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Chapter 11 Chapter 11

Duke arrived at the hospital and he quickly packed his car and rushed inside.

Henry was sitting at the reception with his both hands clasped in between his legs like a leper

At the sight of him, Duke was filled with so much fear as he thought that the worst had happened.

He moved slowly to the direction where his friend was seated and with a gentleness like that of a saint, he touched his friend by the shoulder.

All will be fine bro just keep the faith and know that I am here for you as a friend and as a brother as well.

Henry lifted his head in agony and said as though his tongue was tied to his mouth,

"Thank you".

The voice was so faint that even his friend could not have heard him if he was standing some inches away from him.

Duke did not want to pressure him into explaining what had happened if he was not feeling as to say anything.

All he wanted was to be there for his friend in the best way possible.

A doctor was approaching both men and Duke immediately understood that it must be the doctor that is handling Henry's mother's case.

The doctor was near so he called out,

" Mr. Henry, your mother is going to be admitted here at the hospital for some days as she suffered a mild concussion and her bruises are a little but severe", he explained with a sad face to show that he was sympathizing with his mother's condition.

Henry was disturbed by the news he had just received but he had to be a man and be strong in such a situation.

He bowed down his head again and with a disturbing voice he asked,

"Will she be an alright doctor?", with tears forming in his eyes but he brushed them with his left hand.

The doctor assured him that his mother was in good hands and that she just needed to be at the hospital for observation and it will be just for the night.

The next morning she was going to undergo a CT scan so as to know if she has some fractures or blood clots in her brain given that she hit her head on the steering wheel.

The soreness on her face is somehow serious because her body is not as firm as that of a teenager or young adult but she will be fine and she has been given injections to subdue the pain.

Duke who has been looking at his friend knowing fully well how important his mum is to him, told the doctor to do everything humanly possible to ensure that she is fine.

" Can I see her now?", Henry asked with so much pain.

"She needs to rest now, so you can just see her later when she wakes up", the doctor said.

The specialist finished explaining that to them, and he excused himself to go attend to other patients that were waiting for him.

" Nothing will happen to her bro", Duke consoles his friend with encouraging words.

They both sat at the infirmary and there was a long silence that followed and then Henry spoke out,

"How is your mother?", he inquired with a look at his friend that almost made Duke laugh.

" She is fine bro but my life is a living hell in that house", he narrated looking down at his feet.

"Hope you both have gotten to an agreement about your matrimony with the lady she is expecting you to take down the aisle with", he said in a kicking manner that made Duke to choke him up.

" What do you think?", he asked not being able to hold the laughter that had already formed in his neck.

The two men sat there discussing so as to forget their worries and think of other things.

Duke saw that it was a good opportunity to ask about his Mother's accident since Henry was somehow loosened and could explain to him what had happened.

"So bro what actually happened to your mother?", Duke asked putting on a rather intriguing face.

Henry began relating with emphasis accompanied by a sad look,

" She collided with a car that was taking a turn across the road", he said all saddened.

Duke could feel his friend's pain and he asked gently,

"What about the driver of the other car?".

Henry gave him a long gaze and with great reluctance, he responded,

" He had nothing on him, not even a scratch bro", he was devastated.

It was a tough dilemma that Henry was living at that point in time but he knew that no situation was permanent and that this one too will be over eventually.

Duke could feel his friend's pain and he decided to start with him for some time before going back home.

They both sat there talking about everything and nothing in particular, and Henry asked his friend about his plans for the set up of his hotel as everything was not completely burned down.

I will renovate the building but in a different way. I will change the structure of the hotel and its name.

Duke was a passionate businessman and he always had the belief that a failure in life doesn't determine your life and finance, it will only happen if you decide to fold your hands and lament over your failure instead of stepping on your game.

Henry was pleased to know that his friend had a backup plan to continue having income get into his account.

Duke saw his phone ring and it was a call from his mother and he knew that she was worried about him not informing not to be home and he wasn't up too.

He informed his friend about his leaving and said he was going to pass by tomorrow before heading to the office.

