The Playboy King's Bride

Chapter 8

It seemed strange to think that Arthur King being almost crushed by a rogue truck would be the thing that saved him, but that did appear to be the case. The doctor explained to Lance and Gwen that they had found the mass at a very early stage, giving Arthur the best chance of recovery now that it was gone. He would have to start being more aware of his own limitations, and get regular check-ups, but he had high hopes Arthur would be able to leave the hospital after a few more hours of observation.

Lance thanked the doctor, once he was done explaining, and sat next to Gwen, where she had almost collapsed on the chair she had found previously. When the doctor walked away she just shook her head as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

“That fool. That damn fool. What’s the good of being able to afford the best doctors if you never go to get checked out? It took him almost dying to get him here and he still could-,”

“He’s not going to die. They operated on time.” Lance interrupted, not wanting her to dive too deep into dark thoughts. The surgery itself had been described as simple. They had caught the mass before it turned into anything horrible. All-in-all, it sounded like they had dodged a bullet. A bullet and a truck in Arthur’s case.

Gwen frowned at Lance.

“He still needs to be watched, and you know he’ll conveniently forget to get check-ups.”

“And you’ll be there to conveniently nag him until he gives in and goes.” Lance rubbed her shoulder blade with some relief when she let out a small chuckle.

“Yes, I suppose I can do that much, at the very least. He’s too stubborn to actually let me take care of him. You get that from him.” She wiped away the last of her tears as she met Lance’s gaze, but he frowned and looked away.

“Please, Lance, stay with us for a while. You haven’t come home in years, and you know we both miss you-,”

Lance stood angrily.

“Miss controlling me, you mean. Stuffing me in a suit and parading me around the city like some glorified show pony. Like I’m another company he’s acquired.” He could feel a warm rage growing in his chest. This happened every time Arthur King was brought up. He didn’t even have to be in the same room to bring out the worst in his son.

“He’s proud of you! Or he was for a long while. You’re both just so…so damn stubborn!” Gwen sniffed. Lance raised an eyebrow at her, not used to her using “foul language” as she called it. “You didn’t have to do all those things, and he would have been fine letting you fade out. You just had to start rebelling completely instead!”

“You know why I couldn’t stay to just “fade out”.” Lance muttered, causing Gwen to fall silent before she sighed and stood beside him. She hugged his limp arm and put her head on his shoulder.

“I know it’s hard to see it…but he did that for your own good. You have to see that. She would have destroyed you, and I think you know it, even if you don’t want to.” Her voice was soft, but reached his ears easily, even though he stood almost a foot taller than her. Her words only made his anger grow.

“Don’t you dare! He lured her into betraying me. She would never have if he hadn’t stepped in-,”

“Lance King, I am not having this argument with you right now.” Her eyes turned bright again, and he knew she didn’t want to fight. If anything, she looked like she needed a good twelve hours of rest. There were shadows under her eyes, and even her grip on his arm felt weak. He grunted before taking her hand to lead her back to her seat, but she stopped him.

“They should be opening his room again soon. I want to sit with him for a while.”

“He’s probably still sleeping. He’s had a long day.”

“Yes, but I just need to be near him. Please…please stay. If not for him, then for me. I know he’s going to keep saying he’s fine, and I need someone to keep me strong.” She looked up at him hopefully and he felt his rage melt at how fragile she looked. What kind of son would he be if he left his mother when she needed him most?

“I’ll stay…for a while.” He returned her smile and bent to kiss her forehead. Just then, a nurse walked up to tell them they could enter the suite. Gwen wasted no time and almost dragged her son behind her.

They found Arthur King himself sitting propped up in the hospital bed. He still had all the tubes and wires hanging off him, but he now sported a frown as he looked about him, until he caught sight of Gwen. Then his face lit up like a child as he lifted a shaking hand for her to take.

“My darling, I am so sorry to have worried you.” He said gently as she took it, placing a gentle kiss against his skin. She only shook her head as tears came back to her eyes.

Lance watched from his place in the doorway as Arthur attempted to comfort his wife as much as he could within his minimal movement range. He shushed her tenderly and gave her every assurance that he felt fine, which only caused her to glare and condemn him for not visiting the doctor more often.

After a while, Arthur finally noticed his son.

“Lance! I didn’t realize you’d come too.” His voice lost its’ tenderness as a sudden chill took over the room.

“Mom requested it. And it’s hard to say no to her.” Lance answered indifferently as he looked out the window again. The sun was setting on the horizon, turning the whole sky so many colors that an artist would be jealous. He took a sudden fascination in the colors that swirled through the clouds.

“True.” Arthur cast another affectionate look at Gwen, who only huffed and kissed his hand again, though she wore a smug smirk. “Still, it’s good to see you. You’ve been a hard person to keep track of. Last I heard you were in Spain.”

“I came here from Tokyo. There was a street rally.” Lance smirked. He already had plans to let Riki settle down, before he would return and continue beating him in the only thing he was known for.

Arthur grunted and frowned at his son. “So, you’re still doing all that nonsense. Can you tell me, yet, what you get out of all that childishness? You could be running New York with me-,”

“Under you, you mean. What’s wrong, you don’t have enough employees' lives to ruin, you have to get me-,”

“Enough! Both of you! Seriously, can’t we even get out of the hospital?” Gwen stopped them both as their voices were growing steadily, and the beeping of one of the monitors had been growing very rapid.

Both men turned their heads away. If Gwen hadn’t been so upset with them both she would have laughed at how truly similar they looked. Both had strong, angular features, with piercing blue-green eyes that she absolutely adored. If not for their drastically different hairstyles and the crows' feet starting to appear around Arthur’s eyes, she might not have been able to tell them apart.

Lance left the room soon after, saying he would get everything ready for them to all go back to New York together as soon as possible. Gwen watched him leave before turning to her husband with a motherly glare. He refused to meet her eyes and picked at his sheets childishly at her unspoken lecture.

“He started it.” He muttered.

“Arthur King, you are his father. Act like it. You know he was hurt in the past, and you had your fair share to do with that.” She held up a hand to stop him when he seemed about to interrupt. “I know you had your reasons, and to be honest I agree with them, though it hurt to see him torn apart like that.” Arthur nodded solemnly. He had often wished he could have not gotten involved, but he couldn’t stand the path his son was taking then.

“But we are a family. I miss our family. I miss seeing our son, and you two only arguing about work things, but being best friends at the end of the day.” Gwen finished firmly.

That reminded Arthur of something very exciting that he had discovered when he had been brought to the hospital. Something he was only too happy to share with his wife.

“I don’t know. I don’t think he’ll fall for it. And once he finds out, because he will, it’ll be that whole incident all over again.” She shook her head.

“He won’t find out until it’s too late. I’m telling you, it’s perfect! This is just what he needs, I am sure of it.” Arthur grinned at her, tightening his grip on her hand. If she had seen what he had, he knew she would believe in this plan just as much as he did.

Gwen only sighed and shook her head, muttering something about “ridiculous schemes”. In her heart she worried though. Arthur might be confident, but if he took one wrong step, she doubted anything would ever bring his son back to him.