Chapter 5

Adrian

With Clara in my arms, my mind can finally go quiet. There are no anxious voices lurking in the depths of my consciousness, no lingering thoughts of hopelessness or despair revolving around her health condition. I gently brush her hair out of her face, a small smile spreading across her face.

“Hey,” I whisper, filling in the silence. Clara looks at with those beautiful blue eyes of hers. “You can’t risk your life like that again, okay?”

Five years ago, my hospital failed to save a mafia member. He came into the emergency room with a bullet lodged into his heart. The doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to save him but at the end of the day, he died.

Because of their failure, the mafia decided to place a bounty on my head. When that fateful day came, the one where someone decided to try and fulfill the bounty, it was Clara who got shot instead of me. She slipped into a coma not too long after, her body protecting itself from death.

The memory of her body in my arms keeps me awake at night. It is a day that I will never forget. I am so grateful that she is awake, alive, and still breathing.

Clara’s face twitches, her smile hardening for a split second before her face softens. She nuzzles into me and places her hand on my chest.

“Everything that I have gone through has been worth it,” she sighs. Her lips push to the side, though, and her eyes fill with pity. “I didn’t expect Stella to react so strongly to us wanting to be together…I hope it doesn’t affect our relationship, Adrian.”

“It’ll be okay, Clara,” I smile down at her, “I’ll talk to her. You should get some sleep, though, and rest up.”

Clara nods. I slide off of the bed and help move her pillow back under her head. A quiet groan escapes her lips and I tug the blankets up her body.

She takes my hand in hers. I give it a gentle squeeze, leaning down to press a tender kiss to the top of her head. She lets go and I hover in the room, silently watching her fall asleep.

Clara’s breaths remain steady as sleep easily overtakes her body. I put my hands inside my pockets. There’s an itch in the back of my brain.

Stella’s reaction today was…odd. The tears in her eyes seemed genuine, the way her voice cracked made it seem like she didn’t want to divorce me.

My heart aches. I place my hand over my chest, trying to remedy the sore feeling that forms in my chest.

The feeling is unfamiliar to me. Is this guilt? Does her heart also ache like mine does?

No, that can’t be. Stella is in our marriage for money, not love. Why would she have agreed to all of the surgeries if it weren’t for the financial stability and security?

The thought leaves me feeling unsteady, unsure of her motivations behind out marriage.

I shake my head and exit Clara’s private room. The door silently clicks shut behind me and I take my time walking down the hallway. Loud voices catch my attention, though, and I hesitate to turn the corner.

“Every extra day that I spend with him means more money for me. It doesn’t matter if I love Adrian or not,” Stella’s voice echoes down the hallway.

Any trace of remorse that I once felt for that woman vanishes. My ears heat from irritation, her voice sounding like nails being dragged across a chalkboard.

So…Stella is exactly what I thought she was: a gold digger. Nothing more, nothing less. I scoff.

She’s afraid of losing her status as my wife, isn’t she? She’s afraid that my money will soon dry up and she’ll have nothing to spend on whatever it is that she buys for herself.

Stella can keep her position for all I care. It doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that she leaves Clara alone, keeping her out of whatever trouble it is that she finds herself in.

After all, her parents and I have caused irreparable damage to her body.

I feel my car keys in my pants pocket and head for the exit, quickly finding myself in the hospital parking lot. I climb inside my car, which is parked by the hospital’s front doors.

Before I start the car engine, my mind floats back to Stella. Her reaction was explosive and erratic. Why did she react like that? It is not like there is love in our marriage; she knew what she was getting herself into when she accepted the deal.

Her calm demeanor has vanished in thin air. Her anger has made her uncharacteristically extroverted. Her yells and screams still make my ears ring.

My fingers tap against the steering wheel. I look up from my lap, watching as the hotel’s doors slide open. Stella walks out, her body wrapped in a gray cardigan.

Why is she leaving? She had undergone surgery not even two hours ago, where could she possibly be going?

I lean into my car door, hand on the handle. I suck in my cheeks, hesitation flooding throughout my body. I should offer her a ride home, right?

A black luxury SUV pulls up in front of the hospital. The lights turn off. All of the car doors open as five men get out of the car, wearing dark clothing.

They’re handsome, surprisingly so. I lean back into the driver’s seat, eyes narrowing at the sight.

A smile blossoms across Stella’s face. It’s different than all of the other smiles she’s worn throughout the years. Dimples form on her cheeks, her eyes closing; it lacks all of the usual politeness and obedience that forms in her cheeks.

I’m…speechless. How come I have never seen this smile of hers before? Why has she been hiding it from me this entire time?

She opens her arms, the men surrounding her, engulfing her in a hug. They peel away from her, her shoulders shaking from a laugh. One of the men steps forward, curling his arm in front of her, flexing his muscles.

She laughs and reaches out, giving his bicep a squeeze. They laugh with her as the man steps away, another one taking his spot as he pulls Stella into another hug, spinning her around in a circle.

Her hair flies in the wind. Stella’s smile grows brighter as she’s placed onto the ground once again. They surround her and shield her from my vision.

My fingers curl around the steering wheel of my car. My foot rapidly taps the carpet of the car floor, the thumps filling in the silence. From the back of my throat, an irritated groan emits but I swallow it before it can leave my mouth.

Stella is bolder than I expected. The past five years, she has been a loyal and quiet woman, always nodding and helping me out whenever I needed it. She usually kept to herself whenever she was in my presence despite our messages being filled with her asking about me.

My fingers dig into the leather of my steering wheel. The tips of my ears run hot, anger coursing through my veins. I intensely glare at the men, my breathing growing ragged and shallow.

Has this been her game the entire time? Has Stella been using my money to keep herself and other men entertained? How could she do something like this?!

The car door swings open, my feet slamming against the ground. My eyes train themselves on Stella as I storm across the distance between us. My fists are balled at my sides, the vein in my forehead bulging.

“Stella! Do not get in that car!” My voice carries across the small distance.

Stella glances back at me, a hint of defiance in her eyes. She gets inside of the black SUV and leans over to the driver, laying her hand on his shoulder.

"No."She said.