"Hmmm," a loud tired sigh resonated in the room as a heavy footstep followed. The man in his late forties walked up to the woman in her early forties who sat on the sofa. The man smiled softly and massaged his wife's shoulder.
"Ang!" the woman moaned out, making the man chuckle lightly. "Your hands are really great," Jasmine sighed, enjoying her husband's warm hands massaging her.
"What happened?" Leo inquired, continuing his work.
"I'm worried," she mumbled.
"Worried about what?"
"About the marriage of those kids," she said, turning to her husband and making Leo pause.
"Why?"
"I don't know how Nathaniel would treat that girl," she worried, "You know how Nathaniel is as a child—" she paused, "I hope he treats her well."
"Stop worrying." he patted her shoulders reassuringly.
"The girl is good. I ran a background check on her—she… is a lovely kid," she sighed, "our son could be neglecting her or —"
Leo looked at his wife's worried face and interrupted her statement, "do you want us to go check them?" he asked while Jasmine nodded vehemently. There was a wrenching feeling that she didn't want to leave her, that something might be wrong. She needed to confirm.
"Yeah—lemme go get ready," she said excitedly, running to change her outfits while Leo laughed. His wife wouldn't stop worrying until she saw with her own eyes.
After finishing dressing, Leonard locked the door. They had moved from their mansion to a small bungalow outside the city to enjoy the natural atmosphere and scenery. When they reached the mansion, Jasmine came out happy, and she missed her child. She ran inside, calling her kid's name, only to see Ester coming out of the maids' quarter.
"Welcome ma'am," she bowed, greeting. Ester was Nathaniel's nanny, a woman who practically raised Nathaniel when Jasmine was still pursuing her career. The grandmother of Nathaniel's runaway fiancee. Jasmine hadn't met or seen Ester since the wedding day.
"Ester," Jasmine smiled, holding the wrinkled woman's hands, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you, ma'am," she responded.
Jasmine whipped her head around before turning to Ester expectantly, "Where's my son?" she asked while Ester had a worried look on her face.
"The young master has gone out," she answered.
"What of Angelina," Jasmine grinned. She couldn't wait to meet her daughter-in-law. To chat, gossip and show her some embarrassing stories of Nathaniel's growing up.
"Young mistress — is also not at home." she replied before looking at the ground, "The mistress was rushed to hospital this morning…."
"What?!" Jasmine yelled.
"Ma'am…"
"Why? how? When? What happened?"
"I also don't know," she answered truthfully. Ester was in the kitchen cooking when she heard a loud commotion. When she went out to check, she saw the new mistress on the ground and her boss looking dumbfounded. When she noticed no reaction from the boss, she nudged him.
Only God knows what has transpired between them.
Jasmine held her hands tighter, "Which hospital?"
"She was rushed to the nearest hospital," she said as Jasmine slipped her head from her, turning to her deep-in-thought husband.
"Thank you, Ester," Leonard stated, following his wife outside.
"I know my gut feeling never deceives me! The poor girl," Leo could see the guilt eating his wife up. She would blame herself for the incident as he smiled, using his free hand to pat her.
"It's okay, love," he mumbled.
When they arrived at the hospital, Jasmine hurriedly came out as her husband trailed after her short legs. They entered only to see Nathaniel parading the ER door, biting his finger. His look was disorganized. His flip-flops were different, as his face was hag in nervousness.
Jasmine marched towards him angrily, and he could still pace outside the ER. She turned Nathaniel's face to her and slapped his hand across his face. She'd never hit her son before, and this was the first time. Everyone around there was shocked as a gasp filled the room.
"Mom," the name left his lips like a whisper. He was surprised. No matter how often he did something wrong, his mother never raised her hand, only to warn and cover it up.
As Jasmine wanted to talk, the door opened, and Angelina was trolled out. Jasmine stopped, maintaining her face, following the doctor to the designated room for Angelina.
The doctor turned to Nathaniel, then to the older couple looking at him to explain, "Can we meet outside, sir." He didn't want to talk about his patient's confidentiality to others except for her husband.
"Why do you want to meet outside? We are —" Leonard smiled at the doctor, dragging his wife outside to give them privacy.
"Mr. Nathaniel, your wife's condition is now stable, but she needs complete care because of her weak state." The doctor started scribbling on the folder while adjusting his glasses, "The hit didn't damage anything, and we've given her some drugs. She will soon wake up after it wears off," he said, looking at his patient on the bed to the worried husband. The raw anguish in Nathaniel could not be hidden, and it was a mistake. He would never hit her! He was— he didn't even know what to say. He was angry, seeing Tony dotting on his wife, and he—damn! He stared at her peaceful face, lying on the bed, uncaring of the turmoil in him.
As the doctor went out of the room, Jasmine quickly entered, jamming an accusing finger on Nathaniel's chest, "how could you bully your wife?" she sniffed, "The poor girl is here because of your foolishness," she hit his chest softly while crying, "the girl—"
Her admonition was interrupted by a soft groaning sound, and swiftly, she left Nathaniel alone and went to hover on Angelina.
Angelina blinked her eyes continuously to adapt to the brightness of the white ceiling. Where was she again?
She saw a figure waving frenziedly, asking if she was okay. The voices sounded distant in her head as she closed her eyes and willed her other senses to function.
"Ah—" her throat was dry as she rubbed her sore throat. Immediately, she was given water, and she gulped it out.
"Are you okay?" she heard jasmine ask her, and she nodded, smiling softly at her.
"Angelina!" Nathaniel came over to her, staring at her as if he didn't know if he could touch her. His eyes were down in guilt as his shoulders sagged, wanting to go nearer, but the glare his mom was shooting at made him gulp. His mother could be scary when she wanted.
"I'm sorry,"