Chapter 5 Chapter 0005

•LIANA•

I slept in the waiting room when I arrived at the hospital. My father was at the theater when I arrived.

The nurses who were looking after him told me that he had a seizure and they had to find a way to stabilize him until there was a kidney donor.

I was so stressed and didn't know what to do. Ellis expected me in the office for Adrian's press meeting and I didn't know how I was going to get there while my father was still in a critical condition.

I was woken up by my ringing cell phone and I realized then that I had been sleeping on that uncomfortable chair for more than three hours.

I sighed when I saw Maya's name on the screen. I was mad at her for even putting the underground club in my mind, but I also didn't want to tell her that I slept with someone in the VIP area.

"Maya?"

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," I answered, straightening my back. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I—" she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for bailing out on you last night. I had a very — ah — ugh, never mind. Are you okay? Did you have fun there?"

"Oh, please, did you call to make an excuse for choosing a dick over your best friend of five years?"

She laughed. "Come on, you know I haven't had anything in a while, and you won't believe this." She sighed, sounding as if she were in a happy mood. "That man rearranged my insides like never before. Whatever Wyatt used to do to me doesn't come close to what that guy did to me."

I leaned back on the chair and hummed. I liked listening to her stories because they were able to take my mind off things sometimes.

I couldn't bear the thought of thinking about how bad things would be if I lost my father as well. He was the only family member I had left, and I didn't want to be alone.

"Well, I am glad you had fun at my expense, friend," I scoffed, and looked toward my father's ward door.

The doctors were done with the surgery, but they still hadn't cleared him to see visitors yet. Every passing minute felt like my throat was tightening even more, making it difficult for me to breathe.

"Liana," Maya replied, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

Something in her voice broke the last bit of control I had left. My throat tightened painfully, and before I could stop myself, tears burned my eyes.

I covered my mouth quickly, but a shaky breath still escaped me.

"Liana?" Maya's tone changed immediately. "What happened?"

I pressed my forehead against the wall beside me and squeezed my eyes shut. "My dad is in the hospital."

"What?"

"He has kidney failure," I whispered, my voice cracking. "They admitted him yesterday because his condition got worse. The doctors said he had a seizure yesterday morning."

"Oh my God." Maya sounded horrified. "Are you serious right now?"

"They had to operate on him. He's still unconscious." Tears slid down my cheeks faster after saying the words out loud.

"Liana…" Maya breathed. "Why didn't you call me sooner? Which hospital are you at?" she asked immediately. "I'm coming there right now."

I wiped my face. "No, don't come."

"What do you mean don't come? You're crying."

"I'll be leaving soon anyway," I replied. "I still have to go to work this morning."

"What?" Maya nearly shouted. "Liana, are you insane? Your father is in the hospital."

"I know that."

"Then why the hell are you going to work?"

Because I needed the money.

Because my life had completely fallen apart in less than forty-eight hours.

Because Chris wanted six hundred thousand dollars back before the end of next month.

Because I had signed a fake relationship contract with a Formula 1 driver for one and a half million dollars.

But I couldn't explain all that right now.

"I don't really have a choice," I answered. "But I'll check on my father again when I am back from work."

I swallowed hard and looked toward the hallway leading to my father's room.

"Hey, Maya. I will call you later." I hung up the call when I saw a doctor walking out of my father's room with a clipboard in his hands.

I stood up when he reached my side. "Doctor, how is he?"

"The surgery went well," he answered. "Your father is stable for now."

"Oh thank God," I breathed, feeling relieved. I couldn't imagine the thought of losing him. I could give anything to see him healthy again.

"But he's still in an induced coma," the doctor continued. "We want his body to rest while we monitor his condition closely."

I nodded. "Can I see him?"

The doctor gave me an apologetic look. "Not today, Miss Cross. I am sorry."

My shoulders dropped.

"We're limiting visitors until tomorrow morning," he explained. "His immune system is weak right now, and we don't want to risk exposing him to unnecessary germs before he wakes up."

I swallowed the disappointment and nodded again. "Okay."

"You can come back tomorrow morning. If anything changes before then, we'll contact you immediately."

"Thank you, doctor."

He gave me a small nod before walking away down the hallway. I stood there quietly for a moment before finally grabbing my handbag from the chair.

•••

The receptionist looked up immediately when I got to work. She looked at me and I knew I was late. "They're waiting for you upstairs."

I nodded at her before I got into the elevator and leaned against the wall while it moved upward. The second the doors opened, I walked straight toward Ellis's office.

The door opened the moment I was about to knock. Ellis huffed when he saw me.

"Finally," he breathed. "I thought you weren't coming. I have sent you countless messages to see if you are still coming."

"You're paying me a lot of money to miss work," I answered, and Ellis laughed as he led the way to the elevator.

Adrian looked at me for a moment and smirked before he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"It's a good thing you came, Miss Cross, because I was going to tell the press that I left you curled up in my bed after you'd begged me to fuck you."

I raised my middle finger at him before I followed behind Ellis to the elevator.