Chapter 186: VISITING THE HOSPITAL
"Can I go to the hospital?" Hazel asked Ranon. She felt strange asking for permission to do something, but somehow, she thought she had to do it.
He had been keeping her under ’house arrest’ for a week. Even though Ranon hadn’t restricted the information about the aftermath of the incident in Olivia’s apartment, Hazel still felt the need to see her.
"You are not going anywhere," Ranon said. He didn’t even spare her a glance.
He was furious enough to know Hazel would walk into danger willingly. She had no regard for her safety, and despite the fact he had stopped coming to the office and this created an uproar for the higher-ups, Ranon was still busy cleaning up her mess.
There was no way he would let his wife sit in the interrogation room. She didn’t like to be interrogated, and he was well aware of that. Therefore, he had pulled all of his connections.
Even Ares and Lucian couldn’t say anything. They couldn’t even complain about the heaps of their workload when they saw how furious Ranon was.
"Please?" Hazel said in a sweet tone, she put down her cutlery, and then kissed his cheek. "I want to see Olivia’s condition."
Ranon kept eating; he treated her like air, and upon seeing this, Hazel was annoyed, but she needed to keep her temper in check.
She had to admit it; she was in the wrong to put his baby in danger.
Therefore, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck; she even moved to sit on his lap, forcing him to see her.
"Please?" Hazel kissed his chin, acting coquettishly. "I want to see her."
"Yara has been informing you about it."
"Yes, but it will be different if I see her in person." She kissed his neck this time.
Finally, Ranon looked down and found her pleading gaze. "Do you think by kissing me, I will give in to you?" He frowned.
Ranon had realized that Hazel was not afraid of violence; she didn’t shy away from dangerous situations, and she had proved it time and time again, but still, it didn’t sit well with him.
The thought that something could go wrong and she could get hurt would bring back his anger anew.
Hazel pursed her lips; this time she pecked his lips. She bit him lightly, but before she could pull away, Ranon placed his hand on her nape and deepened the kiss. He bit back. Damn this man!
"Ouch, what is that for?" Hazel exaggerated her reaction. She pulled away and glared at Ranon, but she saw a complicated look in his eyes.
"Punishment." He then leaned over again, but this time, the kiss was gentle; he licked her lips that he had bitten.
Yet, Hazel felt something else. It was subtle, and she almost missed it.
As an assassin, she relied on her instincts and was highly attuned to other people’s emotions. There was something different about the kiss.
The way he kissed her was as if... he put his feelings? If she could put it into words.
Undoubtedly, the physical attraction was there, or else they wouldn’t have had sex more than they agreed upon. They had breached the clause about sex a long time ago.
But that was it—a physical thing.
However, this time it was different.
Or, probably Hazel only imagined things?
"You smoke," Hazel said. "I can taste it." It was faint, but the trace of tobacco was there. "I thought you stopped."
Ranon brushed her lips with his thumb. "Tempted."
"Hm?" Hazel tilted her head. He talked about the cigarette, right? "So, can I go to the hospital?" She still had not yet dropped the topic.
This time, Ranon kissed her neck. He nibbled on her skin, and before she realized what he was doing, she could feel it.
"No, no!" Hazel pushed his head away and glared at him. "Don’t tell me, you gave me a hickey again?!"
Hazel jumped from his lap, and it almost gave him a heart attack, but she was nimble on her feet as she rushed towards the mirror and saw it. It was too late, though. The red mark was there.
"Ranon! You are unbelievable!" Hazel didn’t really mind it if he did that; she noticed it was his thing, but he should have had common sense not to do it in the exposed area.
"You can go, but I will go with you," Ranon said languidly. He approached Hazel and hugged her from behind.
"Ugh! I want to kick your ass!"
"Sure, if you like my ass that much."
Hazel: "..."
***
Valerie stared at her brother. She had a mix of emotions to see him here. It had been two days since he was admitted to the rehabilitation center. The legal process against him was still ongoing.
