章 3: An Unwelcomed Visitor

"Rose, that's enough," Melvin warned sternly. "Leave the poor woman alone. You do not know all she had gone through to get the money we needed. If it hadn't been for her, we would have been running healthy skater to settle Brian's bills."

Lola was nearly moved by Melvin's kind words. But she knew nothing went for nothing in the Hart family. He had been pestering her for some money to pay his daughter's tuition fee. Hence this was the reason behind his pretentious charade.

"Fine!" Rosemary hissed. She returned her frosty gaze to Lola and spoke in a deadpan voice.

"This discussion isn't over. You better have a good explanation for not picking up my calls and for disappearing without a trace. Otherwise..."

Rosemary left her words hanging in the air as she walked away from Lola to join Clara.

"Lola..." Chelsea hugged her tenderly. "I'm so sorry for what you're going through. But what happened to you."

Instead of a concrete response, Lola increased the intensity of her sobbing.

A deafening silence reigned for the next couple of hours until the door to the operation room opened.

A middle-aged-looking doctor clothed in blue scrub stepped out of the operation theatre room wearing a stoic expression.

"Mrs Hart..." The doctor called impatiently from the little crowd of family members hovering around.

"Yes..."

Both Lola and Rosemary chorused, causing the doctor's face to contour.

"Which of you is the wife, please?" The doctor asked, a visible irritation lacing his words.

Rosemary cast Lola a vicious glare, but the latter ignored her mother-in-law and focused her attention on the doctor.

"I'm Mrs Lola Hart, the wife of Brian," Lola said in a slightly raspy tone. She had been silently weeping in the arms of her best friend since most members of the Hart family stood beside Rosemary.

"I am Brian's mother." Rosemary came forward, maliciously pushing Lola out of her path. "How is my son, doctor."

"Your son is doing great for now. However, I would like to speak with his wife alone if you do not mind." The doctor said dismissively before turning his attention back to the pretty young woman.

"Mrs Hart, I'm Doctor Joe, the chief consultant. Kindly follow me to my office."

"Okay, doctor Joe." Lola took in a deep breath to release the tension suffocating her. She looked in Chelsea's direction and communicated nonverbally that she would be right back.

Rosemary gritted her teeth in rage. She was about to say something nasty to Lola but Melvin quickly stepped forward and cajoled her to follow him.

When Lola was finally seated inside the doctor's office, she asked calmly.

"So doctor, how is my husband?"

"I'm glad to inform you that your husband is okay for now." Doctor Joe's lips curled up in a brief smile that quickly vanished as though it was never there.

"Truncus arteriosus is a rare heart anomaly which if properly managed could lead to a long-term enjoyable lifestyle. However, in your husband's case, his ailment wasn't properly followed up from childbirth. If I am to be sincere, he is lucky to have survived the heart surgical procedure. One out of ten thousand usually survive after the heart operation."

Lola's jaws dropped. It felt as though someone just turned a cup of stone-cold water over her head. Goosebumps cover her entire body and her lips quivered as she tried to speak.

"A...are y...you trying t...to say mmm...my Brian has had this illness since childbirth?" Hot tears flow down Lola's cheeks.

"Yes, based on our estimation he has already undergone two surgeries during his childhood. However, for some reasons I do not understand, he didn't do a follow-up and things nearly got out of hand."

"Oh my goodness!"

Realization slowly dawned on Lola. She recalled how Brian always massaged his chest anytime they had a lover's fight. She remembered all his mood swings, his fatigue, and his difficulties in breathing while sleeping.

Even when she complained about these signs and insisted they visited the hospital, Brian would always tell her that she worries too much. He would rather spend his little income, taking care of his extended family's endless needs than take care of himself. Also, there were always a lot of bills to pay and money was never enough.

"Mrs Hart, I know this is a lot to take in but I need you to understand that your husband is not fully out of danger." Doctor Joe stressed.

"He is not?" Lola raised her traumatized gaze to the doctor.

"No, he's not. Brian's heart is still weak. We have done our best to keep him alive. It is now your job to ensure that he lives." The doctor stressed emphatically.

Lola nodded her head while listening attentively.

"In the next six to eight weeks, Brian must not be exposed to any form of stress. He must not get involved in strenuous activities like sex, carrying heavy objects or doing any form of difficult job. Most importantly, you must protect his heart from any form of emotional stress. During this challenging period, I urge you to shower your husband with lots of care, love and attention."

"Okay." Lola sniffed, wiping her flowing tears with the back of her hand.

Dr Joe paused for a while to allow his words to sink into Lola's heart before giving his final note of warning.

"If for any reason, your husband is brought back to this hospital for any related heart condition, only an immediate heart transplant will be his ticket away from death. Do you understand what I saying?"

"Yes."

Lola brought out her handkerchief from her purse and dabbed her reddened eyes dry. A new wave of determination engulfed her as she spoke with optimism.