They both exchanged pleasantries and Duke took off to his house as he needed to rest for tomorrow.

He drove through the streets at an extremely high speed as he was equally tired.

It has been a long day and he had completely forgotten about the worries he had as all he wanted at the moment was to reach home, get a good bath, and fall on his bed wrapped up in his clean sheets.

Duke finally got to his house and the security agent opened the gate for him to drive in and station well.

"Welcome sir", the guard said as he stepped down from his car.

Duke nodded as always and walked into the house. Everywhere was deserted and the house was as calm as a necropolis.

He used to that silence as there was no one in that big mansion except him and his mother.

The maids too lived there but they were almost not noticed because of their presence only in the kitchen and in places where their work was pertained to.

" Welcome sir", he heard a voice behind him as he mounted the staircase.

He looked back and saw the oldest maid who had worked for some years in their mansion and was brought by his nanny who had retired due to health issues.

"Thank you Helena", he responded with a smile as it was no news that she was the only one who scarcely slept in that house.

She always had series of wakefulness every Night probably because she was adding age and it was affecting her system.

She inquired whether Duke will like to eat something but he said he had too much to drink.

Duke wished her a good night and left for his mother's room to check in here before finally going to his room to rest off his tired body.

When he opened his mother's room, he found her sleeping peacefully and he had no intentions of disturbing her.

He walked into her room and with a good night kiss placed on her forehead he said,

" Sleep tight little momma", as he smiled he covered her well with the blanket and left for his compartment.

It was already late when he got him so the only thing he could do was to take a shower and climb on his bed and sleep.

Sleep was not going to be difficult to find as he had been feeling sleepy right in his car.

He took off his dress and went into the shower for a cold bath. When he was done he came out and dried up himself with his towel and put on his pajamas that were in the wardrobe.

He ascended onto his bed and without any hesitation, he joined the stars as he began snoring rhythmically.

The angle of sleep had already passed by and with his stroke of magic, Duke had fallen asleep.

Heavy knocks on the door almost brought down the roof of the whole house.

Bethany woke up in a state of confusion as she had been in her dreamland when she heard the hanging from a faraway distance.

Waking up with the confusion and panic, she trembled with fear in her room not knowing what to do.

Her senses were not yet in order as she had been brutality interrupted from her sleep.

The banging continued and he heard her brother's voice screaming for her to open up,

"Betty mother is dying", the voice screamed out kicking the door even harder.

On hearing this like a dream, she jumped down of her bed opening the door with the speed of light rushing out asking,

" What happened to her where is she? she rushed to her mother's room with so much fright.

Her mother had another heart attack and this time it was more serious than the first one.

She has been having this for some time now and there was no money to follow up with the option that the doctor gave which was to do a heart transplant.

They had decided to be taking treatment for it till she finally saves up enough to pay for the heart surgery for her mother to be done again.

Running to her mother's room, she saw her lying on her bed with so much pain and tears began falling down her eyes.

"Bryan help me call on a cab really quick let's take her to the hospital, and be fast about it", she said in a loud voice

She held her mother in her arms and she tried to speak up but she asked her to reserve her the little energy she has left to keep her strength.

The cab was already at the door and he came out to help them get their mother into the car.

She was taken out of the house to the car and Betty sat at the back seat with her while Bryan sat in front with the can driver.

" Betty stops crying, I will be fine. This often arises so don't be so stressed out my daughter", those words fell off her mouth like she was about giving up on life.

"Don't speak like this mother please, you will be fine and we will be at the hospital soon enough", she treasured her mother with tests in her eyes.

Her brother who has not been able to concentrate in front turned and look behind asking,

" Will the mother be okay Betty? as his voice sounded weird from the panic he was feeling inside but he was suppressing it as he did not want to show weakness as a man.

Betty looked at her brother with so much sorrow and responded to his question with a false smile just to make him not worry much.

"Drive faster driver", she urged the cabman as her mother continued to weaken in her hands.

Bethany held her mother as though she was her kid and the hospital could already be seen as they were approaching its premises and the surrounding was clean but Crystal did not have time to check those things.

