Love You Enough to Leave You Chapter 176
The operation ended at 4 a.m. The light above the door flickered off, and a group of doctors streamed out of the room, looking extremely fatigued. Oscar, who had been hovering just outside, was the first to approach them.
“Mr. Lancester, how’s Amelia?” Oscar asked anxiously. The woman’s injuries from the accident were severe, and Robert had stepped up as the chief of Principal General Hospital to assist with the operation.
Robert looked grave. He shook his head and said in a low voice, “Amelia’s injuries were too severe. It was a miracle that we were even able to deliver the baby without any complications. We’ve done our best, but Amelia’s not entirely in the clear yet. If she doesn’t regain consciousness within forty-eight hours, it’s possible that she may remain in a vegetative state. It’s also possible that she will…”
Robert trailed off. Everyone present, however, could fill in the missing pieces on their own. They were all equally unwilling to confront that fact.
Oscar’s expression was unfathomable. Throughout his body, he felt his blood slowly turning into ice.
“Mr. Lancester, you’re joking, aren’t you? Amelia’s always been healthy and strong. Why would she suddenly be in a vegetative state?” Oscar pleaded, the sides of his mouth curling up into a smile that was more of a grimace.
At the news, Olivia’s eyes reddened. Clutching onto Robert, she choked, “Robert, we’ve been friends for many years. Amelia’s one of us! You have to save her. The baby was just born. He can’t go through life motherless!”
Robert’s expression looked ghastly as he humbly replied, “Olivia, I’ve already done my best. It’s out of my hands now.”
Olivia staggered a little. At last, she was ultimately unable to withstand this shock that topped off the long, torturous night. With a flutter of her eyelids, she fainted dead away in Owen’s arms.
Robert hastily examined her, then turned to Owen. “Owen, bring her to the room to rest. She’s gotten too much of a shock. It’s placed too much stress on her heart.”
Owen swept his wife up in his arms and replied sternly, “Robert, no matter what it takes or how much money we’ll have to spend, you have to save Amelia.”
Robert smiled ruefully. “I’ll definitely do my best. I must remind you once again, though, that Amelia’s injuries are really too severe. It was enough of a medical miracle that the child survived and was delivered. You… perhaps you should still prepare yourselves for the worst.”
Owen’s face grew dark, but he nodded his head nonetheless. With a parting glance at Oscar, he headed off with his wife in his arms.
Robert patted Oscar’s shoulders. “Be strong, Oscar. Amelia still needs you,” he said solemnly.
Oscar looked defeated. He met Robert’s eyes as if in a daze, then looked at the woman who was being pushed into the room on a hospital bed by a nurse.
How frail she looks! Oscar realized with a start as if it was his first time seeing Amelia all over again.
And she looks so pale. His heart aching at the thought.
Amelia’s face, at rest, looked like a doll. There seemed to be almost no sign of life in her.
Oscar raised his hand almost sub-consciously to his chest as if he was trying to hold his heart together and stop it from breaking. For the first time, he felt every throb of his heart acutely. Each was a stab in Oscar’s chest that incited tremendous pain.
He had followed dumbly to the intensive care unit. Standing outside, Oscar pressed his forehead against the glass window and gazed intently at the woman lying on the hospital bed within.
Oscar’s fist clenched slowly, the veins on his arm bulging with the effort. His emotions whirled madly within him in a state of complete turmoil. Oscar felt as if his heart was being slowly wrung and felt suffocated. It was a pain that he would never wish on any other, nor hope to experience again in his lifetime.
Beside him, Tiffany darted a look at him. She then burst uncontrollably into tears.
As she sobbed, Tiffany shrieked, “Oscar, are you happy now? Amelia could be dead in two days! You can look forward to being with your lover for the rest of your life then! Aren’t you overjoyed?”
Oscar’s face was flushed.
Unable to cope with her agony, Tiffany unleashed it on Oscar in the form of unbridled fury.
Kicking and hammering his fists at Oscar, Tiffany blubbered, “Oscar, do you know what I hate most about you? If you don’t have any feelings for Amelia, then don’t lead her on! Why did you let her fall in love with you?”
Oscar submitted to Tiffany’s abuse’s in silence, his gaze remaining doggedly fixed on the glass. The sorrow in his eyes was immeasurable.
