Chapter 72 Lily

Chapter 72 Lily


Three days passed like a nightmare. Aysel sat at the edge of the bed, her bare dangling over the floor. Her hands rested flat against her stomach.

Mina knelt on the floor in front of her, sliding socks into Aysel's feet. She sniffled loudly, a tear falling onto Aysel's knee. Mina hadn’t left the hospital room for three days. She had slept on the uncomfortable plastic chair, holding Aysel's trembling hand each time she started crying again

"We are going home now, Aysel," Mina whispered, her voice cracking. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "The doctor signed the papers, you don’t have to stay in this place anymore."

"My belly is so flat, Mina," Aysel managed to say, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hands gripped her shirt, twisting it tightly. "I can’t feel the tiny flutters anymore, my baby is really gone."

Mina wrapped her arms around Aysel's waist, burying her face in Aysel's lap.

Ruan stood by the closed door, leaning against the wall. He watched them cry together, his hands were clenched into tight fists inside his pockets. Cole approached him quietly, holding his tablet and looking at Ruan with concern.

"Boss, the security team is waiting outside your mother's hiding place," Cole whispered so the girls wouldn’t hear him. "Just say the word, Ruan. We can drag Seraphina out of her safe house right now and make her pay."

"No," Ruan murmured. He shook his head, his eyes dull and cold. "Call the men off, Cole, tell them to leave her alone for now."

"Leave her alone?" Cole gasped quietly, wide-eyed. "But she killed your baby, Ruan!"

"I know exactly what she did," Ruan hissed through his teeth, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "But I am not leaving my wife to hunt down a crazy woman today. I will deal with my mother later. I will decide how to make her suffer when Aysel is safe at home. Right now, I only care about taking my family home."

Ruan walked away from Cole and approached the bed. He dropped to his knees next to Mina and wrapped his arms around both of them, resting his chin on Aysel's shoulder.

"The car is waiting downstairs, my love," Ruan murmured. He kissed Aysel's cheek and picked up her bag. "Let’s get you out of this terrible place. We’re going back to the island."

"I don’t want to go outside, Ruan," Aysel cried softly, hiding her face against his neck. "The reporters will scream at us, they will ask about the hotel. They might discover I lost my baby."

"Nobody is going to scream at you, Aysel," Kai said as he walked into the room, holding two cups of hot coffee. He looked tired. "The hotel mess is over, so you don’t have to worry about the press."

Aysel lifted her head, sniffling. She looked at Kai with confused eyes.

"The police caught the real culprit late last night," Kai explained, handing a coffee cup to Mina and rubbing her back gently. "He confessed everything and he told the cops Arthur paid him a large sum to do it. The news stations cleared Ruan’s name, and the hotel is safe again."

"And Arthur?" Aysel whispered, her voice shaking slightly, feeling anger mix with her sadness.

"Arthur and Julian are in hospital beds in the city," Ruan said, a wicked smile creeping onto his lips. "And ten police officers are standing outside their doors."

"The moment the doctors fix their wounds, the cops are throwing them into prison," Kai nodded, sipping his black coffee. "They will never hurt anyone again, Aysel. They will rot in that cell for the rest of their lives."

Aysel let out a long, shaky breath. She leaned against Ruan's chest, letting him effortlessly pick her up into his arms as he carried her out of the hospital room.

They drove back to the island in silence. The car moved smoothly over the bridge, and the gates opened wide to let them in.

Ruan carried Aysel through the doors and stepped inside. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Aysel stopped walking.

She looked at the windows, at the kitchen and at the hallway leading to the rooms, her chest heaved up and down rapidly.

"Aysel, breathe for me," Ruan said gently, dropping the bag onto the floor and holding her shaking shoulders. "Look right at me, baby, you are safe here."

"It feels so empty, Ruan," Aysel sobbed, her knees buckling. Ruan caught her fast before she fell. "Now the house is too quiet. I hate it!"

"I know, baby. I know it hurts so much," Ruan cried with her. He sat down on the floor, pulling her onto his lap and rocking her back and forth. He no longer hid his own tears, letting his heart break open.

Mina stood in the doorway, leaning against Kai's side. She hid her crying face against his hoodie while Kai wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders,

"I can’t do this, Ruan," Aysel cried. She gripped his shirt, her voice breaking into a wail. "I want my baby back. Please just give him back to me. Please fix it!"

Ruan held her tighter, pressing his face into her hair. No amount of money or power could ever fix the deep hurt in their hearts. He felt completely helpless because he could not bring their child back.

As Ruan held Aysel on the floor, he looked over her shoulder at the table in the corner of the room. His face, still tear-streaked, slowly hardened.

Sitting on the table, where no one had been for three days, was a fresh white lily tied with a silver ribbon.