Love Beyond the Contract

Chapter Six

Chapter 6

The café was unusually busy that evening.

By the time Clara untied her apron and stepped outside, the sun had already disappeared behind the city skyline. Neon lights flickered to life one after another, painting the streets in shades of gold, blue, and crimson.

She stretched her aching shoulders and checked the time on her phone.

7:43 p.m.

Visiting hours at the hospital would soon be over.

"I hope Mum is awake," she murmured to herself.

She looked at the few notes left in her purse and sighed.

Taking a taxi would mean spending money she couldn't spare.

"I'll walk."

It wasn't the first time.

The hospital was nearly forty minutes away on foot, but every naira she saved brought her one step closer to paying another hospital bill.

The evening breeze brushed against her face as she walked through the busy streets. People hurried past, eager to get home after another long day.

Some laughed with friends.

Others spoke excitedly on their phones.

Clara envied them for a moment.

Life seemed to be moving forward for everyone else while hers had come to a painful standstill.

She lowered her head and kept walking.

Just as she reached a quieter street lined with trees, something caught her attention.

An elderly woman stood near a bus stop, looking around with uncertain eyes.

She was elegantly dressed, but there was something unsettling about the way she turned in slow circles, as if every direction looked unfamiliar.

Clara walked a few steps past her before stopping.

She hesitated.

Maybe her family is nearby.

She took another step.

Then another.

But she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

With a quiet sigh, she turned back.

"Ma'am?"

The elderly woman looked up and smiled politely.

"Oh... hello, dear."

"Are you alright?"

"I..." The woman glanced around again. "I was taking a walk."

She laughed softly, almost embarrassed.

"But I don't seem to remember which way I came from."

Clara's smile faded.

"Did someone come with you?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

The woman frowned as though trying to force the memory back.

"There was... someone."

"I'm sure there was."

"But I can't remember where she went."

For a brief moment, Clara's heart tightened.

The woman didn't seem intoxicated.

She seemed... confused.

"It's okay," Clara said gently.

"Let's sit down for a minute."

She guided the woman to a nearby bench.

"Do you remember your name?"

The elderly woman smiled.

"Eleanor."

"That's a beautiful name."

"And yours?"

"Clara."

"Clara..." Eleanor repeated with a warm smile. "You're very kind."

The words caught Clara off guard.

She smiled shyly.

"My mum says I worry too much about other people."

"I think your mother raised you well."

At the mention of her mother, Clara's smile faltered.

She quickly looked away.

Before either of them could speak again, Eleanor suddenly pressed a trembling hand against her chest.

Her breathing became uneven.

"Ma'am?"

Eleanor tried to answer, but the words wouldn't come.

Her face lost its color.

"Ma'am!"

Within seconds, her body went limp.

Clara caught her before she hit the pavement.

"P-Please!"

She looked around desperately.

"Somebody help!"

People slowed down.

They stared.

A few whispered among themselves.

One person even lifted a phone as if to record what was happening.

Clara felt a flash of anger.

"Don't just stand there!"

Her voice cracked.

"Please, someone call an ambulance!"

A young man finally stepped forward.

"I've called one."

"They said traffic is terrible."

Clara looked at the unconscious woman resting against her arms.

Waiting wasn't an option.

She rushed to the roadside, waving frantically at passing taxis.

Two drove past.

The third stopped.

The driver rolled down his window.

"What happened?"

"Please," Clara pleaded, her eyes already filling with tears. "She needs a hospital."

Without another question, the driver got out to help.

Together, they carefully lifted Eleanor into the back seat.

Clara climbed in beside her, gently supporting her head the entire journey.

"Please be okay," she whispered.

"I don't even know your family... but they're probably worried sick."

The taxi sped toward the nearest hospital.

By the time they arrived, nurses hurried out with a wheelchair.

As they wheeled Eleanor inside, the receptionist looked at Clara.

"Are you her daughter?"

Clara shook her head.

"No."

"A relative?"

"No."

The receptionist looked confused.

"Then who are you?"

Clara looked through the glass doors toward the treatment room where Eleanor had disappeared.

For a moment, she didn't know how to answer.

Finally, she smiled faintly.

"I'm just... someone who couldn't leave her alone."

The receptionist's expression softened.

"We need to contact her family."

Clara nodded.

"I'll help."

Inside Eleanor's handbag, she found a neatly folded emergency information card.

At the top, in bold letters, was written:

Emergency Contact

Adrian Kingsley – Grandson

Below it was a phone number.

Clara stared at the name for a second before taking a slow breath.

She reached for the hospital telephone.

Whoever Adrian Kingsley was...

He deserved to know that his grandmother wasn't alone.

She picked up the hospital telephone.

Her fingers hovered over the keypad.

Then she slowly dialed the number.

Each ring made her heartbeat faster.

Please answer...

Please don't let him ignore the call...

The line kept ringing.

No answer.

Clara sighed quietly and lowered the receiver.

"Maybe he's busy," she whispered.

Just as she was about to place the phone down completely, it rang in her hand.

The same number.

He was calling back.

She took a deep breath before answering.

"Hello?"

On the other end came a calm, deep voice.

"You called this number."

For a second, Clara forgot what she wanted to say.

His voice sounded composed...

Too composed.

"I'm... I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"Who is this?"

"My name is Clara."

A brief silence followed.

"I found an elderly woman who had collapsed on the street. We brought her to City General Hospital."

The silence on the other end disappeared instantly.

"...What did you say?"

Clara tightened her grip on the receiver.

"I found your contact information in her emergency card."

"She lost consciousness."

"The doctors are treating her now."

Another pause.

This one felt different.

He wasn't speaking because he was trying to process what he had just heard.

"My grandmother?"

"Yes."

"Is she conscious?"

"I... I'm not sure."

"They took her into the emergency unit a few minutes ago."

The man's breathing grew noticeably heavier.

"When did this happen?"

"Around twenty minutes ago."

"I'll be there."

The line went dead.

Clara slowly lowered the receiver.

For the first time since arriving at the hospital, she realized how exhausted she was.

She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"I hope she'll be okay..."

She didn't even know Eleanor's family.

She didn't know Adrian.

Yet somehow, she found herself silently praying for strangers.

Outside, the evening sky had grown dark.

Inside the emergency department, every second felt unbearably long.

About fifteen minutes later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.

The glass doors swung open.

A tall man in a dark suit strode into the reception area, his face pale with worry. His tie was slightly crooked, as though he'd loosened it while rushing over. His eyes scanned every corner of the waiting area with restless urgency.

He wasn't the calm, distant man Clara remembered from trivia night.

He was simply a grandson afraid of losing the woman who had raised him.

Then his gaze landed on her.

His steps slowed.

Recognition flickered across both their faces.

"...You?"

The word escaped them at the same time.

For a heartbeat, neither of them knew what to say.

The awkwardness of their first meeting vanished beneath the weight of a shared fear.

Without sarcasm, without anger, Clara quietly pointed toward the emergency unit.

"They're still with her."

Adrian didn't respond immediately.

He looked at Clara for a brief moment, seeing not the outspoken woman from the trivia lounge, but the person who had stayed with his grandmother when everyone else had walked away.

Then he nodded once.

A small gesture.

But one filled with gratitude he wasn't yet ready to put into words.