After a while, Tiffany had spent all of her energy lashing out at Oscar. Like a deflated balloon, her hands fell to her sides. She continued sobbing forlornly.
As she wept, Tiffany continued, “If anything happens to Amelia, what will happen to the baby? You Clintons are an unreliable bunch. If the baby falls into your hands, Amelia will be sure to blame me even if she’s comatose.”
Oscar remained silent.
Tiffany raised her head and glared at him through swollen eyes. However, when their eyes met, she did a double-take, her next words of accusation dying on her lips.
The look in Oscar’s glazed eyes was one that Tiffany had never witnessed in any other. It was an expression of complete, utter despair.
Tiffany also turned to look at Amelia lying still on the hospital bed. She slowly sobered up.
After a long while, she turned back to face Oscar. At last, the question that had always been on Amelia’s mind was finally voiced by Tiffany. “Oscar, let me ask you. Did you ever truly love Amelia?”
Oscar stood as if rooted to the spot. His eyes, however, betrayed the clamor in his mind.
He couldn’t help but ask himself the same question. Did I ever truly love Amelia?
Oscar thought he did. Why else would the sight of Amelia lying on that hospital bed, faded and lifeless, incur such debilitating pain in his heart?
He nodded. However, the faintest gleam of uncertainty shimmered in his eyes.
Tiffany stared at Oscar. She felt a sliver of consolation at his desperation. Look, Amelia! Oscar does have feelings for you. Your love wasn’t entirely unreciprocated after all.
“Oscar, since you did love Amelia, no matter what happens to her, please take good care of her baby. If you decide that you don’t want him, give him to me. I may not be as well-off as the Clintons, but as long as I can still feed myself, I won’t allow the baby to go hungry.” Tiffany asserted.
“He’s my son,” Oscar said. Those three words, however, were laden with meaning.
Tiffany pursed her lips. “I hope you’ll really treat him as your son, then. Not just another progeny.”
She turned back to the window and lapsed into silence. Tension lay thickly like an impenetrable wall between them.
At the security firm, the atmosphere was likewise strained.
Gary reached out and gave Riley a tight slap on the face, bellowing, “Riley, you’ve really disappointed me! I had such high hopes for you when I sent you to Amelia’s side to guard her. How could she have gotten into an accident barely within a day of your assignment? Are you that determined to run the security firm I’d painstakingly built up right into the ground?”
Riley’s face was still burning from the force of the blow. She bit her lip, refusing to make excuses for her mistake.
Howard stepped forward. In a mild tone, he reasoned, “Gary, I think Riley didn’t do it on purpose. Didn’t she hunt down the driver that caused the accident? She’s done her best to make amends. Can’t you forgive her this time?”
Gary’s face grew thunderous. It was a completely different look from the hearty, good-humored look he usually greeted them with.
“Howard, you should know the rules that our security firm operates by. Anyone who fails to protect our client will be punished. Riley allowed such an irreparable error to happen on the very first day of her assignment. There’s no need to retain her in our firm.” Gary said in a steely voice.
Riley’s eyes widened. She looked at Gary in disbelief.
Howard and Xander were equally thunderstruck. The three of them had been with Gary right from the beginning. Their relationship was iron-clad, forged in the fiery trials of a company struggling to survive in its infancy. The ties between them resembled friendship more closely than that of an employer and his employees. Gary’s resolute dismissal of Riley due to a single mistake was thus entirely unexpected.
Howard and Xander broke in simultaneously. “Gary, Riley didn’t mean for things to happen this way. We know that the accident that happened on the first day of her assignment was intentional. No one could have foreseen that a car would defy the red light and charge headlong into her, hurting a few pedestrians as well. You can’t blame Riley for this. She’d barely arrived by the client’s side then after receiving the assignment. If we’re talking about accountability, Riley’s share should be forty percent at most. The other sixty percent is the client’s fault.”
Gary looked piercingly at the two of them.
“Howard, Xander, when did you learn to make excuses?” he accused.
“Gary, we’re just speaking from our hearts. All Riley knew about the client was the material we got. She was completely unfamiliar with the client’s lifestyle and habits. It was a plain misfortune that the client got into an accident on Riley’s first day with her. You can’t deny all the hard work that Riley has put in before this. It isn’t fair to Riley at all if you fire her just like that,” Howard and Xander argued fervently in one spirit.
