Failed to protect her
Luca’s POV
“She seemed to have been poisoned.”
My heart skipped a beat as I heard his words..
“What?” I asked in shock.
Doctor C nodded; he seemed surprised himself, but he had to stick to his professionalism. He kept on speaking while looking at a file in front of him. “Her stomach has been severely damaged, and so is part of her small intestine. We have to operate quickly...”
Poisoned.
The word settled slowly, like my brain refused to accept it all at once.
How was she poisoned?
Who would dare do something so stupid? So rash? Was this person courting death?
A thought suddenly came to my head and I looked up, interrupting the doctor. “What about…" I paused, a silent fear settling in my body. "...what about the baby?”
I didn’t realize my hands were shaking until I clenched them into fists.
Up until a few days ago, I didn't realize that Aria was pregnant. But now that I knew, how could I not care about the little being too? My child.
The old doctor let out a small sigh, then he shook his head. “Presently, we are unsure of the baby’s status, but our priority in cases like this is to treat the mother first, unless Mr. Moretti had something else in mind...” his words trailed.
“No.” My answer was immediate. “Treat Aria. Do what you must, but she has to be fine.”
There was no hesitation in my voice. No discussion.
I loved the child already despite only finding out his existence, but Aria... Aria was everything to me. I couldn't lose her... Not because of my child.
She had to be fine.
“Yes, sir." The old doctor nodded. "We would do everything we can.”
After saying that, he turned away, heading back to the ICU where Aria lay.
I couldn't go back there. I couldn't bear to see her face.
She was lying on a hospital bed again because of me. I wasn't able to protect her... Hell, I was the one who hurt her the most.
How could this happen now?
I stood still at the same position for a while, just staring into space before leaving the hospital... But not without instructing the doctor to call me first if there was any news about her.
I wasn't able to protect her... But I could at least find the fucker who had the guts to do this to her and make the person pay.
...
“Fuck! Fuck!! Fuck!!!" I yelled as soon as I arrived at the mansion. I had been withholding my anger right from the car.
My fist came down hard on the desk. Pain shot through my knuckles, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t enough.
Poison.
Poison?!
Of all the ways the person could pick to target Aria, they picked poison?
Which meant they weren't just targeting her, it was also aimed at the unborn baby as well.
This wasn’t something you slipped by accident. This wasn’t carelessness. Someone planned this.
But not many people knew about the unborn child... Even Viola wasn't aware of it... Right?
I walked fast until I arrived at my study. I needed a drink.
Fuck the doctor's orders... I was dying soon anyways. And there was no way Aria was dying before me.
I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured myself a full glass, and then drank it up in a single gulp.
Marcus followed me to the study but said nothing.
I could tell he had a lot to say to me... He wanted to stop me, but he didn't.
Good.
This time, I wasn't listening to anyone anymore.
“Gather all the kitchen staff immediately,” I ordered him after drinking a few more glasses. “Someone needs to explain where the fuck poison came from and how it got to Aria's food.”
“Yes, boss.” Marcus nodded.
He was about to leave, but then I called him back, a picture of the half bowl of soup Aria was crying next to appeared in my head.
That soup...
I turned towards him, my eyes deathly. "Find out who made soup for Aria."
This couldn't have been the work of the kitchen staff. They were at least a little bit sensible, or rather dumb.
They wouldn't act so foolishly on their own.
This...
Someone must have motivated the person to do it... And I had to find that out.
I raised my gaze to Marcus again. "Find out who the fuck did this to Aria," I instructed. But somehow I felt like I wasn't supposed to say it.
I noticed his jaw, clenched so tightly it looked painful. He’d been like that since we arrived back at the mansion.
Good.
That meant he was angry too.
I had forgotten that he was in love with her too.
He probably wanted to kill whoever did this just as much as I did, so he didn’t waste any time. The moment I assigned him, he turned and left the study.
The second I heard the sound of the door being shut, it was like something snapped in my mind.
"Argh!!" I swept everything off the desk in one violent motion.
The sound of things breaking filled the room, but it still wasn’t loud enough.
I failed to protect her.
Again.
How was this even possible?
I left for six weeks... Nothing of this sort happened, but just after I returned with Viola a few days earlier... She was already in a hospital bed, fighting for her life.
Who the fuck had the guts to mess with Aria?
Who thought they could touch her and live long enough to regret it?
Noel?
No.