SERENA
"Wait what?" I asked, with a shocked expression written all over my face.
"What do you mean right now? Isn't that too soon? I literally can't even walk!" I pointed to my injury.
He stood in front of the door and leaned on the wall "like i said Serena, that won't be a problem"
And right after he said those words, some nurses walked in, including Nurse Tasha who had attended to me just a few hours ago.
She walked up to me with a smile on her face. "Ms. Cordinni, we would redress your wound now, and transfer you onto a stretcher" she said.
A stretcher was wheeled into the room, and was placed just inches beside my bed. Tasha quickly redressed my wound, cleaned it and applied ointment and a new bandage. Immediately she was done, I was gently carried and placed on the stretcher.
Dr. Guilio walked in a few seconds later and had a talk with Gabe, before walking over to me.
"Good morning Serena" he greeted.
"Good morning" i replied almosy immediately.
"How are you feeling now?" He asked as he checked the monitor for my heartbeat and pulse.
I nodded my head before replying "i'm okay i guess. The pain around here, has reduced a little" i pointed to my belly.
But the pain in my chest seems to hurt more each day that passes. I sighed and closed my eyes for a second.
"Are you okay?" Dr. Guilio asked, making me open my eyes. I shook my head and let out a faint smile "I'll be fine"
He nodded, then gently tapped my shoulders. "Take care of yourself Serena. You have to take your drugs daily which i would give to Mr. Gabe. Also try as much as possible not to walk around for the first one week" he laid out, making me nod my head.
The nurses began to wheel my stretcher out of the room, while I took one last look at the hospital room.
I was definitely not going to miss it. I silently laughed at that. The body guards who were previously stationed both outside and inside of the hospital room, began to walk behind my stretcher. Some walked in front too.
Gabe, who stood beside me, roughly flung a book unto my lap, which I quickly caught before it could fall on the floor.
"Place this on your face. We can't let anyone see you" he muttered and began to move forward.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed "well you don't have to be aggressive" i let out, staring at him, like my eyes could make him trip over.
He halted immediately and turned to me. Then he smirked.
"I guess you don't need it then" he moved to take it away from me, but I was quicker. I grabbed the book and pushed it closer to my chest, my eyes never leaving his.
"Fine! I'm sorry. I'll use it" I almost screamed in defeat.
Fuck. Once again, I can't win a fight against him. I really hated his guts. Why did I even agree to this? Maybe I should have a double thought about this whole contract marriage thing?
"If you're thinking of changing your mind, it's pointless" Gabe said, like he could read my mind.
My eyes widened and my lips parted. I composed myself almost immediately and turned my head to face the other side.
"Fuck off!"
I placed the book over my face, my cheeks red from embarrassment. He chuckled and went silent after.
I also didn't bother saying anything else. I wasn't ready for any more talk or familiarity. Besides this was strictly business.
And a ploy for revenge…
The stretcher came to a stop, but I was too scared to take off the object hiding me from the outside world.
What if someone who knows me sees me? Then my plans would be ruined. The thought of that scared me. So I laid still, until I felt a force or forces lifting the stretcher and pushing it forward. Then I heard the sound of something like a door being closed shut, and a click.
I waited for a few seconds before taking the book off. I tried to adjust to the light as my eyes had been closed shut for a while.
When I could finally see clearly, I took a look at my surroundings. There wasn't much to see. I very much knew I was in a car. A very big one.
Voices came from the front, and I almost strained my neck trying to see who they were. Two men entered the front seats. One took the driver's seat, while the other sat in the passenger's seat. I immediately recognized the one in the passenger seat, Malcolm.
"Malcolm?" I called out.
He turned. "Oh hi ma'am. The ride would start soon and we would be on our way" he assured, and smiled.
"How about the contract?" I asked. I had totally forgotten about it, because of the whole leaving immediately thing, that i forgot to pick it up.
He turned around and moved to pick up something then he faced me "here. I took it just before we left" I nodded.
The man at the driver's seat started the engine right after and he drove out of the hospital. The ride was quiet and practically boring, so I placed the book back on my face and chased sleep a little.
********
"Ms. Serena?" A gentle voice woke me up. My eyes fluttered open, staring at nothing in particular. It took me a while to adjust, but when I finally did, my eyes caught a woman who was standing outside the car just inches away from me.
She looked to be in her forties, wearing a blue scrub. The guards gently pulled me out, and i was wheeled to where the woman was.
"Hello" she greeted, her voice gentle and soothing, almost like a lullaby.
I instantly felt calm at her words.
"I'm Nurse Tamar, and I'll be your attending nurse for the next two weeks" she stretched her hands forward for a shake, which I gracefully took.
"You can call me Tamar," she added with a light smile.
My cheeks lifted up in a smile almost immediately "Thank you. I'm Serena" the words flew out of my mouth.
She nodded, and took the stethoscope she held in her hands to her neck. Then she took out a pen from her pocket.
No it wasn't just a pen, it was a penlight.
"I need to check your pupils" she moved closer and turned the penlight on. She lifted the little flesh above my eyes and pointed the light into them. After she was done, she turned it off, and moved back.
"Stable" she muttered, and jotted down on her book.
I looked at her, totally confused. She looked up and let out a smile, like she knew I was confused.
"I mean your pupils are not dilated, and with enough rest, and enough time to let your injuries heal, you can get back on your feet"
"Ohh" I let out, before nodding.
"They will take you to your room now. Mr. Gabe has already prepared a room for you" she pointed at the guards.
They began to wheel me into the house and into the room. After making sure I was okay, they left.
I stared at my new room. An unfamiliar place. Now I had to live a new life and it was something I had to adjust to.
I had to begin to adjust to my new life.