The handsome stranger.

Chapter 5.

The handsome stranger.

Adrian pov.

I woke up on a Saturday morning, as usual, I was dressed for work and was eating a quick breakfast of roasted steak with my family.

"You should rest more Adrian, I will foot all our bills, that's why I'm your mother," Mom told me.

I glanced at her before returning my gaze to my plate of steak without saying a word. I didn't know why she would not just let everything be as it was, we all know that she can't foot the bills alone, she needed help and since there was no dad, I took the responsibility upon myself.

"I know you regret having me as your mother, I know I'm useless."

"Enough Mom!" I shouted at her, banging the table loudly, "How many times do we want to talk about this? Didn't I tell you that I'm okay? I am not complaining, am I?" I listed out the questions for her with my heart rising and falling like I was just done with a marathon.

"But Adrian....."

I cut her off, "You know what Mom? I lost my appetite." I finalized and dropped her a pained smile before leaving the dining room and the house.

I forgot that I was to wait for Ryan so that we could go to work together and just left on my own, being so deep in thought that I was angry at myself if I wasn't saving some money for my debt at school, I would have foot all the bills at home with all my salaries and mom wouldn't have felt so bad.

I was walking by the roadside and wasn't paying any attention to my environment until I felt something, which forcefully pushed me out of the road and I found myself on the floor before losing consciousness.

★★★★★★

I woke up with a banging headache. "Ouch." I groaned and messaged the side of my head to ease the pain with my eyes halfway close as I tried to swallow my painful moans. When the pain subsided, I stared around the room I was in and realized that it was a hospital. "A hospital? Why am I here?" I wondered. All I remembered was walking on the walkway and the next was meeting myself on the floor, then now.

I stared around the room, the white-painted environment, the scent of aspirin and pills, and the scent of syrup and other drugs with choking irritating scents hit me, almost knocking me out of bed, those were stuff that made me realize that I was in a hospital. I gasped and jolted on the bed as I struggled to keep myself in a sitting position which I succeeded in doing, but not without enduring some daring striking pains on my head, and elbows. Who brought me here? I questioned myself.

It was as if I asked out the words because, at that time, my question was answered.

The door of the ward opened and two nurses entered at first, followed by the doctor and one other man who wasn't familiar, the doctor was discussing with these they entered.

"Oh! You're awake!" The nurses noticed first and I nodded at them, still in a sitting position.

"Gently, lady, you're hurt and you don't want to open up your sutured wounds, trust me because it will be so painful." The doctor cautioned me and I nodded, biting my lower lip in pain, as I was already feeling the stings on my elbow.

The nurses rushed up to me and helped me to adjust the pillows for more convenience. "Thanks." I appreciated them.

The doctor walked up to a table inside the ward and picked up a book on the table, which I was sure was the physician's desk reference, before coming to me. He leaned to me and I cringed.

"Calm down Miss, I just want to check if you are fit to move from here." He told me.

"What happened to me?" I questioned him instead. I knew that I was going to work and then after that, everything was a blur.

"You got hit by him," The doctor pointed to the man he entered with, then continued, "But you're okay now. You just have to take some more rest and you will be free to go."

I clutched tightly to the bedsheets with my eyes fallen in thoughts, thinking of how to go about with the excruciating pains. I wasn't so concerned about the accident, everything on my mind was how to work without stressing my wounds and I must work. I raised my head to the doctor, "Please help me, I need to heal immediately and go back home."

I didn't pay any attention to the man who hit me, I was desperately pleading with the doctor. "That's fine, I will put you on drugs and you will be okay. The hit is not too severe in the first place." The doctor replied as he wrote some things on his pad.

I bowed my head and sighed in relief, even though I was a little bit worried about my mom, I was still very glad that I would be okay.

I suddenly felt someone's presence beside me as my head was still bowed and I cringed more because of the coldness coming from him, "You know if you had not walked on the road, I wouldn't have hit you with the car." I raised my head to him calmly with a sober gaze, it was the man who hit me with his car.

My eyes met with his chilling cold eyes and surprisingly, they calmed immediately and he sighed, "I'm sorry, it was my fault." He said.

I didn't know why he changed his words, I know I must have looked pitiful. I nodded to his apology and got myself out of bed, "Careful!" He scolded and helped me to stand straight, luckily, my legs were perfectly fine.

"I'm okay," I assured him and squeezed myself out of his grip.

"I'm Lincoln." He introduced himself with a thin smile on his fairly cold face and his hand stretched forward for a handshake.

I took his stretched hand, accepting the handshake. "Adrian," I replied to him simply.

He shook my hand gently with that smile, refusing to let it go until I jerked my hand away from his. "I have to go now Mr." I declared to him and turned to the door, hoping to just meet up with the doctor in the hallway for my drugs.

"Please Miss, allow me to pay for the damages I made." He told me as he blocked my way.

"That will not be necessary Mr Lincoln, you have done well by paying the hospital bill, that is enough," I told him, bringing out all my teeth in a smile, a forced smile.

"No, I want to pay you." He argued and fetched the checkbook from his inner suit pocket, I watched him silently as he scribbled some writings on the book and tore it out, "This is a cheque of $500 000, it should be enough to pay for the damages, but if it's not enough, you can call me to ask for more money, I wrote my line at the back of the sheet."

I stared at the cheque he was stretching to me, battling with my inner mind. $500 000 was a huge amount of money and it could foot all my bills and some money, but there was the man who was being generous, he didn't seem to be one that could give out to people without asking for something else in return and the first chills I felt from him refused to leave my head.

He was handsome, no doubt, he seemed rich too, and somehow, he made me remember my new lecturer. I quickly shook the thoughts off my head. So silly, there is nothing to compare!

"Are you okay Miss? You're acting weird." Lincoln said and waved the sheet in front of my face.

"Yes, yes Mr Lincoln," I replied to him, piercingly nervous. "I don't need your money, you can keep it for yourself or give it to someone else, someone that deserves it and will appreciate it." I bowed down a little for him and kept my fake smile on before walking past him.

"Interesting, you seem interesting."