Chapter 3

“You’re being too kind, Mr. Summers,” said Aimee with a small smile.

“I thought I’ve told you to call me by my name,” said Draven. His charming smile was full on display as he turned to face her, clearly unaware of the onlookers. “If you still address me as Mr. Summers, I’m afraid I must insist on calling you Nurse Sonata or maybe Miss Sonata.”

“Draven. Sorry,” Aimee muttered as she looked away and realized that there were at least four pairs of eyes looking at them. “Alright. If there’s anything you need, or if you’re feeling lightheaded, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“You bet,” said Draven, still smiling. He continued to watch Aimee as the nursed walked away to where they’d come from. His eyes dropped slightly to her rear and he frowned. Draven shook his head, then turned around to be struck dead with what was awaiting him.

“Seriously?!” Declan was the first to open his mouth. “I thought you’re dating my best friend!” he accused with an annoyed tone and added penetration on the word ‘best friend’. Declan positively looked like a knight who was ready to defend his Hélène’s honor.

Draven sighed. “I’m not dating anyone. You can ask Hélène for yourself.” He shoved his hand into one pocket of his dark blue trousers. “Plus there’s no harm in looking. It’s not like I’d grab that nurse and push her into one of the on call rooms and have wild sex with her.” He rolled his eyes for the dramatic effect just to piss off his twin brother. “I like her but her arse is more on the downside which—” before he could finish his sentence, Piers had stormed toward him which rendered him slightly speechless because his older brother had that terrifying look on his face.

“Do you have any idea who that woman is?!” asked Piers, his eyes were wide and his nostrils were flaring.

Javier caught his older brother’s arm. “Piers, he clearly doesn’t know. He wouldn’t have flirted with her if he did.”

Draven looked at Javier, then shifted his gaze back to Piers. “Who’s she?” he asked curiously.

“She’s a materialistic gold digger!” answered Piers right away without missing a beat. “You better stay the hell away from her.”

“I’ve met my share of gold diggers although maybe not as much as the rest of you,” said Draven apathetically. “And yet why do I have the feelings that there’s something more?” His eyes narrowed as he tilted his head to one side. “But I couldn’t fathom the jealousy in your tone.”

“I’m not jealous,” said Piers through gritted teeth. His green eyes were thunderous as a contrary to their usual calm and content state. “I’m merely concerned.”

“I’m not deaf enough to not be able to discern the distinction between the two but I shall take your words for it,” said Draven casually with a shrug.

“Dray,” Declan put one arm on his twin brother’s shoulder. “That’s Aimee. She used to date Javier back in college days but when Piers tried to seduce her to leave Javier, she caved in.”

“Ah, that explains the jealousy,” commented Draven under his breath.

“I’m not jealous!” said Piers one more time. “I only seduced her to prove what a gold digger she really was. That she’d choose me, the older brother who has already settled at that time, over young and green Javier.”

“Well, did you bed her?” asked Draven point blank although Dex, who was his twin, could tell that Draven was suppressing a smirk.

Piers let out a grunt. “I did but that—”

“That right there is music to my ear,” said Draven with a small smile. “You seem to have some leftover feelings for her, brother. I mean, Javier right here who was evidently her boyfriend at that time, didn’t even comment much.”

Javier gave Draven a warning look. It was only a few months ago that Piers had apologized to Draven and they were in good terms. This could ruin their good relationship. Draven, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care. He was too amused with the whole ordeal and he planned to get all the amusement he could have.

“I do not have leftover feelings for her.” He glanced briefly at Ella before storming off to where Thornton and Ros and their wives were at.

“I can’t believe you did that,” said Declan, followed with a long exasperated sigh and a head shake.

“Did what exactly?” asked Draven innocently. “I was only making him see the truth that he refused to see. Clearly he still has some feelings for that nurse. Whether he fancies her or hates her, that’s for another matter.”

Declan stared at Draven as if his twin brother had grown a horn in the middle of his forehead. Javier’s reaction, however, was of the opposite. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe he does have some feelings for her.” He shrugged one shoulder. “He should sort those out if he wants to move on with his life. I don’t think they ever had a talk after what happened. From what I heard from Aimee, he practically threw her out after I walked in on them.”

“He set it up so you walked in on them having sex?!” Draven’s eyes widened to the point of absurdity. He shook his head, glancing at Piers’s back one more time. “That’s cruel.”

“That’s Piers,” said Declan with a sheepish smile. “He once flirted and bedded the girl I had my eyes on when we went clubbing ages ago. Then he turned it into life lesson by telling me that if I don’t act fast, the world ain’t gonna wait for me and I might lose my chance.”

Draven shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t think I’d even use ‘taking a girl from your own flesh and blood’ for a lesson.”

“Perhaps he wants the lesson to hurt you deeply so that you’ll never forget,” said Ella who’d been quiet this whole time. She didn’t approve of Piers’s way of things but she could somewhat see the way he thought. “Everyone’s different, after all.”