As much as she didn’t want to see him again, she couldn’t abandon him when he needed someone to rely on the most.
He didn’t say anything. He kept staring into the distance, and when Valerie approached him, he would smile softly at her.
"You are here," Marcus said with his hoarse voice.
"I brought you lunch." Valerie sat down. She glanced at his handcuffs. Because of what happened, he was put under tight security.
It had not yet decided whether he was a witness or he would be convicted along with the other people who crashed into Olivia’s apartment.
Valerie had been struggling to find a top-notch lawyer to represent him in court. Thankfully, Lucian helped her, or else she wouldn’t have known where to start.
"There will be a lawyer who will see you this evening."
"Okay." Marcus nodded. He opened the lid of the soup, and the smell wafted in the air. It was his favorite.
After that, there was a silence that stretched between them as they ate quietly.
"Do you know... Olivia’s condition?"
Valerie shook her head. "I don’t know. There is tight security in her ward. I think the McKennas intervened." She then added. "I will try to get some information later."
She was thinking of asking Hazel. Mrs. Leighton, strangely enough, got involved in this, even though, from what Lucian said, Mr. Leighton tried to cover it up.
"Thank you."
They continued eating.
Meanwhile, Olivia also had just regained consciousness, and the first person she saw was her mother. She was sitting on the sofa, watching a movie.
There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked exhausted.
"You are awake."
Olivia was familiar with this voice even though she had not yet heard it for so long. Walking into the room, was her father. His sharp eyes found her.
His remark also made her mother aware.
"Oh, Olivia," she sighed, but before she could approach her, she was given a command.
"Call a doctor. Leave us alone."
Now that Olivia witnessed it again, she remembered how much she hated the way her father talked to her mother. He had never asked; he always used a commanding tone, as if he was talking to one of his subordinates.
She hated her parents because of this. Her father, who thought he owned his woman and she had to do his bidding without questions, and her mother, who was very passive and accepted the way she was treated.
"How are you feeling?" Deryl asked his daughter. He pulled a chair to sit next to Olivia’s bed.
If she were not very weak and there were not an IV drip attached to her, Olivia would choose to leave right away instead of having this conversation with her father.
There was a reason why she didn’t mind being disowned by him.
"Alive," Olivia said. She looked at the ceiling, childishly refusing to see him.
"Hm." Deryl nodded, as if he was an understanding father, but what he said next made Olivia’s blood run cold. "But I can’t say the same to your baby. My condolences." He was not sorry at all.
If anything, it sounded like he was mocking her.
Olivia finally gave the reaction Deryl wanted. Their eyes met, and he saw something was broken in her eyes.
"What did you say?"
"The bullet killed the baby in your womb." Deryl then added unnecessary details that Olivia didn’t need to know. "It’s an early pregnancy; it will not affect you in any way."
The way he was talking about it was very light, as if it was not a big deal. In a way, it was not for him.
However, Olivia felt as if the whole world had collapsed on her. She didn’t know how to feel. Should she feel overjoyed, as there was nothing that tied her down to Marcus?
"Where is Marcus?" Olivia glared at her father. Did he know about the pregnancy?
"You are still looking for him?" Deryl raised his brows and then cackled. "I have seen a stupid woman, but your stupidity is embarrassing. You don’t have any regard for yourself."
Deryl stood up just as Elsa came with a doctor and a nurse.
"Answer me! Where is he?!" Olivia shouted, but Deryl kept walking away, disregarding Olivia’s demand for an answer.
Outside Olivia’s ward, a man approached him and informed him about something.
"Mrs. Leighton is here with Mr. Leighton. She wants to see Miss Olivia."
"Leighton?" Deryl frowned. He knew the involvement of Hazel, despite Ranon’s attempt to cover it up.
"Should we let them in?"
Deryl contemplated for a while. Ranon was their former target before River disappeared, but a few attempts later, Arthur couldn’t think of a way to take him down; instead, he got himself beaten up by him.