52

52
“What the heck do you mean?” I wanted to check it out for myself but Tristan held my wrist, automatically stopping my movement. 

“What do you think you're doing? I don’t want you to be traumatized over nothing.” 

“Nothing? Charlotte is fucking dying, yet that is nothing?” Kye asked, hurt flashing in his eyes. 

“No. I mean, I’m certain she’s not going to die. There shouldn't be any need for her worry to increase over Charlotte when she's not going to die. Just calm down, Kye.” He pulled me away to Nikita. “Nikita, both of you should return home. It’s late. I’ll stay with Kye.”

“There’s no way I’m leaving until Charlotte is fine.” I protested.

“Hazel, don't be stubborn. You look tired. I’ll update you every second. Just go home. Please.” He held my shoulders. 

Though I didn't want to leave till Charlotte was awake, I had to admit that I was extremely tired. “Okay. You must call me when she wakes up.” I succumbed to his demand. 

“Yes.” He placed a kiss on my forehead and I left with Nikita after Mike arrived at the hospital to drive us home. 

I tried my best to stay awake, pacing around the house while staring at my phone, waiting for an update from Tristan, but there was nothing.

I decided to sit on the chair, still trying not to sleep. I didn't know when I drifted to sleep on the couch without any update on Charlotte. 



~ TRISTAN ~

I jerked awake, staring around in confusion at the chiming sound around me. It took a while till my brain processed that it was just my phone ringing and nothing to panic about. 

I lifted the phone and answered the call from Hazel.  “Hello.” My voice was gruff from my sleepy state. 

“Still no update? It's morning already.” 

I stared around, also realizing that I had slept on the hospital bench. Kye was still seated on the floor away from the door. 

“Hang on.” I rose to my feet and trudged to Kye. “Hey. Any update?” 

He shook his head, sighing. “I don’t even know what to do. I've Just been stuck here, watching different people walk in and out of the room. I'm scared to know her state now; I don't want to know anything anymore.”

“Don’t you have any bit of faith? What is wrong with both of you? You're scaring the hell out of me. Shake that fear off.” Hazel scolded over the phone. 

“I don’t think—”

Kye was interrupted by a doctor-looking man who asked me, “Are you Kye Gage?”

“No.”

“I am.” Kye quickly rose up. 

“Really? We’ve been trying to reach out to you or any of Mrs. Charlotte’s relatives. You weren’t around, so we had to try our best to revive her then carried out emergency brain surgery on her since she experienced brain bleeding.” 

“Brain bleeding?” Hazel asked, the surprise in her tone matching the surprise in mine and Kye's eyes. 

“Yes. She suffered brain bleeding.” He replied. 

“How is she now?” I asked. 

“Shwbwas almost at the point of death last night till this morning, but we were able to revive her and the brain surgery was a success.”

“Oh my gosh! That’s great news.” Kye lips were spread into a grin.

“However, she’s now in a coma.” he added, causing Kye's smile to slip off. “It doesn't seem to be anything serious. It seemed to have resulted from the brain surgery, but she’ll be under treatment till she regains consciousness. It was a tough process, but it ended well.” He smiled. 

“She’ll be fine, right?” Hazel asked. 

“Hopefully. We're monitoring her and she seems to be doing fine now.”

“How about my baby?” Kye asked like he just remembered that. 

“I thought the nurse informed you already. He has been transferred to the NICU and is also under treatment.”

“When will I be able to see either of them?” He asked. 

“You’ll be attended to shortly on the precautions to take before seeing them.”

“Okay.” He nodded and the Doctor took his leave. 

“So… that's good news, right?” Hazel asked. 

“I guess so. As long as she wakes up.” Kye replied, sighing. 

My phone began to ring. “Hazel, please hang up. I've got a call from Rob.”

“Okay.” She said then the call ended after a beep and I answered the call from Rob. 

“Hey, what?” I asked in a soft tone. 

“Good morning, Mr. Hendrix. It seems that you're late for work today. You said I should be earlier so we can prepare the paperworks of the meeting, but you're not here and neither is Mr. Gage. I tried to do it alone but I'm not the owner of the company.” 

“Uh… shit!” I had totally forgotten the meeting Kye and I had at work today. 

“I doubt if I'll be able to go to work today. I’ll cancel all my meetings for today.” Kye groaned. 

“No. You don't have to. What are we friends for? You’ve helped me out with my schedule so many times when I was absent. I’ll deal with work for you. You should be with your child and Charlotte.”

“Thank you, Tristan. Thank you for everything and for staying. I could’ve died from fear if you didn't stay back.” He pulled me into a hug. 

“It’s nothing.” 

“Okay. I should be expecting you soon. I guess I'll rearrange your schedule, Sir. Bye now.” Rob said then ended the call. 

I pulled away from Kye. “I’ll leave now. I have to get ready. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t.” he sniffled, picking up his blood-stained suit coat and handing it to me. “Deal with this.” He let out a tired chuckle.