“You’re more understanding than the rest of us, Ella,” commented Draven after a few seconds. “But again, if he ever uses those tricks on me, I don’t think they’ll work.” He shrugged, then pulled out his phone. “I’ve never loved anyone in my life nor will I ever love anyone. At least, not romantically.”

“And yet here you are checking your messages and emails to see if Hélène texted you,” teased Declan after peering at Draven’s phone over his shoulder. Before he could say anything to object, Declan asked, “How’re you feeling? I heard you can feel dizzy after donating your blood.”

Draven narrowed his eyes. He knew what his brother was doing but decided to let it slide. “I’m fine. She only took four hundred milliliter (400 cc). That’s about seven percent of average adult’s volume.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Thank you though,” said Declan. His eyes shone with sincerity.

“It’s fine. She’s my sister too, you know.” The corners of Draven’s mouth slowly turned upside and there was a playful glint in his eyes. “Plus, imagine what Clarabelle would react when she knows that my blood runs in her veins.”

“Gosh, you’re pure evil,” said Declan, shaking his head. “I can’t believe we share the same face.”

“Of course, we don’t.” Draven managed to sound like he was offended. “I’m way more handsome than you, Dex.”

“She loves you too.” Javier placed his hand on Draven’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “She might not a big fan on saying how much she loves you because her sharp tongue and pride wouldn’t allow that but she shows it. She does love you, Draven.”

All the playfulness was gone from Draven’s face and what was left was seriousness. “I know.” He nodded. “And I love her.” He let out a small sigh. “So much. I really hope she’s alright.”

“She’s gonna be okay,” Declan said solemnly. “I mean she’s Clarabelle. She’s strong. She will survive this.”

Draven put his hand on the back of Declan’s neck and pulled him into a hug. “She is and she will, Dex.” He ran his hand up and down his twin brother’s back. Something he’d always done when they’d been kids over two decades ago. Declan had always been the proper and a softie, whilst Draven the unruly, rule-breaker one.

“Who’s that?” asked Ella as she noticed a tall, dashing man had just reentered the waiting room. He took a seat at the farthest end and hung his head.

“I’ve no idea,” answered her husband with a frown. “Reed seems to know him,” he added upon seeing his younger brother Reed made his way toward the man and sat on the empty spot beside him. “He’s probably one of Clara’s friends.”

It took two more hours before the door was opened and a doctor wearing scrubs came out. He took off his reddish scrub cap and shoved it into his pocket. “Relatives of Clarabelle Summers?” he addressed everyone in the waiting room. He seemed to be taken aback when literally everyone stood and approached him.

“I’m her oldest brother,” said Thornton. He had his hand holding his wife’s hand. “How’s she?”

The doctor remained silence for a moment and the air in that waiting room felt thicker than it normally would. Everyone was waiting in anticipation and drenched in nervousness.

“She had a few broken ribs and one of them actually punctured her left lung in which caused her to bleed internally.” Everyone’s face was as white as the walls of the hospital’s waiting room as they awaited for the doctor to continue. “But don’t worry, we managed to allocate the bleeder and gave her the transfusion for all the blood she lost. She’s doing well,” said the doctor at last, breaking the silence and finally restoring everyone’s breath at that. “She is in the recovery room at the moment and we are monitoring her closely. After an hour or so, if everything’s good, she will be taken to her room.” He looked around with a frown and narrowed eyes as if he was searching for someone and when he found what he was looking for, his friend slowly disappeared. “Nurse Sonata will let you know when Clarabelle’s being transferred to her room. Nurse Sonata will also explain visiting hours and other necessary treatments that Clarabelle will have to go through,” he concluded with a sharp nod. “Are there any questions?”

After the doctor blurted out that one question, he probably regretted it the next second because the Summers siblings bombarded him with numerous queries about their little sister.

“Are there any permanent damage?”

“How long will it take for her to recover?”

“Has the critical time passed?”

“Could she breathe normally after what happened with her lung?”

“Will she need any more blood?”

“When will she regain consciousness?”

“Are there any activities that she isn’t allowed to do?”

“Will she be alright?”

Despite being overwhelmed, the doctor managed to answer each question with clarity and provided a thorough explanation that satisfied everyone.

“We are monitoring her every hour to see her progress. I can’t promise you anything except that we are doing our best to make sure that your sister will recover fully and speedily,” he finally answered the last question. A polite smile was still unwaveringly attached on his face. “Is there anything else you’d like to know for now?”

Everyone shook their heads, some of them thanked the doctor. Right when the doctor was about to leave, there was one recognizable female voice with a faint British accent saying, “Which one of you who’s brilliant enough to think that you can get away with not telling me?”

“Shite,” cursed Draven underneath his breath.

All Summers siblings turned around. Guilt was evident in their faces.

Tiffany Summers folded her arms in front of her cashmere coat. “Well?”

* * * * * * *

Author Note: Do you think Piers still have feelings for Aimee Sonata? Love or hatred? Will you be a fan if he still fancies Aimee, or should we matchmake him with a different woman? Please let this author know by commenting in this chapter and if you are kind enough, please write a review for this book! Grazie Mille!