Yours Completely: A Cinderella Love Story (Billionaires and Brides #1) (31 page)

“Daddy!” I cried, rushing to his side and going hard to my knees. I was fairly sure I hit hard enough to leave a bruise, but I barely felt it. I threw the AED at Mr. Belrose so I could wrap my arms around my father's neck.

“For the second time, I'm fine,” Dad said, giving me a weak hug back. I wanted to sob into his neck, but I knew I needed to keep myself under control. Tears could come later. Right now, I needed to be strong for him.

“Lift up your shirt, Mr. Fairchild,” Mr. Belrose instructed, pulling several pads out of the now opened AED case.

“Why? What are you doing?” Dad asked with a frown. He didn't move to adjust his shirt.

Mr. Belrose didn't wait for him to actually lift his shirt, and instead just did it for him, placing the big square stickers across Dad's chest. “Just attaching the monitor and shock pads,” Mr. Belrose replied, turning to the machine and pressing a button. He looked right at me and gave me an gentle smile. “Excellent job, Ava.”

“Well, obviously I don't need a shock if I'm a awake, now do I?” Dad grouched, his eyebrows nearly coming together. I gripped his hand tight, holding onto him as if I could keep him here with me through that connection alone if necessary. He looked back and forth between Mr. Belrose and me like we were crazy. “I don't know what has the two of you all worked up.”

“Daddy, you were out cold on the floor,” I said quietly. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek and I wiped it quickly away with my shoulder. I couldn't cry right now. “You weren't waking up and you were barely breathing.”

Dad's face went from ashen to ghostly white. “What do you mean?” He looked over at Mr. Belrose and the AED. “What's going on?”

Mr. Belrose turned the AED monitor to face Dad. “I'm not a doctor, but I'm fairly sure your heart isn't doing what it is supposed to.”

Instead of the rhythmic peaks and valleys that I had seen on every medical show I could remember, the monitor was making strange patterns that only vaguely resembled the traditional ones on TV. My father's heart was obviously beating, but something wasn't right with it. I tightened my grip on my father's hand, even more determined not to let him go.

“Right this way, Dr. Verner.” Charlotte's voice floated across the silent room as she escorted someone in. A man in a pale blue dress shirt with a stethoscope slung across his shoulders hurried through the doors. He was probably mid-thirties, with messy brown hair and sharp eyes, but he moved with confidence to my father. He had a large, black leather bag that reminded me of the old school bags doctors once used to make house-calls with.

Mr. Belrose moved back to give the doctor his spot next to my father. In doing so, he moved closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder. Just having someone else there was comforting and I took a deep breath. I felt like I wasn't holding up the weight of the entire mansion on my own anymore.

“He's in here, guys,” Charlotte called down the hall, motioning to the thunderous footsteps I could hear coming. Two men dressed in paramedic gear entered the room. Mr. Belrose raised an eyebrow at Charlotte. She shrugged. “Dr. Verner told me to call them.”

“Beat us to the scene again, Doc,” said the first of the paramedics as he came over to where Dr. Verner had just finished listening to my father's heart. “What do you need?”

Mr. Belrose squeezed my shoulder, giving me strength. His hand was warm and steady, keeping me from shaking like a leaf. He was helping me stay grounded instead of floating off into a cloud of panic. The small gesture meant the world.

“Health history, and let's get an IV going. I don't like the look of that EKG, so I'd like to have something ready if we need to push meds,” the doctor replied, opening up his black bag and beginning to pull medical supplies out. I swallowed hard. There was nothing in that statement that I liked.

The other paramedic came over to my side. He had a pad of paper and an easy smile, but I was glad Bastian was sitting beside me. Even though I hadn't known him very long, I felt like he was on my side. Like he was there for me, supporting me and helping me find my own strength.

“I just have a couple of questions for you,” the paramedic began. “I'll ask your father too, but the more information we have, the better it is.”

I nodded, trying to gather my chaotic thoughts. “Okay,” I replied.

The paramedic began his first question, and I felt like throwing up. Bastian squeezed my shoulder again and I felt stronger. I could do this. With a deep breath, I focused on the paramedic and began to answer his questions.

I
watched the sun rise from it's morning resting place to crest at high noon through a window in the bedroom adjacent to the one my father and Dr. Verner were in. Outside, the world was sunny and bright, full of bright green and cerulean that seemed at utter contradiction with what was going on in my world.

