CHASING ARIEON

54

"She lost a lot of blood and she's barely hanging onto consciousness", the doctor told Enzo as they walked into the ward were Arieon was. "We had to induce her into coma so she and the baby will remain alive", the doctor said and Enzo's eyes widened. He stopped walking and turned to face the doctor. "I'm sorry, did you say baby?", he asked.

The doctor nodded with a smile. "Congratulations are in order, Mr. Armani. I must say, your wife is really strong. Any average woman would have had a miscarriage immediately but she was able to save the baby", he said. Enzo's eyes immediately fell on Arieon's unconscious body. There were a lot of wires stuck to her skinny body and her beautiful creamy skin was now deathly pale. "I'll leave the both of you alone for now", the doctor said and walked out.

Enzo slowly made his way towards Arieon fearing that his steps might wake her up. He sat down on the chair beside her and placed his hand on her smaller one which had no wire attached to it. "I'm sorry", he mumbled as he caressed her hand. "I've fucked up really bad this time", he said as he brought his fingers up to her face and traced her jawline.

He felt his chest tug painfully at the sight of her looking like this. The door opened and Brea walked in. A quiet gasp left her mouth as she saw the way wires were attached to Arieon's body. "Sweetie", she said as she approached Enzo. "Ho fallito, madre. Ho fatto un vero casino", he said as he looked up at his mother. Brea let out a sigh and wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay, son. Everything will be alright", she told him. "She was pregnant. I still don't know how the baby even survived. The both of them could have died", Enzo said as he began to get angry at himself.

Brea's eyes widened in surprise. "Who's the father?", she asked him. "It's obviously my child", Enzo said as he stood up. "Where are you going?", she asked him. "Somewhere. Look after her for me", he replied and walked out of the ward before she could object. Brea sighed and sat down beside Arieon before pulling out her phone from her bag and dialing Matteo's number. "Yes, mom?", he answered. He was driving. "Sorry to bother you, Matteo. Enzo's in the mood again", she said with a sad sigh. "I'm on it", he said and hung up.

Enzo made his way out of the hospital and got in his car. He roared the engine to life and began to drive out of the parking lot. As he got on the road, his phone began to ring. "What?", he asked as he picked up. "Enzo? Where are you?", Agatha's voice rang in his ears. "I don't know", he said as he focused his eyes on the road.

Agatha sighed hopelessly. "Seriously, Enzo. Don't tell me you're throwing your tantrums again", she said. "Okay, then I won't tell you", he said. "Enzo, you're acting like a child", she said frustrated. "Thanks for the compliment", he said. "You know none of this is your fault. Stop going hard on yourself", she said. "Agatha, just look after the kids for me. Tell them I'll be home soon", he said to her. "Enzo", Agatha said. "I'll see you later", Enzo said. "Don't do something stupid", she said and hung up.

By the time Matteo had found Enzo, his best friend was already drowning his sorrows in shots of tequila by the lake in the outskirts of the city. "Enzo!", Matteo scolded as he grabbed the half empty bottle of tequila from Enzo's hand.

"Give it back to me", Enzo hiccupped but made no attempt to collect the bottle from Matteo. Matteo sighed and sat beside him. "Stop blaming yourself", He told him. Enzo raised a brow, "Who should I then blame?". "No one. Things happen and you just have to find a way out", Matteo told him. Enzo chuckled and placed his hand on Matteo's shoulder. He was tipsy but not totally drunk.

"She was pregnant. I don't know how she did it but the baby is still alive", he said with a lazy smile while Matteo's eyes widened. "The baby is yours, right?", he asked. Enzo nodded, "She hasn't slept with any man ever since we divorced". He wasn't sure whether he should be proud or amused by how Arieon lived her life after they separated.

"I'm sure when she wakes up, I'll be the last person she'll want to see", he said with a sigh as he laid down on the grass. "Don't say that", Matteo told his best friend. Enzo shrugged, "This was why she left in the first place. She's not meant for this world". "Do you still love her?", Matteo asked him. "Does it matter?", Enzo said. This man, Matteo thought as he shook his head. "Yes, it does. Confess your feelings to her and sort things out. Don't you think it's time to tell her?", he said.

