"Stellar Pines restaurant and bar. You're speaking with Jules, how can I help?"

"Jules, it's Arian."

"Hey honey. What's going on?"

"I can't come in tonight. I've come down with a stomach virus and I can't be around food for like forty eight hours."

"Damn Ari. That's like the fourth time this month. You know that you don't have any sick leave left, right?"

"Yeah I know. It's— it's fine. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Okay girl. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks Jules."

I hung up the phone and exhaled a shaken breath. I hadn't been this beat up in a long time. Desmond had really done a lot of damage this time and I stared at the swollen abrasions on my forehead and temples in the mirror. I'd just stepped out of the shower and the towel around me didn't hide the black and blue bruises that coated my arms and chest.

When I opened my towel, I winced at the patches of bruising all over my ribs and stomach. I could hardly keep up right and I felt nauseous at the reflection staring back at me. It was such a stark contrast to the smile that I had worn for a brief few moments just last night.

Desmond had disappeared last night. I hadn't seen him since. He didn't come home, it was almost lunch and he was still yet to make an appearance. A part of me — a part that I believed was dark and damaged — quietly hoped that perhaps he'd drunk driven his car into a wall. As much as I despised the man that I was married to, I felt terrible for wishing such things.

But as it was, we didn't speak for two days. He came in and out to change and shower, not a word passed between us. He wouldn't even look at me as I laid in bed and attempted to heal. Not to mention that I'd been struggling to move so the house wasn't as clean as it should be. Still, he didn't complain. He just showered and left again.

I had to go back to work on Thursday night. I'd had the two days off but I wasn't as healed as I was hoping I would be. The bruises weren't impossible to cover. It just took a lot of concealer and leaving my hair down to cover my temples. The thought of wearing a long sleeve shirt again was disappointing. The temperature was impossible and as pathetic as it was, I sobbed a little as I hobbled to work.

"Excuse me," a middle aged woman gripped my arm as I passed her table and I winced, recoiling from her embrace. She seemed startled at the reaction but quickly pointed at her plate. "I ordered the eight scallops dish and this is the four."

"Oh," I frowned, I could have been sure that she said four when she first ordered. But there was no doubt that I was struggling to concentrate on anything. My entire abdomen was in pain. "I apologise. I'll get you a new meal. And it's on the house for the wait."

"Thanks sweetheart."

I smiled at the rest of the tables diners and went back to the kitchen as fast as I could. Each time that I tried to move a little faster or stand up a little straighter, my vision blurred and I felt as though I was going to pass out. "Dylan," I pushed the plate towards the chef. "I made a mistake. This person ordered a four scallops. Can you re make it?"

His brows furrowed as he glanced between the plate and me. "That is four?"

"Shit," I shook my head and leaned against the bench. "I meant eight."

He nodded and took the plate. There was a lot going on. As always. The other chefs were moving through the kitchen, cooking, preparing food and I moved over to the bench where the finished meals were sitting and waiting.

"What's going on?" Michael questioned as he stormed towards me with knit brows. "These plates aren't going to— woah. Are you okay?"

"I don't feel well," I said, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm okay though."

"I don't think so," he shook his head and grasped my shoulders. It took a significant amount of control not to yelp in pain as he pushed me towards the staff room. "Go home. You can't serve customers like this. It's not professional. Come back when you're feeling better."

Before he turned back towards the kitchen he fixed me with a stare that led me to believe he was a little puzzled with himself. "I'll pay you for the rest of the night."

As weird as I found the exchange, I didn't argue. I took the chance to leave and go home before I collapsed in a heap on the cold floor. Once I'd collected my things and pushed open the back alley door, I leaned against the brick wall and inhaled, wincing through the immense pain. There was no chance that I'd make it home if I had to walk, so while my hands trembled, I retrieved my phone and started up towards the street as I ordered a cab.

When I was almost at the street, I stopped to wait. I didn't want to have people watching as I tried to keep myself up right. But the longer that I stood, the worse that I felt. My breathing was ragged, my vision was tainted with dark patches that made me feel more and more nauseous.

"Arian?"

I narrowed my gaze at the alleyway entrance and squinted as the street lamps shone behind a silhouette holding a paper bag. As he walked towards me, I realised that it was Aiden.

"You love the food here, huh?" I attempted to laugh but gasped at the sharp pain that left me breathless.

"Uh, it's just close and convenient," he murmured with a dismissive voice. "You don't look so good. Is everything okay?"

I swallowed and straightened up with what I was sure wasn't the convincing smile that I wanted it to be. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just— I just am I little unwell. It's just a flu I think."

"Can I help? Do you need a ride home?"

