Wake up

Scenes from nearly two months ago painfully flashed through Livy's mind as she sat beside an unconscious Arthur. She wanted to take one of Arthur's hands and hold it tight, but she didn't know if she had any more rights. Even though she previously accused him of playing behind her back, after the truth was proven, she felt extremely guilty.

She buried her head in her hands. How could she do that? What made her distrust Arthur? She should have trusted him more than anything since he was her own husband, why would she believe other people's fake story?

She had seen how Arthur had treated her with tenderness and care so far. The only one who stayed with her, and the one who looked after her the most was also Arthur.

Does she even deserve to have his care back?

Arthur almost died and it was her fault, her entire fault. She indirectly restrained him from going abroad, because of her selfishness. It was she who had caused Gwen's attack on him. She was also the one who made his condition finally worsen.

Tears started flowing down her cheeks. She leaned forward in the chair and touched his cheek.

"I'm so sorry." She choked as more tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I've been terrible to you. I didn't believe you. I don't know how much I have to say I'm sorry, even I can't forgive myself. I'm so sorry, Arthur ..."

"It might work better if he was awake to hear it."

Livy's head jerked towards the door and saw Evander walk in.

"You're back." Livy cleared her throat and looked at Arthur's pale face again.

Even though Evander went to smoke outside, as he approached, Livy didn't smell any nicotine.

"Tsk! You're crying again. See how Arthur will scold us for letting you drain your tears like this." Evander snorted.

Livy wiped her tears quickly.

"Where's Dave?"

"I told him to go and rest." Livy replied.

Evander nodded, then his phone vibrated successively and he clicked his tongue. He sat down on a couch some distance away and saw that there had been a lot of messages coming in from his men with information about Luther Finnegan recently.

While reading the message, he remembered the person he sent on the phone at that time.

"Sir, Mr. Finnegan came to the penthouse today. He and Mr. Kylan seemed to be discussing something important. He came home angry."

"Then?"

"He returned to the hospital after that, then less than an hour later, he came out and went to Mr. Arthur's residence. Not finding him, he went again to the cemetery."

"..."

"Turns out he was visiting the grave of his long-dead first wife."

"Okay."

Because Dave was there at the time, Evander didn't say much, but at this time he had already typed a few things to send to the person he was assigned to. He asked the man to keep an eye on Luther.

"But why did he meet Kylan?" he thought. "Did he already know the truth?"

Even if he already knew the truth, he must not know Arthur's current whereabouts. At least he couldn't mess up this calm atmosphere, until Arthur had completely recovered.

Sighing, Evander immediately contacted his brother.

Within two waiting tones, the call was answered by his assistant, "Young Master Evan, now the President is—"

Evander cut him off, "Tell him not to tell anyone where Arthur is. Whatever happens he has to keep his mouth shut. Got that?"

Without hearing an answer on the other end, the line was turned off.

All of the people under his brother were trained people. With him saying that, his brother's assistant would definitely understand. Evander knew his brother very well, and his wishes would certainly be granted.

He became calmer now.

Luther knew about the truth only his guess. But if Luther really knew and wanted to see Arthur, how could he stay silent?

Sighing, he didn't want to think about it anymore and turned off his phone before his brother called him back. He spent his precious time in a complicated mood. Shit! Luther or anyone else would pay the price if they started bothering him again.

As he stared ahead, his gaze accidentally collided with Livy, who was also looking at him and probably heard what he had just said.

"Well, there's a problem to be solved there. Nothing to worry about." Evander elegantly removed his glasses. "It's all tiring, isn't it?"

Livy turned her head and looked at Arthur again. She didn't know who Evander was talking to, but she did hear him. She was confused why he needed to keep Arthur's whereabouts a secret?

Is Arthur in danger?

Livy shuddered at the thought that she would see Arthur hurt again. She immediately gripped Arthur's hand tightly.

"Can I ask you?"

Evander, who had almost closed his eyes, turned his head. "Say it."

Livy brought Arthur's hand to her cheek. "How long have you known Arthur?"

"Eleven years." Evander answered.

"Then ... do you know how Arthur and his father were related? He told me that after his mother died, his father left with his new wife and left him. How did they end up together again?"

While Arthur told her about his past, he didn't talk about what happened after his father left him. Livy knew that there were still many secrets that Arthur had yet to reveal to her. Even though at first she wanted to wait for him to open his heart to tell his past himself, but she felt curious now.

It was clear what happened a month ago at the hospital bus stop, that Arthur suspected Matthew and his stepmother as the people who ordered Gwen to harm her. But until now it is still not proven whether they are guilty. Gwen was currently under arrest, during which time she didn't open her mouth at all. Also Arthur seems to really hate his step family, especially his father.

So what was the reason he came back to this family?

Evander walked to the foot of the bed and looked at Arthur who was still unconscious. Seeing the nasal cannula stuck in his nose and hearing his weak breath, Evander's heart began to burn with rage.

"I think Arthur would have killed someone who preceded him by telling you the past he's been holding back. But I'm the only person who isn't afraid of that." Evander chuckled. "When I knew him, his relationship was already bad with his father."

Evander replayed the past in his head and sighed.

"He was on the run at the time, and lived with a scavenger. Every day he went around collecting used goods in slum housing near the port to survive. One time he saw me being harassed by thugs and saved me, that's where our meeting started." Evander smiled at the memory. "Since I'm not familiar with the area, I followed him. After all, I'm also indebted to him for saving me, so I earnestly intend to become his friend."

