Another Man's Treasure

26. Acceptance

Madison~

Fixing my hair in the mirror went much better than I expected, it took me a while to stop my crying.  Nathan asked his secretary Tracy to get me a few things, like comfy clothes and shoes, and toiletries which I highly appreciate.  

After putting my hair up in a ponytail I step out the public hospital bathroom with my bag in hand and spot Nathan standing in the hallway in front of my mother's room dressed in some dress pants, a navy shirt and a black coat.

  I walk up to him and he turns to me, "Thank you once again for the things. I feel much better."

"It's a pleasure," he smiles, "the doctor is ready to see us."

   My eyebrows shoots up in surprise, "Already? Wow."

Nathan doesn't respond and instead walks down the hall and I follow closely behind until we reached a elevator and stepped in, with the ride going up so does my nerves, I feel my hands shaking and getting sweaty so I rub them against my pants.

"He won't bite," Nathan says with a small smile on his lips, "don't be nervous, he's a good friend of mine, we met on college."

  I clear my throat and glance at myself in the mirror that's on all three sides of the elevator, "I'm not nervous." I lied to him and myself.

He turns looking at me with an arched brow.

"Madison I want you to know this, you can't lie to me, you won't succeed and even if you do I will always find out, always."

The seriousness leaves his face and he smiles at me, a completely different demeanor which leaves me visibly uncomfortable as I look up at him. "So think twice before you tell me a lie."

The elevator dings and the doors slide open just as he gives me a devilish grin. 

I sigh as he steps out first.

What have I gotten myself into?

...

Nathan~

  I gently knock on the doctor's office door and step in side, Madison steps in after me.

Dr. Erick Calvo immediately stands up from behind his desk and walks up to Madison, greeting her with a firm handshake. I give him a nod. "Please Mrs Lane, take a seat. I'm Dr. Erick Calvo, I'll be your mother's new assigned critical care physician."

Madison looks up at me, giving the doctor a small smile, "Good to meet you Dr. Calvo, please just call me Madison, we're not married yet."

The doctor smiles, looking up at me. "Of course."

We all take our seats and wait as Erick gathers the papers on his desk.

"Madison, I'm going to ask you a few questions about your mother if that is alright with you."

Madison nods, "Yes sure, go ahead."

I sit back in my seat and watch as he gathers a pen and paper ready to write some information down.

"Has your mother ever suffered from a seizure before apart from the recent ones? Ever suffered from anxiety-like symptoms?" He asks fixing his glasses.

Madison shakes her head no, "Not that I know of, no. I don't really remember much from my childhood."

"I see," Says Erick as he jots her words down. "Any family history of diseases or mental illnesses?"

"No." She answers while looking down, "She was always so happy."

I take her hand in mine and give it a gentle squeeze when I see tears brimming in her eyes.

"Well, sometimes we don't know what another person is truly going through." Says Erick. "Hell, I have two boys at home and even when I ask if something is wrong they say no while crying." He smiles, trying to make the situation lighter.

He continues. "I understand the love you have for your mother, and I will try my very best to help her." He hands Madison a page. "I've run a simple blood test on your mother, on there is something you should see. Her blood count is very low, which could mean 2 things: she is anemic due to low hemoglobin, or either has a larger accumulated amount of blood on one spot, which we call a hemorrhage." 
Dr. Calvo smiles lightly at Madison. "Now I don't know for sure yet but I'd like to run a few more tests and head CT scan soon and ill let you know what the results are. I assure you, Madison, I will try my best to put your thoughts at ease about your mother's condition."

  I turn my head to face her, her cheeks is flushed, eyes watery, and her hand in mine is shaking. 

I give her hand a slight squeeze again and this time she turns to look at me.

"I'll give you two a minute alone." Dr Calvo says, stands up and exits.

A few silent seconds go by before she speaks, "I'm going back to work on Monday, my amazing vacation is over." She snickers to herself while running a a hand through her hair. She faces me, "Have I told you what my occupation is? I can't remember if I have."

  I frown at her question, does she have short-term memory or something? "You have yes. You're a kindergarden teacher at St. John's Elementary School." I tell her. A few weeks ago the press found out her occupation, place of residence and her full name and when I told her about this she was furious, which she had every right to be. Luckily I have resources and tried putting out a few fires which we'll see how long it'll last for.

 I already knew everything about her from the details in her file. And I know I'm in the wrong for doing that against her back and sure, now I regret it but back then I thought it be for the best, but clearly it isn't.

Madison squints at me, "Why do I get the feeling that you don't like what I do? You do realize that I'm not going to be your pretty little housewife right?"

  I fold my arms over my chest and glance at her with an arched brow, "You're always so feisty."

She suddenly stands up, facing the window, "I will not be entirely dependent on you. I will come into this marriage with a good career and I'll leave it with one too." I raise a brow. Her shoulders slowly relaxed and faces me, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

   "It's okay, Madison." I quickly say and stand up, "Of course keep your career, I will not have any say in it so don't worry, I will then just have to protect you."

"Protect me?" She questions.

    "Yes, or have you forgotten you have a crazy controlling ex running around and the man standing in front of you right now? Who I am? What I come with? Have you accepted all of the risks and consequences that comes with me?" I ask her and she stares back at me with those brown doe eyes.

Madison looks away, but I graze her chin with my hand and those eyes are back on me.

   "We'll talk about that another time, but let's focus on what's important which is your mom, okay?"

She nods. "Okay, Nathan."

The pained look in her eyes causes me to cup her cheek in my hand. 

   The promise I made to myself last night I will keep tight and not break it, because as I told her, every time I'm with her our relationship gets better. 

She's beginning to trust me, and so I am with her too.

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1 December 2023.

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