Firetruck sirens wailing...
Ambulance sirens wailing...
"Ariana, please wake up... don't scare me like this...open your eyes" Ashton desperately cried, holding the unconscious Ariana in his arms.
A while back, before the flames could escalate.... the three of them had almost got out safe.....
Ashton's life was put in danger....he was almost hit by the apartment's crumbling ceiling..... but Ariana risked her life to save his.... pushing him out of the way just in time and only to be the one injured on the head.
"Don't do this to me....do you always want to leave me like this!"Ashton continued to cry.
He never expected something like that to happen, his greatest fear was losing Ariana forever....and yet, there she was... in front of him ....on the verge of death.
Blood flowing from her head injury non stop.
The ambulance James had called arrived, so had the firetrucks to put out the fire.
Ariana was rushed to the hospital...
CITY HOSPITAL
"Ariana please wake up, please....why aren't you waking up" Ashton didn't let go of Ariana's hand...even while she was on the stretcher, being rushed to the ER.
She had an oxygen mask... but her breaths were low.
"Sir, we need you to let go of the patient.... you have to stop here" the nurse attending to her said, as soon as they reached the entrance of the ER.
"What! I have to stay with her, she needs me" Ashton wasn't thinking straight.
He didn't want to let go of her.
"Ashton, you have to let us do our work...I promise I'll do everything I can to save her" Dr James intervened.
He reassured him....before Ashton finally let go of Ariana's hand.
Ashton Kaur was once in a situation like this one, being rushed to the hospital...helpless and weak.
Deja Vu
The accident he once had.... flashbacks came flooding back.
When he needed someone by his side by that time, he was all alone...he wasn't going to let Ariana feel the same loneliness he once felt.
He waited anxiously outside the ER, he wasn't going to leave her alone...even for a second.
Inside the ER, Ariana's vitals were starting to slow down, she was slowly losing a heartbeat.
"Doctor, we're losing her, she's lost a lot of blood already...we need a blood transfusion" the nurse worriedly informed James.
If anything happened to her after reassuring Ashton.. wouldn't let him off easily.
"What's her blood type?" James asked.
"Type AB negative" the nurse replied.
Ariana's blood type was rare, and their blood banks were already out of that type of blood.
But Ashton...
"The man outside... he's of the same blood type" James infromed the nurse.
The nurse immediately rushed outside to Ashton to ask him to donate his blood...while James tried to keep her vitals stable.
Ashton was taken for testing and he was indeed the same blood type as Ariana...and he didn't hesitate to donate his blood for her.
~~~~~~~
After three long hours....Dr James and his team of nurses came out of the ER.
"James, how is she?"Ashton worriedly asked.
"Her vitals are still weak, but her body is responding well to the blood you donated"James replied.
But that answer only made Ashton worry even more...
Weak vitals!
"We still need to keep her under observation in the ER...and she's still unconscious"he added.
"James...will she wake up?, will she open her eyes?" Ashton asked.
"Ashton, you're very worried about her, I know...but you need medical attention yourself..." James replied.
He'd just donated blood, he was caught up on the fire too...
He was a mess.....and he needed some treatment too.
"I'll worry about myself later, all that matters to me right now is her safety" Ashton said.
He ignored all his agony....it didn't matter.
There was nothing James could say that would change his mind.
"I can't guarantee when she'll wake up, but based on my observations....a few hours and she'll open her eyes"James replied.
"Can I go in and see her?" Ashton asked.
"Ofcourse, not like I can stop you" James replied...
"Thank you James" Ashton thanked him for the first time.
Ashton wore a mask and slowly opened the door of the ER...
He took slow footsteps towards Ariana, watching her lay there unconscious on the hospital bed...with an IV drip and an oxygen mask.
Her monitor beeping....
He sat down on the chair by her bedside and gently held her hand.
"I thought I was going to lose you forever....you must enjoy making me suffer" he spoke softly.
He was scared.
"Take your time and rest, I'll stay right here beside you... you're not alone, you'll always have me"he continued to say... tightening his grip on her hand.
He regreted letting her walk away from him before, if he'd forced her to come back with him.....he wouldn't have to see her like that....
This wouldn't have happened.
~~~~~~~~~
CLARIS' HOUSE...
Claris had just got off the phone and threw it on her couch in anger...
"Bunch of idiots!! They couldn't even handle a simple task and had to burn down the place" she complained.
She was behind everything that had happened.....
She wanted to get Ariana raped.. and then disgrace her in front of everyone, including Ashton as a whore...
She wanted to make her lose face, go into hiding or run away from Ashton....but she realized....what happened was only going to bring the both of them closer than before.
All her plans were in vain, Ashton wouldn't let Ariana out of his sight now more than ever.
And if he ever found out that she was the one behind it, he wouldn't hesitate to call of the wedding and cancel the damn engagement.
