Chapter 3 - Help
1569 Words
Lucas realized he might be too hard on the woman he just met. He didn’t even face him any chance to explain herself when he carried her back to the bed. Lucas was worried that the woman might hurt herself again.
“Eric, get us something to eat.”
Eric nodded as he excused himself and went outside. Eric knew his employer wanted to talk with the woman. Lucas fixed his jacket before facing Natasha.
"Who are you?"
Natasha looked at the man's stern face, a little bewildered.
"Please don’t tell me that you’re here to collect the debt my family owes.”
Listening to Natasha’s words, Lucas smirked at her before he nodded his head.
“You got that right.”
Natasha was lost for words to say. She doesn’t know if she possessed a thing for summoning lousy luck. She had never thought that the first thing she had to meet was the debt collector of all people.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I have no money. I couldn’t even afford a taxi, let alone pay my family’s debt. I’m in deep shit.”
Natasha sat on the hospital bed, not putting up a fight anymore. Lucas watched as Natasha seemed to be in deep thought. Natasha couldn’t help but sigh at her current situation. Her father is gone, and her mother decides to run away with a man she had an affair with.
She has never felt the love from her family. Her father was busy, and her mother thought it was more critical for her to spend time with her friends rather than taking care of her daughter. So Natasha had always been alone. The only time she felt like she needed it was when she was with Richard.
Regardless, she still has a home to return to, and the only time she looks forward to is when they sit together at Christmas dinner. But now, everything has changed. There is no home to return to, and she is alone without anyone to depend on.
But now, in an instant, her family fell apart, and she lost everything. She no longer had a home or any family in this world. The more Natasha thought about it, the more upset she became. Her face slowly turned gloomy, and her eyes began to redden.
Seeing her emotional state, Lucas couldn't help but furrow his brows. Did he go too far with his words? Lucas sighed before feeling a bit guilty for what he had said.
“Are you crying?”
Natasha slowly nodded her head. Tears started rolling down her cheek as Lucas looked around for something to wipe it with. He took a handkerchief and handed it to her while saying a few words of comfort.
Lucas tried to console her to stop crying, but Natasha cried even harder. Just as he was about to speak, her phone's ringtone interrupted them.
While crying, Natasha picked up the phone and saw that it was a call from Richard.
"Hello, Richard..."
Richard was about to lose his mind when he couldn’t get to Natasha. He sighed in relief when Natasha finally answered his call.
"Natasha, where are you? I'm back already. Why didn't you answer my calls or texts? My mom is worried that something might happen to you. Where are you?!”
“I-“
Natasha wiped away her tears with the handkerchief before sobbing out,
"Richard, I'm in the hospital right now. I fainted at the airport, and I just woke up."
Richard was surprised. He asked if Natasha was okay and which hospital she was in so he could pick her up. Natasha looked around before looking up at Lucas.
“Where are we?”
Lucas remained nonchalant.
“Rose Garden Private Hospital.”
Lucas answered coldly. Richard heard another man’s voice at the end of the phone. He was about to ask why there was a man beside her or if he should ask if that was the hospital owned by the Hawthorne Group. But before he could speak, the call on Natasha’s side was abruptly terminated.
Natasha looked at her phone, which had been snatched away, with a puzzled expression. It took her a few seconds to react before glaring at the stranger who took her phone.
“Hey, what the hell are you doing?"
Lucas hummed.
"Telling him won't make a difference."
Lucas hung up her phone and even turned it off.
"This is Hawthorne’s private hospital. Outsiders can't come in directly."
Because of the high level of confidentiality at the hospital established by the Hawthornes, most of the people who came here were high-ranking officials or celebrities from the entertainment industry.
“What do you mean? Isn’t this a hospital? Then how am I supposed to leave?“
Lucas smiled.
“This is a hospital, but the only people who are being treated here are those with big names.“
Natasha gave the man a look.
“So why am I here? The last time I checked, I was a nobody. Look, I appreciate that you helped me when I fainted at the roadside, but I do have some urgent matter to attend to. So, can I please leave? My fiancé worries about me, and you just took my phone.”
Lucas doesn’t know why he did that. But when he knows that the woman she saved has a partner, something in him snaps.
“I was just doing you a favor. It doesn’t matter if your fiancé came to pick you up. The security will chase him away. So, for now, relax, and tomorrow, you’ll be on your way. Let the doctor do their job.”
Natasha sigh. She looks at the time on the wall before eyeing her phone that was taken.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here. And you can’t force me to stay. It’s my choice to stay or not. And we don’t know each other. And if you feel guilty for injuring me before, I don’t care. I need to go.”
Natasha was about to pull the IV from her hand again when Lucas grabbed it before smiling at Natasha.
“Relax. Since we know each other now, don’t be so alarmed, alright? Besides, you can say that we’re old friends now.”
Natasha was confused.
“If you make friends by hitting them with your car and taking away their phone, that’s messed up. I don’t even know your name, but you knew mine. Don’t you think it’s strange?”
Lucas was surprised that Natasha didn’t know who he was. He smiled at the woman before he heard someone open the door to the wardroom.
“Sir, your food is here. I’m unsure what to get for the lady, but I have something easy to consume since you just woke up.”
Eric said as he walked into the wardroom. Lucas grabbed the food and asked Eric to leave. Eric nodded and waited outside. He was surprised to see Lucas speaking to this woman as if they had known each other for years. He was astonished that his employer spent more time idling than his usual self.
“Sir?”
Lucas walked out of the wardroom while eating his sandwich. Eric gets ready his handkerchief for Lucas to use.
“Eric, am I being unreasonable?“
Eric nodded without thinking for a second thought. He is confused as to why his employer would act this way. It’s not like they knew each other before.
“Is that so? Well, I have a mission for you. Find out more about that woman’s background and what happened to her family. I need a full report in two days. Can you do it?”
Eric knew it was an impossible task; he had no choice but to say yes.
“Good.”
Eric was confused when Lucas made her way back into the ward.
“Sir? Where are you going? We have matters to attend to ourselves. So why are you going back in?”
Lucas smiled.
“Wait for me outside. Don’t worry about me. I’ll call when I need you.”
Eric nodded while Lucas went back into the wardroom.
“Why are you back? I thought you were leaving already.”
Lucas smiled.
“I have something to say to my assistant. And what are you doing up? Are you planning to leave the moment I leave you alone? Don’t you want your phone back?”
Natasha sighed. She wished that this handsome man would leave already. She knows that Richard is worried about her, and she wants to ensure he knows he is alright. What if Richard calls the police?
“Who are you?”
Natasha asked.
“Who am I?”
Natasha sighed. So this is how the strange man is going to act? Natasha looks at the food before looking away.
“What do you want from me? If what you seek is money, I’m sorry. I don’t have any. If my body you wish, I’m sorry, but I'd rather die than betray my partner. And if you need me to pay whatever debt my family has, I’m sorry but give me some time. I’ll surely pay it back to you. So please, can you let me go?”
Lucas stood there before helping Natasha by unwrapping the food Eric had bought.
“Eat. You need to eat.”
- Writer
