Chapter 20
Inaudible yellings was what she could decipher in her slumber. She squeezed her eyes tight as she tried to focus on her sleep but the yellings echoed in her mind. It felt like it was coming from a faraway place, pulling her into its hold.
At once Crystal shot her eyes open. Her weak vision was distorted and blurred.
Her eyes trailed to the curtains that were opened wide in hopes of a tempting breeze.
The sky was painted in a horizontal canvas of blue, orange and pink colours, throwing its enthralling beauty over the mansion.
How long had she been unconscious? Through out the day she had been slipping in and out of consciousness.
One moment she was awake and the next moment she found herself being dragged back into the abyss of darkness by a strong magnet like pain that was smashing to smithereens her limbs and cells.
She squinted her eyes to try and make out the face of who it was thundering orders.
It was Leonardo. By the looks of it, he clearly had no clue she was awake as he kept on booming orders at the doctors who stood in front of him.
“What is going on with her? Why is she in so much pain? I didn’t pay you both to lazy around did I?”Leonardo rhetorically asked.
His Adams apple gobbled up and down in anger and he could feel his fest clenching just by thinking of Crystal’s weak state.
Seeing her in this condition ignited fears within him. These sort of fears, he had never felt them before.
He thought he never cared about her well-being but here he was doing everything he could to get her back on her feet.
She disobeyed his orders and was never submissive. She even had a kiss with chase that blew up a grenade in his head. He almost killed chase because of it.
But he was back here trying so hard to get her hale and hearty not even minding the cost.
When did he suddenly become this caring? How did he become this?
Leonardo racked his brain to find answers to why he suddenly felt scared by seeing Crystal in this state but he couldn’t get one.
His mind was lost in a labyrinth of puzzles and mysteries.
Nothing made sense to him now but all he knew was that he wanted to see Crystal healthy again.
“Will you both answer me!?’Leonardo demanded after a long silence.
“It will be best if we take her to the hospital so she can be properly administered with drugs and treatment”Crystal heard the calm voice of one the doctor respond.
“She isn’t going anywhere. If you can’t treat her from home then you fuck off. I’ll get better doctors to do that”Leonardo savagely spat at the two doctors.
“Mr Leonardo look..”one of the doctors tried reasoning with him but Leonardo hoisted his hands at him.
“You want me to take her to the hospital so she can get more sick huh? Her condition, her fragile state needs a calm and quiet place to heal. My mansion is the perfect place for that. If you can not treat her get your ass of my property and I’ll hire more competent doctors!”Leonardo raged like an angry bull, pointing his index finger at the mortified doctors.
Crystal could faintly hear what the other doctors were saying. Her head spinned and that same excruciating pain was being thrown into her system again and again.
Her throat felt dry and parched and her mouth felt acidic. She at once coughed alerting Leonardo and the doctors who quickly turned over to face her.
“You are awake”Leonardo frantically stated, rushing to her side.
“Water”she breathed out in a struggle.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
Leonardo poured water from the nearby jug on the bedside wardrobe into a cup and fed it to her.
Crystal drank it hungrily, allowing the cool water wet her desert lungs.
“What are you both looking at? Get out or come check her!” Leonardo baritone voice spat acrimoniously at the doctors.
They quickly scurried to Crystal, checking her pulse and administering drugs into her drip and intravenous injections.
“Why are my in so much pain?”Crystal asked in a whisper, her eyes being choked up with tears.
Leonardo gently took one of her frail hands and tenderly caressed it. “You slept in the shower. You have a serious cold”
“You caused… it”Crystal replied with hesistance.
Leonardo ignored her reply and shot glares at the doctors.
“Are you both done?”he rudely asked.
“Yes. We’ve already given you the list for her drugs. We will come check on her again”One of them nervously replied.
Leonardo nodded and tore his gaze from the terrified doctors and back to an ailing Crystal.
They scampered away leaving only Crystal and Leonardo.
“Crystal you will be fine ok” Leonardo whispered, leaning down to her.
He brushed off some strands of her thin hair off her face and gave her a peck on the forehead.
Her skin was hot on his lips.
Crystal recoiled on feeling his lips on her feeble skin.
He looked down at her, his eyes a pained stare of guilt and regret.
He never knew him beating up chase would make Crystal fall sick.
A sudden pang of jealousy began brewing within him but he managed to control himself.
“W-why are you l-loo-king at me like that?”Crystal struggled to ask in her shaky voice.
Leonardo gave her no reply. He instead leaned forward once more and began planting pecks on her forehead.
Crystal flinched once more, expecting his short kisses to be rough and dominating but it felt soft.
It was calm and soothing, as if telling her that she would be alright.
His pecks felt like a tranquilizer to her restless soul, gently putting her at ease ever so lovingly.
How could the same lips that at one point in her life spat vile, hateful words to her also provide her with so much relief?
Who exactly was Leonardo and what really went on in his mind?
Leonardo stopped planting kisses all over Crystal’s face and stared at her.
Crystal felt very uncomfortable under his piercing gaze and turned her face away.
An unsettling silence settled between both of them for a while before the intrusion of a maid who carried a tray of food.
Crystal stared jaws ajar at it.
It was heavily stuffed with food. Was it all for her?
The maid dropped it on the vanity table placed in the room and Leonardo motioned for her to leave.
“C’mon it’s time to eat”Leonardo softly said.
He at once helped Crystal to sit up straight which got Crystal more dazed. He was being so caring.
In between the procedure, Crystal kept on wincing as a result of the various injections piercing through her skin and she feared Leonardo might lash out at her as a result of her multiple pained cries but he didn’t.
He was being the opposite of what she knew him for right now.
Leonardo placed the tray of food on the bed and stuffed some chicken in the fork.
He brought it up to Crystal’s face and she attempted taking it from his hand but he shook his head at her whilst giving her raised eyebrows, as if telling her he would feed her.
She gulped and took a bite out of the chicken as he had his unwavering gaze at her.
Slowly, Crystal felt her nerves relaxing and she gradually began feeling more at ease with Leonardo feeding her.
He kept on feeding her like a toddler as she perused his appearance.
His long hair that cascaded down his shoulders were dishevelled and messy.
He had his sleeves folded up and his brows creased.
He didn’t look like he had rested himself nor eaten.
“Why don’t you eat too?”Crystal asked underneath her breath.
She fervently prayed he wouldn’t yell at her.
Leonardo gave her a faint smile.
“I’ll eat once you’ve eaten”
Wow. Who was this man sitting right in front of her? Was this the same Leonardo or it was a different person?
When did Leonardo became so caring? Could he really be the beast she had always envisioned him as or there was more to his character?
Her head throbbed with each puzzling question she threw at herself.
She opened her mouth and made an attempt to speak but Leonardo cut her short immedately.
“I’ll eat gattina. You eat first ok. Please eat so you can take your drugs”Leonardo admonished softly.
Crystal slowly agreed to his request. Once again, silence swept through the atmosphere but it wasn’t one that got her scared or anxious.
This time she felt at peace with it and continued eating from Leonardo’s hand.