"You owe me," I say steely as soon as she opens her eyes.
"Uh- what happened?" She seems pretty lost and unaware of her surroundings but I don't offer to help her until then doctor comes in.
He looks pretty proud of himself as he takes her vitals and checks up on her in general.
"Isn't that the job of a nurse?" I ask him, irritated by his overzealousness at this point.
"Uh- yeah, but I just want to handle everything about her myself. The best hands, you know?" He smiles sickeningly after his rhetorical question and I step out of the room, away from him before I say something out of line.
"What happened?" I hear the girl say to the doctor immediately I close the door behind me.
Greg approaches me with a look of worry on his face.
"Did you find anything?"
"Yes, but I fear she might not be the one we're looking for."
"What do you mean by that?"
Greg hands me a file and I flip through it, scanning for the important information.
"Her name is Ava Candley," Greg says and I nod, seeing it in the file at the top right corner.
"That doesn't ring a bell," I say to him and he nods enthusiastically as if he had been hoping i'd say that.
"That's because she is a nobody, her family died in a crash years ago and she had been living with her guardian in woodsworth ever since."
"That makes her perfect then, don't you think? She needs the money and she has no scandal to her name nor does it look like she would create one."
Greg doesn't look convinced by my words, shaking his head vigorously.
"But you cannot afford to taint the Castor blood with the bloodline of a nobody. It is never done!
If you would give me the go-ahead, I would organize a ball, inviting all eligible daughters of the most noble houses for you to pick from."
I look down at him, disgusted with his plan but he's smiling so hard, thinking he just thought of the wisest decision ever.
"In what world do you think I would agree to that, Greg?"
His smile drops immediately and he starts to fidget in his usual manner when he's scared.
"That would mean opening myself and my family up for ridicule.
They would say in the papers that I do not have the ability to pull a woman on my own which is why I needed the help of an elaborate ball.
Besides, none of the women would love me for who I am, they just want the name and the money, nothing more…and most importantly, they would never agree to a divorce."
Greg doesn't say anything and from his countenance alone, I know that my words didn't sit well with him.
The doctor finally comes out and informs us she is cleared to go home.
Greg stands to make the necessary payments and sign the papers while I head back inside to Ava.
She's sitting at the edge of the bed when I enter, her blonde, long hair cascading down her back.
I clear my throat to catch her attention and I watch as she looks up, frantically wiping tears from her cheeks.
She has been crying?
"What's wrong?" I ask, worried and slightly irritated at her behavior.
"I wish you hadn't brought me here…now my family is in even more debt because of a silly mistake of mine."
Is she being serious right now?
"You fainted, Ava…" I start and she looks up at me in surprise.
"You know my name," it wasn't a question but rather a statement, like she's trying to convince herself she heard right.
"Yes, I do.
And I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by you, you're in no debt.
It's been fully paid for by the Castor Group of Companies…afterall you work there."
"Thank you, thank you," she wraps her arms around me and I stand there in shock, the feeling of someone else hugging me quite unfamiliar.
"Oh my goodness," she says as she runs her hands through her hair over and over, her excitement palpable.
"…but you mentioned something about me owing you. What was that about?" she questions me with a new found confidence that I find really intriguing.
"Yeah, you do owe me. But it's not money related…I want your body."
Her jaw drops as she looks at me and towards the door, no doubt planning an escape route in her head.
I could have worded that better but I'm having too much fun watching her fidget that I don't clarify immediately.
"W-What do you m-mean?"
"In other words, what I'm saying is I want you to-"
Greg rushes in that very minute, panting like he just ran a mile.
"I-It's your dad, he's not responding."
"And how is that news?" I ask him, irritated even more, "he's on a speaking strike until… you know?"
"No, no…it's for real this time. The doctor can't feel any pulse."
I panic for a minute, the pulse can't be seized intentionally. Is my father really dead?
"You, come with us," I point at Ava who looks really confused before dashing out of the door, Greg on my heels.
The ride back home for the second time today is tense, everybody hoping for the best but knowing deep down that the worst had happened.
I see mum in the lobby this time around, legs crossed and raised to her chin, her body rocking back and forth.
"He's gone, Eric."
Right there, I feel my reality shatter…nothing makes sense at this point.
"No, no….he's not, he's awake!"
We both stand to our feet, my mother even more agile than I am, looking in the direction of the butler who's now running down the stairs.
"I just passed by his room now and he's awake!" he repeats again and I look at him like he has lost his mind.
"Must be the trauma," Greg says and I agree with him, the butler must be seeing things because the doctor couldn't have been lying.
"Mum, did you see his body?" I turn to ask my mother and she shakes her head to say no.
"I c-couldn't… I needed you to be m-my side."
If nobody saw him, how come we all accepted that he's dead.
"Where is the doctor?" I ask, straightening my creased trouser before moving up the stairs.
Someone says he left already so I order the same butler to follow me.
From his demeanor, I could detect that he would rather be anywhere but here and I couldn't blame him, the man looked terrified.
"Greg?"
"Me? Oh- yeah, i'll come…i'll come," he repeats, trying to make himself believe he could do it.
"So no one in this house has the balls to follow me?" I ask, seeing as Greg didn't move from his spot.
"I'll come," a tiny voice says from behind Greg and I look up to see Ava.
I had almost forgotten that she came to the house with us with the whole drama happening all at once.
"You?" I suppress a laugh as I see she's serious about what she just said.
"Yes, i'll come with you."
"Who's she?" It's my mother, rising on the defensive.
"Mum, relax. She's with me," I say quickly, to avoid any more drama from my mother's end.
"Alright fine, come with."
She steps forward with her head bowed, not looking at anyone even though all eyes are on her, as she moves stealthily towards me, pretty impressive for someone who just got discharged.
I wait for her to be at the same level on the stairs with me before resuming my walk back to my father's room.
I knock before entering, pushing the door open and that's when it starts getting more difficult for me to keep my composure.
My father is sitting there, back straight with his legs firmly on the ground.
I feel my confidence waver as I doubt if I'm seeing things clearly. Is this real or is this just a ghost of him?
"Would you like me to go in first?" Ava asks after sometime.
Where does she get her confidence from?
I nod and she pushes the door wider, moving gingerly towards the figure on the bed.
Upon seeing her, my father's eyes lit up.
"Did it work? My plan, it did work right?" He says in a shaky voice, his frail hands clapping excitedly.
"What plan?" I ask him behind Ava, my confidence slowly returning upon hearing his voice.
"The one where you bring home your bride," he reaches out to Ava and she holds his hands, looking back at me in confusion.
"You're gorgeous," he says and I decide to step in right then.
"Dad, the doctor said…"
"I know what the doctor said, I paid him to."
"But that's unethical and you put everyone in distress," I say, running a hand through my hair in my usual manner when I'm stressed.
"At least, it wasn't in vain. When is the wedding?"
"There's no wedding, dad!"
I'm tired of him trying to manipulate me into something I don't want to do and going to extreme lengths like this is beginning to get on my nerves.
"Of course, there'll be one…you just don't know it yet."