Lea's POV
***let me continue the narration***That was the way Jake and Phil met for the first time. There was no way for them to know that they were very intricately connected. In fact, their connection was biological.Phill was Jake's older brother, and Jake was one of his younger siblings. They had a little baby sister, who was at this time a full-fledged teenager. Her name was Mercy.Well, you must be confused because I did tell you guys that Jake's mother died in childbirth and his father was a drunk head. That was, in fact, what we knew. That was what we were told as neighbors. In fact, that was the lie that Jake lived with for most of his life.The truth was that he was the middle child of the rich heiress Elizabeth Rodgers. She had taken in a very wimpy man for her husband because she loved bossing around.She was a very rich and arrogant whore, if I were to be precise. She slept around with other men even after marrying the man of her own choice. No matter how wimpy a guy was, he did have some breaking points.He lost it during his wife's second pregnancy.He knew she had been sleeping around with other men, and he thought that the child she was carrying this time around wasn't his own blood.What a presumptuous b*stard! I think Jake's mom and dad definitely deserve each other. One was disloyal and arrogant, but the other was so cowardly that he was scheming against his own unborn son.Mr. Cole, Jake's biological dad, had everything planned.He had arranged for a man with a pregnant wife who was willing to do anything for the sake of money. He made an arrangement with the guy. They got the man's wife admitted to the same hospital on the day Jake was supposed to be delivered.The nurses and the caretakers were paid in lump-sum amounts. All that they needed to do was deliver both babies together at the same time and then exchange them.And that was exactly what they did. The only thing that went south in their plan was the fact that the pregnant woman died.The father refused to take in the new-born child, but Mr. Cole insisted that everything went according to plan. He even paid the man double to take the child away and never show his face.Jake's fate could have been a lot worse than growing up with an abusive father figure. The drunken head could have thrown Jake away or, worse, killed him in his drunken state. It was a blessing from the heavens that Jake ended up being close to my aunt, who thought of him as her own child.On the other hand, the boy who was now living the life that my Jake ought to have lived was named Percy.He was very different from Phil and Mercy. Both externally and internally. He constantly lived the life of a compromised being, being ridiculed by his supposed father at every opportunity. His supposed mother wasn't very empathetic either. He lived in that household as if he were an outsider. The only one who understood him was his younger sister, Mercy.She was his only playmate, and she fought for his rights even when he himself flinched."Why are you always like this, Percy? Why do you let these maids bully you?"She would ask with tears in her eyes.The maids knew that their mistress didn't care much for her own children, so they found it amusing to tease them, Percy in particular, because he was very timid.They had even locked him up once in the attic, knowing full well that he was claustrophobic.It was Mercy who found him whimpering. She was hardly five years old at the moment, but she was thundering.Her yells had brought in the entire family, and when she narrated what had happened, the maids were handed over to the police and severely penalized.Over the years, the children had all grown beautifully.Phill was becoming a doctor, working as an intern at their own family hospital.Percy was a writer, and he spent most of his time alone in the hills.Mercy was auditioning as a model with a few agencies, and she was all set for her grand entry in the industry.We all know that Jake did not fail to make his own identity, despite the hardships that he had to face because of the misunderstandings between his own parents.As for me, I was still studying. I was doing my master's degree and working part time as the librarian in our local library.I loved books. I could have been submerged in them the whole day and wouldn't even notice. It was only Jake's presence that brought me back to reality. He was my reason for living. I loved him, even though I didn't know that I did. It was like a reflex.This love was so strong inside me that it consumed my entire being. There was no possibility that I could imagine life if he was not in it.In my dream, I saw something similar.I was running behind a train. The train was just about to leave the station. I could see Jake at the door, leaning out, calling me, and extending his hand. I ran faster and faster. I could feel my heart beating rapidly. I was feeling hot. Very hot, in fact. It was getting difficult to breathe, and I knew I was struggling.My hands and feet were slowly giving in as my palpitation intensified as I watched Jake leave.I wanted to scream; I wanted to shout, but I couldn't.It was at this point that I felt those shocks, right over my breast.Once, twice, and then the third time, I couldn't bear it anymore, and I had to open my eyes."Thank goodness you are back, Lea. We thought we had lost you."Those were the words that greeted me as I came back to the world of the living. A very handsome face met my eyes with a warm smile. A face that resembled my Jake in more than one way, and so did his voice.Lea's POV***continuation of the narrative from the past***I had no idea how long I had been out. I was a little baffled, being surrounded by so many people and lying on a hospital bed. But it gradually dawned on me the level of my stupidity.I was so embarrassed that I didn't even clarify when the nurses told me that my handsome boyfriend had brought me in.After a few minutes, I could hear a scuffle outside. It turned out to be Jake. He was having a heated argument with the doctors and the nurses about being sent away last night. Apparently, he was so exhausted that he had overslept and missed the call from the hospital when they were taking me to the operation theater when I was going into cardiac arrest. Luckily, they were able to revive me just in time, but Jake still needed some reassurance. He was so overwhelmed by everything that I put him through, from the moment I landed, that I was feeling guilty.I knew how overworked he was. How could I put him through so much more with
Author's POV***completing Lea's last bit of narration before she takes over her story***Jake was the most clueless guy out there. He had no idea what was going on in a girl's mind, though he was ready to fight the world for her sake.He wasn't very keen on show business. It was Lea's encouragement that pushed him on. When they went riding their bicycles up on the mountain tracks, Lea would often stare at the valley spread in front and wonder aloud how wonderful it must be to be a bird."Why would you want to be a bird? They are so fragile and easy to smash. Like you! Jake would shove her and joke, You should want to be something like an elephant or a lion."Lea would watch him and smile slightly.She would toss him the apple that she was carrying, and as he munched on it, she would say,"I don't need to be a lion or an elephant, silly. You will always be there with me. Protecting me. I just want to be a bird that can roam freely. I want to travel the world without any boundaries. I
