The Hospital Call
1389 Words
Ava woke up to her phone buzzing. Not the new one Damien gave her. Her old one.
Unknown Number: Ms. Mensah, this is Korle Bu. Your mother collapsed. Please come now.
Ava was out of bed before she finished reading.
“Mom?” Her voice cracked.
She ran downstairs in her pajamas. No shoes.
Mrs. Clarke blocked her. “Ms. Mensah, what—”
“I need to go. Now. Taxi. Uber. Anything.”
Damien appeared at the top of the stairs. Suit on. Already leaving for work.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. Cold. Alert.
“My mom. Hospital. She collapsed.” Ava was already at the door.
Damien didn’t move. “Mrs. Clarke, call the driver.”
“Mr. Cole, you’re going to be late for—”
“I said call him,” he snapped.
2 minutes later, Ava was in the back of a black Bentley. Damien beside her.
“You didn’t have to come,” she said, staring out the window.
“I did,” he said. “You’re my wife. On paper.”
Ava didn’t answer. She was shaking.
At Korle Bu, they ran.
A doctor met them. “Mrs. Cole?”
Ava nodded fast. “Yes. My mom. Adjoa Mensah.”
The doctor blinked at Damien’s suit, then at Ava’s pajamas. “She’s stable. But she needs surgery today. The deposit wasn’t paid. We were about to cancel.”
Ava’s stomach dropped. “No. I have the money. I signed—”
Damien was already on his phone. “Transfer 50,000 to Korle Bu account. Now. Full amount.”
He hung up. “It’s done.”
Ava stared at him. “That was my money. From the contract.”
“Not anymore,” he said. “It’s your mom’s life.”
The doctor nodded. “We’ll prep her for surgery in 1 hour.”
Ava covered her mouth. Tears came hard.
Damien didn’t touch her. He just stood there.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He looked away. “Don’t. It’s business. I can’t have my wife’s mother die week 1. Bad press.”
Ava wiped her face. “Right. Business.”
2 hours later, surgery was successful.
Ava sat outside the ICU. Damien sat next to her. Not close. But there.
“You should go to work,” she said.
“I canceled it,” he said.
Ava looked at him. “Why?”
Damien was quiet for a long time. “Because you were alone.”
Ava’s breath caught.
She leaned her head back against the wall. Exhausted. Scared. Relieved.
Without thinking, she leaned her head on his shoulder.
Damien went still.
Ava froze. She was about to pull away—
His hand came up. Not to push her. He just rested it on her back. Once. Light.
Then he dropped it.
“Go see your mom,” he said quietly. “She’s awake.”
Ava stood. Her legs were weak.
Before she left, she turned. “Damien?”
He looked up.
“Thank you. For not being... business.”
He didn’t answer. He just nodded once.
---
That night, back at the mansion, things felt different.
Ava was in the kitchen. Not the guest wing. The real kitchen.
Damien walked in. Tie off. Sleeves rolled up.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” he said.
“Neither are you,” Ava said, making tea.
He watched her. “Your mom?”
“Stable. She’ll be okay.”
Ava handed him a mug. Tea. No sugar. She remembered from the car.
Damien took it. Stared at it.
“You remembered,” he said.
Ava shrugged. “I notice things.”
Silence. But it wasn’t cold anymore. It was... quiet.
Damien set the mug down half-finished. “I’m going to bed.”
“Damien,” Ava said.
He stopped. Didn’t turn.
“The contract says separate rooms,” she said. “But it doesn’t say we can’t... talk.”
He turned halfway. His eyes met hers.
“For 6 months,” he said. “We talk.”
Then he walked out.
Ava stood in the kitchen, holding a mug that still smelled like him.
---
The next morning came fast.
Ava’s phone rang at 6:12AM. Unknown number.
“Ms. Mensah?” a nurse’s voice said. “It’s Ridge Hospital. Your mother’s blood pressure spiked in the night. The doctor wants to see family ASAP.”
Ava was already grabbing her bag. “I’m coming.”
She didn’t text Damien. She didn’t wait.
The Uber ride felt longer than usual. Accra traffic. Her heart in her throat.
Her mum was awake when Ava got there. Pale. Tired. But smiling.
“You didn’t have to rush,” her mum said.
Ava took her hand. “Don’t lie to me. Are you okay?”
The doctor came in. Older man. Kind eyes. “We’re adjusting her meds. But the private room is the only reason we caught it early. If she was in general ward…” He didn’t finish.
Ava nodded. She couldn’t speak.
When the doctor left, her mum squeezed her hand. “You’re working hard, my girl. Too hard. You look tired.”
“I’m fine,” Ava lied.
Her mum studied her. “That man. Damien. He paid for this, didn’t he?”
Ava’s breath caught. “Mum—”
“It’s okay,” her mum said soft. “I know what it costs. Just… don’t lose yourself in it.”
Ava’s eyes burned. “I won’t.”
She stayed until noon. Fed her mum. Read to her. Pretended everything was normal.
By the time she got back to the penthouse, Damien was in the kitchen. Coffee. Laptop. Suit, but no tie.
He looked up. “Hospital?”
Ava froze. “How did you—”
“I have people,” Damien said. “Is she okay?”
Ava dropped her bag. “Yes. For now.”
Damien pushed a mug toward her. Coffee. Black. The way she liked it now.
“Sit,” he said.
Ava sat. Her hands shook around the mug.
“You should have called me,” Damien said.
“I didn’t want—”
“You didn’t want what? Help?” Damien’s voice was flat. “We have a contract, Ava. Your mum is part of it.”
Ava looked up. “I’m not a charity case.”
“No,” Damien said. “You’re my fiancée. On paper and otherwise, while this lasts.”
The word hung there. Otherwise.
Ava stared into her coffee. “She asked about you.”
Damien went still. “What did you say?”
“That you’re… kind,” Ava said. And it was true.
Damien didn’t answer. He just took her mug when she was done and rinsed it.
“I have a meeting at 2,” he said. “You’re coming.”
Ava blinked. “I have nothing to wear.”
Damien pulled out his phone. Texted. “Elise will be here in 20.”
“Damien, I—”
He turned. “Ava. You don’t have to do this alone anymore.”
Ava’s throat closed. She nodded once.
Elise came. Dress. Hair. Makeup. The whole thing.
By 2PM, Ava was in a cream blazer at Cole Group HQ. Boardroom. 12 men in suits.
Damien introduced her. “My fiancée, Ava Mensah. She’ll be handling our new CSR project.”
CSR? Ava had no idea what that was.
But she smiled. She nodded. She answered one question about community health.
After, in the elevator, Damien said, “You did well.”
Ava exhaled. “I was terrified.”
“Good,” Damien said. “Terrified people try harder.”
The elevator doors opened.
Ava stepped out. “Thank you. For the room. For today.”
Damien stopped her with a hand on her arm. Light. Just for a second.
“Don’t thank me,” he said. “Just stay.”
Ava looked at him. Really looked. Tired eyes. Guarded jaw.
“Okay,” she said.
She went to her room. Closed the door.
Her phone buzzed. Mum: `Proud of you, my girl.`
Ava pressed her forehead to the door.
Something had shifted at the gala.
Something shifted again today.
And both of them felt it.
---
END OF CHAPTER 5, shifted tonight. And both of them felt
- Writer
