Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 303: AWAKE

It was the same feeling that she felt when she fell from the Aspen Bridge: suffocating, cold, and at a loss... There were many things on her mind, but at the same time, she couldn’t think of anything.

It felt like watching a movie that was played at high speed. You observed everything but struggled to understand what was going on.

Hazel...

Someone called her name desperately.

But then, she felt a wave of confusion, as that was not her name... was it? That name was not the one given to her when she was born.

She was given a different name. What was her name again?

"River..."

She opened her eyes groggily but then groaned when the blinding light hurt her sight. She immediately closed them because the offensive light made her uncomfortable.

"River, are you awake?"

A man called her name. She heard the hasty movement around her, but she couldn’t tell what they were doing, since she shut her eyes.

She couldn’t adjust to the light. Why is this place so blinding? After being trapped for so long in the dark, being in the scorching bright place was torture.

She groaned, trying to tell whoever the people around her were to turn off the light, but no voice came out of her throat, only a frustrated grunt.

These people touched and poked her all over, which irritated her, but she was too weak to protest or to do anything.

In the end, she waited for them to stop. From the sound of it, they seemed like doctors and nurses.

It felt like forever, and the darkness threatened to claim her again, but she fought back for her newly regained consciousness.

"...She will be fine... For now, she needs to rest."

She didn’t hear the rest of it, because the sound of their voices sounded so distant, as if she were listening to the other room.

It felt like forever when she sensed all of the people had left, leaving only one person who was sitting on the edge of her bed.

Her hand was being held, and he called her name gently.

"River... Can you hear me? Open your eyes, please..."

She grunted. She tried, but it was too bright. She wanted to tell him that.

And thankfully, this person understood, seeing her struggle, and turned off a few lights. He closed the curtain, so the room was dimmed.

"River?"

She opened her eyes and found Rafael was there, smiling at her.

"Finally..."

***

"Give me the gun!" Laurel said furiously, asking for a gun from Ranon. She stormed into his study, where Ranon was with Lucian and Ares, talking about a few matters related to the business.

They were not surprised to see Laurel burst into the room, since this was not the first time.

"Where is the gun? I am going to kill her!" Laurel said with an angry voice.

Ranon pulled something out of the drawer and placed a gun on the table, which Laurel quickly grabbed, while Ares and Lucian simply raised their eyebrows.

"Do you even know how to use it?" Lucian asked curiously when Laurel cradled the gun out of the room with both hands, as if she were holding a puppy.

"I will figure it out. I am not going to miss."

Lucian shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. Good luck then?" Both Lucian and Ares flinched when Laurel slammed the door closed. "I wonder what Ema has done to piss Laurel off. She can be very scary, you know."

"She is scary," Ares admitted, and then looked at Ranon. "Do you think it’s fine to let her go around with a gun?"

"That’s empty," Ranon replied lightly.

"Well, that makes sense."

And after a small interruption from Laurel, they resumed with their discussion.

Laurel had been on a campaign to chase Ema away from Ranon and Ashlyn. Ema would stay in the lobby for hours when she was not granted access.

At another time, she would take Eilon with her, which made the guards uncomfortable. Even if they could ignore Ema, seeing the child suffer because of her action was not exactly a comfortable sight for them.

Ema was going crazy to pursue Ranon, since no one could hold her back. She truly believed that if she tried hard enough, Ranon would finally look at her, and they would start over and rekindle their romance.

This was her chance; she wouldn’t let it slip.

However, Laurel was working even harder to prevent that from happening.

’Go and find someone else. I will bless you with anyone but her. Don’t ruin the family tree.’

Laurel repeatedly said that, or she would ask Ranon whether or not he considered getting back together with Ema. But each time, Ranon would give Laurel a sideways glance, as if to say she had lost her mind.

Meanwhile, there was no improvement from Ashlyn, but they really needed to be patient with her.

It had been half a year since Hazel was gone, and that was how long Ashlyn had refused to make a sound.

"We are going hard tonight. I have confirmed the information from Lyle. It’s legit. We will be in Talbar City in an hour from now."

"I will be there too," Ranon said, and then hung up the call. It was already night, and they were going to ambush Kyle and Axel in one of their hiding places.

After months, they finally managed to get those two, as Ranon got himself together and started to think clearly.

"Which book do you want to read?" Ranon asked Ashlyn. She had been asking him to read books for her before she went to bed, just like Laurel did.

But her aunt was not here, so she wanted her father to read for her.

Ranon furrowed his brows when he saw the bookshelves. Laurel had bought more books for Ashlyn because she saw that the little girl liked them. It was so typical of her.

Ashlyn then picked ten books.

"No, baby. Only two—two books." Ranon crouched down next to her. He caressed her head, and Ashlyn gave him a look before she put a few books away, leaving four. "No. Two."

Ranon saw the books that Ashlyn had chosen and read the title. One of them was Red Riding Hood. He remembered the story.

Hazel asked him to tell her this story when she gave birth to Ashlyn...

There was a dull pain in his chest that he immediately ignored.

***

River couldn’t believe it. She survived... again?

She returned to her body.

"Tell me, how could you find me?"

"River, you need to take it easy." Rafael sat down on the edge of her bed, putting down her meal on the table next to her. "I will tell you everything, but you need to finish the meal first."

River...

It had been so long since someone called her that. She was born with that name, but it held no meaning for her. That was not the name that gave her joy. The first things that came to her mind when she heard that name again were pain and blood.

"Don’t treat me like a child."

And once again, she had to put in an effort with her body, because she had been in a coma for almost three years by now.

That was the only information that she could gather from Rafael, since he had been dodging the answers.

"I am not." Rafael grinned. "Do you want candy after your meal?"

River didn’t have patience for his antics. She then lay down, threatened to sleep, and tuned him out. She had been doing this whenever the nurses told her to eat.

It was not like she refused to eat, but everything that she swallowed tasted so bitter that it made her want to vomit.

The doctor said it was the aftereffect of her medicines.

"Fine, fine. My God. I used to admire your stubbornness, but really, this is annoying." Rafael scratched his head in frustration. "Finish your meal, and I will tell you how I found you."

"Tell me first; only then will I eat."

"Fine, you can starve yourself." Rafael shrugged his shoulders, acting nonchalant.

"Okay." River pulled the blanket and closed her eyes. She would sleep, and Rafael knew he wouldn’t win.

River was still so weak. She would like to eat more, but the bitterness was too much. During her therapy sessions, she would be escorted by one man named Oscar. He was there to watch her every move and to make sure she wouldn’t run away.

One thing that River was sure about was that this was Central Hospital, where Rafael Scar was the biggest investor.

"Fine. I talk; you eat. Stop negotiating with me, River. I am the businessman here." Rafael pulled her up into a sitting position. "Now, eat."

River scoffed at him, but she took the plate and started eating. "Now, talk." She needed to get out of here.

Here, Rafael only allowed her to attend the therapy sessions, and most of the time, River would spend her day inside this spacious and luxurious ward. It was like a sparkling jail in her eyes.

It had been two months since she woke up, but Rafael didn’t let her get any information from outside, not even news from the television.

Sometimes, River wondered if her life with Ranon was only her dream. Was that real? If Ashlyn did exist, then it was real, right?

But how could she figure it out?

River asked Rafael about it once, yet he refused to talk about it.