Realization
1627 Words
A soft breeze through the open window brought in the soothing scent of lavender. Jenny stirred in her deep slumber. She heard the droning sounds of voices next to her, but she could barely make out what they were saying.
“Wait, I see her eyes twitching. She may be waking up,” an unfamiliar voice spoke.
“Mrs. Al Saad, can you hear me?”
‘What?’ Jenny struggled to surface from her mental bog. As if trying to decode a foreign language, she felt frustrated that she couldn't understand what he was saying.
“Let me try,” a familiar voice spoke. “Jenny, wake up, it’s me, Nathan.”
Jenny’s eyebrows twitched, unable to form a frown.
Nathan turned to the doctor. “I thought you said a short-term medicated coma wouldn’t cause any lasting effects. What do you call this?!”
The doctor waved his hands in front of him defensively. “Sir, the effects shouldn’t last a long time. She had only been under sedation for hours. We have already weaned her off since yesterday evening. Like I said before, she had a slight concussion and just came out of deep sedation, it is bound to take a bit of getting used to. Regardless, she needs bed rest for two weeks for her head injury to completely heal.”
Nathan sighed. “Are you absolutely sure it’s okay for her to be home?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, she is an out-patient case. If you hadn’t ordered us to exaggerate her symptoms, we would have discharged her the same day she came in.”
Nathan nodded. “Thank you. You can go back to the hospital now.”
The doctor bowed deeply. “Yes, sir. If you need anything else, please call for me.”
Nathan waved his hand dismissively, his eyes locked on his beloved wife. With the doctor gone, Nathan laid down next to Jenny and he stroked her forehead gently.
Placing a soft kiss on her cheek he murmured into her ear, “Habibti, I know you can hear me. Wake up, darling. I’m waiting for you.”
Jenny’s fingers jerked as she tried to force herself to move.
‘What is going on? Why is he able to touch me?’
“Habibti, we are already married. We can be together now. There is nothing to stop us from being intimate. Wake up, my love. I promise to make you the happiest woman in the world. Wake up, please.”
‘Married? HOW?!’
Jenny felt her head pound, but she could barely move. She felt Nathan’s body warmth transmit to her as he hugged her close. They were finally together but their hearts couldn’t be farther apart.
***
“Where is my daughter?!” Amelia screamed at the nurse.
“Ma’am, please calm down. She’s been discharged this morning. Her attending doctor is also making a house visit to ensure she receives the best care.” The nurse trembled under Amelia’s fiery glare.
“WHO took my daughter?” Amelia seethed.
“Her legal husband signed off on her discharge papers, ma’am. We have no right to keep her here.”
Amelia felt her blood pressure rise.
‘Nathan! Why would he discharge Jenny so quickly?! What is he playing at endangering Jenny like that?!”
Amelia calmed down for a moment to think about it. She glanced around the hospital and noticed many of the female staff wore hijabs.
‘Why didn’t I notice before?!’
She hurried out of the hospital and called Chris.
“Darling, I need you to check into the hospital Jenny was at.”
“Why? What’s wrong!?”
“I suspect Nathan owns that hospital. Darling, I think you were right. Something is wrong with Nathan. Jenny is gone. He took her! What do we do?”
There was a short pause before Chris reassured her, “I’ll take care of it. Don’t do anything and come home. Okay?”
“Okay… okay… Oh, my baby… what is happening?!”
Chris tried to remain calm for his wife. “Don’t stress about it. I promise to take care of it. Just come home. I don’t want you outside by yourself.”
The line disconnected and Chris sighed deeply. He didn’t blame Amelia for hanging up on him, she was distressed, and rightly so.
Looking down at his phone he called Nathan. It rang a few times before it finally connected.
“Hello?”
Chris didn’t offer any pleasantries. “Where’s my daughter?”
“The doctor said she is fine to recover at home.”
Chris tensed up ready for a fight. “Send her back to my house then. We will care for her until she is fully recovered.”
