Chapter 19 - Jenna
I rushed over to the hospital in the first car I was able to lay my hand on outside Feliks’ mansion; there were a bunch outside his house, and I had the liberty to use any of them—well, except for a couple that he’d prohibited me from using, which I understood; the reason could be because they had some complex modes of operations, or were especially expensive.
I tried to stop my heart from thudding as violently as it was doing against my chest for fear that it might suddenly burst open, and I had precisely no idea what would happen then. This was all about my mother’s health, and that worried me like nothing else could. My heart always skipped uncontrollably any time I received a call from the hospital concerning my mother’s health.
The doctors had told me over the phone that she was in severe need of blood from a relative, and I was the only one around to do that for her.
Getting to the hospital took too long; the hospital suddenly seemed farther than usual. It got to the point that I thought, fuck it , and slammed down on the accelerator to increase the speed of the car. I knew I was driving over the speed limit—well, more than a bit , if I was honest—and I might get pulled over by the cops. Still, I didn’t care, or I didn’t get the time to think of it because the only thing that mattered to me at that point was going to the hospital and saving my mother’s life.
She was all that mattered to me. Scratch that! She was everything I had left and the only thing among all the other things in my life, including the awful condition I was forced to live with. Because of her, I agreed to this marriage, and I would do much more to ensure she wouldn’t leave me anytime soon. What would be left of me in the first place if she left?
I arrived at the hospital and pulled into the parking lot before I hurriedly got out of the car, almost forgetting to lock it. Luckily, the first person I bumped into when I got to the hospital's entrance was Dr. Patel, who oversaw my mother’s case.
“Doctor, is she okay?” I demanded hurriedly; I was speaking so fast that I forgot to breathe, and I practically had to restrain myself from grabbing him by the collar.
“Thankfully, yes,” Dr. Patel explained calmly, like someone with no worry. If not for the fact that I wasn’t in charge of my emotions now, I would have felt slightly ashamed for being as tensed and worked up as I was at the moment. “She just needs the blood transfusion, and then—”
“I’m ready,” I cut in, interrupting him. “We can go for the transfusion now.” I raised my sleeves to gesture to my arm, where I believed the blood would be removed.
“Of course,” Dr. Patel said. “This way.”
He led me into a hospital room where some nurses were already waiting with the equipment to draw the blood from me already in place.
I was made to lie on the bed as a nurse leaned over me to check my vitals while trying to ask some questions related to my health.
“Are these necessary?” I asked the nurse with a scowl. I wished that they would quit with all the questions and go ahead with the process immediately before something terrible happened to my mother.
“It is, ma’am. We need to know the state of your health before we can proceed with the process. It could lead to disastrous consequences if we start without verifying your condition first,” the nurse explained patiently.
After a long train of questions, the process eventually started, and after a while, we were done.
I waited in the lobby for what seemed like forever before the doctor finally came to me to give an update on my mother’s condition.
“Well?” I asked, immediately standing up from my chair and going to him.
“The transfusion was a success; thankfully, she is now stable. However, she is still under observation, so you can’t visit her yet.”
Dr. Patel’s words did much to calm my nerves; my stomach, churning like a tornado earlier, was finally calm, as if a soft breeze had blown over to remove all the tension.
“So, when will I be able to see her?”
“Soon,” came Dr. Patel’s soft reply, and he patted my shoulder lightly to reassure me.
I walked out of the hospital in slow strides, much calmer than I’d felt when I arrived. I reached into my bag while walking to the parking lot to retrieve my phone, which I’d carelessly tossed in my haste to get to the hospital.
My breath hitched when I looked at my screen to see about fifty missed calls from Feliks and several texts.
My heart, which had settled down a few minutes earlier, spiked and started to beat violently again as I stood in front of the hospital, going through the messages Felix had sent to me.
The anger he felt and the rage that had built up after hours of trying to reach me did not fail to show in his text messages. I’d been so worried and concerned about my mother’s condition that I couldn’t even think about him all this while.
I swallowed hard as I held my phone shaky, going through the messages. I knew that I was done for.
In my head, I began to rehearse the words I would say in my defense, hoping to find something convincing enough to forgive me and save me from the situation I found myself in. Just moments from reaching my car, I noticed a familiar figure leaning against the vehicle.
It wasn’t hard for me to recognize that masculine figure, the same man who’d brought me pain and who I had been wishing I would get the chance to hit hard across the face so that he’d pay for everything he’d put me through and how he broke my heart.
“Leo!” I muttered to myself through gritted teeth.
How had he known I was here? Did he follow me? What did he even want?
I took a deep breath and clenched my fists till my knuckles almost started to hurt as I approached him.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded as I stood in front of him.