***Back to the present ***Phill was walking down the corridor, doing his usual rounds when he got mistakenly shoved by the ward boys, because they were in a hurry. There was a new arrival at the emergency ward. It was an accident case and the patient was gravely injured. " We are so sorry Dr. Rodgers..."one of them turned around, trying to apologize while they ran with the stretcher. " Go ahead. Concentrate on your job, " Phill reprimanded him but followed it with a thumbs up and a smile. He was going for a short coffee break so he took the right. He came back walking with his favorite Espresso in one hand and holding a file in the other. But as soon as his eyes fell on the patient that was being rushed in, his coffee cup went flying and so did his file. " Lea... Oh my goodness... Lea.... what happened? Why do we keep meeting like this... "He ran along with the rest of them as the others watched him closely but none of them dared to utter a single word. Phill kept stealing a
Jake's POV***lament***I couldn't tell reality and haze apart. Ever since she left, my life wasn't mine anymore.I was just living like I was being told. " Jake, the team head wants to talk. Take it in a good sense... It's nothing severe but it is important."My manager thumped me twice in the back before I was pushed inside the board room. The first and last time I was in there was when I had signed my contract. I was too nervous back then. It's been months since then. Seemed like nothing changed. My hands were as sweaty as it was on the first day. I still remember that day. The day was etched in my memory, like a bullet. The conference room was dimly lit as I took my seat at the head of the sleek, modern ebony table. Mr. Reynolds, the big shot in charge of our entertainment group,AandC, had his laser-focused gaze locked on me from across the table. The whole setup sent chills down my spine, and I couldn't help but feel the high stakes of the meeting.I was just an ignorant boy
Jake's POVI parked the car beside his little cottage. I sat on the armchair that was worthy of being an item on display in the museum. The scent of tea brewing in that kettle, mixed with the scent of soil and the dung, filled my nostril with a strange blend of repulsive temptation. If that even makes any sense. " Here you go dear boy! " As we sipped on that perfectly handmade porcelain crockery he smiled at me as my eyes wandered around the place. There was wide stretched pasture with the hint of another house anywhere near. " You stay alone here? " I asked. " Now? Yes... but was not always like this. " His sipped as he said. " You have a family? Do you own all these lands? "I know I was bombarding him with unwanted questions. He had been too kind to me already without having to deal with all that interrogation. But I was being selfish. Anything to keep my kind busy for the moment. I didn't want to think how I would face Lea. The old man smiled. " Yes, I do. Like all human.
Phill's POVI knew I had a special spot for Lea from the first day that we met. It was beyond the relationship of a doctor and patient. I was not the type to swoon over random women but Lea felt different. It felt like I knew her, perhaps from another life, another dream. Don't know exactly what this feeling was. But it was building up, slowly. Fate, you could blame it all on fate. She kept bumping into me now and then, and every time she looked miserable. I hated that. I hated seeing her in pain. And it always turned out it had something to do with that jacka*s boyfriend that she had. Though she never admitted that he was her boyfriend. They seemed more like an old married couple without the physical part of the relationship, or so I thought. Now she was again in front of me and I was staring at the images being shoved in my face. A live foetus in her womb. She was pregnant with her bones broken, and could perhaps remain in the icu for a couple of days. It definitely belonged to
Phill sat in Lea's cabin. " She is in her first trimester but we will do a detailed ultrasound later when she regains consciousness." He had personally talked with the gynecologist assigned to her. Her phone was in his hand. He had taken it from the concerned department which had the rest of whatever was found on her body. The phone was still switched off. Phill looked at his own reflection, repeatedly on the screen before finally making his mind up and turning the phone on. He had to immediately turn the volume off because her phone's speaker began blasting the room with constant, incoming notifications. " As expected! " Phill retorted. " This was a bad idea. " He murmured after looking at Jake's messages -" LEA WHERE ARE YOU? "" LEA CALL ME BACK? "" LEA I CAN EXPLAIN. "" LEA I AM SORRY, COME BACK. "Phill couldn't read till the end of it. He switched the phone off and slid it inside his pocket. Just then he noticed Lea's fingers moving. He ran up beside her, checking if all
Phill's POV" Doctor Rodgers? " The police extended his hand to shake my hand as soon as I entered. " How's everything at home, son? How is your mother? "It was none other than the superintendent of the police and behind him, stood the loser actor. " All good! " I kept it as brief as I could. My mother's acquaintances always irritated me. " I believe, you might already know the reason for my visit? " He asked. " I am sorry but I don't. " I wasn't going to give Lea away so easily this time. I mean how could I, after seeing the state she was in, because of that irresponsible rockstar. " Umm, well. You happen to be treating this young man's girlfriend I presume? " He turned towards Jake but the loser looked around at the other people who were there standing in the room. After which, to my utter surprise, he uttered, " Friend, not girlfriend. "I wanted to smack his face and paint that pretty face of his with some red. After getting her pregnant, ( I had no doubt in my mind that