Chapter: The Call That Changed Everything
(Aries' POV)
Hospitals have a strange kind of silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The heavy kind.
The kind that makes every second feel longer.
I was sitting outside the emergency room with Percy beside me. Mom had gone inside with the doctors, and Dad had arrived a few minutes ago after dealing with Yuri at the house.
No one was talking.
The red EMERGENCY light above the door was still on.
I kept staring at it.
Like if I looked long enough… it would turn off.
Percy finally broke the silence.
"She'll be okay."
I nodded.
But honestly…
I didn't know.
Jay had fainted the moment she saw the blood. Her entire body started shaking like she was reliving something horrible. I had never seen her like that before.
Not even once.
My phone felt heavy in my hand.
There was one person who needed to know.
Even if Jay would hate me for telling him.
I opened my contacts and stared at the name.
Keifer Watson.
For a moment I hesitated.
Then I pressed call.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then the line connected.
His voice came through the speaker.
"…Aries?"
He sounded calm.
Too calm.
"Yeah," I said.
"What's up?"
For a second I couldn't speak.
Then the words came out.
"Jay's in the hospital."
Silence.
Complete silence.
"What?"
His voice had changed.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"She hit her head," I said quickly.
"And she fainted."
"What happened?"
I could hear something in the background.
Movement.
Like he had stood up suddenly.
"Yuri showed up at the house," I said.
"And he grabbed her."
The silence on the line became colder.
"He said she belongs to him," I continued.
"He said he had the right because he's her fiancée."
For the first time since the call started…
Keifer actually sounded shaken.
"…He touched her?"
"Yes."
"And when she fell she saw blood," I said quietly.
"And something triggered. She started panicking like she was remembering something."
I swallowed hard.
"Then she fainted."
The other side of the line was breathing heavily now.
"Which hospital?" he asked.
"St. Luke's."
There was a loud noise on his side.
Like a chair falling.
"I'm coming."
My eyes widened.
"From London?"
"I don't care how long it takes."
His voice was cold now.
The kind of cold that scared people.
"I'm coming."
Then the call ended.
I lowered the phone slowly.
Percy looked at me.
"You told him?"
"Yeah."
Before Percy could respond…
The hospital entrance doors suddenly opened.
And guess who walked in.
Yuri.
My hands curled into fists immediately.
He walked toward us calmly.
Like nothing had happened.
"Where is she?" he asked.
Percy stood up instantly.
"You've got some nerve showing up here."
Yuri ignored him.
"I want to see Jay."
I stepped in front of him.
"No."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"She is my fiancée."
"There you go again," Percy muttered.
"I have the right to be here," Yuri continued.
My anger exploded.
"You lost that right the moment you dragged her across our living room."
He didn't even react.
"I'm taking her home when she wakes up."
That sentence was enough.
Before he could take another step—
Someone grabbed his collar from behind.
Hard.
"Touch her again and I'll break your arm."
We all turned.
Standing there was Angelo.
Jay's older brother.
Our Kuya Angelo.
His face looked like pure fury.
Yuri slowly looked at him.
"You must be the brother."
Angelo shoved him back.
"Don't talk to me."
Yuri straightened his jacket calmly.
"She belongs to—"
Angelo punched him.
Hard.
The sound echoed through the hospital hallway.
Yuri stumbled backward.
Percy's jaw dropped.
Even I was shocked.
Angelo grabbed Yuri by the collar again and pushed him toward the exit.
"You don't get to walk in here and claim rights over my sister."
Yuri wiped the corner of his lip slowly.
"You can't stop this engagement."
Angelo's eyes darkened.
"Watch me."
Then he shoved Yuri straight through the hospital doors.
Security rushed forward immediately.
"Sir, you need to leave."
Yuri looked back at us once.
Cold.
Calculating.
"This isn't over."
Angelo stepped forward again.
"You're right."
His voice was deadly calm.
"It isn't."
Security escorted Yuri out of the building.
The doors closed behind him.
The hallway became quiet again.
Angelo ran a hand through his hair and looked at me.
"How is she?"
I exhaled slowly.
"They're still checking her."
For the first time since he arrived…
Angelo's expression softened slightly.
He leaned against the wall beside us.
"We won't let that man near her again."
Percy nodded immediately.
"Not happening."
I looked down at my phone.
At the last call.
Keifer Watson.
Somewhere across the ocean…
A man was probably already on his way.
And something told me…
When he arrived…
Things were going to get a lot worse for Yuri.