The Playboy King's Bride

Chapter 11

Within an hour of her sending the message to Marvin, Gareth and Perce were moved upstairs. Perce was checked over by another doctor, and declared well enough to be discharged with a new prescription Stella didn't even want to look up the price for. He took the new script with a confused look back at her, but didn't say anything until they were left alone in the room with a sleeping Gareth.

"What's going on? Why were we moved up here?" The entire time Stella had been silent, trying to think of any way to break the news that she would be leaving soon, but she found she couldn't look Perce in the eye. She knew in her heart that she didn't have a choice, and wasn't doing anything wrong by marrying rich, but some part of her still felt uneasy and she just knew that Perce would see it as a gold-digging move.

"I got a job." A half-formed explanation popped into her head. "The guy I saved earlier. He wanted to pay me back for saving his life, and we started talking and he has an open position. When he heard I was back in the hospital he asked, and was willing to help us out, since I said I couldn't accept it while Gareth was in the hospital."

"Why not? You can work while he's here."

Stella paused, knowing the next part would hurt to say and hear. "The job is in New York." She finally said quietly. Perce grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. For a moment he looked at her angrily, forming his argument and ready to pummel her with all the anger his fifteen-year-old body could muster, but before he could say anything Gareth moaned in his bed, drawing their attention.

He blinked slowly as his eyes rolled around before settling on his kids. When his eyes met Perce's heavy tears formed and immediately began flowing down his face. He held up a hand to his son, who immediately took it and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Perce, thank goodness. I tried..." He coughed out a sob. "I didn't stand a chance against those guys, I didn't know if you got away." He tried to pull his son into a hug, but was stopped by the casts restricting his torso and limbs. Perce noticed and maneuvered his arms as best as he could around his father as tears streamed down his own face. Even Stella, standing further back so they could have their moment, couldn't stop the waterfall.

"I was able to call the police. Those cowards ran the second they heard the sirens." Perce leaned back up and wiped his eyes with a wry chuckle which Gareth copied. Then his eyes fell on Stella and he teared up again. Stella immediately moved to calm him down by unnecessarily fluffing his pillows. Just then, a nurse came in and began checking his vitals. After declaring that he was in the clear, she began going over the papers to discharge him.

Gareth listened half-heartedly, and remained silent, but Stella could see his frown deepening the more the nurse told him what had been done with him and his son. Once the nurse left to get the papers, he asked Perce to find him some ice chips (since that's all he was apparently allowed to have right now). As soon as the boy was out of the room, he looked at Stella. He didn't need to verbalize his questions.

"I made a deal with the guy I saved a few days ago. When he heard we were in trouble, he offered to take care of everything. He had you and Perce moved up here and checked over again. The nurse mentioned hospice care, so I'm assuming that once you're discharged a nurse will be checking up on you."

"Tell him to keep the nurse. I'll be fine. I've got you and Perce, he's already done enough with this fancy room." Gareth rolled his eyes at the walls but Stella was quick to finish telling him about her move to New York. To say he was shocked would be an understatement, but he hid it behind silence.

"I...I don't know how I feel about that. I'm grateful that he's taking care of us, but...you just moved back! And now you're leaving again? For a job?"

"It's a really good job. Even with New York prices I should be able to send you some money." Stella figured if Arthur had agreed to help her family and pay for high society's needs, she could still get a job in New York, and the higher living pay would be plenty to send to Gareth.

Gareth glowered and looked at everything except her, but didn't say anything.

"Gareth...he mentioned helping with Crawford too. I didn't even mention it, he already knew. I couldn't stand it today...knowing that if he had sent those guys for anything more than sending a message..." Stella paused to collect herself, but tears were streaming down her face. Gareth offered her a hand weakly and she hugged it to herself.

"If he takes care of that-and you...I don't have a choice. Perce should never have been in that situation, you shouldn't be in this one...I shouldn't be..." he looked down at himself and teared up. "I'm such a failure. Lillian would be ashamed," he sobbed while holding her hand to his lips.

Stella was quick to shush him and stroke his hair. For the first moment it felt awkward, as she had never really touched Gareth before. They had met when she was close to being a teenager, so past the point of ever hugging or having any unnecessary contact, but when she saw that he didn't object and this was the only thing she could do for him, she began tucking his hair behind his ears and running her fingers through his graying hair.

"Mom and I are so lucky she found you. I know you helped her so much when you met, and later when she was sick. If not for you, who knows how we would have spent her last few years, but you kept us a family, and you did everything you could and that inspired her, and inspires me and Perce. Now let me take over. Let me do something for us." She pulled back and locked watery eyes with his.

The poor man was too overtaken with emotion to say anything, so he only nodded and pulled her for a hug just as he had his own son.

After a short while, he pulled away. "I don't completely agree with this. New York is different than here and you don't know this man. He really offered you a job, just like that?"

Now that Stella had begun the lie, she had to keep building on it, and hoping that she could keep it up. "He looked into me after the accident and saw I was looking for one. Since I didn't accept the check, he offered the job and medical help when he heard I had family in the hospital." Gareth glowered at her for a moment and she really feared that he didn't believe her, but eventually he sighed and squeezed her hand.

"I still don't like it. But I trust you know what you're doing. Just let me know if anything doesn't work out. I'll do what I can."

Stella readily agreed, but she had seen the sincerity in Arthur's eyes. She knew she would be taken care of by him. The wild card would be his son.