Love’n’Lust

“What did they say?” Belle asked Brie after she returned from the billing department.

“Nothing much different,” Brie shrugged, devastated as before.

“So what are we doing now? Grandma needs to be attended to with urgency, or else her health will depreciate more, that’s what the nurse said when she returned,” After she spoke, Belle got a call.

Brie asked her to answer it as it might be Cherry calling to know how things were going so Belle answered her phone without checking to see who it was.

“Why didn’t you let me know?” She heard Ben’s voice over the phone.

“Ben?”

“Have they begun giving her the treatments she needs now?” She heard him ask and wondered what he was talking about.

“Ben, my grandma has been ill for some days now, I didn’t know till I found out earlier today, so I’m back to my hometown with my sister.” She thought he should know but after saying all that, she realized that he might already know.”Do you already know?” She decided to ask and was sure she heard him sigh.

“Yes. I will meet you soon.” She heard him answer but didn’t get a chance to say anything else because he hung up.

“Oh no, where are they transferring grandma to again?” She heard Brie mutter before approaching the group of nurses who again, were escorting their grandma being pushed in the gurney.

“Excuse me,” Brie tried to stop them but no one gave any attention to her. It was the nurse who spoke to them the first time that came to their aid.

“She’s being taken back to the ICU,” the woman said and walked past them both in such a hurry that made them wonder.

“Do you think something happened to Grandma?” Fear took Belle’s heart as the dried tears she had before renewed.

“I don’t know,” Brie rubbed her face as she also became worried. Belle felt the need for a hug and so hugged Brie who hugged her back.

“I don’t want to lose grandma, not now.” Belle cried in a shaky voice. While she still hugged her sister with her face resting on Brie’s shoulder, she saw some men walk in through the hospital entrance. They weren’t dressed in suits as usual but she could recognize that they were Ben’s security because she saw Randy.

It was at that moment she recalled what Ben said to her when he called.

‘I’ll meet you soon’.

She saw him walk in after Randy. The men soon scattered in their directions and only Randy walked behind him as he approached her.

She left Brie and ran to him, giving herself a lift when she got close enough to put her arms around his neck. Ben circled his arms around her waist when she jumped on him and held her from falling because her feet weren’t on the ground anymore.

Brie turned around and saw Ben holding Belle tight. She rolled her eyes and hissed in annoyance at his presence but looked away after his eyes met hers coincidentally.

She did that because she knew what she had done in Belle’s absence. She assumed that he probably found out about the numerous reports that she had dropped at different police stations in City S, telling them that he had kidnapped her sister for the second time. Ben didn’t tell Belle about any of it.

Ben was now leaning in to hug Belle after her legs touched the ground but she didn’t want to let go of his embrace; he let her continue with it. Belle was enjoying the relaxing warmth that came from hugging him as she inhaled his perfume.

“Are you okay?” He whispered to her, their necks pressed against each other’s.

“No.”

“Can I take away from here then? I’ve noticed you don’t like being at the hospital.” Belle unwrapped her arms from around his neck to look at him when he asked that.

“My grandma is…”

“I know, I just want to take you somewhere else, anywhere else to divert your mind from the negativity this place brings to you.” He reminded her but she disagreed.

“No, you don’t know. You don’t understand, Ben, my grandma was just transferred back to the ICU, and we don’t even know if there is a problem or not, none of the nurses that were accompanying her were being comprehensive enough for us to know that.”

“Your grandmother is fine.”

“And how would you know that?”

“She was being transferred back to the ICU because all the payments for her treatment had been completed, not because of any health emergency.”

“What?” Belle became confused at his words.

“Your grandmother’s health is stable at the moment. Did you talk to any of her doctors yet?” He was genuinely surprised that she didn’t know.

“Not yet, no one is willing to speak to us yet,” Belle shrugged.

“Why is that?” Ben was angered after he heard her.”Randy?”Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

“Sir,” Randy came forward and with just a look, he was given orders by Ben.

“Where is he going?” Belle asked Ben.

“To get one of the doctors handling your grandmother’s health issue, so you can be assured that she’s okay.” Belle nodded.

“Excuse me for a minute,” she said to him then went back to Brie who just looked away to act like she didn’t care that Ben was there.”He took care of everything,” she told her.

“What?”

“He took care of all of grandma’s hospital bills,” Belle repeated.

“Why? Did you ask him?!” Brie whispered loudly.

“No, I didn’t,” Belle told the truth.”I have no idea how he knew about it even, I’m just finding out that he did too.”

“…” Brie became quiet for a while before peeking a glance a him.”He is staring at you.” She told Belle, who looked behind her to see.

“Yeah, he does that. I didn’t even expect he could come all this way.”

“And now I have to thank him,” Brie hissed and folded her arms, feigning anger. They both walked back to where Ben stood and when they got there, Brie stood awkwardly for a minute before bringing her lips to talk.

“Thank you.” She just said and looked up at him, he didn’t have an expression for her to depict his reaction to her gratitude. It made her wonder how Belle could keep up with him.

Fortunately for her, Randy returned with a doctor walking closely behind him. He returned to standing at some distance and let the doctor meet his boss.

“Good day, Mr Larkson. Sorry about any of the inconveniences concerning the patient.” Belle heard the man apologize about her grandma.

Ben nodded and decided to speak.

“These are her grandchildren, they want to know the condition of their grandmother.” He gestured to both Brie and Belle at the same time.

“Ah, yes, sure. Please return with me to my office if you don’t mind, it’s not something we should stand and talk about.”