George stood still and stared at his mother and wife as they stared back at him. He huffed, taking in a big whiff of air through his mouth to prevent himself from crashing on the floor.
Did he hear correctly? He wasn’t sure. It must have been a mistake. He wanted to believe that it was but the look on their faces told him otherwise.
Blinking away the angry tears trying to spill out from his eyes, he asked again in a low whisper “What did you just say? Did I hear correctly?”
Patricia sighed and nodded. “Yes, it’s true George. You heard everything correctly.”
“W-what?” George pressed his hand against his forehead, his breath coming out in short gasps. He couldn’t believe his ears.
“I didn’t plan to tell you this way, I wasn’t really sure how you would react.” Patricia answered “I recently discovered that Judith was the one behind your fire accident. She kept if for years, hoping that no-one would ever find out but she mistakenly spilled out the secret in an argument recently”
“Ugh…” George gripped his chest “… what am I supposed to do with this information? Where am I supposed to start from? She almost killed me!! Why isn’t she in jail yet? Why is she walking ‘freely’?”
“George, please calm down so you can think clearly” Rachel who had been quiet spoke out.
George glanced at his mother, his eyes bloodshot red from his anger and shock. He never for once suspected anybody in this villa, he always thought his accident was a normal occurrence that could happen to anybody.
“Does he know about this?”
“Of course, he does,” Patricia answered. She didn’t need to ask George who he was referring to. She knew it was Morris, George hardly referred to him as ‘father’.
Rachel watched him grip his chest tightly. He didn’t look like he could keep standing. Pulling his hand, she pushed closer to the edge of the bed and forced him to sit down. “You have to take it easy, George. We’ll stand by your side through all of this, they won’t go unpunished.”
George could not believe his ears. He already knew that his father preferred James to him but he never knew that his father hated him this much. For him to even ignore the fact that Judith almost killed him, for him to move on so quickly, acting like he knew nothing about his accident.
He finally realized it today as he sat on the bed gripping his chest. His father hated him very much. Morris probably couldn’t wait to get rid of his mother and him.
George laughed out loud, causing Patricia and Rachel to look at him with a worried look.
At the end of the day, it seemed like he really had nothing left. His wife, the love of his life, was going to end up leaving due to how deep this case was plus the fact that Morris was trying to frustrate and harm her friend.
If Morris’s plan went successfully, he was going to lose this company as well. Everything his mother had worked for in the past including Arthur Reeves contribution to growing this company…
He would lose everything….
To Morris, a man who had no regard for anybody.
“I would have even tried to overlook all the terrible things he did to me. I may have turned my eyes away from everything if I chose to, but hearing the gravity of what Judith did to you and hearing how he brushed off the topic like his own didn’t escape death five years ago, I won’t let it slide!…” Patricia voiced out
“… I still remember how I almost lost my mind when you were still unconscious even after four days. I almost thought you would go into a coma for years. Thinking about the fact that Judith was the one behind my sleepless nights and your pain irritates me deeply. I will not allow her or Morris to get away with any of this.”
George didn’t even look in her direction. He remained still, laughing and mumbling inaudible words to himself.
“George, are you listening to me?” His mother asked, glancing at a wide-eyed Rachel for a moment.
Rachel touched his shoulder calmly and he pushed her hand away, still laughing and mumbling to himself. He did the same thing to his mother’s hand.
Rachel looked at her mother-in-law. “I don’t think he is taking this information well. He seems to be in a daze, like he is about to lose his mind. We can’t allow that to happen”
Patricia stared at him, a very worried expression on her face. Turning to Rachel, she muttered “I am going over to see Dr Andrew right now. I need you to watch over him till we arrive together”
“Alright”
~~~~~*~~~~~
Rachel watched quietly as Dr Andrew gave George the final dose of a substance through the syringe on his wrist to make him rest.
She didn’t even notice the tears that slid down her face. She had never seen him like this in the months she had spent with him so far. She wanted George to come back to his normal self, jovial and filled with warm smiles.
Dr Andrew pulled a huge duvet and covered George with it after his body calmed down and he dozed off. When he was done, he turned around to look at Rachel and Patricia.
“I don’t know what happened that put him in this state. He is in a very critical point mentally and he needs as much rest as he can get. Make sure you keep an eye on him and if he doesn’t get better when he wakes up, let me know quickly, okay?”
“I will let you know…” Rachel answered. Her gaze wandered over to a ‘sleeping’ George on the bed and back to Dr Andrew “… He is going to be fine, right?”
He had to be fine. Rachel sighed as a nervous shiver ran down her spine. She felt guilty in a way, ever since she showed up in this villa, everything had flipped here. So many discoveries would still be hidden if she did not investigate her father’s case. She didn’t know what to think or how to feel. She didn’t want to lose anyone dear to her in her quest for revenge.
And definitely not George. She loved him so much, despite everything that had happened. Realizing that he knew nothing about his father’s actions only made her feelings for him stronger. He had a good heart and would never hurt a fly just to make more money. She was safe with him.
“I hope so. Make sure you alert me of any changes when he wakes up.” Dr Andrew replied. He signaled to Patricia “I’ll like to have a word with you outside please”
When the both of them left the bedroom, Rachel climbed the bed where George slept. She moved closer to him and watched as his chest heaved up and down. At least he was breathing well, that was great.
She placed the back of her hand against his forehead and gasped. His temperature was rising, the sign of a fever.
Rachel rushed to the bathroom quickly and fetched a bowl of water, not forgetting to grab a soft towel on her way out. She settled beside George and dipped the towel in the water for a minute and squeezed out the excess water.
She felt so sorry for him. This was the only way she could show how much she cared for him right now. She wiped his forehead, hands and neck with the damp towel to reduce the effect of his growing fever.
The sleeping substance he was injected with must be so strong because he didn’t even flinch or shake when the wet towel came in contact with his hot skin.
She would never understand the madness behind Morris’s stupid plan. Even by comparison of kindness, elegance and warmth, Patricia was way better than Judith by far. She would never understand what he saw in Judith that would make him choose her over Patricia Anne Scott.
Ten months had already passed. She was in their eleventh month of marriage. She had just one more month before their one year contract marriage came to an end. She would have loved to stay with George beyond that timeframe, for the rest of her life…..
But she couldn’t do that right now. Not when his father was still walking around scot-free. Including Judith. The both of them had to pay the price first!
Patricia walked in and closed the door gently. She smiled as she watched how Rachel attended to George.
She moved closer and Rachel turned around, still sitting on the bed. “Oh, you’re back. I didn’t hear the door open”
Patricia glanced at George “Is he having a fever?”
“That was before. It’s coming down now”
“That’s great.” Patricia replied “I believe it is time to lay everything out in the open. When George finally wakes up and he is back to his normal self, I want the both of you to come over to my villa. I need to tell the both of you everything about where all of this started from”
“Oh, I see. Uhm, it’s alright, I’ll let him know when he wakes up”
“I’ll be waiting for the both of you. We’re also going to figure out a way to pull Morris down”