"When can I see my husband?"

"Soon. He should be awake in the next..." Dr Joe took a quick glance at his wristwatch. "...six to seven hours."

"Okay."

Lola rose to her feet and extended her hand towards Doctor Joe.

"Thanks, doctor for everything you have done for my husband and me. I'm sincerely grateful."

Dr Joe stood up and took Lola's soft hand into his, a warm smile framing his face.

"You are most welcome."

After Lola left the doctor's office, she was immediately swarmed by the Hart family members present. They didn't give her any space to breathe as they started bombarding her with different provoking questions.

Lola knew that not one of Brian's family members loved him the way they outwardly claimed. They were all materialistic and greedy set of individuals who were only concerned about what they stood to lose if Brian died.

She sucked in her inner rage and answered all their annoying questions while occasionally swallowing insults from Rosemary and Clara.

"Mum, now that we know Brian won't be awake for the next six hours, can we please go home to shower and refresh? I'm sure Lola can take care of her husband."

"I totally agree with Clara, sister." Melvin concurred. "We all need to relax now that we know Brian is no longer in danger zone."

"How do we know that once we live, Lola won't abandon her husband like she did last night?" Rosemary sized up her daughter-in-law disdainfully.

"I won't be going anywhere, mum. You can count on it." Lola replied, ignoring the sarcasm and hatred in Rosemary's contoured face.

"Then it is settled. Let's go." Melvin gestured towards the exit.

"You had better keep your phone on this time." Rosemary hissed and left with Clara

"Lola, please do not forget what we discussed about two days ago." Melvin winked at her before leaving with his wife and younger son.

"Finally, I have you all to myself."

Chelsea pulled Lola to the nearest seat and made her sit down.

"Tell me everything that transpired from the moment you left the hospital last night till you showed up this morning."

Lola was about to say something when her gaze shifted towards the entrance of the surgical ward.

Instantly, her face paled and her body turned frigid as though she had seen a ghost.

Chelsea followed her friend's gaze to a proud figure walking towards them, a captivating bouquet in his hand.

----

Ian Forde was in the middle of concluding a business deal with a newly acquired client when he got an emergency call.

Ian's asthmatic little niece, Lindsay Forde Norton, had just been rushed to the hospital as a result of an unexpected complication.

Coincidentally, the hospital Lindsay was taken to happened to be the same hospital where Lola's husband was receiving treatment.

When Ian arrived at the hospital driveway in his black latest edition Mercedes Benz car, his hawkish eyes caught sight of a familiar fascinating figure strolling into the hospital.

"Hmm..." The side of Ian's lips curled up in an evil grin.

Before Ian stepped out of the car, he gave a couple of instructions to his driver.

"Roy, quickly drive down to the flower shop and get me an elegant Stargazer bouquet."

"Okay, sir." The driver nodded his head and waited for his boss to step out of the car before driving off.

After ensuring that his little niece was out of danger and receiving the best medical attention, Ian left the VIP ward to make some calls.

Through the help of one of his employees who happened to be Lola's assistant, Ian found out the particular ward Lola's husband was in.

After collecting the bouquet from his driver, Ian set off in the direction of the post surgical ward.

When Ian pushed open the entrance door to the post surgical ward, his intimidating gaze fell on Lola. She was seated beside a lady, who seemed to be itching for gossip.

Just then, Lola's gaze met with his and a devilish glint flashed across his gray orbs.

Ignoring her horrified and ashed glares, he approached her with an air of pride and dominance.

Chelsea was the first to bolt to her feet upon recognizing the highly reverend and intimidatingly handsome CEO of Forde Group.

"Mr Forde...h...hello... It's a pleasure to meet you in person." Chelsea stretched her right hand forward, her eyes sparkling with admiration, and desire.

Ian assessed the blonde hair freckled lady before him, an arrogant and condescending smirk dancing at the corner of his lips. He has seen this lady before with Lola but he never liked her as Lola's friend.

Ignoring Chelsea's outstretched hand and her sheepish smile, Ian turned his attention to Lola.

"Oh..." Chelsea shamefully brought down her hands and immediately excused herself to use the ladies' room.

The initial shock and horror in Lola's magical blue eyes had been replaced with a spine chilling glare. She couldn't believe that Ian would have the guts to show his face after what he did to her the previous night. She was tempted to drag him out of the hospital and give him a piece of her mind. However, she knew leaving the hospital at the moment could place her in jeopardy.

Lola spoke between clenched jaws as she rose to her feet. Her eyes darkened with rage as she met Ian's domineering gaze.

"What are you doing here, Mr Forde? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You are not welcome and I demand you leave immediately before I do something nasty."

Lola clenched and unclenched her fist as anger slowly poisoned her veins. Every fibre in her wanted to choke the living daylights out of Ian but she knew that this wasn't the right place or time to express her enormous fury.