"Uh, no," I shook my head and peered behind him. "I'm waiting for a cab."

He nodded and shifted his weight as he glanced backwards. "I'll wait with you."

"Aiden, it's— I'm fine. I jus—" my sentence was cut off as I became lightheaded and stumbled. Aiden caught me around the waist and I cried out, attempting to push back from him. The pain was unbearable.

His panicked voice wasn't registering with me. I knew that he wanted answers but I couldn't see two inches in front of me, let alone answer him. He kept his hold around me, no doubt not understanding that he was making it worse. I began heaving and before I could stop it, liquid was coming out with my coughing.

"Shit," Aiden snapped and dropped his bag as he held my hair back. "Arian this is blood. What the fuck?"

The taste of metallic terrified me. Something was wrong. I spluttered, my lip quivered and I gasped for an untainted breath of air as Aiden kept me tucked into his side. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. Tapping the screen before he held it to his ear.

"Brian, bring the car to the front of the restaurant. Now," he hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket. Before I had time to react, he leaned down and scooped me into his arms in a bridal hold. "I've got you."

He carried me to the street and I trusted him. I trusted him enough to close my eyes and focus on managing the pain in silence. It was hard. I was feeling the sharp gut wrenching ache all over. I started to heave again and I could hear him soothing me. I peeked through one eye and noticed the splatters of blood all over his crisp white button up.

I wasn't sure how long it was before we were in the back of a blacked out SUV. But Aiden had laid me down on the leather seat and I rested with my head in his lap, groaning each time I breathed. It was excruciating. No position relieved the ache and it was getting harder to breathe.

"Take us to the hospital Brian," Aiden instructed the man in the front seat.

My eyes shot open and I shook my head. "No Aiden. No please don't take me to the hospital."

He glanced down at me and it was then that I realised he was holding the top of my head, his thumb was stroking the hairline of my forehead. "Arian, you're coughing up blood. We're going to the hospital."

He seemed confused that I wouldn't want to go to the hospital and I realised that if he became too curious, he might dig deeper and that wasn't something that I wanted either. So I nodded and closed my eyes again, keeping the panic and fear quiet.

I had no idea how long it had been since Aiden found me outside of the restaurant. It could have been hours. Perhaps more than a day. All I knew was that the pain had subsided and I had been given painkillers that kept me in a docile and sedated state for quite some time.

I started to come around to the sound of hushed whispers and persistent monitors beeping over and over again. When I let my eyes flutter open, I glanced around in a mild haze and saw Maddie and Aiden in the corner of the room. Because of the drugs, I couldn't seem to make sense of the situation and I stared at them with puzzlement for what felt like a long time before Aiden's emerald gaze flickered in my direction and he straightened up with alarm.

"Hey," he said with a gentle voice as he stepped around Maddie who was dressed in a pair of scrubs, her long auburn hair pulled into a set of French braids. "How are you feeling?"

"Uhh," I mumbled with a groggy voice. "Better. A little confused though. What happened?"

"Aiden," Maddie came to a stand beside him and leaned against the bed. "I need to talk to my patient. Alone."

"You're not a doctor Maddison."

"No, but I am her nurse and I need to do observations. Shoo."

Aiden's jaw twitched as he ground his teeth together and exhaled in frustration. But when he glanced down at me, his expression softened and he put his hand over mine. "I'll be back soon."

I nodded and watched as he turned around and left the private hospital room. My gaze landed on Maddie once the door was shut and I kept quiet as she smiled and reached over to check the fluids bag that was pumping a clear liquid into the IV line in my arm. "He wouldn't let any other nurse take care of you," she laughed. "I think Aiden lik—"

"How long have I been here?"

She began wrapping a blood pressure device around my arm, pumping the black ball as she watched the little clock. "Two days."

"Two days?!"

"Mhmm. You needed emergency surgery Arian. You had internal bleeding. You could have died if you hadn't come in."

I stared at her in disbelief as her lips moved with silent counting. I had been here for two whole days. I barely remembered going in for surgery. I was confused at the entire situation. "Has my husband been called?"

"Nope," she answered, the sound of velcro tearing as she ripped the blood pressure bandage off. "I wanted to have a clear conversation with you about that first."

The sound of my heart speeding up on the monitor gave away the total panic that I felt, despite the fact that I was attempting to remain calm. Desmond had no idea where I was for two days. He was going to be going out of his mind. "What uh— what did you want to talk about— about Desmond? I'm confused?"

"I see a lot of woman come through here. Victims of abuse, violence etc. Arian, is everything okay at home?"