Gary paused.
Riley’s eyes were red, but she valiantly fought back the tears that threatened to spill over.
“Gary, are you really going to fire me?” Riley asked meekly.
Unsettled, Gary replied, “Riley, this was the resolution that our security firm was founded upon. As long as our clients get injured, the bodyguard assigned to the case must pay the price. Besides, your client was a little more than seven months pregnant and on the brink of delivery. This accident could have cost two lives. Firing you is already the lightest punishment I can give you.”
The trio fell silent.
Riley bowed her head. “Gary, if both Ms. Winters and her baby’s lives were both lost, as you said, I’ll voluntarily resign from the security firm.”
Gary nodded.
“Tomorrow, you’ll come with me to the hospital. If Amelia is fine and is willing to forgive you, I’ll consider letting you remain in the firm. Otherwise, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave. Rules are rules. I can’t set a bad precedent because of you,” Gary said somberly.
Riley nodded mournfully.
Gary glanced at her, then moved on. “Where’s that driver who caused the accident, then?”
Howard answered swiftly, “He’s still being interrogated.”
“Do a thorough investigation, then hand him over to the police. As for the mastermind behind this affair, you should know what to do about him,” Gary ordered.
Howard and Xander nodded in tandem.
“Don’t worry, Gary. Anyone who dares lay a hand on our clients will get what they deserve. If it’s a man, we’ll cut off both his hands. If it’s a woman… she’ll get to experience what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a car accident.” they chorused.
Gary nodded approvingly. “Be careful not to leave any evidence behind. I don’t want our firm to get into any trouble with the police,” he warned.
“Leave it to us, Gary,” Howard and Xander answered resolutely.
Gary dismissed them with a wave of his hand. “Go back and rest, then. We’ll discuss anything else at tomorrow morning’s meeting.”
“Sure, Gary.” Howard, Xander, and Riley filed out of the room. After they left, Gary slumped onto his chair. He felt absolutely suffocated by the weight of everything that had happened. Gary cradled his head in his hands with his shoulders bowed.
Outside the room, Howard turned to Riley. “Riley, don’t worry too much. Gary was trying to be professional and matter-of-fact. As long as your client forgives you, you’ll remain in the company.”
Riley, however, could not be cheered up. “Howard, nothing can change the fact that I messed things up. Excuses won’t redeem me. I’m fine. The two of you should go on and sleep. I want to be alone.”
Howard and Xander exchanged glances.
“We’ll send you back. It’s late. We can sleep right after all the way till morning,” they offered.
Riley spoke in a voice so low it was almost a growl. Menacingly, she said, “Go on! I want to be alone. Can’t I even do that?”
The two bodyguards could only look on helplessly.
“Don’t be like that, Riley. We didn’t mean it in that way. We simply didn’t want you…” they wheedled.
Before they could finish, however, Riley turned around and ran off.
Taken aback, Howard and Xander took a moment to recover their wits before sprinting after her.
“Don’t run, Riley! You can tell us anything,” they called.
Noticing that they had given chase, Riley picked up her speed. She raced into the lift, its forbidding metal doors slamming shut right in Howard and Xander’s face as they arrived before it, panting.
“Xander, what should we do?” Howard asked in anguish.
“Are you stupid? We’ll take the stairs,” the other man snapped, already running towards the fleeing woman.
There was no time to lose. By the time they reached the ground floor, however, Riley had already vanished.
“Shit!” Howard spat in frustration.
He raised an arm to his forehead to wipe his perspiration, and it came away dripping. After a few deep breaths, he said, “Let’s go. Riley’s obviously avoiding us.”
“But she…” Xander began but was immediately interrupted by Howard.
“Don’t worry. Riley can defend herself. Those homeless and drunk guys have nothing on her.” he declared.
“I’m just afraid that she isn’t in the right frame of mind. You know Riley’s feelings for Gary. After hearing his harsh words today, who knows what she may end up doing in her despair?” Xander demanded in return.
“She won’t. She’s a reasonable woman. No matter how upset she is, she’ll never stoop to doing anything foolish. Don’t worry about her,” Howard assured firmly.
There was nothing they could do. Confronted by their impotence, Howard and Xander turned on their heels and slowly headed back inside.
