He was woken up from his sleep and he let out a grunt of protest. Marcel was so tired, his muscles ached and he wished that he wouldn’t wake for at least a week. He needed sleep.
Seeing his condition, Arianna would have let him be, but she made him a promise and she intended to keep to it. Sure, the sleep would benefit him, but knowing Marcel, he would be mad at her when he woke. Hence she did everything that she could to wake him up.
“Victor is out of surgery,” She leaned over and whispered into his ear and that name alone was enough for Marcel’s eyes to pop open.
He sat up with lightning speed and Arianna had to put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from quickly getting up to his feet.
His cousin was alive.
Victor did not die.
One could not imagine how relieved Marcel was by the news. Had he been a female, he would be shedding tears of joy by now, instead, he took Arianna into his arms and hugged her tight before placing a loving kiss on her forehead. Had it not been for her and her mother’s help, Victor would be long dead. His condition was that dire.
Together, the both of them made it to the floor where Victor was wheeled into only to meet Natalie and a few doctors standing at the entrance and speaking. The instance her mother noticed them, she dismissed the doctors and they walked over to her.
.....
“Congratulations, your cousin is strong and has passed the critical stage. However, we would still have to watch over him and see how he progresses.”
“I can see him, right?” Marcel couldn’t wait to step into the room.
“I’m afraid not,” Natalie suddenly said and one should see the way Marcel’s face fell. Even Arianna was uncomfortable by the look and asked her mother,
“What do you mean by that?”
Marcel already waited a long time to make sure that his cousin was okay and now he couldn’t see him. Arianna knew deep down that Marcel was not going to accept that shit.
“It’s hospital policy for his case and limited to just one visit for tonight,” Natalie explained to her.
“Oh.” Arianna completely forgot about her. If there was another person more anxious about Victor’s situation, it was Mimi. She glanced up at Marcel a little concerned, wondering if he was going to go against her mother’s words and force his way in. Arianna was worried about that even if his reason for doing so was pretty justifiable.
“But then….” Natalie added and Arianna looked at her mother with high expectations. ‘Please consider’, she prayed inwardly.
“Since I’m the owner of the hospital, I guess I can make one exception,” Natalie sighed, taking off her hair met.
However, she was slightly stunned when Arianna suddenly squealed and grabbed her, lifting her a few meters off the ground and she screamed. She had not seen that coming. It completely took her unaware.
Natalie placed her hand on her pounding chest when Arianna finally put her down, a bit white in the face while her daughter laughed in excitement.
Seeing that the gesture was from her heart, Natalie found herself laughing as well. She was touched by the warm gesture, although a little heads-up might be nice the next time. She was not as young as she used to be.
“Thank you!” Marcel bowed his head in appreciation.
“Please get up,” Natalie told him, “It was nothing. Moreover, it’s my duty as a doctor to save lives, it’s an oath I took when I started down this path. There was no way that I could have done nothing, enemy or not.”
Who was she kidding? Arianna knew deep down that if that had been Richardo in Victor’s situation and it was up to her mother to revive him that she would not do so. Her mother already told her, everything she does was for her. Natalie just doesn’t want to admit that Marcel has gained a special place in her heart. Well, Arianna would let her be until her mother’s unable to deny it anymore.
The both of them followed a bit of medical procedure like covering their hair and wearing face masks before they were let into the room. Once inside the room, they saw Mimi by Victor’s bedside. She covered his hand in her palm and lifted it to her face and kissed it at the moment they entered.
Mimi greeted them with silence as if saying, come have a look yourself. Her eyes were red and puffy even though she had stopped crying. If Victor woke and saw her in this condition, he would surely die from a heart attack.
On Marcel’s part, the look on his face was unreadable as he took in his cousin’s appearance. Victor was unconscious with many machines attached to his body.
Marcel looked at her questioningly, “Is he in a coma?”
“I-I don’t think so,” Arianna answered unsure, “It must be all the drugs. He should wake when it’s out of his system.”
With that answer, they went both to staring at Victor until Arianna broke the silence by saying, “I think the both of you should go have a rest, I’ll take care of Victor for tonight.”
“No!” Marcel and Mimi said stubbornly at the same time and Arianna pressed her lips into a thin line.
She faced Marcel, “My mother already told you only one person can stay over. Also, do you want to break down before Victor wakes? You fucking need to rest.”
And to Mimi, she told her, “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Do you want to scare Victor when he wakes? It’s three in the morning, you can come to see him in the morning, looking better.”
Although there were a few arguments, Arianna might as well take up the profession as a lawyer because she won the debate. Marcel and Mimi left and she looked after Victor.