The cab parked in front of the hospital and Bethany came out screaming for help as her brother joined her down and opened the back door, struggling to bring out his mother.

The nurses came out with a stretcher and took out Mrs. Marvin from the taxi and brought her inside.

Bethany took out some money to pay the rye cab driver but he declined the money from her saying that he hopes that her mother gets well soon.

She thanked him and rushed inside to join her brother as they followed the stretcher taking her mother inside the ward.

She sat down at the hospital's foyer weeping bitterly.

The doctor had already told her what had to be done but she had not yet been able to gather enough money for the surgery and days kept turning into weeks and to months while her mother's ailment kept on disintegrating.

" What are we going to do now Betty, his do we raise the money for the surgery?". Her younger brother asked but she had no idea on her to do but she knew that she had to do something to save her mother's life.

She got up and told her brother not to move from there and that she was going to see the nurse at the reception to know if the doctor who has been handling the mother's case was at the hospital already.

Bryan nodded in agreement and watched her sister leave to the nurse at the reception desk.

When she walked into the reception, she passed by and without meaning it she smashed the leg of someone who was sitting there unknowingly.

Bethany immediately turned to the person apologizing bitterly for her action and the man just smiled and said it was okay and that he wasn't feeling too bad about what had just happened.

"I am sorry Sir I did not see your foot", she apologized checking at the man's leg to see if he was feeling pain and to also show how sincerely her apology was.

"it's alright Ms., I am doing alright you need not worry yourself about me as it is just a minor problem", he responded adjusting his foot and taking it out of the way.

She apologized once more and left for the reception.

" Good morning nurse, please I am Bethany Marvin and I will like to know if Doctor Travis is on duty this morning", she spoke calmly but deep down in her, she was not as calm as she was trying to show.

The nurse went through the desktop in front of her and she replied,

"Yes, doctor Travis will be working today, and from what I am seeing here, he will be at the hospital anytime soon as his shift will be starting soon", She explained.

Bethany was somehow relieved to know that she will be able to talk with the doctor in charge of her mother's situation.

While she was still at the reception desk, she had a call from her friend Eva who had shown up at their house to check up on her but found out that there was no one at home.

" I am at your house Eva, where are you all", she inquired.

Bethany told her friend all that had happened to her mother that morning and how they finally ended up at the hospital.

Eva told her friend not to worry and that she was going to take the next available cab to the hospital, just want for me and please don't forget that you are not too strong to stress yourself too much.

Bethany felt good knowing that she could count on her friend anytime whether in good or bad moments.

She hung up the call and went back to meet her brother who was still in the corridor hoping to get some news from the doctors on duty.

Duke was already awake and ready for the day, as he was at the winning table with his mother taking breakfast and chatting with his mother about what had happened to Henry's mother.

"What?", her mother exclaimed in fright thinking that the worst had happened to her.

"She is out of danger, and the doctors said she suffered from a mild concussion and that it wasn't really serious as she will be discharged in a day or two", he explained.

He knew how dramatic his mom could be sometimes so he had to just assure her that Henry's mother was doing fine.

Duke drank up his mug of tea and placing his hold on the table to serve as a support while he lifts his body out of the chair, he got up and kissed his mother's forehead, and left for the hospital first to visit his friend's mother before going for work.

He approached his car and noticed that it had been tidied up, as usual, so he opened up the back door with his left hand and dropped his briefcase, and closing the door with his right hand.

He opened the front door and sat down in his car. Arranging his seat to a comfortable position as he had extremely long legs, he wanted his seat belt for security.

He touched his gear to neutral and started his car putting down the handbrake and maneuvering his car out of his yard.

He drove for some minutes and the streets were very busy. Yes, it is a Monday and people are going about their respective jobs and salespersons flooded the streets delivering their products to shop owners.

Duke drove to a supermarket to get some fruits for Henry's mother and he left from there immediately.

He was fast approaching the hospital and he was already envisaging where to station his car so as not to disturb any car that is already parked or any car that was coming into the parking lodge.

The hospital guard directed him to the station well and he was finally settled in.

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