Page 51 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

“Everything hurts,” she groaned, relaxing her back on the bed rest after taking a few gulps.

“I’m sorry, baby. The doctor will be here soon, and he’ll take care of you,” I replied, tracing small circles on her palm.

Enzo arrived with the doctor soon, and she was wheeled to the examination room while we waited for their return. My knees wouldn’t stop bouncing no matter how hard I tried to remain calm, and despite the air conditioning in the room, I could feel beads of perspiration forming on my forehead and palms.

“You must really love her,” Enzo commented, his eyes observing me like I was a specimen under a microscope.

Love? I honestly hadn’t thought that far. I’d never been in love before. Not even my parents loved me. I wouldn’t know what love felt like if it slapped me in the face. All I’ve known my whole life was duty and loyalty. If I’ve ever heard of love, it was spoken of as a weakness and an act of foolery.

Was this what love felt like? Feeling like your life would stop if someone ceased to exist? Feeling an unimaginable ache in your heart at the thought of never seeing them again? Sharing in their pain and wishing you could offer yourself up to ease whatever they were feeling?

Arielle is my woman, and I’d ascribed whatever I felt for her to a sign of my responsibility to her as my woman and my willingness to go to the ends of the Earth for her as the loyalty I owed her, almost the same as the one I owed my family. Nothing more, nothing else. The look of realization must’ve been bare naked on my face as Enzo stared at me in disbelief. “Please tell me you’ve at least told her that. Hold on. Did you even know you were in love with her?”

I gritted my teeth as a new wave of anger washed through me. Anger at Lorenzo for confronting my emotions without my permission, anger at the situation of things, and, most importantly, anger at myself for not being able to see what was right in front of me. I could’ve lost her without letting her know how much she meant to me.

Sensing I wasn’t about to engage in a deep heart-to-heart with him, Enzo dropped the topic and focused his attention somewhere else. If I was in love with Arielle, she’d be the first person I’d admit it to. Not Enzo, not God, not anyone, just her.

The doctor returned after a while and briefed us on the situation. He said Arielle was lucky to have been away from the site of direct impact, and her seatbelt helped hold her in place, but she slammed her head on something, resulting in her concussion, and hitting her head on the pavement only worsened it. He also noted a few cuts and sprains and said she’ll be in a lot of pain for a while and should be restricted to bed rest with very little to no physical and visual engagement while she recovers.

“When will she be discharged?” I asked, taking in all he had said.

“While she can be retained here and monitored closely, it’s not necessary for her to stay. She can recover well at home with close care from a nurse.” He replied.

“Can you assign a nurse to us?” I didn’t think I’d be able to totally take care of her here. I needed us to be home where I could give her all my care and attention. If a nurse is what we need for that to happen, then I’ll take the nurse—a nurse and Maya.

“Sure. You’ll fill out a form at reception along with the discharge form, and one of our home care nurses will be assigned to you. You can work out the schedule with her.” The doctor said, beeping the receptionist to prepare the necessary documents.

“Thank you. Thank you for saving her,” I said, holding the doctor’s eyes before returning to Arielle’s side.

“The doctor said you could come home today. How do you feel about that?” I asked, holding her hand.

“I’d love to. The hospital smells like disease and death. It makes me sick,” she said, and a small smile played on my lips. Even in her state, she still had it in her to make jokes.

A look of worry crossed her face, and her brows crinkled in the manner I’ve come to associate with her being scared or worried. “Can you call Vivian? I think I lost my phone during the accident. She must be worried.”

I nodded, pulling my phone out of my pocket and shooting Vivian a quick text. She didn’t ask how I got Vivian’s number, and I did not bother explaining myself.

The doctor returned with her prescriptions and a pamphlet containing detailed instructions on how to care for concussedpatients. I signed every document that needed attention, and by the time we were due to leave, it was a little past eight p.m.

CHAPTER 22

Arielle

The weeks following my recovery were the most emotional of my life. I’d never had so many people caring and fussing over me. I sometimes found myself shedding tears at the amount of love I was receiving. I couldn’t help feeling like I didn’t deserve it. The house constantly smelled of soup with Maya trying all the healing and rejuvenation recipes in the book to make me feel better.

Vivian was almost always in the house. She slept over the few nights following my discharge, stating she couldn’t return to her house and sleep peacefully, knowing I was in pain. Father sent his love and a few get-well notes accompanied by peonies, my favorite flower.

Even Enzo came through with a bunch of white roses and chocolates to cheer me up. Angelo still moved around, wearing a look of guilt every time he came to see me like he couldn’t stop blaming himself for the accident. I tried to convince him it wasn’t his fault, but he wouldn’t budge. He mentioned how he failed his boss and how it was supposed to be him in bed and not me. I didn’t bother convincing him more after that.

Mikhail, on the other hand, completely surprised me. He took a break from work and duty, sharing his responsibilities betweenEnzo and Benjamin, making room for the absolute necessities. He was home every minute and availed himself to my every need. I tried a few times to get him to go to work, telling him Maya, Vivian, and the nurse were enough to take care of me, but he wouldn’t budge. He spoon-fed me every meal and cleaned me up morning and night.

He carried me to every part of the house I needed to get to. He even learned how I wash and style my hair so he could do it for me. I’ve never been that prioritized in my life, and just when I thought he couldn’t surprise me anymore, I vaguely made mention of how much I missed being outdoors, and I woke up to a cookout in our backyard on a Saturday morning.

Almost everyone I had some form of friendship with was present. Even Chloe from the office was present and Mikhail’s secretary, Cynthia. It turned out to be the most beautiful day. Everyone came through with gifts, homemade comfort meals, and get-well-soon wishes.

It all felt surreal to the orphanage kid in me to be the center of so much love and affection. I couldn’t help feeling like an imposter every time someone sent a kind word my way or Mikhail sent one of those toe-curling smiles my way. Guilt burned down my throat like raw, undiluted acid. I ended the night sobbing like a baby and saying thank you till my throat was too dry from sobbing to utter another word. We were on our way back from my last check-up at the hospital when I noticed Mikhail taking a route different from the one that leads home.

“I think you missed our turn,” I said, calling his attention to the road in case it was a mistake.

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