Daddy.

I had nearly lost him. I still could lose him. The idea of losing both him and my mother was just something I wasn't ready to come to terms with yet.

Bastian had helped carry Dad up to his room with the paramedics. He had even sat with me for a little while, but he had a company to run and couldn't sit with us all day. I had replayed it in my head for the past couple of hours.

“Are you going to be okay?” Mr. Belrose asked, putting his phone in his pocket and sighing. His eyes watching my face carefully.

I looked over at my dad, laying on the bed with the doctor watching the monitors attached to his chest. My soul was shaking.

“I'm not sure...” I whispered. “But you should go.”

He hesitated. “Really, I can stay with you if you'd like. I can cancel meetings. They're just meetings.”

For a moment I considered having him stay. I felt better when he was with me. He had practically saved Dad's life after all. When he was around, I couldn't help but feel like I was safe. Like he would never let anything happen to me. Like Dad would be okay as long as Mr. Belrose was nearby. It didn't make any sense, but then, nothing today made much sense.

“No,” I told him, putting on my closest approximation of a smile. “You should go to work. I'll let you know if there's any updates.”

He frowned, his dark brows coming to a beautiful point. I didn't know why he wanted to stay with me. Maybe he just felt sorry for me. Maybe he saw something of himself in my situation. I knew he couldn't possibly want to stay because he had any interest in me. That was just crazy thoughts. He was a billionaire with far better things to do than sit with a random girl who wouldn't do the Degas painting first.

“I'm fine. I was actually thinking of taking a nap,” I lied. I didn't want to feel guilty about having him stay with me instead of running his billion dollar company. I wasn't worth that.

“If you need anything,” he said, pausing to make sure I understood. “You let me or Charlotte know.”

After he reluctantly left, my nerves had kicked into high gear again.

When I started pacing the floor, Dr. Verner and my father had kicked me out of the room so they could concentrate. Instead of sitting and fretting, I worked. I went through all the paintings in the hallway and started on an empty bedroom just to keep myself busy. While Dr. Verner with his van of equipment ran his tests and kept my father calm in his room, I let antique paintings and furniture distract my mind from the potential doom that could still fall upon my family.

I was sitting in the doorway of a bedroom, waiting for an update from the room at the end of the hall while I put in the details of a very nice Matisse sketch, when Charlotte came by with a tray with tea and some food on it.

“How's it going?” she asked, settling the tray of tea and cheese and crackers on the floor next to me before sitting herself. “Bastian would like an update as soon as there's any news. He's trapped in a meeting or he would have come down himself.”

“Nothing yet,” I replied, glancing at the closed door. I picked up the tea pot and poured a cup. It smelled wonderful, and a little bit like lavender. “Are you sure this is okay? I feel like we should be at a hospital.”

Charlotte smiled gently and put her hand on my shoulder. “It's more than okay. Dr. Verner is the best.” She shrugged. “Besides, why go to the hospital if you don't have to? Dr. Verner has all the same equipment.”

“But...” I set the cup down in my lap and sighed. It just felt strange, but I supposed medicine could be practiced anywhere. It was just odd to think of her father getting lab work without having to go to the lab. Add on to that, that I was sure we couldn't actually afford Dr. Verner's services. I was fairly certain he wasn't covered on our insurance.

“It's one of the perks of working for a billionaire,” Charlotte assured me, as if reading my mind. “Don't worry. These kind of things are why Dr. Verner is on Bastian's payroll. Your dad's in good hands.”

I played with my teacup, spinning the delicate china around in my fingers. If I dropped it, it would shatter and the similarity to my father's life frightened me.

“You need to eat something,” Charlotte coaxed, handing me a cracker with cheese on it. “Or you'll get hangry.”

Her reference to this morning made me smile and I took the cheese. Despite knowing that it was probably the best, most expensive cheese on the whole island, it was tasteless to me. I chewed automatically, more to make Charlotte happy than because I was hungry.

The door at the end of the hallway swung open and I jumped to my feet, nearly spilling my cup of tea. I set it on the tray, spilling most of it, before hurrying to talk with Dr. Verner.

