Chapter 27: Internal Crisis

Laura's POV:

Not quite long after, Ria's soft snores and even breathing filled the ward. I laid her back on the bed, propping her head against the pillow— I watched as she slept peacefully.

We had the same nose shape. The same long pointed nose and high cheekbones. But her face was shaped like his, her mouth…

She looked more like him.

I sighed, a soft and eerie kind and looked away.

Jaxon Fallon had no part in my daughter's life. He was forbidden to leave behind any of his features.

He wasn't allowed. He couldn't!

“Ria is growing so quickly.” Gwen began rubbing her hands gently, her green eyes locked on her face.

Was she watching her like I was?

Couldn't be.

I looked at Gwen. Her eyes held some kind of sadness that felt different from her usual warmth. Our eyes met as I looked at her.

“She looks like him.” She sputtered.

What?

My eyes dimmed, a strong deafening silence filled the entire ward, the kind of silence that stung the ear. The kind you get after a loud explosion. It was seeping through me. Through my veins and enveloping my whole being.

“No.. no.” I stuttered out. “You're mistaken.”

Ria looked nothing like that monster.

My tune was harsher than I intended it to be. Gwen noticed, she was eyeing me strangely as if weighing me. Her green eyes had been shred of all warmth, it was just heavy and sad. She let out a heavy sigh.

“You know the truth, Laura. You can't always hide the truth.”

Yes, but this truth is best hidden. Ria was nothing like Jaxon. Jaxon had no part in my kids life.

I swallowed hard, my heart felt heavy but I wasn't going to admit to any thing.

“Ria is mine.” I said, gripping her small hands possessively. “Mine.”

My sweat, pain and blood.

My world and everything.

“Yes. That loser definitely can't have Ria.” Gwen asserted, standing up from the bed.

The door clicked in the distance, piercing through the mist of clouded emotions that had covered the whole ward.

Our eyes shot to the door simultaneously.

A familiar face draped in a white jacket stared back at us.

My eyes widened, my earlier conflicted emotions replaced with surprise as I saw who it was.

What was he doing here?

“Williams.” The name spluttered out of my mouth in a half scream.

His warm brown eyes was lit up in equal surprise. We stared at each other like that for a split second before his face broke into a wide grin.

“Hi Ms. Laura or is it Vixen?” He said as he approached us.

I was still eyeing him suspiciously. Was he stalking me?

I was very much sure he was.

“What are you doing here?” I asked firmly, dismissing his smile and fixed him a sharp piercing gaze.

He looked a little flushed up under my hard gaze. He patted at a name tag on his chest.

“I'm a Doctor, See.”

My eyes shot to the tag as he drew closer. Doctor Williams.

Shit!

So he was a Doctor all along, and here I was thinking he was stalking me.

My cheek reddened from embarrassment, I lowered my head and turned my back to him. Facing my daughter.

“So, uh uhm.” I cleared my throat which seemed suddenly very dry.

“What brought you here Dr. Williams?” I asked ackwardly. He walked briskly to the other side of the bed.

“Hi.” He nodded at Gwen, smiling. Then he reached for Ria's hands, taking it in his. Before turning to answer me.

“I came to check on my patient. Are you her aunt or a family member?” He asked, quirking a brow at me. He looked boyish despite his huge imposing build.

I nodded to his question.

His face broke into a smile, revealing well sculpted dimples on his cheeks.

I swallowed hard, still feeling ackward from the way I reacted earlier on.

“I'm her mother.” I announced.

His eyes widened in surprise, his gaze lingered on my face for a while. Maybe to confirm if I was joking or not. But I wasn't, he seemed to have seen that too.

He gave a soft “oh.”

Then he began checking her pulse. His other hand shot to her eyes a minute later, He pried open the lid of her eye,and shone a touch in to the whites of her eyes.

I watched him, curiously.

“Don't worry, she's fine.” He assured me on seeing my anxious look. “It's just standard procedure.”

“Okay.” I gulped.

He placed the end of a thermometer on her chest and listened into the earpiece for a while, His eyes distant. Then he nodded at me. Took back the equipment.

“She's fine now.”

“Can I take her home now?” I asked eagerly, sitting back on the bed with Ria.

“Of course.” He replied. “Just make sure to avoid giving her food containing eggs.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Williams.”

He beamed. There was something sweet and peculiar about him as he just stood stock still in his white jacket, huge and tall. He looked nothing like a Doctor and that made him adorably ackward.

“I'll see you around then.” He flashed me his signature grin.

“Sure.” I smiled back, watching his figure retreat out of the ward.

“Uhm. Uhm.” Gwen coughed loudly, cutting off my train ackward thoughts. I tore my gaze from the door. I reached out and smoothed Ria's hair.

“UHM.” Gwen coughed more louder than before.

“What do you want to say?” I lifted my head to meet her face. She was smiling mischievously, her green eyes shone with a naughty gleam. That made me suspicious.

She winked and sank back into the bed beside Ria, who was stirring from her sleep.

I was still eyeing Gwen. What was she up to?

“Let's get our baby home already, BFF!” She called.

I heaved a sigh, throwing my suspicions outside and reached for Ria's hands.

Time to go home, baby!

“Who could have thought he'll be there?” I said, sinking into the couch.

Gwen was groping in the fridge for anything to wet her throat. Ria was sitted at the foot of the couch. Her hands constantly dipped into the bowl of popcorn on the floor and disappeared into her mouth everytime. She rested the royal blue throw pillow on her lap, while her two eyes were glued to the TV screen.

She was barely breathing as she watched in determined concentration.

“I saw the way you two were staring at each other.” Gwen said sprawling on the couch beside me.

“What?” My face flushed. Trust Gwen to pick on the odd and bizarre facts.

She clung to her glass of orange juice and smirked at me.

“I was just shocked to see him. That's all.” I defended. I knew just what she was driving at. Last time I saw Williams, she almost matchmade us together.

She snorted and drained a notable amount from her glass. Before staring back at me. That mischievous look was back again.

“What do you think?” I shot at her.

“I think you guys are a good fit.”

My eyes widened in disbelief.

Holy crap!

“How could you just say that.” I snapped, straightening in my seat. The chicken pie I had taken earlier on lurched in my tummy.

“I barely even know him, apart from running into each other on one or two occasions. We're total strangers.”

“There you are.” Gwen said raising her glasses.

I couldn't believe we were arguing about this again.

“You guys keep running into each other. Even a blind man can tell that's no coincidence there. That's fate!” She spat.

“What fate?” I tasted the word against my lips.

Does running into a peculiar strangers now count as fate these days?