They are three years apart in age. If at that time Evander was sixteen, then Arthur was nineteen.

"Long story short, after we knew each other for two years, we became close. Well, maybe I'm the only one who thinks that, Arthur himself is a closed person, but he never refuses my presence anyway."

Remembering the continuation of the story, Evander began to feel uncomfortable.

"Because Arthur never told me about himself or his family, I never asked either. But one day he suddenly disappeared from the slum housing. No one knew where he was, not even the old uncle who lived with him. It's just that the old uncle told me that some men come looking for him."

"Then?"

"Then ..." Evander was silent for a while, "because I was still curious where he had gone, I asked my brother to help me find his whereabouts. With minimal information about his identity, it was very difficult. But they didn't give up. On the fifth day, my brother's informants found that Arthur is in the hospital and has just had surgery."

"What surgery did he have?" Livy asked in a trembling voice.

"Kidney removal." Evander answered angrily. "He disappeared at that time not because he left, but his stepmother kidnapped him and took his kidney to donate to Matthew. That's why he came back to the family."

"Ngh ..." Livy was very annoyed and put her hand on her chest. She had indeed seen a scar on Arthur's left abdomen, but she didn't expect it to be the scar from the surgery to remove one of his kidneys.

She felt like her heart, liver and spleen were clenching and it made her unable to breathe.

***

Waking up is like slowly crawling out of a hole of darkness and numbness. He could see the light in the end, but the closer he got, the more pain he started to feel. He didn't even remember why he was in pain. Is he hurt?

His whole body ached, from his toes to his head it felt like they were being pressed tightly by a boulder. He couldn't even move a finger.

Arthur opened his eyes slowly and in the mist he stared at the white ceiling with the chandelier above it. The light pulled him from sleep. Unbearably bright, it seared his eyelids, nudging them out of the darkness and shadows. His eyelids twitched and he peered through his eyelashes, seeing nothing but white, painful and piercing.

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth in pain. It hurt … for a moment he was willing to open his eyes and groan in pain. Then he tried to relax as much as possible to lower the pain level.

What happened?

There was a wet cloth lying on his forehead, now not as cold as it should be, but warm. Arthur slowly reached out a hand, which he was starting to move and placed his hand on it. He held it there for a moment to rest before tightening his fingers and tugging at the cloth. Even the slightest movement tired him out and he just lay still to catch his breath for a few moments.

"Arthur, you awake? Are you with me?"

His hand was squeezed gently and he heard the distinctive voice of his little wife that he missed. He tried again to open his eyes, until the piercing light became a slightly clearer shape.

"... Am I alive or dead?" he muttered.

A drop of Livy's tear fell, she couldn't control herself and hugged Arthur gently. "You are alive. You are here, you will stay here and live."

The hug lasted quite a long time, but Arthur couldn't return it because his strength was still weak. After Livy pulled away she then kissed him on the forehead, then the kisses down to his nose and lips.

"How do you feel? I'll call the doctor." Livy wiped her tears.

Arthur held her hand, still a bit dazed and he blinked a few times.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"

Arthur didn't answer because he remembered what he had almost forgotten since waking up. Wasn't he stabbed? So this is at the hospital?

He looked around and found he was in a large room that had luxurious facilities like a presidential suite. The difference was that there were unfamiliar machines and equipment around him. Oddly enough, he could see all of that clearly, even from a distance away. He stared at the door in the corner of the room that had the light switch right beside it, the entire wall here was a soft light blue.

"Arthur, s-say something. You're worrying me." Livy held his cheeks to look at her.

Arthur was stunned again when he saw a pretty face that he could clearly enjoy. His hand touched her cheek.

"You are so pretty," he whispered.

Livy smiled and nodded. "You can see clearly now?"

"A little."

"You drink first." Livy took a glass and poured warm water from a thermos. Because Arthur had to be on bedrest, she used a straw to help him drink.

After he finished drinking, Arthur stared at her. "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine. You're the one lying in the hospital bed!" Livy pouted. "You scared me. You slept long enough and left me alone. You must be in so much pain, right? You're bleeding everywhere. Everywhere! If it hurts too much, why don't you share it with me, hm? Why are you keeping it to yourself?"

"Don't be angry. It doesn't hurt." Arthur tried to calm her down with a smile.

Livy rested her cheek on his stomach, right where his kidney should be. Her tears dripped uncontrollably. How could it not hurt seeing how much he was suffering?

"Don't cry."

Seeing Livy's tears not stopping, Arthur tried to get up. Because he had no strength, he barely even raised his head and he fell down again.

"Don't move. I'm not crying. I'm not crying." Livy hastily wiped her tears and sat up straight.

"It doesn't hurt, believe me."

"Mn." Livy didn't argue. She covered Arthur with the blanket and held his hand tightly.

Arthur squeezed Livy's hand back and he found her hand a little cold and took it under the blanket to warm it. "Sorry, I made you worry."

Livy shook her head. These words made her remember how Arthur was bleeding in her lap; pale, weak, in pain, difficult to breathe and unconscious. No matter how she pressed the wound in his side, the blood would not stop. The edges of her eyes reddened again, she might cry any minute.

Arthur sighed. "Come here. Come closer."

Livy obediently approached, Arthur then pulled her cheek, gently brushing away the remaining tear marks. During that movement, he didn't take his eyes off Livy's face, he really liked this face, just like the face he missed from his childhood friend in the past.

"I love you. I promise I won't make you sad anymore."

He couldn't help himself and planted a warm kiss on her pink lips.

... to be continued ...