She watched me, waiting for a response as she tucked a thermometer under my arm. I chuckled and stared as though she had lost her mind. "Maddie, you're way off here. Desmond— he would never do hurt me. I understand the concern. But no that's—"

"What happened then?" She let a hand rest on her hip. "Because you had two broken ribs. A punctured lung and your entire body is covered in bruises. I told the doctor that we're friends so that he wouldn't demand these answers himself, but a whole lot of staff are super worried."

"I was hit by a car," I said with a determined voice. "Yeah it was a couple of days ago. I wasn't watching where I was going one night and it hit me. It hurt and all but I was okay. I could still walk and I just figured that I'd get on with it and heal at home. Stuff happens, right? I didn't think that I'd done as much damage as I did. I feel so stupid."

Maddie fixed me with a curious stare. I could tell that she didn't know whether to believe me or not. But of course, I was a good liar. And Desmond and I put on a decent performance at the fundraiser the other weekend. So she eventually sighed and let her shoulders relax. "Sorry for getting super intense there. It's just part of the job. But at least I'll be able to give Aiden some answers now."

It was then that I remembered he was here. Amongst the pressure of having to cover up my tracks with lies, I'd forgotten that he was hanging about. "Has he been here long?"

"From the moment that he brought you in," she smiled and scrawled some notes in her chart. "He's popped in and out to shower and change. But otherwise, he's been bedside. He was so worried."

"You know him, right? Like before this?"

"Yeah he's a good friend of mine and Cameron's," she explained. "Cameron used to work for him as security detail. He's like the brother that I never had and I'm like the sister that he should have had."

"You were both at the restaurant. For his birthday dinner," I stated, more to myself than her. It was coming to me now. How she looked familiar and when I had served her. I'd been so lost in Aiden that night that I hadn't paid much attention to the other people that he dined with.

"Yeah," she laughed. "He's obsessed with the food there now."

As if he knew that we were talking about him, he opened the door and sauntered in. Once again, the heart monitor outed me when it's speed picked up and Maddie leaned across, flicking it off before it was too obvious. The response to him was natural though. He looked perfect in a pair of black jeans and a black button up that clung to his frame. I don't know how he wore it in this heat though.

"How is she," he questioned Maddie, but his mesmerising stare remained on me.

"Her obs are perfect. The doctor will do a more thorough examination soon though," she answered as she tucked her chart under her arm. She then went on to repeat the story that I had told her about being hit by a car and Aiden listened with tight knit brows. 

"Why didn't you go straight to the hospital?" He questioned.

"I avoid them when I can," I shrugged. "Hospitals remind me of my parents."

That wasn't true. They'd never made it to the hospital. But it did the trick. Both of them nodded with sympathetic gazes and I felt horrible for being so deceitful.

"Well, I'm going to call Desmond now," Maddie explained. "He'll be worried. Plus I have other patients to see. Hang tight. I'll be back in a little bit."

She left Aiden and I alone, quiet falling over us. He slid his hand into his pocket and fixed me with a lopsided smile. "You had me scared there, Ari."

I toyed with the tube coming out of my arm and lightly laughed. "Thank you for helping me Aiden. That could have ended terribly if you hadn't been there for me."

"I wouldn't hesitate to help you," he said with such a quiet but fierce tone. It did things to me that it shouldn't do. But I was glad that Maddie had turned off the heart monitor.

We locked sights on one another. His sharp jaw fluttered as his eyes fixed on me and although I didn't glance down, I could feel his hand on mine, his thumb making small circles.

After an intense few moments, he retracted his hand and averted his gaze. I felt the pang of regret as he tousled his hair in agitation and mumbled something to himself that I couldn't understand.

"Aiden?"

His glance shot up and met mine with an almost hopeful gleam. "Yes?"

"I—I'm kind of tired," I said, swallowing the protests that seemed to want to rise. Desmond would show up soon. And he couldn't be here when that happened. "I might get some sleep—"

"Of course—"

"But thank you for everything and um— I'll see you again. Maybe. Sometime." 

It was clear that he was disappointed. I basically suggested that he didn't come back. But it was for the best. For both of us. I didn't want to put him in a position where he would be in danger from Desmond because of me. Desmond was violent and unpredictable. More lives didn't need to be put at risk.

"Rest up Ari," he smiled as he turned to leave and I watched his long and powerful strides as he left the room.

My head rolled to the side and I stared out of the window at the bright blue skies. Cloudless and promising. That sort of perfection gave me hope. It reminded me of the good in this world. I held on tight to the physical beauties. The sea. The sky. The millions of grain on the beach. The parts of the world that were bigger than we were. They were like an anchor in the harsh storms that threatened to tip me overboard. But things seemed to be getting more and more rough. And I was starting to struggle keeping hold.