“Jenna,” he said in an emotional voice; he was hoping he’d get me to soften because he spoke gently, but it made things worse. “Can you at least allow me to talk to you?”
He tried moving closer, but I stepped back to prevent him from reaching me.
I frowned. “What do you want to talk about so badly? And what part of ‘I do not want to see you or talk to you’ do you not understand?”
“Jenna, can you at least do me the favor of listening to me one last time?” he begged. “I know the way we ended wasn’t ideal, and that is why I came here—to get a chance to talk things out with you finally.”
“There is nothing to talk about, Leo!” I spat. I made to push him away to get into my car, but his size, compared to mine, wouldn’t let me do that, so I stood back instead.
My frown deepened when he resisted and kept standing there, and I kept a considerable distance from him while listening to him talk.
“Jenna, I just want proper closure. Like I said, the way we ended wasn’t ideal. I want to ensure we end things well so that whatever grudge you hold against me can be cleared.”
None of what he said was enough to assuage my hurt or calm me down; instead, they did the exact opposite. I stared at him with a scowl, and my jaw tightened.
“I really loved you, Jenna.”
I scoffed.
His eyes narrowed. “I really, really loved you—in fact, I wanted us to get married. I knew your feelings for me were the same, just that the... mistake happened... and now, we find ourselves in this situation that we are currently in.”
Of course, my feelings were the same—I loved you, but you chose to take my love for granted and played with my heart!
“Well, it’s no use now,” I said crossly, folding my arms across my chest. “I no longer want you, and I have a husband now who would be unhinged if he saw me standing here with someone like you.” I tried pushing Leo out of the way again.
I wouldn’t fail to imagine Feliks' reaction if he had seen the scene right now. Just the thought made me cringe because I knew exactly what it would mean—it could mean the end of me.
The thought ran through my mind while I tried to shove Leo away from the entrance of my car. I was shocked when he not only refused to budge but grabbed hold of me in the process.
It happened so fast that I didn’t see it coming until I felt my back hit the car with a thud. While I was struggling to get out of his hold, he leaned further into me, and before I could bring myself to spit in his face, he’d inched even closer to me and covered my lips with his.
I instantly went stiff and stopped fighting the moment his lips made contact with mine. My eyes went wide with shock as I tried to register what had just happened in my mind.
My reflexes went into action as soon as I realized that he’d done what I thought he had—he’d forcefully kissed me right there in the parking lot. The thought made me cringe, and I immediately pushed him away.
He finally budged and had a look on his face that suggested he was trying to plead with me. I believed Leo’s attempt to revive the emotion of love in me was a total failure—instead, it ended up doing the exact opposite.
I didn’t just feel enraged at his actions; I was equally disgusted that I’d felt the lips of someone other than my husband.
I took several steps away from him to avoid a repeat of what he’d just done while rubbing my sleeves over my lips to get rid of what was left of his saliva from my mouth. I would have been cursing at him and striking him in the chest by now, except I was too shocked to find the words to convey how angry I was.
“I have been trying to get to you to clarify things, but you have been avoiding me. Thankfully, Veronica informed me that I could meet you here,” he said.
When I realized what had happened, the last statement dropped in my heart like a bomb. Veronica had intentionally given him my location so he could drag my name.
Somehow, the thought prompted me to look around to see who’d been watching.
I felt a violent thud when I spotted a familiar car across the parking lot. The feeling intensified when I realized it was Feliks’ car, and my heart stopped beating instantly. I was as good as dead.
I stood there with shaky legs and wide eyes as he stepped down from the car and began advancing toward us. I knew I was done for, and there was nothing I could say to forgive me for this situation; it was like I’d been caught in the act.
My first instinct was to take to my heels before he got close enough—that would be able to save me from his fury—but my legs seemed glued to the ground, and I couldn’t even bring myself to lift them.
He didn’t say a word as he got closer, but it was easy to read his eyes, which were painfully directed at me, forcing me to stay put.
Get in the car was what I could read from his fierce gaze.
I finally managed to lift my legs and began counting my steps to his car. I opened the door and sat in the passenger seat, watching the unfolding events outside from the window.
Just like I’d expected, Feliks’ fury knew no bounds. He immediately grabbed Leo and began punching him hard in the face.
With every punch Feliks delivered, I felt my heartbeat spike. He dealt blow after blow till I lost count, and Leo was lying on the ground, unconscious.
Watching the whole scene caused my eyes to sting, and tears began to gather at the corners of my eyes. I would have lifted my hand to wipe them away, but I was too stiff to lift any body part.
After he was satisfied with how much he’d hit Leo, Feliks turned around, and I immediately felt like my heart would burst out of my ribcage.
I’d always known Feliks was cruel, but his eyes made my heart want to jump out of my ribcage—he looked more lethal than any beast I’d ever seen.