 

“Oh my gosh. That must be so terrible.” Mom said from the other end of the line. 

“Yes. Their baby is now in the NICU and Charlotte is in a coma.” I explained, sipping from the hot coffee in my mug. 

“I’ll go to the hospital right now. It must be so hard for Kye right now.”

“Yes. That’s why I'm helping him out with his company.”

“Oh, that's great. I’m glad about your friendship. I’ll freshen up and leave for the hospital. Text the hospital address to me.”

Someone knocked on the door. “Come in?” I said to whoever it was. 

The door knob turned and a petite and totally unfamiliar staff shoved herself in, staring at her toes. “Good afternoon, Mr. Hendrix. Your wife is here to see you.” 

“Really? How could you delay my wife from seeing me?” I frowned. 

“I–I’m sorry. I’m new here. I didn't even know she was your wife until she stated it. I'll call her in now.” She fidgeted, turned around and dashed out of the room. 

“I was going to ask about Hazel. How is she doing?” Mom asked. 

“I think she’s better now.” 

“You think? I'll check up on her myself. I have to go now. Okay. Bye.” She hung up at the exact time the door knob turned and was pushed open. 

My smile dropped when Indy strolled in instead of Hazel. She had a smirk on her face as she walked in, dressed in a red dress that seemed like it was about to blow away from her body due to her bumpy stomach. It stopped just a few inches below her butt and had spaghetti straps with more than half of her breasts in view. She held a burgundy purse pressed to her side and her face was painted with makeup that made her look like a clown, especially the ridiculous red lipstick. 

“What the heck are you doing here?” I asked through gritted teeth. 

“What were you told? That your wife is here to see you? Were you expecting to see Hazel?” She snorted, walking to me while swaying her hips. “The earlier you accept the fact that I’m your wife, the better it’ll be for all of us.” She stopped in front of us. 

“Indy. Get out. Now.” I clenched my fist. 

“Get out?” She sat on the mahogany table in front of me, shaking her head. “No sweetheart. We’ve got a business that'll never finish. A business to remain together forever.” She crossed her leg over the other, showing off her thighs and buttcheeks. 

“You’re being ridiculous. I think you need serious mental attention. What is your problem?”

“I know I need mental attention, and that mental asylum I need is you. You're the only cure to my madness, baby.” She bit her lower lip, tracing her hand along my jawline.

“Stop it!” I slapped my phone to the table and jerked upwards. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” She snickered. “You wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself. I'm not leaving until we talk things out. I need you back in my life.” 

“How can you be so unreasonable? You expect me to accept you back with open arms after betraying me so many times?”

“You were still going to get married to me even after I betrayed you.” She shrugged and rose to her feet too. 

“Yes, and we were only doing that for the sake of our family.”

“That’s what you thought. I wasn't getting married to you for the sake of our family. I was getting married to you because I loved you, I still do, and I always will.”

“That changes nothing. The only emotion I have for you is hatred, complete hatred.” 

“That can change.” She grabbed my collar, smoothening her hand down my shoulder. 

I slapped her hand away, my face flushed red in aggravation that she was touching me. “Leave now. Speaking to you makes me feel like I’m betraying Hazel.” I grabbed my phone to call the security. 

“Hazel? You mean Hazel? The person I let marry my groom? The person you knew absolutely nothing about? The person whose relationship with you is based on a bet?”

“Indy!” I barked. 

“Does that piss you off? You seem to have forgotten that your love is only based on our bet? How do you think Hazel would feel when she finds out that she was nothing but a fucking bet?” She smirked. 

“You stupid woman. That was in the past. Don’t try to mess things up between us. You'll regret ever meeting me if you dare to do anything stupid.”

“I can't possibly mess up a relationship that’s already a mess— a relationship where the wife doesn't even trust you enough to tell you her deepest darkest secrets.” Her smirk became more sinister, her demonic gaze pissing me off further. 

“Indy, get the fuck out of here now before I lose control.” My hands balled into fists, I could almost feel my fingernails excavating into my skin. 

“No sweetheart. I can’t leave like this. We have to settle this and be together again.” She pouted, curling her arms around my neck. 

My anger got the better of me and I pushed her away. The force at which I pulled her made her twirl and almost fall on her stomach but I was quick to hold her back, remembering she was pregnant. 

She stared at me then burst into laughter. “So you care about me and my baby after all.” She let out a maniacal laughter.

“Where is Ian? The dude you eloped with, right? Where is he? What are you back into our lives? Why do you insist on being bitchy? Can't your husband at least control your madness?” I let go of her, making her fall backwards out of control till she regained her balance and stood up straight. 

“My husband? You have more right to be called my husband, really. He who owns the baby has more right to the child and mother, right?” I lifted a confused brow at her. “Do you have a bad memory or something? You’re the father of this fucking child in my belly, not Ian, you are.”