Things were going South, nothing was working in her favour...
She'd failed again.
CITY HOSPITAL
"It's already 10pm, he's been in there for the past two hours" James said to Tobe, as they both watched Ashton from outside the ER.
"It's a terrible thing that happened to Ms Ariana, boss is the one who's most affected" Tobe replied.
"He already asked me to bring him a new set of clothes, some food, fruits... everything...he won't be leaving the hospital tonight" Tobe added.
"Ofcourse he won't leave his sleeping beauty...."James said.
He knew very well.... Ashton wasn't going to move from there.
~~~~~~~~~
"Papa, will I ever be happy?" A young Ariana asked her dad....
They both sat down by the lake... they always spent time there, away from her mom.
"Dear, you'll always be happy.....its up to you to choose what makes you truly happy" her dad replied.
"Can I stay a little longer with you here?" She asked.
"Dear, my time with you was limited, but there's someone else who's already taken my place....don't keep him waiting" her dad replied before he suddenly vanished.
Ariana slowly opened her eyes, she'd been a dream.....a beautiful dream, seeing her dad who passed away years ago again...
Although he'd left, he kept watching over her, he even sent a replacement.... Ashton.
She took off the oxygen mask and scanned the room, until her eyes landed on Ashton...who was resting beside her.
The wall clock read midnight.... he'd been there for many hours already.
She slowly lifted her hand and rested it on top of Ashton's.... feeling her hand on his, Ashton opened his eyes.
"You're awake"he said, his voice hinting how happy he was to see her awake.
Ariana simply nodded a 'yes' and smiled.
"I was so worried about you...."Ashton said... staring at her with longing eyes.
"Why did you do it....it should have been me here, not you" he added.
"It was my fault that you were there, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything bad happened to you" Ariana replied.
"But didn't you think about my feelings for a moment...you know I won't be able to live without you, are you always selfish... thinking about only your feelings" Ashton said.
"I was just a phone call away, couldn't you call me...do you really want me out of your life that much" he added.
Ariana didn't even know what to say, she hurt him more than anyone.....
Her being silent, Ashton took it wrong, he thought she didn't even want him to be there.
He stood up to leave but Ariana caught his hand and stopped him.
"I don't want you to go, I'm sorry, it's my fault...I'm the one to blame"she said.
"I was being selfish, I was thinking only about myself....I was wrong" she added.
She knew it was all on her.
Ashton turned to face her.
"Don't go, stay a bit longer, will you?" She requested him to stay, with a pitiful expression on her face.
Ashton didn't want to leave, even if she didn't ask him to stay, he'd still stay there.
He sat back down and what Ariana did next was unexpected....she pulled him closer and kissed him lightly.
She was still weak and couldn't afford to use more energy....like the previous times.
Was that her way of asking for forgiveness?
"Are you not mad at me anymore?"she asked, after breaking the kiss.
Yet Ashton still craved for more...but considering her condition, he had to control himself.
"I wasn't mad"he replied.
Liar
"Then why did you look like you were"Ariana laughed....even after their time apart, Ashton still didn't know how to tell a lie.
She was happy, Ashton's presence made her feel comfortable.
Seeing her smile was all Ashton wanted.
"You must be hungry....I asked nana to prepare your favorite" Ashton said.
"Really....you still remember my favorite food?" Ariana asked.
"How could I forget" he replied...before Ariana got a flash back from four years ago.
When she'd always drag Ashton...in his own home to ask his nanny to prepare her favorite dishes almost every single day.
"Come on, it's what I want, please! please"
She practically made Ashton love her favorite dishes as well.
"You remember everything" Ariana said.
Maybe it was her who'd forgotten some things, but Ashton....he couldn't even if he wanted to.
This truly touched her.....this man wasn't lying when he said he still loves her...
"I can do it myself" Ariana said, trying to take the containers away from him.
"Don't move around so much....I'm already responsible for your condition"Ashton replied...
As if he'd let her do it by herself.
Watching him take such good care of her made Ariana realize that she didn't want to leave him....she was just lying to herself.
If it was an engagement, it could still be cancelled....if it was a wedding, she could be the one walking down that aisle.
Dr James who hadn't also left the hospital... doing his rounds....caught sight of the two of them inside the room.
Ashton Kaur, the Domineering CEO he knew, was actually feeding someone with his own hands....
Ashton wouldn't feed James even when he was very ill before.
"Don't you have hands, do it yourself!" Ashton exclaimed.
"Just help a sick bro out" James replied.
"NO"
He'd always coldly say the same thing to him.....that was their relationship....and how they got along.
He was happy for his best friend.
Love does really change people, even the coldest of hearts can melt because of love.
He'd come to check up on Ariana...but he let Ashton have his time with her. He'd come back later.