“Why do Gabriella and Mia take so long? Where do they actually go?” Max grumbled as he continued to stare at the door and the clock alternately.
“Do they purposely make me wait alone?” the man muttered as he couldn’t decipher the furrowed brows. Something had stuck in his heart. “Or maybe, something happened out there and they don’t tell me.”
After pondering for a moment, Max finally reached his hand out toward the table. Afraid that the wound would open again, he pressed his stomach with the other hand.
“Tch, why did Gaby put my phone so far away?”
While grimacing, the man tried to slide his cell phone with the fingertips. Inadvertently, the object slipped out of the line of the table and fell to the floor. A sigh of disappointment instantly released into the air.
“Why did I drop it when I’m not allowed to bend down? Tsk, at this rate, I have no other choice,” Max muttered before taking a deep breath. A second later, with all his might, he forced his body back upright.
In just an instant, the pain made the man’s teeth chatter. While catching the breath, Max tried to beat the pain that was tearing his stomach.
“Did doctors really give painkillers? Why does it hurt so much?” he grumbled in his heart. Her lips that were slightly red had turned pale again.
Before the pain subsided, Max forced his legs to move until they dangled to the floor. Then, ignoring the cold sweat all over his body, he got up from the bed.
“Ugh!” His eyes were closed for a moment, trying to keep his mouth shut. The pain had spread to the bone.
However, after controlling the rumbling of breath, the man pulled the IV line to accompany him out of the room. With slow steps, he went to the administration desk.
Upon learning of Max’s presence, a nurse immediately widened her eyes. With two eyebrows raised to the max, the young woman asked, “Why do you get out of bed, Sir? You may not move too much.”
“Have you seen my wife?” Max asked, ignoring the concerns of the nurse.
“Your wife?” the woman in uniform snapped. After a glance, her mouth opened wide. “Oh, that beautiful lady.”
As if not knowing, the young woman glanced at her senior. “Did you see where that beautiful woman went?” she asked stiffly.
The older nurse suddenly stood up and blinked flatly. “Your wife seems to be taking care of something, Sir. She asked whether she could take you to the ICU. When I said no, your wife left right away. Maybe, she wants to check on your father’s condition by herself.”
Hearing such a dubious remark, Max’s brows furrowed. “My wife can’t just walk away. She must have reported to me first,” the man mumbled while holding his stomach.
“Now, how about you return to the room, Sir? When your wife comes back, we will immediately tell her that you are waiting,” the nurse said as she didn’t know how to quell the patient’s suspicions.
“Does something happen to my father?” Max guessed with narrowed eyes. He knew that the two women in front of him were hiding the truth. The only reason he could think of was the bad news about Herbert’s operation.
“No, Sir. We heard that your father’s operation went well. He is resting in the ICU,” the senior nurse explained.
Realizing something was wrong, Max sighed in annoyance. “Then what are you hiding from me? Where’s my wife? There must be something keeping her from coming back to see me soon.”
Confused about the patient who was starting to get angry, the two nurses fell silent. While occasionally glancing at each other, they looked for ideas to smooth out a lie that had already fallen apart.
After a while, Max never got an answer. Feeling annoyed, the man took the initiative to reach for the phone. “How can I make a call?”
The two nurses in unison frowned. One of them was clearly holding her breath, while the other started scratching nails.
“How?”
Max’s rebuke made the older nurse was pushed to give him the phone pass code.
After dialing Gabriella’s number, Max waited with a pounding heart. He couldn’t wait to hear his wife’s voice. That’s the only thing that can calm him down.
However, instead of getting an answer, the man’s eyes widened. The table which he rested his hands on, was shaking in a familiar rhythm. After a quick blinks, he rushed to check what was behind it.
As soon as Max saw Gabriella’s bag placed among the patient’s documents, his breath automatically caught. With lips quivering anxiously, he sighed, “Why is Gaby’s bag here? Where’s Gaby?”
Instead of responding, the nurses looked down and grimaced.
“You explain.”
“No, but you.”
Hearing the restlessness, Max’s heartbeat became increasingly erratic. “Explain what?” he asked with burning eyes.
“Actually…, just now….”
Just as the senior nurse was stuttering for a proper explanation, someone suddenly called out to the patient.
“Max!”
The man suddenly looked around. As soon as he saw Sebastian approaching with an indescribable furrow of brows, the turmoil in his chest intensified.
“What are you doing here?” Max asked in a choked voice. Suspicion just grew more rapidly.
“You must come with me immediately,” the cousin said coldly as he did not know how to convey the truth through words. A second later, he turned to the nurse. “Please prepare a wheelchair.”
“What really happened? Where are you taking me?” Max asked with his fists tightly clenched.
“You’ll know as soon as you see it.”
Receiving such an ambiguous answer, the questioner’s jaws spontaneously hardened. Pain and anxiety had mixed up, placing great pressure on his nerve cells. Bad prejudice could no longer be ignored.
“Did something happen to Gaby?” he sighed, steeling himself.
“No. She’s fine,” Sebastian replied flatly. “But you still have to come with me.”
“Why?” Max urged as a wheelchair arrived.
Instead of answering, the cousin moved behind the wheelchair. “Hurry up! We don’t have much time.”
Inevitably, Max obeyed the words of his former enemy. Sighing in pain and restlessness, the man dropped his weight on the wheelchair.
***
“Why did you take me to the surgery department? Isn’t my father’s operation over and going smoothly?” Max sighed, still struggling to control the heartbeat.
“Yes, Uncle’s operation went well,” Sebastian answered shortly. He didn’t want to talk much.
“Then why are we here?” Max urged as he could no longer hold back the anxiety.
Annoyed, the cousin raised his voice back. “Could you be quiet for a second? I also don’t know how to explain it.”
Not wanting to cause a ruckus, Max had to keep his mouth shut. With eyebrows that couldn’t relax, he continued to speculate.
When his eyes saw Mia who was sitting while biting her fingers, a heavy sigh spontaneously escaped from Max’s mouth.
“Why is that girl looking upset there? And why is she alone? Where’s Gaby?” Max thought, not daring to guess anymore.
Realizing someone’s presence, Mia suddenly turned around and got up from the chair. Wasting no time, she ran over to Max.
“Sir, I’m really sorry,” the secretary sighed, successfully making the heart of the man in front of her twist.
“Why do you apologize? And whose blood is on your shirt?” Max asked in a stiff voice while his eyes were quivering violently.
“I have failed to look after Madam.”
Panic immediately filled the man’s mind. As he shook the secretary’s hand, he blinked rapidly. “What happened to Gaby?”
“Madam is fine, Sir. She’s still asleep in the emergency room,” Mia explained before being stopped by sobs.
“Then why are you here? We should be in the emergency room, beside Gaby.”
With ragged breaths, Mia shook her head in resignation. “That criminal tried to kidnap Madam. Then, Mr. Julian … he tried to save her. Because of that, he is seriously injured. Right now, Mr. Julian is in critical condition.”
Knowing the truth, Max’s heart suddenly went numb. He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. The wife he loved so much did manage to survive, but the elder brother who never got along with him, was in danger of leaving forever.
While Max was busy contemplating his feelings, suddenly, the door to the operating room opened. A man dressed in green came out in a hurry.