CHAPTER 74: HOSPITAL

As soon as we made it back to the stables, we told the stablehand what happened and called for an ambulance.

I walked Lark and Christian’s black horse back to the pasture while Christian was ensuring that the older man was okay.

Thankfully, the island was relatively small, and it didn’t take long for the ambulance to show up and take the man and his daughter to the hospital.

"Won’t you come with us, Christian?" asked Cherie with a pleading expression.

"Sweetie, don’t bother Christian. We already disturbed his outing with this young lady enough. Now that the paramedics are here, I’m okay," the older man smiled at his daughter.

I glanced at Christian, noticing his conflicted look. Though I didn’t know who these people were to Christian, I could tell that they were important to him.

"Why don’t we go? It’ll give you some peace of mind knowing that everything is okay, right?" I said as I gently touched Christian’s arm.

Cherie’s eyes flickered from my actions, but she only smiled sweetly.

Christian turned to look me in the eyes. His expression was full of gratitude, "Thank you, Leslie. I’ll explain on the way."

He turned and nodded at the older man, "We will follow you to the hospital."

With everything settled, the ambulance left with the father-daughter pair while Christian and I followed behind in the car.

"That’s Roan Amato, the man I’m supposed to meet later this week," explained Christian.

I nodded, understanding why Christian was so concerned. This man was a mentor to him and someone he respected.

"I hope he’s okay," I said softly.

"He should be. I looked at the wound closely, it didn’t look like the snake was poisonous. He just looked very pale, and I want to make sure," he replied.

-

When we got to the hospital, the nurses had already brought Roan inside to be treated. Christian handed me my sunglasses as we stepped out of the car.

"The hospital is a popular area for paparazzi, just to be safe."

I nodded, grateful for his concern, but the moment I took a step forward, he reached over and held my hand.

Aren’t we supposed to be low-key?

Unfazed by my surprised look, Christian walked forward with bold steps, leading me into the hospital.

Inside, I felt a few eyes on us as Christian asked about Roan’s location. The lobby was mostly filled with locals, so I simply assumed that they were interested in visitors.

The hospital itself was very grand, rivaling the top hospitals in our country. Everything was clean, and the staff seemed pleasant.

A friendly nurse walked us up to the VIP wards to the room where Roan was.

"The doctor just saw him, thankfully, there was nothing life-threatening, but the shock caused his heart to overwork. We want to keep him here to ensure that his condition won’t worsen."

Christian nodded, looking relieved that there was nothing seriously wrong with him, and stepped into the room.

Inside, Roan was lying on the hospital bed while Cherie was sitting in an armchair by the window.

"Christian, you’re here so soon! I’m so worried about my father," she cried as soon as we walked into view.

"Don’t worry, the nurse said that there was nothing too bad. They just want to make sure the shock didn’t affect him too much," comforted Christian.

He walked over to the side of the bed and reached out to hold Roan’s hand.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Amato?" he asked with great care.

"Christian, my boy. How many times have I told you to call me Roan? You’re no longer that young graduate with a vision, you’re a full-fledged businessman, a successful one at that!", laughed Roan weakly.

"To me, you’ll always be my mentor," smiled Christian.

From the bed, Roan glanced over at me. I was standing quietly by the wall, watching the sweet interaction between the men.

"Who’s this beauty? She looks a lot like Cherie, don’t you think?" he asked.

Christian motioned for me to take a step forward, "This is Leslie Moresi, the second daughter of the Moresi Family, my fiancée’s sister."

I glanced over at Cherie, outside of our similar hair color and height, she didn’t look a thing like me. While she was beautiful in her own right, her features were different from mine.

"Ah, yes. I heard about your engagement with the Moresis. What were you thinking, boy?" he asked with a slight dissatisfaction.

"No offense, of course," he quickly turned to me, flashing an apologetic smile, "It’s nothing against you, I just never saw eye to eye with your father. Consider it a rivalry between us old men."

I replied with a polite nod. The business world is fierce, and many times, grudges could be born from the simplest of matters.

"So why are you here with your fiancée’s sister and not your fiancé?" Roan asked.

Christian smiled but remained professional. "A business meeting. Outside of my meeting here with you, I have matters for Sophia. And Leslie here is leading a large project for Sophia."

Roan nodded, "That’s right. The gem mine here would be very beneficial for Sophia, I see."

Cherie suddenly stood up, "It’s quite unfortunate that your fiancée isn’t here. I would have loved to meet the woman who melted Christian’s frozen heart."

She walked over to my side, looking me up and down, "Though, it is a bit interesting. Why would both of you go on a sightseeing horseback ride alone? Wouldn’t your dear sister get a little jealous?"

Her voice was quiet so that only I could hear her.

Trying to dip into matters that don’t concern you? Unfortunately, I’ve been training my whole life for this. You won’t get a single thing out of me.

I smiled in my signature "Leslie Moresi" smile. When I glanced back up at her, my face was full of innocence and virtue.

Shaking my head, "My sister and I are very close. In fact, she was glad that I had this opportunity to travel. She must have begged Christian to take me somewhere nice while we were here."

Cherie frowned at my overly innocent response. I could see the disappointment in her eyes that she wasn’t able to come up with some juicy gossip about me and Christian.

"Hmm, a very kind sister indeed. I don’t know if I would be so kind as to have my fiancé spend private time with anyone, even my sister, if I had one."

I smiled softly, tilting my head to the side, "If not your sister, then who? I don’t know of anyone I can trust more. I suppose it’s a bond that only sisters can have."

Her eyes darkened. I’ve seen that look on Morgan’s face countless times.

Someone’s angry.

But to my surprise, she reached out and touched my arm, "I’m intrigued. To be honest, I’ve always wanted a sister, but my parents were only blessed with one child. I would be very honored if I were allowed to come and spend some time with you and your sister, would that be okay?"