Alia and Horace wore matching frowns on their faces.
"I’ll go and check on things, so please, try to rest," Alia said with a reassuring smile before she scurried to the door.
She all but threw it open, glaring hard at the mother-and-daughter pair. Surprisingly, she wasn’t the only one who offered them a disapproving look. Several doctors and nurses had hurried over, frowns decorating their faces as she placed a finger to their lips.
"Please keep your noise down!" a nurse said. "This is a hospital. Our patients need their rest."
"This is a private wing!" Annalise swiftly retorted with a scowl. "The money we’re paying for this ward is enough to fund your entire departnt’s annual bonus. There are no other patients on this floor, last I checked!"
The nurse’s lower eyelid twitched, and she was just about to open her mouth to argue when Alia ca over.
"But Grandfather is a patient," Alia reminded, keeping her voice sweet and gentle.
In contrast to Annalise’s screech, Alia seed like an angel in the nurse’s eyes. The young lady looked at her as though she had just descended from heaven to save them from Annalise’s evil claws.
"He needs his rest," Alia continued. "That noise worried him." She then sharply turned to look at Emline, who was standing a little too close to Matteo for comfort. "You wouldn’t want to further endanger Grandfather’s health now, would you, Emline?"
With her na pointed out like that, Emline could only purse her lips tightly together and force a smile. She glanced at the doctors and nurses, imdiately adorning an apologetic look.
"We were just having so minor disagreents," Emline explained. "We’re so very sorry."
"Emline!" Annalise hissed, walking over to her daughter. She then lowered her voice to a hushed whisper, but it was still loud enough for Alia — and quite possibly the nurses — to catch her words. "Why are you apologizing to these people? They are paid to do their jobs, not order us around!"
Emline was much smarter than her mother was, to her credit. She gently took her mother’s hands and patted them before leaning in, whispering into her ear. This ti, Alia caught nothing. Even her lips were carefully shielded by Annalise’s face, hidden at an angle where no one could lipread her.
Whatever she said worked well to placate her mother, for Annalise’s face turned much calr than before.
anwhile, Alia had no ti to waste on these people. She walked over to Matteo and gestured for him to et her halfway, which he more than eagerly did.
"Grandpa wants to see you," Alia said, gesturing to the room.
"?" Matteo asked, raising an eyebrow. However, he didn’t question things any further. He turned back and glanced over his shoulder, scowling at Annalise and Emline. He needn’t even speak for Alia to guess what he was thinking about.
"I’ll be fine," she assured. "I just ca back from the dead. The hellhounds don’t scare when I’ve cheated their master once."
"Cheeky," Matteo said, the ghost of a smile stretching his lip. "I’ve already let Ronan know to co down to get you. Just in case. He should be here any minute."
Alia nodded once before she watched Matteo’s retreating figure disappear behind the door of her grandfather’s hospital room. Once he was gone, she turned back to Emline and Annalise. Annalise glared hard, while Emline rely coldly looked her way.
Well, this was awkward. Alia turned her gaze away. Perhaps it would be better if she waited for Matteo sowhere else, such as the cafeteria. She was sure she would be able to borrow soone’s mobile phone for a while to drop Matteo a ssage on her whereabouts, if needed, or look for Ronan.
Unfortunately, Annalise wasn’t planning on letting her leave so easily.
"We didn’t think you would co back," Annalise said before Alia made it far, taking one step forward so that she stopped her in her tracks. Alia had no choice but to halt her steps, frowning as she looked at Annalise.
"A sha for you, I’m sure," Alia cooly retorted. "Please excuse ."
As she tried to sidestep Annalise, Alia was stopped once again by Emline.
"Yes?" Alia asked, annoyed. She raised an eyebrow and stared expectantly at Emline.
"My mother was just worried for you. She ant well." The latter rely bit her lip and took a deep breath. She said, "I know your history with Caleb has left you rather hurt, but that doesn’t an you can treat us like that. We’re your family."
Alia instantly resisted the urge to scoff. That was the understatent of the century.
"What I have with Caleb is a matter of the past," Alia said. "Besides, you shouldn’t be bringing up Caleb’s past relationships when your best friend is currently dating him, don’t you think?"
"No, this must be said," Emline insisted. "Just because you’ve lost Caleb to soone else doesn’t an that you can go around stealing soone else’s fiancé, Alia. Kelsie and Caleb... they only got together after you have signed the divorce papers. But for ... I was still engaged to Matteo when you ca into the picture!"
Alia took a step back, her frown deepening. She imdiately shook her head and glared at Emline. This wasn’t the first ti she had brought up such a thing.
The only thing that Alia didn’t understand was why Emline revisited the topic again now when there was no audience to watch her performance. The doctors and nurses had already returned to their busy schedules, and no mbers of the dia were allowed into this section of the hospital.
"You’re a grown woman, Emline," Alia said with a sigh.
Her grandfather had personally requested for her not to make things too difficult for Emline as they were family, but Alia was starting to think she wouldn’t be able to keep to her promise if Emline continued to test her like this.
"I’m sure you can understand our words perfectly fine when we say that Matteo has no feelings for you, nor did he recognize whatever engagent you claid you had with him. This topic was brought up and explained. I don’t think there’s a need to speak about it again."
"I know you’re still in love with Caleb," Emline said, ignoring Alia’s words. "Please give Matteo back. You can’t be so selfish, Alia! Just give Matteo back, and I will help you get Caleb back too!"
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