“Does he need to go to the hospital? Is he going to be okay?” I asked, the words coming out faster than I had intended. “What's wrong with him?”

Dr. Verner straightened the stethoscope around his shoulders. “He's stable for now, but I want him to stay in bed and wear the heart monitor for a while.” He motioned to the tea and crackers. “Please, have a seat.”

I anxiously hurried over to my spot and sat down, hands in my lap eagerly awaiting the doctor's news. He didn't look tired, which I took as a good sign, but the last time a doctor told me to “take a seat,” my whole world had spiraled out of control. “So?”

Dr. Verner's face was serious and he took a deep breath before giving me the news. “Your father had a heart attack.”

I was glad I wasn't holding the tea because I would have dropped it. Charlotte gasped and grabbed my hand. I was glad she did, because I needed someone to hold on to.

“But he's so healthy!” I exclaimed. It didn't make any sense to me. “He doesn't have high cholesterol, he's not a smoker, and he just passed his physical a few months ago...”

“This wasn't caused by his lifestyle. Apart from running a stress test, there would have been no way to know about this,” Dr. Verner explained. “From the tests I ran, it appears to be an arrhythmia, which means that his heart's electrical system isn't firing properly.”

“Arrhythmia,” I repeated. The word was bitter in my mouth.

He nodded. “Today, the electrical system in his heart malfunctioned. Instead of sending the normal beat pattern, it sent gibberish, which made his heart spasm. Luckily, it reverted back into a sustainable rhythm before too much damage occurred.”

I took a deep breath, focusing on the fact that my father was okay. “What happens now?” I asked, almost afraid of what the doctor might tell me.

“First, I'd like him to rest while I monitor his condition,” Dr. Verner replied. He tugged at one of the ends of his stethoscope. “There are some tests I'd like to run once he's feeling a little bit better, but he needs to relax and recover for a few days. Once I've had a chance to run those tests, we'll be able to look into treatment options.”

“Like a pacemaker?” It was the first thing I thought of when Dr. Verner had mentioned electrical problems of the heart.

“Yes, a pacemaker might be a viable option.”Dr. Verner smiled, warmth coming into his eyes. “I'll know more once I get the results.”

“But, he'll be okay?” My voice cracked as I asked the question. Dr. Verner patted my knee gently.

“Yes, it looks like he will be,” he assured me. “But, I will need to keep a close eye on him just to make sure.”

I nodded, relief flooding my chest and letting me breathe again.
He was going to be okay.
Maybe not right away, and maybe he would need a pacemaker, but those were both things I could deal with.

“You said he'll need to take some time off?” Charlotte asked, still holding my hand in hers.

Dr. Verner nodded. “Yes. No work for at least the next three days. I want that heart monitor on him at all times. It's connected to my phone, so I'll have an alert the moment it does anything strange and I'll be within five minutes at all times. It also has the ability to shock him if necessary.”

“Wait, you said no work?” I repeated, trying to ignore the part of his sentence that mentioned shock. “But that's the whole reason we're here. Are you sure?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, I'm sure. He needs to rest. If you bring him work that he can do in bed and without getting his heart-rate up, I'll allow it.” He gave me a stern look. “But no crawling around under furniture. He needs as little stress on his heart as possible.”

I nodded, but grudgingly. This was going to make this week a lot more difficult.

“Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to send some of the findings off to a cardiologist to get his opinion on them.” Dr. Verner stood, and I rose with him to shake his hand. “If you have any more questions, please let me know and I'll be happy to answer them.”

I knew I should have a million questions, but there was only one that I could think of.

“Can I go see him?”

Dr. Verner smiled. “Of course. He's sleeping right now, but you're welcome to go in.”

“Thank you, doctor,” I replied, shaking his hand. I grinned at Charlotte and then took off for the door at the quietest sprint I could manage.

I paused for a moment with my hand on the doorknob. My whole body was shaking. I was afraid that I would see him hooked up to a bajillion machines like Mom had been. Slowly, I held my breath and opened the door.

Inside, Dad was fast asleep in a massive four-poster bed. For the first time in my life, he looked small. Human. The man who was always my super hero suddenly looked like an ordinary person. I stifled a sob and took a step further inside. There were some monitors and wires, but I was glad that he looked like he was sleeping normally. He was even wearing the pajamas I had gotten him for Christmas two years ago.