Just as Minnie and her family arrived in front of Max’s room, a man in the white coat came out. Without having time to introduce herself, the old woman stopped him.
“Doctor, how is Mr. Max?” Minnie asked with wet eyes and deep brow furrows.
“Are you the patient’s family?” the man asked, looking doubtful.
Quickly, the butler shook her head. “We have already contacted his father and brother. In a moment, they will arrive.”
Unexpectedly, the doctor tilted his head. “My apology, Madam. We are not allowed to tell the patient’s condition other than to the closest people or guardians.”
“But we are very close to him, Doc. I’ve been taking care of him since he was little,” Minnie explained while hitting her own chest.
“You can tell them the condition of my brother, Doc,” Julian interrupted in a sudden. All eyes spontaneously turned to him.
After nodding, the doctor began to explain. “The patient arrived unconscious. No bleeding occurred. He was conscious during the examination. But, because he rebelled, we were forced to give him sedative.”
“So, is my brother okay, Doc?”
“We have detected a possible concussion due to a heavy blow. But, it can only be confirmed through further examination.”
Hearing this explanation, Julian nodded. “Thank you, Doc.”
“You’re welcome. If something happens, please press the emergency button. The nurse will be here soon. Now, I have to visit another patient. Excuse me.”
As soon as the doctor walked away, Minnie rushed into the VVIP room. Without waiting for orders, John hurried after, leaving their daughter with Julian.
“Thank you for contacting me,” the man said with a stiff curve of lips.
“You’re welcome, Sir. Incidentally, I am the last person Mr. Max contacted before the accident happened. Because of that, the hospital immediately called me.”
Julian spontaneously nodded. However, his brows were still furrowed. Two seconds later, he said what was bugging in his mind. “Did you also contact my father?”
With a stiff expression, Mia shook her head. “I never dare to call Mr. Herbert. Therefore, perhaps you would like to contact him now.”
After blinking awkwardly, Julian forced a smile. “Yes. You can come in first. I will call my father.”
As soon as Mia walked away, the man immediately took out his cell phone. While making sure no one else was around, he called his father.
“What’s the matter, Julian?” Herbert replied unemotionally.
“Max got an accident. Now he’s being treated-”
“I already know,” the old man interrupted, suddenly widening his son’s eyes.
With a disbelieving blink, Julian sighed, “Did you already know?”
“Yes. It’s been reported by media.”
Shaking his head to gather consciousness, Julian resumed speaking. “Then why didn’t you go to the hospital immediately?”
“What for?”
A sigh escaped from the son’s mouth. “Max had an accident and you don’t care about him at all? It happened because of you, Dad.”
“Why are you blaming me? It wasn’t me who hit the car. Come on, don’t waste your time taking care of that illegitimate child. He must be bearing the sins of his mother. Or perhaps, he’s destined to deliver my revenge on that woman in hell.”
“Dad!” Julian scolded, not thinking his father could say such a vile sentence.
“Don’t be rude to me just for defending that bastard!”
Without any additional word, Herbert hung up the call. A second later, Julian’s breath was getting heavier, weighed down by his father’s disagreement with his brother.
“Why does it turn out like this?” he sighed before ruffling his hair and grimacing. After a moment of confusion, the man finally entered the room to meet his brother.
***
“Master, why were you not careful? My heart almost stopped when I heard the news,” Minnie complained, wiping the tears that kept flowing.
After a few seconds, the man who was asked, did not answer. His gaze wandered as if staring at something in the air.
Seeing his younger brother so pale, Julian swallowed hard and ventured closer. “Max, how are you?” he asked in a stiff tone.
However, the patient did not respond at all. He only breathed with hands holding his wife’s favorite teddy.
“Why is he like this? Is it normal? Should we call the doctor?” Julian sighed as he turned to Mia.
After considering, the young woman nodded with an even expression. “It seems reasonable. His head had just got a heavy blow whereas his body had just been sedated.”
With a sigh of pity, Julian nodded. A second later, he returned the gaze to his brother. Right at that time, a teardrop caught his attention.
“Gaby,” Max breathed faintly. Everyone’s eyes went wide in unison.
“What is it, Sir? Do you need something?” the butler asked as she leaned closer to the patient.
Once again, Max made a sound through his exhalation. “Gabby ….”
In just an instant, the room turned silent. No one was able to answer. Their hearts were sliced to hear the soft call that was full of longing.
“What should we do now?” Minnie whispered to her husband and daughter. The three of them spontaneously exchanged glances in confusion.
“Earlier, Master had asked me for the address of the detective. He must be trying to find his wife. Must I take care of the investigation?” Mia asked in a very low voice.
“What did you say? Max wants to hire a detective?” Julian asked as he didn’t care if his brother heard.
Mia nodded. “Master had an accident because he was too hasty to see the detective. He must have felt so lost that he neglected his own safety,” the girl explained before checking the condition of the man who was still in tears.
Realizing that Herbert was indeed the cause of his brother’s misfortune, Julian’s breath suddenly roared. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “I’ll leave Max to you. Please take care of him. I have to take care of something.”
Without wasting any time, Julian slid toward his father’s residence. He couldn’t let the old man be blinded by vengeance. The chaos caused was more than reasonable.
***
As he was about to enter Herbert’s house, Julian’s steps were stopped by a very familiar female voice. With furrowed brows, he was eavesdropping from near the door.
“You said that the worst case’s Max losing his position. But, why did you get Max into an accident?” the woman screamed accompanied by sobs.
“Watch your words, Amber. The accident isn’t part of the plan,” Sebastian said in an equally booming voice.
“If I knew Max was going to get into this kind of accident, I wouldn’t have helped you. Why would I marry a man I don’t love if I have to sacrifice the man I love?”
Julian’s heart instantly throbbed to the bone, while his chest tightened with a truth he never expected to hear.
“Then, do you regret joining us? Don’t you also want to avenge that man’s rejection of you?”
“This is not the initial goal we were talking about. I just wanted to separate Max from that despicable woman, and you said the worst thing that could happen was kicking Max out of Quebracha. But, look at the reality. He’s lying in the hospital!”
Unable to hear any more evidence of Amber’s love for Max, Julian finally stepped through the door. Herbert immediately straightened his back to see his son’s arrival. “Julian?”
The man who harbored disappointment couldn’t help but smile. His broken heart had been shattered formless. With a cold and hollow expression, he stared at his future wife.
“Apparently, you want to marry me because of Dad’s orders.”
Amber’s lips trembled wordlessly. The tears that flowed freely, had vibrated at the ends of her eyelids.