I didn’t know how I managed to stumble all the way to the front door after fixing my appearance. I knew I looked like hell, especially since I hadn’t showered or changed my clothes since yesterday. I combed my hair hurriedly and removed the makeup that made me look like a ghost.
After that, I booked a cab and went to the hospital that the man told me about. I didn’t hear half of what he had said, but from what I knew, my husband’s bike and someone’s sports car collided on a crossing. Thankfully, the car driver wasn’t drunk enough. So he handled the situation correctly and tried to avoid causing a scene, but an accident still happened.
He said that my husband’s bike lost its balance and went straight to a construction site after which a heavy construction material fell on his legs.
My heart sank after hearing those words as I bit my lips. Just then, when I was still in the cab, I focused on the words ‘bike’ in my mind. a frown crossed my forehead at that. Just when did my husband start riding a bike? I remembered we did have a bicycle at home, but it had been years since he had touched it the last time.
I still remembered that day fresh in my memory when Lewis had used that bike to take me on a date for the hundredth time to a date. We still hadn’t gotten married at that time. So I was quite embarrassed while riding behind him like this.
I could still see the sweat beads on the back of his neck as he silently rode the bike across the mountain. I squinted my eyes and said, “If you’re tired, we can stop for a while.”
But I could see him refusing my offer as he shook his head. “I’m fine.” His voice was breathless. After that he paused and continued. “Hold on to me tight. We will ride on a slanted route.”
I still remembered how I had blushed at that and gripped the corner of his shirt tightly. But it was all for naught. As soon as the bike rode down the slope, my face got stuck to his sweaty back all of a sudden, making my face red in embarrassment. That was the first time when I had the chance to smell his deo mixed with the scent of vinegar. But I knew that I didn’t hate it. Instead, I wanted to fix my face against his back and take a long sniff.
As soon as I remembered this scene, tears filled my eyes. Just what in the world went wrong? When did we start to drift apart? We still loved each other back then. But after a few years of getting married, we were like a couple of strangers who rarely saw each other’s face.
I knew it was Lewis’s fault, but at some point, I knew I was responsible for this situation too. If I hadn’t been so self-centered to only care about my heart, I wouldn’t have ignored my husband’s feelings for years. That was perhaps the only reason why we drifted apart despite loving each other before getting married.
I didn’t even wipe my tears while the cab kept speeding up in the city. I could see many cars, and even saw the cafe on the road where me and Vampire had met, but at this time, I didn’t have him in my mind. His image just flashed through my mind for a moment before I closed my eyes and leaned back and rubbed my eyes tiredly.
My life went upside down within twenty four hours. First, Vampire broke up with me, and then I yelled at my husband, who took off with his bike and got into an accident after which his leg broke.
I suddenly felt tired as I felt my breath escaping my lungs. I took a deep breath and looked outside the window. I had never thought that I would end up like this. I had never thought that after twenty four hours, I would be able to escape the thoughts of Vampire breaking up my heart.
But I did, and now I was even more miserable knowing that my husband had an accident. I pursed my lips and lowered my head. Just when I thought I would end up dying out of emotional misery, the driver of the cab called out. “Ma’am, we have reached.”
I looked up in a daze and slowly took out money and gave it to the man sitting in the front. After that, my figure literally dashed into the hospital that was right in front of the cab, and I headed over to the counter. quickly. After that, I asked the nurse standing behind the counter in a breathless voice, “Where’s Lewis Robbie’s room?”
The lady looked at me before glancing at the computer screen before her eyes. Then she tapped on it and turned to me again. “201.”
I nodded and ran toward the elevator.
When I entered the room, the scene I saw made me stop for a second. Lewis was lying on the bed as his plastered leg was hanging at a forty five degree angle as multiple wires were attached to his hand. I could even see an oxygen mask on his nose as his eyes were closed. I heard the sound of a beep from the monitor echoing in my ears silently. A nurse was checking up the blood when I came in, and she turned toward me.
“You must be his wife.” She gave me Lewis’s phone. “The man who had called you earlier was standing nearby when this accident happened. He had to hurry. So he gave me the phone and asked me to wait for Mr. Robbie’s family. We have also found his wallet and other things, including his driving license. That was how we were able to register him in the hospital. Otherwise it would have been really difficult.”
Even though I knew she was saying those words earnestly and for my own benefit, I didn’t have the heart of listening to her.
My eyes were stuck to the monitor where Lewis’s heartbeat graph appeared with a frequent beep sound. After carefully seeing that his pulse was stable, I was relieved. I released the breath I was holding and took the phone and walked toward Lewis’s body that was still in the unconscious state.
Just a few hours ago I saw helplessness and sadness in Lewis’s eyes as he was going away from the house. How did he feel after listening to my words? Was he disappointed in me?
Will he also leave me like Vampire?
Tears filled my eyes. Just then the phone’s notification attracted my attention. I sat beside him on the bed and glanced at the phone only to be shocked by the discovery.
Almost the majority of the messages were about how my husband needed to pay up loans, and even the deadline had crossed. Some of them were even threatening my husband to pay up the money or else they would take away his house and other property.
I stared at all those messages with widened eyes.
What loan? Why was my husband in debt? And I didn’t even know a little bit about it! A tear dropped from my eyes at that. I was so busy with Vampire that I didn’t even see that my husband was dealing with something so heartbreaking.
Then my eyes found a message that made me even more shocked.
It was about how Lewis’s job application was rejected only because he had a history of debt of thousands of dollars.
“He didn’t even have a proper job?!” The words escaped my lips in shock. My limbs trembled as I gripped the phone tightly while glancing at Lewis’s body that looked somewhat pitiful at this time.
So all this time when Lewis was going out wasn’t to his so-called office but to search jobs to pay up the debt! And why did he even take the loan?
Two images of a million dollar shoe pair and diamond bracelet flashed before my eyes, making me tear up even more.