Chapter 9

"Thank you so much, Dr. Dorigo." I hear Lisa say

I was startled by my Grandma's sudden outburst, "Lisa!" Dammit, what happened now? I wonder.

"I will take her to the next room." I hear the doctor saying it again. Suddenly I have this urge to walk over and tell him she's my wife and I will take care of her myself.

"Come, son. Lisa just fainted." Grandpa informs me. As we walk into the room, I assume Lisa is lying in bed. I listen as my grandma asks, "How is she doing, Dr?"

"Mrs. Mancini was under so much stress that her body couldn't handle all the stress. She will be fine; she must take it easy and not overstress herself." I try to move forward, but I don't want Grandpa to think I'm worried about my wife.

"Thank you, Dr." Grandpa kindly thanked the doctor, and I guess he left since there was silence after that.

"O, Lisa, my dear child. How are you feeling?" I hear Grandma ask after a few minutes.

"I'm fine; thank you, Grandma. Can I see my sister now?" I can hear the voice of Lisa. She sounds tired.

"Yes, we will take you to her. Come on; I'll help you." Grandma says it softly, like she's talking to a little child. Grandpa and I followed them to where Lisa's little sister was. I wish we could go home. I had so much work to do, but I had to accompany them.

"Hello, sis. The operation was a success. You fought hard. I'm so proud of you. I am sorry I wasn't here in time to see you this morning before the operation." Lisa said, and it sounded like she was crying. I wonder why I have this urge to hug her; maybe it's because of Lilani.

"Here are some people I would like to introduce to you," I hear her say again.

"Lilly, this is Grandma and Grandpa. Alessandro is here as well." Grandma, grandpa, this is my sister Lilani." Lisa introduces them to her sister, even though she can't hear Lisa.

"Hey, Lilani, I'm glad you fought so hard during the operation; your sister is worried about you. As soon as you get stronger, the three of us will go shopping together," Grandma says kindly. I know how much she likes children. After sitting with Lilani for a while, Grandma asks Lisa if she has eaten anything today.

After a moment of silence, she finally responds, "I only had a light breakfast this morning. My mind was so consumed with worry about Lilani that I completely forgot to eat or drink anything."

"I know a nice little restaurant nearby," I hear Grandma say again. Grandma? Can't we leave? We did our part. I thought. "We'll go to a small restaurant near the hospital."

"I am sorry that no one was here by your side during the operation, Lisa," Grandma says with guilt. I don't know why she was feeling guilty; it's not like we did something wrong.

"It's okay, Grandma; you shouldn't feel guilty about it. Besides, I am still a stranger to you", Lisa assures her.

"Still, it was rude and unkind of us," Grandma keeps on apologizing. We all chatted for a while longer, and then Grandpa asked for the bill. As soon as Grandpa paid the bill, we headed back to the hospital.

We were walking into Lilani's room when Dr. Derigo asked Lisa if he could talk to her about everything that would happen as soon as Lilani woke up.

"It's okay, DR; you can talk in front of them. They are family".

"We will start waking her up in the next three days, after which she will be here for another six days so that we can keep an eye on her. She will then have radiology once a week for at least six months". Dr. Derigo explains.

"The biopsy result will be here in a few days; I will let you know as soon as I get it." The Doctor says it again.

"Thank you so much, Doctor Rossi; thank you for saving my sister's life," Lisa says sincerely to the specialist.

"Alright then, I will see you soon." The doctor says I just scoffed at his overly friendly attitude toward Lisa.

Lisa, dear, we will leave now if you want to come with us." I finally heard Grandma say

"I think I will stay a while longer, Grandma, but thank you," Lisa tells Grandma. I wonder if she's staying because of the doctor. Well, not that I care what she does. I just married her to save her sister and have someone care for me.

"Alright, dear. I will see you later." Grandma says so, and we finally leave.

"Has Lisa returned from the hospital?" I heard Grandma asking and almost rolled my eyes.

"Mrs. Mancini is not home yet, Mrs. Mancini." The housekeeper says

Mmm... this is interesting; maybe she went with the doctor.

"Leonardo, please phone the hospital and ask if my wife is still there." I asked Leonardo. I'm pissed off that she didn't inform us that she would be home late.

"Buonasera, Good evening, I just want to know if Mrs. Mancini is still at the hospital," I hear Leonardo ask the person.

"Grazie," Leonardo says after a few seconds.

"Mrs. Mancini left the hospital two hours ago after she visited her sister, Mr. Mancini," I hear Leonardo say.

"Then she should be home by now!" I angrily yelled.

"She may have caught a bus," I hear Sophia say. "Then she should have been here already." I immediately corrected her. I'm beginning to regret marrying this fucking woman. They are all the same! She's probably out there having a great time with the doctor.

"Lisa, Piccina!" Sophia suddenly screams, gaining my full attention.

"What happened? You are pale." and I rudely interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.

"Let her first tell us where she's been all along and why she just got here." My cold voice suddenly cut through the room.

"Now is not the time for your rude behavior, Alessandro. Lisa looks really sick!" Sophia scolds me. How dare she talk back to me! I'm mad now! No one talks to me that way!

"If Lisa needs medical help, I'll call a doctor. But I cannot see how she only shows up now! She left the hospital two hours ago! Or did she meet up with the doctor?" I angrily yelled.

"I'm waiting for your answer, Lisa!" I yell again after I don't get an answer.

"Lisa! Quick, someone needs to summon a doctor!" Grandpa shouts. What the hell is happening now? It looks like she loves attention.

"I will take her to her room." I heard Gabriel's offer.

"I will wait for the doctor; honey, you can go with Gabriel." My grandpa says to Grandma:

"Alessandro Mason Mancini! You are one heartless bastard! You don't love your wife, do you?" I suddenly heard Sophia yell like a madwoman.

"Sophia!" Gabriel's voice comes from behind.

"Come with me." He tells Sophia. I hear them walk away and ask Antonio to take me to my office. I think about what Sophia said about not loving Lisa; how can I love a woman I just met? I don't do love anymore! I don't believe in the word love!

"Good evening, doctor. Come through this way." I hear Grandpa talk. After what felt like forever, I suddenly heard footsteps approaching me.

"Mr. Mancini, can I have a word, please?" The doctor asks me and I nod, and he continues, "It seems like your wife was attacked; I saw bruises on her body, and it looks like she fell. I think all the tension of today's events was too much for her, especially after someone wanted to hurt her." The doctor explains.

"Thank you, Dr. Rossi. Are the injuries she sustained serious? Did someone sexually assault her?" I suddenly asked worriedly.

"As far as I can see, they did not sexually assault her; just a few bruised ribs from kicking, which will heal as long as she rests for a few days, and a bruise on her head, which may be from the fall. She may have terrifying nightmares. I will prescribe some pain medicine and help her sleep. I suggest you find out what exactly happened; Mr. Mancini, the person responsible, is still out there," the doctor says. I want to kick myself because I didn't give Lisa a chance to explain. I'm furious because she had to take the bus back home.

I was interrupted when Gabriele burst through my office door. "Who do you think could have done this to her? I wonder how such a small girl could have escaped her attacker." I hear Gabriele asking anxiously.

"I want you and Antonio to find out who did this to my wife and bring the bastard to me; when I'm finished with him, he will wish he never met my wife," I say, balling my fist at my side.