Enzo sighed, "What's the point of telling her how I feel just to have it thrown back at my face? Let's just go back home". He stood up and Matteo stood up with him. "You need to sleep", He said to him. "Whatever you say", Enzo yawned. They made their ways to their cars and began to drive to their various homes.

Enzo walked into the living room to see the kids eating their snacks on the floor. As they looked up to see him, they jumped on their feet and ran to hug him. "Daddy is home!", they squealed happily. Enzo laughed a little and hugged them back. Even though he was tipsy, his mature side would sober up when the kids were around. "Daddy, I've missed you so much", Alessa said as she continued to hug her father's leg while her brothers pulled away from him. Andrea rolled his eyes at his sister's behavior.

"Me too, my princess", Enzo said as he ruffled her soft hair. She giggled as his fingers tickled her. "Daddy, do you want to eat Springles?", Antonio said as he offered his father his bag of chips. Enzo shook his head, "No, son. I'm good, enjoy your snack". Antonio nodded and continued to eat while Andrea went to pick up the packet of Cheetos he was eating earlier.

Enzo left the kids in the living room and went to grab a cup of water to drink before retiring to his room to take a very long nap.

The next day, Enzo went to the hospital to check on Arieon to see whether she had woken up.

"Her body needs time to heal. She's pregnant and it will take a lot of time to heal. We're not sure when she will wake up but we have to be patient", the doctor told him. Enzo's jaw clenched as guilt filled his heart. "Doctor", he said as he cleared is throat. The man turned to face him. "I'll triple the pay if it means she'll wake up quickly. The kids need to see their mother, they're impatiently waiting for her", Enzo pleaded.

He was never the one to be desperate or plead for something but now he was doing so. He'd do anything of it meant Arieon would wake up quickly. The doctor understood where he was coming from. "There's a way to accelerate the process", He said to Enzo. "Which is?", Enzo said. "Mothers and their children have a very close relationship. The bond between mother and child is very strong. Let the children stay with her, she'll recover quickly", The doctor said.

Enzo nodded and brought out his phone. "Give me a minute", Enzo said as he typed away on his phone. The doctor nodded and waited patiently for him. Then, his phone vibrated. The doctor's eyes widened as his jaw almost fell to the floor. He looked at Enzo and stuttered, "M-Mr. Armani, y-you don't have to do this". Enzo waved him off, "You've been a good doctor since I brought Arieon here. You deserve more". "But it's too much!", The doctor exclaimed. He has never ever seen that much numbers before.

An average human would be at loss for words if he or she saw €50,000,000. People like Enzo would see more than that and wouldn't even flinch. "I'm not taking it back", Enzo told him. With a nod, the doctor thanked him again before walking away. Enzo then dialed Alberto's number. "Capo?", he answered. "Please, bring the kids here", Enzo said. "As you wish" Alberto said and hung up.

Thirty minutes later, Enzo was standing in the reception waiting for them. The kids walked in hand in hand with one another as Alberto led them to their father. "Is this heaven?", Andrea asked his father as he gawked at the interior designs of the hospital while the two adults laughed at him. "No, it's a hospital", Alberto said. Alessa gasped, "We're not sick! I don't want an injection on my bum!". Enzo shook his head at his daughter.

"Shhh!", Antonio shushed his sister. "We're at the hospital because mommy is sick", Enzo said as he crouched down to their height. They're eyes wide and Antonio's jaw dropped. "What happened?", Andrea asked. "Your mommy has a severe sickness and now she's asleep but she doesn't want to wake up", Enzo told them. Alessa's lips began to tremble, "Is it because of me? Daddy I want to see her, I'll he a good girl".

Alberto chuckled and picked her up. "You did nothing wrong, young one. Your mommy is just resting but she doesn't want to wake up yet", he said. "Then we shouldn't wake her up. Let her rest", Antonio said. "She won't wake up if you guys aren't with her", Enzo said. Andrea grabbed his dad's hand and began pulling him, "Where's mommy?". "Let's go meet her", Enzo said and they began walking.