chapter 6

Chapter 6

The exclusive hospital room smelt of strong disinfectant that stuck the air in the room heavily. Beeping sounds from the monitor and the oxygen machine circulated the room as well, breaking the silence that stepped in every now and then.

On the bed was Arlan Hawthorne, soft gray hair splattered over the pillow behind his head. His eyes which were tightly closed quickly shot open as soon as the door creaked open. He could barely move his paralysed neck, but out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Leah, Davey's mother walking in, holding a basket of fresh fruits.

"You're awake, grandpa." She smiled brilliantly, making a stop by the bedside. She dropped the basket on the drawer, turned to inspect the connecting wires from the oxygen machine. "You seem to be doing well."

"What...are you doing here?" Arlan struggled the get the words out from one corner of his mouth. Half of his face was paralysed, but it didn't stop him from talking.

"Oh, wow. I can see you can talk now." Leah laughed softly, looking at the older man with a sudden a cold warning look in the depths of her dark blue eyes. She bent slightly towards him, guiding her shoulder length blonde hair to a side before talking, "I hope you mind what you say, grandpa. No one will believe I actually pushed you down the stairs." She whispered in his ear.

Arlan's eyes widened, his breath intensifying into the oxygen mask. "You... bitch..."

"Shush it, Arlan. You're not in the position to curse, are you? Anyways," She exclaimed, moving away from the bed to the fruits she brought, "I brought you news."

Arlan panted, obviously struggling to move his body.

"Your favourite daughter in-law. Yes, I mean that one you audaciously married off to my precious son, that wretched daughter of a wretched smelly cleaner. She's finally leaving the family. How about that?"

Arlan listened with rapt attention, the anger rising in his brown eyes. He moved an arm, slowly pointed his finger at Leah.

"Your son turned out that way because of how useless you've raised him! Do...do you think...he can survive in the business world without that girl? Do you think he can manage his own life on his own? He is completely a zombie! I did him a huge favour by getting Suzanne to marry him..." Arlan's words were cut short by a heavy cough that erupted from his lungs. His chest tightened, holding him back from saying more.

"Oh, Arlan," Leah shook her head with a mock pity, "I remember fully well how you disapproved of me the first time your son brought me home. You disliked me the moment you set those eyes on me. And for what? You're almost 70, Arlan. Don't you think it's high time you went up there and rest?" Leah whispered, pointing up at the ceiling.

She smiled again, moved closer to his bed, and was about to say more when the door opened again, revealing Richard, Davey's father by the door.

He walked in, slightly bending as he walked past the door. Richard was a huge man, as tall as the doorway, and it was very obvious who Davey had taken after in appearance. The two had the same features and facial expressions.

"How's he doing?" Richard asked in his rich baritone, taking a peak at his father's form on the bed.

"Honey, he's doing fine. You shouldn't have bothered." Leah smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Now, it appears you're worried about me," Arlan coughed, continued, "you've never brothered yourself about the affairs of the company. Rather, you prefer managing that crappy shit you call a construction company."

Richard pocketed his hands, shifting his weight on one foot before throwing in his reply. "You have Davey, father. I gave you my son. What more do you want? I've never had any interest in your company. You should let it go already. Please, concentrate on recovering."

Arlan placed his mask back on his face, had chose to remain mute. Right from the corner of his eyes, he saw Leah smiling at him.

"I should be on my way, sweetheart. Are you sure you can stay back? Don't you have anything to do at the orphanage?" Richard asked, turning to focus on his wife. He smiled on seeing her well made-up face.

"Not really. I have my girls working around the clock. They will survive." Leah replied. Richard reached out, pecked her gently before leaving the room.

"We are finally alone once more. Three is always a crowd, don't you think so, Arlan?"

Arlan took off his mask with his shaky fingers, glared warningly at Leah.

"I won't sit still if you hurt anyone in my family, you witch. You are nothing but a green snake hiding under the shades of a green grass. Get the hell out of my room!"

Leah laughed, and shook her head. "Of course, I'm going to leave. But don't you forget to have a bite of thus delicious fruits o brought you. And oh, about my son whom you manipulated with your company, he's going to marry the real love of his life, and very soon.

"What did you think? That you had total control over him because of your company? Well, I'm his mother and he will always listen to me. Get that into your brain." Leah whispered, smiled satisfactorily before picking up her bag from the table. "Incase you were wondering, of course, you're not welcomed to the weeding party." She added before finally exiting the room.

"He's going to regret it. He's going to regret ever letting go of that girl..." Arlan breathed out with his head raised before collapsing back into the pillow.

****************

At the meeting while Michael introduced Suzanne, he kept his eyes on her. He smiled gently from time to time as well, putting his staff in a shocking state.

They knew him. He rarely smiled. At the far end of the table in the conference room, Naomi stared, observing what was going on in the room. Her eyes reddened, her fingers quivered.

"Are you writing down the necessary details, Ms. Campbell?" Michael suddenly asked, briefly looking her way.

"Sir?!" Naomi jolted, and a quick mod followed.

"I think the new girl is the boss's girlfriend. Have you seen how he looks at her?" One of the female members of the strategy team whispered to Naomi's hearing.

She turned to look at her, fighting the tears that threatened to drop.

"Our main agenda right now is Hong Chan Fabrics. Next week is the final biding for the contract and we need all the qualities we can get to be able to get it. That's why we have Suzanne here. She's here to make things easier and better."Michael addressed, turned again to study Suzanne once more.

Smiling, Suzanne looked away, and her eyes met with dozens of eyeballs staring back at her. She could see the shock, the unbelievable glares. If only they knew it was all a lie–the flirting part Michael had shown throughout the meeting. But another look at Michael, she saw the unmistakable attention in the depths of his ocean blue eyes.

She stared back fully this time, wondering if he was still playing the game. There was something etched deep in his face. It was concern. It was far from being a game, Suzanne could feel.

*************

"Ahhh!!" Naomi yelled into her palms pressed tightly over her mouth, trying to muffle the screams and sobs that tore deep from her throat.

She was in the bathroom, favomh the mirror, glaring straight at her livid refection. Michael's constant gaze on Suzanne replayed in her head, the rare smiles he gave her–all appeared in her vision, making her shake with more rage. A tear dropped off one eye as she shook her head, eyes bulging.

"No. No. I'd rather take her out, I will do everything...to get her out of here. He's...mine."

"Who's yours?"

Naomi paused immediately, snapping around to see Suzanne walking into the restroom.