand moved to caress my hair,
I was stumped.
"I am...sorry."
Finally, somebody said it— but surprisingly enough that person wasn't me.
___________________
And he's BACKKKK. FINALLYY!
Thank u guys so much for your patience and support. Got my final exam this Friday, so just want to drop by and update this chapter before I disappear a few days or week, :( depends on my class schedule.
Soooo, Wish me luck! And hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Have a great rest of the week!