Natalia blinked her eyes as they fluttered open. She was barely aware of the figure lying beside her with his head on her tummy.
The Princess looked around confusedly and spotted Elva lying asleep on a couch. Her eyes continued to wander as they took in the drip, equipment, bed, hospital uniform and then it clicked.
.
She slowly got her memories back.
.
Natalia tried to sit up when her eyes caught Tommy. He was the one lying beside her with his head and arm wrapped around her tummy, sleeping peacefully.
Her heart softened as she reached out a hand and stroked his hair softly. She couldn’t help but fall in love the more with the little Angel.
Suddenly, the door creaked open and Mrs Argent walked in with a bag followed behind by a doctor. She smiled warmly at Natalia.
“I’m glad you’re awake. How are you feeling now, dear?” She whispered after Natalia signalled her not to wake Tom.
“I’m fine, ma’am…. but then I’m not.” She muttered sadly as her face fell, recalling the bloody accident.
Mrs Argent shot their family’s doctor a look and immediately, he jumped into action, asking questions and running a checkup.
Natalia blinked her eyes at him before gently refusing.
“I’m fine physically but I’m hurt inside. I feel so guilty for what happened to Arian.” She tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
Mom Rose walked over and wrapped her arms around Natalia, placing a motherly kiss on her hair.
“It’s okay, honey. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t choose to hurt him.” She whispered. Their voices woke Tommy. He looked up at them sleepily, rubbing his eyes.
“Mommy, what’s wrong? Is Natalia in pain again?” He teared up too seeing the Princess’s tears.
Natalia quickly wiped her tears and cuddled him.
“Don’t cry, Tom. Nothing is wrong with me.” She gave him a bright smile and he returned it. Mrs Argent quietly stood beside them watching.
“Uhm… ma’am. Can I ask a favour?” She bit her lips uncertainly. Mom Rose nodded.
“You can….. after you start learning to call me Mom Rose.”
Natalia smiled. “Can I… maybe… see him? Only for a minute? I know the doctor said…”
“Of course, you can.” She smiled. Natalia nodded gratefully but Mom Rose added immediately.
“After you’ve had something to eat and the doctor says it’s alright.” Her tone was strict. Natalia smiled and nodded again.
“But I’m not really hun…”
“Hungry or not, you’re having dinner. You skipped lunch and it made you weak coupled with the shock and stress.” Mom Rose waved her hand dismissively and talked with the doctor.
Natalia picked her phone to check the time. It was almost ten at night. She bulged her eyes. Did she sleep that long??
Mom Rose turned back to her with a smile.
“Okay. Good news, you may go see him. The doctor said if you eat well, rest well and have some multivitamins then you’re good to go.” Mom Rose served her food on a bed table.
The Princess obediently nodded and smiled in thanks. Dinner was cock-a-leekie, an expensive meal for the rich. It’s a Scottish soup made with chicken and leeks. And very spicy!
Natalia and Tommy both ate it with chapatti, a flat round south Asian bread.
Afterwards, the princess took her drugs and was set to go but Mom Rose forced her to shower first. The bag had a lot of stuffs in them.
Natalia took it with her to the washroom. The room was neat and clean. She peeled off the plain hospital uniform she’d been wearing and stood under the shower, allowing the warm water to relax her nerves.
Against her will, the memory of Arian saving her at the expense of his life flashed across her mind and tears stung her eyes again. Natalia stood still for minutes letting her tears fall with a muffled voice, so no one outside would hear her cry.
She got out of the water and used a towel since the supply bag had no bathrobe available. Rumbling through the duffel bag, she found a variety of exotic body lotions and used a random one.
Another partition of the bag was filled with simple clothes and nighties which still had their price tags on. Natalia wore the first set of underwear her hands touched in a hurry. Then she removed all the tags and looked through the night wears.
They were hot and daring!
She furrowed her forehead in confusion, wondering if she was on a mission to seduce the doctors or something. Obviously, it was Selena’s kindness at work!, given her style of fashion.
