"Mary..." William stared at Mary with confusion.
"He is your son! Your son!" Crying frantically, Mary went on, "And now, he is injured. Please save him! He is in dire need of your help." She didn't mind pleading. After all, her son was dangling between life and death.
Apart from Mary's sobs, the corridor was eerily quiet.
William stood still for a second, perplexed. The information that was thrown at him was too much to digest!
"Our... son?" he asked when he finally found his voice. William suddenly felt his throat tighten. It seemed that his ability to speak had been stripped away.
"Yes! He is our son!" Tears blurred Mary's vision. Taking a step forward, she made a grab at his collar.
"I will save him..." he mumbled.
"Hurry up then!" Lucas walked towards William and pulled him to the operating room.
"Sir, first take the child's father to have an examination," the nurse said as she watched them enter the operating room.
"Bullshit!" Lucas roared, "He is quite a healthy man. These formalities will only waste time. I'm a doctor. Come with me to the operating room!"
"Well... Alright. Alright." The nurse knew better than to argue. Nodding her head, she walked inside with them.
As soon as William entered the operation room, his eyes fell on Alick who was lying limply on the bed.
Alick was unconscious and his face was streaked with blood. 'He is my son,' William realized, tears coursing down his cheeks.
His thin lips, eyebrows, cheekbones and nose were strikingly similar to William's. They left no room for doubt.
As this realization struck, William stretched his hand and caressed Alick's pale face.
It was terrible to see his son in this condition. He wished their first meeting had been different.
"This is the father of the child," Lucas said to the doctor, holding William's hand, "so please prepare the equipment! Draw his blood immediately!"
Several doctors entered, pushing an operating table.
"I'm warning you!" Regaining his composure, William grabbed a doctor's collar and glared at him with his blood-shot eyes. "If anything happens to my son, you and your lousy hospital will disappear from the world!"
"I... I will try my best!" The poor doctor could only nod his head. William's words had scared him enough.
"Calm down, William We can't afford to waste time on this," Lucas said, sighing.
William took another look at the little boy next to him. All at once, his expression softened.
Soon, a thin syringe was inserted into William's arm. He watched as the blood was drawn from him and given to his little boy. He felt an inexplicable surge of happiness.
Shifting his gaze, he looked at the ceiling above. It had been an unreal day. He couldn't wrap his head around everything that had happened.
Outside the operating room, Barry was pacing back and forth, his thoughts in a muddle.
'How am I going to talk to Mary?' he wondered, feeling like an irrelevant outsider for the first time. Mustering up the courage, he decided to do it anyway.
"Alick, please be okay,"
Mary prayed. Now that William had offered his blood, he would be fine. But her motherly heart couldn't rest until she saw him. With everything that happened today, her health had taken a dip. Feeling dizzy, she sat down. Her elbows were on her knees and her face in her hands. Beaten and weary, Mary rubbed her eyes.
"Mary!" Seeing her in this state, Barry couldn't help but rush towards her. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
"I am fine," she said, peeling her hands away from her face. 'She doesn't look alright,' Barry thought. Taking a look at him, she mumbled, "I'm sorry ...I am sorry."
"Shhhhh!" Barry stopped her from continuing.
Shaking her head, she went on, "I'm sorry. I had no choice. I'm sorry. I know somewhere in your heart you are unhappy with it."
Barry's heart broke into pieces seeing her in this condition. "Silly girl, you are blabbering rubbish." Barry forced a smile and went on, "Alick's safety is of the utmost importance. Nothing else matters." After this, he squeezed her hand.
"Mary!" Archer called after her as he came out of another ward. "How is Alick doing?" he asked.
"At present, he is having an operation," Barry answered. "Where is Elissa?" Mary asked worriedly. She had been so preoccupied with Alick, she nearly forgot about Elissa.
"The doctor said what happened must have startled her. During the checkup, she fell asleep. But you have nothing to worry about. Let her take some rest."
"Are you sure she is okay? Are there any injuries?" Mary asked, her frown deeper than ever.
"Alick protected her well. Her wounds are fairly superficial," replied Archer.
"Alick..." At the mention of Alick, she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Be calm, Mary. He will be fine," Barry assured her as he patted her on the back.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Contract