NIRELLE - Chapter 27: Chapter 27

LUCIEN
had a lot of emotional baggage. I think that for a case like hers, we might be uncovering a lot of things, but one thing she had been able to master that I could not was hiding it pretty well. She bent her head slightly to the side and smiled at me. Was she supposed to be smiling? Did people in pain smile? I could tell that she was injured, but seeing how she had objected to having sex, I did not know how she was going to react to me if I tried to check her back.
"Where is she?"
"Probably attending to a patient who is in more need than I," she replied with her eyes closed. I had insisted that she sit with her back on a pillow on the bed. She put her legs up and closed her eyes so delicately that it was almost as if she were asleep.
"I have told you that..."
"I am not hurt," she cuts me off with her eyes fluttering open. "You are just taking a busy doctor out of her way to come here to massage my back. I can do it myself, or maybe ask the staff around to help me."
"They are not medical practitioners." I wish she would stop arguing with me and just accept it. "How can they help you?"
"Lucien, I am not a stranger to pain like this," she says, and I can tell from her face that she means it.
"It does not make it normal," I say, sitting at the edge of the bed away from her. "Pain might be a part of life, but it should not be normal." She looks like she is about to be convinced, but then shakes her head violently.
"It makes us stronger; if I don't die from it, then I know I am going to get stronger and see I did not die."
"Yet," I add, and I can see the fear on her face. "When you cover up the pain, it builds up and comes back to haunt you later."
"You are..." She stops as a knock comes from the door.
"Mrs. Vexley? Are you in there? Can I come in?" Mae's voice resonates, and I stand up and walk over to the door to open it. She steps in and frowns when she sees me in there.
"You are late," I say, and I can see a smirk on the corner of her lip.
"I am sorry that I had to drive all the way here. Next time, I would fly." Her tone was sarcastic, and I was well aware of the kind of person she was, but did she think now was the time to be sarcastic?
"You should," I say with a nod as she walks to on the bed.
"Are you okay?" she says, setting down the bag she had by the bed and climbing onto it to be closer to her.
"I am a hundred per cent fine, and he is making a big deal out of nothing. I told him not to pull you away from your busy day." throws me a discontented look, and I look away.
"I was not that busy," Mae says, and I see frown. She could not believe it, but she did not say anything about it. Mae waited for her to talk, but she did not.
"She is not okay; she slammed into a lamp and it shattered," I say, knowing that with the way she had been acting, she was most likely not going to tell Mae what was wrong.
"Okay, can I check it?" Mae asked, and nodded. I was glad she was finally agreeing to get treated. Mae made her lie on her stomach and lifted her shirt, exposing her entire back to her waist. The sight before me made me gasp, and Mae threw a look, one I couldn't quite piece together to understand what she meant.
"There is no fresh wound on here," Mae said after a while, and I shook my head. Her back was covered with scars of all shades and scratches. None of them were truly treated, and it was sad to see.
"You have to find a way to treat all of that," I say, pointing to her back. took that as her cue and sat up facing me now.
"I am fine; you don't need to do this, and you heard the doctor; there is no new wound there, all I have are scars."
"That can be treated," Mae added, and I almost want to thank her for that.
"Then you have to treat it."
"It's my body," affirmed as if I were not aware of it.
"And you should take good care of it; if you ever find an opportunity to take care of it, then you should take it anyway you can get better," I say. She sighs. I can see contemplation in her eyes, and I wish she would be convinced by my words. "And while you are at it, have her check you for the fertility complications as well."
"Lucien?"
"I know you said you'd not have any children, and I agree, but it could be much worse if one part is broken and you do not try to heal it." looked at Mae, and she nodded.
"You need to get a comprehensive health check, and we can heal whatever needs to be healed."
"I promise you that I won't change my stance about anything," I say, and she nods. I almost jumped for joy that she was agreeing with me. "So you'd go with her to the hospital?"
"I guess I have to," she nods, and I beckon to Mae. She looks at us and then throws a questioning look my way.
"I want her to check my vitals," I say, hoping she would not think we were going to plot behind her back. "We can do it here instead," I say, pulling out her chair by the table and planting myself into it. Mae gets off the bed and gets out the blood pressure machine, and attends to me.
"Mr. Vexley? I have told you to keep this low."
"You have high blood pressure?"