Natalia patiently searched through until she found the most decent one. It was a combination of a straps top and shorts, both made of silk. They had cream flowery designs. She also wore the matching robe which stopped mid thigh and trust her, it was the longest one available!
Lastly, Natalia slipped her legs into a pair of flip-flops and left her hair down, not bothering to dry or comb it.
It became curly but she had no time to handle it. Seeing Arian’s condition was more important.
She walked out and held Tommy’s little hand. But before she left, she took a blanket and laid it on Elva who was still sleeping uncomfortably in her uniform. Dried tears were at the corner of her cheeks and she looked exhausted.
Natalia tucked her in warmly. The doctor reminded her not to stress herself too much but she barely listened.
Again, Arian was more important.
The young French had been transfered to a personal ward from the ICU after his condition became stable. The trio got into this ward after passing through two sets of security guards.
The room was thrice bigger than Natalia’s and even had a little adjoining sitting room. Everyone was seated there. And by everyone?… Just Ricky, Jeffrey, Selena and Damon alone. They were still in their uniforms… well except Selena.
Natalia looked over and saw Arian’s pale body, lying on the bed with a bandage wrapped around his head and beeping monitors by his side.
Her conscience started to prick her and her eyes became misty all over again. She stood there quietly, ignorant of everyone else with her eyes glued to the boy on the bed.
Jeffrey came over and hugged her comfortingly. Natalia felt like the warm shower did nothing because she suddenly grew cold again. She held him back shakily, her guilty eyes still stuck on the patient.
“We’re glad you’re okay.” He whispered. Natalia nodded and pulled away.
The little fox went over to Ricky who carried and cuddled him. The rest looked tired and worried but they gave her brief, miserable smiles.
“How long is he gonna stay asleep? ” She asked no one in particular.
“We don’t know. But the doctors said it won’t be long till he’s awake.” Damon replied.
Selena scoffed viciously.
“That’s the only thing they’ve been saying all day! Someone really need to go through their licences!” She spat and a low argument started.
In Natalia’s view, they were only trying to lessen the depressing atmosphere.
Shutting them out of her mind, she stalked over to Arian’s bed.
As usual, Arian looked quiet and peaceful. But his face was paler up close. He was still so handsome but she didn’t like the zombie looks.
He didn’t look like he was gonna die anytime soon and that allayed her fear. A bit. She stopped by his side and began to whisper to him.
“Hey. It’s me, Natalia…” She bit her lips to stop her tears. “… the horrible person who got you into this mess.”
No response.
“I really hope you’re not in too much pain. I guess I just…. I just wanna say that I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for putting you in this condition.
“Yeah, and I’m sorry for being such a coward.”
The room turned silent.
“I feel so guilty right now, knowing I did this to you… Guilty that I’m the cause of all this.” She gently adjusted the duvet to cover him well.
“If it’s just a tiny, little bit…. please open your eyes. Even for a second, I won’t mind.” Her fingers found their way to his cold hand and softly held it, ignoring the familiar sparks between them.
Tommy cuddled with Ricky tighter, a part of Damon’s non-existent heart softened, Jeffrey slowly stopped updating Mom Felicity and dropped his phone while Selena lowered her eyes with a strange feeling surging in her chest.
“If you can try, even if it’s a little, I promise I’ll be less indifferent and more nicer to you.” A lonely tear slid down Natalia’s cheek but she left it.
Mom Rose came to her, trying to hide her own tears.
“Honey, it’s okay. The doctor said not to stress yourself. He’ll be fine, I promise. You need rest yourself. You aren’t yet well.” She comforted.
Natalia nodded and looked at Arian one more time with misty eyes. As she made to remove her hand, the monitor suddenly beeped loudly and she felt his hand move under hers.
Everyone jerked up as the doctors burst through the door, rushing into the ward.
“Arian? Arian!” Natalia breathed out, watching as his gorgeous mint green eyes slowly fluttered open.
“I’m sorry, Miss but you’ll have to excuse us and let us do our jobs.” A nurse politely said.
Natalia bit her lips and nodded reluctantly. But as she took a step back, Arian’s slender fingers firmly entwined with hers and pulled her back…
Chapter 40