Chapter Thirty-Nine

Olivia picked up a croissant, cut it in half, and started spreading strawberry jam on it. As she was about to take a bite, she heard a soft knock on the door. Annoyed that she couldn’t enjoy this guilty pleasure, she put the food back on her plate and walked to the door.

“Who is it?” she asked out of habit.

“It’s Tom, Miss Kensington. Mr. Kim’s driver.”

Olivia opened the door quickly, and before she had the chance to ask Tom why he was interrupting her breakfast, he said, “Mr. Kim asked me to take you back to the city immediately.”

Olivia took a step to the side to let him into the room. Closing the door behind him, she asked, “Why so soon? What happened?”

“Mrs. Kim had an accident, and she was taken to hospital.”

Olivia stared at Tom in shock. “Accident? Is she all right?”

Tom shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He seemed uncomfortable standing in the middle of Olivia’s room. “Er, I’m sorry, Miss Kensington. I don’t really know much. Mr. Kim is heading to the hospital as we speak, and he just told me to inform you and take you back to pick up your brother.”

“Jude…” Olivia whispered. Fear crept up inside her as images of all types of accidents popped in her head. “Is he… Is he all right? Did something happen to him too?”

Tom shook his head. “Don’t worry. He is fine.”

Olivia took a deep breath and closed her eyes momentarily in relief. She walked back to the table and poured herself a glass of water. “Give me a moment,” she told Tom as she sat on the chair. She slowly drank her water until she was sure she was calm once again, and the palpitations had stopped.

Tom checked his watch. “We should get going. Do you need me to help you pack?”

Olivia was about to ask why he thought she would let a stranger near her things, but then it dawned on her that Tom was probably following Owen’s directions. Instead, she said in a polite tone, “Why don’t you have a bite while I pack? It’s a pity to waste such good food.” She got up and headed to the bedroom. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

Tom crossed his hands behind his back. “That is not necessary, Miss. I’ll just wait for you here.”

Olivia nodded and closed the bedroom door behind her. She grabbed her suitcase and lay it on the bed. She opened the small closet and took her clothes off the hangers. She carefully folded her dress and tidily placed it in her suitcase. The rest of her clothes and things followed one by one. She looked around the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, then she went to the bathroom and collected her toiletries as well.

Sure that she had packed everything, she returned to the lounge and found Tom still standing by the table. “I’m ready,” she said.

Tom moved to her side and reached out to take hold of the suitcase’s handle. “Let me carry it for you.”

Olivia smiled. “Thank you.” She grabbed her handbag and the room’s keycard. “We can go then.”

***

Once inside the car, Olivia dialed Jude’s cellphone. “Jude, are you all right?” she asked the minute she heard her brother’s voice.

“I’m fine. Granny K is not, though.”

“What happened?” Olivia asked, worried.

“She was carrying some boxes down the stairs and fell. I called the hospital for her.”

“You did well, Jude. I’m coming back now. Don’t you worry about a thing. Are you at home alone now?”

“She wouldn’t let me stay behind. Paramedics took me with her,” Jude explained.

“Oh, stay there then. I’ll be there too as soon as possible.”

Once Jude hung up, Olivia turned to Tom. “Take me to the hospital please. Jude is there too. And Tom, please hurry.”

Tom nodded. “I’ll drive as fast as I can, Miss Kensington.”

***

Olivia stormed through the hospital’s entrance and headed to the reception area with Tom following right behind her. “Excuse me,” she said to the receptionist, “can you tell me where Mrs. Kim has been taken?”

“Are you a relative?” the woman behind the desk asked.

“I’m her… grandson’s fiancée,” she said after a moment of hesitation. “I believe my brother was brought in with her too… Jude Kensington?”

“Oh, right, that sweet little boy,” she said. “He was so attentive to the old woman.” She typed something on her keyboard, and then said, “She will be in room 121 once her X-rays are over. I think your brother is waiting for her there.”

“Where exactly is that?”

“Take the stairs at the end of the corridor and turn left. You can’t miss it.” She gave Olivia a reassuring smile.

Olivia mouthed a “thank you” and walked off.

She found Jude waiting outside Mrs. Kim’s room. She rushed to his side and hugged him tightly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jude shrugged. “I’m fine, Olivia. But Granny K is in a lot of pain. I tried to help her, but she had hurt her hip badly.”

“Is it broken?” Tom asked.

“I don’t know. I called the ambulance immediately and now she is in the examination room.”

Olivia squeezed her brother’s hand reassuringly. “You did great, Jude. Thanks to you, Soonja got here quickly. The doctors will take care of her now.”

Jude pointed to an entrance on their left. “She’s in there. Owen is in too.”

“Oh,” Olivia said. “Er, that’s good then. Soonja needs him now.”

“He said we should go back to our home once you get here. He will take care of everything.”

“That’s probably best. You need to rest as well. I’ll call him later and arrange for your things.”

“I can take care of that, Miss Kensington,” Tom said. “Let me drive you home first. I’ll bring Jude’s suitcase later in the day. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Olivia smiled. “Thank you, Tom. That’s very kind of you.”

She turned her attention back to her brother. “Should we wait for Owen?”

Jude shook his head. “No, he said we should just go. He’ll call later once they are done.”

Olivia looked to the direction of the examination room again. She wanted to walk through those doors and be with Owen. She knew he would be extremely worried now, and she hoped she could just comfort him. The same way she always did for Jude whenever he was in one of those rooms.

“Dr. Roberts called me today,” she said to her brother.

“What about?” Jude asked nonchalantly.

“Your surgery will be on Wednesday.”

Jude shrugged. “Cool. Time to be done with this.”

“Are you scared?” Olivia asked.

He shook his head. “Nah, I trust Dr. Roberts. I know he will take care of me.”

Olivia smiled at her brother. He was so brave, dealing with his condition in a way more mature than his years. She was impressed by his ability to trust others so unconditionally, especially when it was about such a serious matter.

Maybe she should follow his example. Maybe it was time for her to start trusting Owen as well and accept him fully back into her life, especially now that there was a baby on the way. There was a lot for her to think about and decisions to be made about her life with Owen, but for now, she needed to take care of her brother.

“Let’s go back home, shall we?”