A soft laugh came over the phone. “With all due respect, sir, she is a married woman. Why would she return to her parent’s home to recover when I am fully capable of caring for her?”
“Give her back, you fucker! You tricked us into this sham marriage!”
Nathan’s voice turned cold. “I did not lie. We are in love and the marriage is valid. I refuse to return her to you. If you continue to harass us, I shall take you to court. Jenny is still recovering, and I need to attend to her. Goodbye.”
“Wait—” Chris screamed into the phone, but the call had already ended. He slammed a fist into his desk.
“You little s**t! Just you wait! I’LL RUIN YOU!”
“What’s going on?”
Chris turned to find Dillon walking into the study. Chris breathed out low and slow to calm his raging nerves. “Nothing, son. Go to work.”
Dillon shook his head. “Nuh uh, I heard you screaming. What’s going on? Can I help with anything?”
Chris sighed again but decided to confide in his son; Jenny was his sister, and he ought to know what they were all up against. “Nathan… he tricked us into his and Jenny’s marriage. I suspect something happened before Jenny had her accident and she may have tried to call everything off. Nathan tried to stop that from happening and took advantage of her coma to tie the knot before she could tell us.”
Dillon frowned. “I wonder… if that has anything to do with Derrick.”
Chris frowned. “Who now?”
“Derrick Sinclair. Now that I think about it, Sis had been working with that guy on the new collaboration project. He seemed strangely fascinated with her but she kept him at arm’s length or so I’m told. It’s the latest gossip at work.”
Chris looked down as he pondered that possibility.
‘Did Jenny fall in love with Derrick? It’s possible, but she would have discussed it with us first before breaking things off with Nathan. Something else must have happened.’
“Wait, didn’t she visit that bas– I mean Dustin on Saturday?”
Dillon nodded. “Yeah, she mentioned when she left that she was going to have dinner at the Roger estate. Why?”
Chris’ eyes drew to slits. “Let me call and confirm something.”
He eyed his son who was just standing around. “And you! Get to work! We can’t have all the Farleys ditch work today.”
Dillon rolled his eyes and sighed. “Alright, I’m going. I’m going… just keep me in the loop, will ya?”
Chris snorted which Dillon took as an affirmative and turned to leave.
Chris groaned as he picked up his phone to call the one person he hated most; the one man who touched his wife before him.
“Hello?”
“What happened at your house on Saturday when Jenny was there?”
“...Where is this coming from?”
Chris screamed into the phone, “Just answer the damn question! What happened?”
Dustin responded icily, “We hosted a dinner party for the Sinclairs. Jenny was over as well.”
‘f**k. So it does have something to do with the Sinclairs.’
“Did anything unusual happen?”
There was a pause. “As a matter of fact, there was. Jenny drank a little too much and then left to get fresh air. I sent Amara to get her but then Jenny left, and the eldest Sinclair boy chased after her and never came back… wait, why are you asking all this? Is something wrong?”
“I think Jenny tried to break off the engagement with Nathan so he brute-forced the marriage. She might be in danger.”
“f**k!”
Chris snorted. “You got that right. I’m about to find out where Nathan is staying. I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t be stupid enough to stay at his current residence.”
“I’m going to kill that fucker!” Dustin roared.
“Stop, you i***t. You’ll make her a widow. Let’s find her first and make sure she’s okay. Before we take any action, we need to make sure this is what she wants. I don’t want to wage war over a misunderstanding.” Chris reasoned, more so for himself. He was just as hot-headed a minute before but talking to Dustin helped him calm down.
“Do you think Jenny likes Derrick?”
Chris shrugged, “How would I know? Didn’t you notice anything in your own house?”
Dustin paused. “Hold that thought. I forgot to ask Amara about that night. Let me ask her now.”
“Wait–”
The call ended and for the third time in mere minutes, Chris had to endure the annoying sensation of getting cut off.
- Writer
