#6 Play It Safe

"The burn was a second-degree burn, so it didn't cause much damage," Dr Tessa explained, looking from Vincent to Diane, who was behaving like a two years old baby.

"But she keeps complaining of pain," Vincent said. "Don't worry, your wife has a very fragile skin, I already administered pain killer to her, so she would be fine," the doctor said, amused by the two lovebirds. The way they had bashed into the hospital Emergency Room screaming that there was an emergency, altering every doctor, only for them to realize that it was just a minor burn.

"You must dot on your wife, Sir, to bring her to the hospital just because of this small injury. A home first aid box would have solved the problem," the doctor added verbally admiring them.

Diane smiled, she knew how much Vincent loved her but she didn't think others would be able to see it as well, if only they had met sooner, she would have been the one with the title of 'Mrs Russell' 

"Oh my gosh, did we make it obvious," Diane began blushing. "We really love each other, so we can't help showing our affection everywhere, I hope we didn't make you uncomfortable," Diane said.

"No, you guys are actually admirable and would definitely have cute kids in the future," the doctor said.

"We do have a son, and he is really cute," Vincent said. Out of his three kids, Jason, Ryan, and Rumi, he was particularly very proud to be Jason's father. He loved him more and would go out of his way just to make him happy, perhaps because Diane happens to be his mother.

"A girl would look more pretty," Dr Tessa teased, and they all laughed.

"You should rest for a while. The pain killer is very strong, so you might feel light-headed and dizzy," Dr Tessa said before she left.

Diane turned towards Vincent, giving him her cute puppy eyes. "Come on darling, the doctor said you would be fine. It's just a minor burn," Vincent said, patting her hair gradually.

"It's not just a minor burn. It's a second-degree burn, and from what I know about burn, they do leave a scar. What if this does leaves a scar on my precious thumb?" Diane whined. "Don't worry dear, it won't even if it does leave a scar, no one would notice because they would be so mesmerized by your beauty to even look at your thumb," Vincent said. His voice was so soft and gentle that it could easily pass off for a therapeutic consolation podcast.

"Did you see how Leilani behaved when I burned myself? She didn't even care about me, I was in pain, but she just sat there as if nothing happened, even when mother told her to get some ointment, I saw her, she didn't hasten her steps, she just walked gradually, she didn't even care about me and she spent alot of time getting the ointment, like how hard is it to get an ointment. I didn't even care her say sorry, she didn't call me sugar or try to share in my pain, she was just there and it seems she was happy that I got burned, she was happy, I saw her lips curve in a smile when I asked her if my injury would leave a scar, trust me, she was happy," Diane whined.

Vincent smiled at her, patting her head gently. "I know, but Leilani should be the least of your worries. In fact, she shouldn't even worry you. You are the one that I love, and nothing would ever change that," Vincent kissed her, gentle on her lips.

Diane was convinced that Vincent loved her more than he loved his wife, but she wasn't sure how long the love with love, even though they had a son together, but Vincent was always with Leilani, he sees her everyday, she is the last person he sees before going to bed and the first person he sees when he wakes up. She was jealous that Vincent sleeps and wakes up close to another woman and not her.

"If you love me that much, why don't you divorce her, just end your marriage with her already," Diane said.

"You of all people should know that I can't do that. I can't divorce Leilani. Trust me, if I could, I would have done so a long time ago. You know my grandfather dots on her more than anyone else in the family. Divorcing her might make me lose out on my inheritance," Vincent said.

"For the love of God, your grandfather is old, the man is crippled, why would a crippled man be the one standing on the way of our love. Jason would be five years soon, and he keeps calling another man's father. we need to be together as one big family," Diane paused. She touched Vincent's face carelessly before she placed a kiss on his lips. "Honey, you are the heir, the mainstay of the Russell conglomerates. Your grandfather would be the biggest fool of the century to disinherit you just because you divorced that nobody, Leilani. Jason is your first son, which makes him your heir, and I want everyone to know that Jason is the fourth generation heir and not that useless autistic boy, Ryan. Besides, you don't have to worry about your grandfather. Your mother is quite capable, she is the vice-president of the conglomerates and she would never let your father disinherit you, and she likes me more than Leilani, we really don't have anything to worry about," Diane said.

"Look, I understand how you feel, darling, but let's play it safe. My mother loves you, but she doesn't know about us or even Jason, so no one knows how she would react when she finds out. As for being capable, she might be but not compared to my grandfather. He hasn't resigned yet, which means he is still the chairman and president of the conglomerates. He is the highest shareholder, and he hasn't even named the heir and trust ne darling, I might be the CEO, but that does not mean that I am the most capable out of everyone in the Russell family. My grandfather can be a hassle, and he really dots on Leilani. He might name her heir ahead of her kids," Vincent said.

"What? Her son is autistic for the love of God. Does no one see that? Besides, how would he name her heir when she isn't even his daughter," Diane asked pissed. Everything about Leilani pissed her off, and she was tired of the pretense of being her friend, smiling and giggling around her.

"Have you forgotten? My mum stepped in as an aftercomer when my dad was terrible ill and later on passed away. Leilani is his granddaughter-in-law, which makes her family, and we have a daughter, Rumi. The Russell family do have a lot of family rules and traditions but there is nowhere it is written that girls are exempted from the line of succession, besides Ryan might be autistic but he isn't dumb, he is strangely brilliant and intelligent," Vincent paused thinking about his son's condition for the first time. He has read about autistic and from what he knows, Ryan was really extraordinary.

"Are you taking Leilani's side right now, or do you also plan on naming Ryan your heir when you take over the conglomerates?" Diane yelled angrily.

"No, I love you, and I love Jason more than anyone. He would forever be my first choice. All I am saying is that we should play it safe so we won't lose everything to Leilani and her kids, We should think about Jason, always," Vincent said.

Diane exhaled deeply, seeing reasons with Vincent. He was right after all. She can't just bear to lose anything to Leilani, not even the most useless thing. She just wants to take everything from Leilani and watch her perish.