De Luca

26. Hospitals and Parks I

26

The whiff of some Italian air, a thing I never thought I could feel again. The sun was busy rising from the horizon, a view I had missed for the past few days.

Everything was quick.

We were already on our way back to Stephan's palace.
It may seem astonishing but, Stephan stole t the Lambo from a naive young man the moment he stepped off the airport security's observation. For a moment the time halted as I dragged a wounded Seth with me to the vehicle opening the door to the back seat and throwing him into it. I did not waste any time in seating myself too.

That's all I remember because the poor guy stood before the airport with his passport and luggage clutched in his hand, staring at us racing off wide eyed and flabbergasted.

What perplexed me more was that there was no commotion from the people nor the security as if what happened now was a daily occurrence.

"What the fuck?" Seth whispered and glared at me from the back seat. "Is this man your husband?" he yelled in shock. "No, Seth, calm down!" I said, worried whether the healed wound mark, given by victors men, on his mouth would open again. "Is he?" he asked again, slowly this time.
"no-"I was cut off by not-my-husband. "Yes, she's my wife." Stephan replied from beside me, glancing at me with a slightest smirk blooming on his face.

"Keep the thought to yourself, fiancé." I mocked, eliciting a groan from him. "Don't remind me off that stupid past. I'm tired of it." H said with his eyes trained on the road.

"What happened after I left?" I was curious. "Wait, you didn't go for a business trip?" Seth poked his head in between us from behind. "No, she didn't." Stephan replied rather. "I kidnapped her."

"What the fuck?" he whispered again, slumping in to the seat as he had just found the solution to world hunger. "Stop swearing, child." I scolded.

Stephan pulled up to the parking lot of the hospital and wasted no time parking his car and helping me drag Seth to the causality.

It was the moment the doctor said Seth had no serious injury that I left a breathe I didn't know I was holding. He just had minor wounds and a broken rib. The doctor said that Seth needed some lone time as he was under heavy anesthesia.

"My men will take it from here." Said Stephan, commanding some men to stay on guard in front of the hospital room Seth slept in.

We sat together with our shoulders brushed together in a park opposite to the hospital. His body radiated enough warmth to keep the nightly chill away. "That boy, Seth, he will be fine." His azure blue eyes collided with mine, a warming smile blooming on his lips, that's when I noticed, under the dim light illuminated by a distant street light, the petite scars on his face.

The memory from that incident crossed my mind. I smiled, grateful for the fact that he was alive. Because for a minute amidst all the panic that seized me on the particular day when Markus told me that Stephan died, I was ready to jump into Stephan's grave to end with him.

The thought of Seth never crossed my mind.

The thought of Seth never crossed my mind for I thought he was safe in the orphanage away from the eyes of men behind me because of my profession.

I watched Stephan's gaze traveling to my hair from time to time. "What happened?" he asked finally, signaling to my short strands. "The maniac, Markus, did it." I replied, running my fingers through the hair I had left.

"Where's he now?" I could sense a hint of anger in his voice even though he did his best to cover it up beneath his gritted teeth. "Dead." I whispered.

He started laughing, a deep throaty laughter.

Oh. How I had missed his voice.

"You killed him?" He asked me, amused. "Yes, indeed."

"I finished him with my own hands." I couldn't help the chuckle bubbling inside my throat.

"How did it feel? Your first murder." He asked, staring at a star flickering in the sky.

"Ecstatic." I hummed. "Thought so." He muttered, looking back at me. His eyes shone with an curious gleam.

"Who's Seth?" I awaited that question, an answer already brewed in my mind.

"My son." My reply didn't seem to surprise him. "mhm." He hummed. "How are you still alive?" my doubt didn't seem to astonish him too.

"I didn't die." Wow .I didn't know that.
I rolled my eyes. "How did you survive that bullet shot, dimwit?" I asked pointing to his chest where I saw the bullet piercing him. "Oh, this?" he started unbuttoning his shirt. Pulling it to the side to show me the mark of a bullet wound. "Survived that." He shrugged.

I couldn't help myself from brushing my fingers against the rough skin. I flinched as he hissed because of my touch. Retracting my hand slowly, I kept it on my lap. "It's not completely healed, yet." He closed his eyes and popped the buttons back in.

"I want my mafia back." He stood up suddenly.

"you know the procedure, don't you?"