Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Chapter 19.

‘’This whole thing is making me worried, Aliana. I want you to be very careful whatever you say around Clarita. I don’t want her to feel sad and incidences like these ones are uncalled for.’’

‘’Harry that’s my house for bids sake. Am I not allowed to whatever I wish?’’

‘’Do anything but don’t make her suffer. She has to always be comfortable.’’

‘’Okay, sir. As you wish.’’ Aliana says and I hear giggles.

‘’She’s awake!’’ someone exclaims excitedly and I don’t think I need a Ph.D. to know who that is. I struggle to open my eyes but they are heavy and giving me trouble. He is here.

Harrison.

There is not so much lighting in the room. It is relatively dark making me wonder where I am. My eyes finally shoot open and even though, with difficulties, I am glad it did. I close them immediately because at this point, maybe they will not talk if they see my big eyes open.

‘’Lovely. I am happy she is. She scared the hell out of me. I didn’t expect her to hear any of that.’’ She explains with an excited voice. I am glad they haven’t seen my eyes open. I wish they can speak more so that I can know what it was.

I feel like I am in some private room. It doesn’t feel like a hospital or maybe it could be one of those high-end hospitals that belong to who is who.

I don’t remember the last time I was in a hospital, but I know I have never fainted in my life before. My life in the city in the last few weeks has been grimy, mucky and smudged. But I can also say it hasn’t been all that, at some point, I have felt cheerful, joyful and jovial. Especially when I am with Harry. Madam Aliana hasn’t been bad to me as well, she is one of the persons that’s been so welcoming and as I said before, she hasn’t really seen me as a maid.

My assumptions.

‘’Can you hear me, beautiful?’’ his sweet and deep voice flows through my ear and I am a hundred percent as pleased as a punch when my excited heart doesn’t let me down. It leaps with joy but I maintain my cool. No smile at all. ‘’I think she just drifted back to stupefaction. You must have had scared the hella outta this sweet angel of mine.’’

‘’Beautiful? Is that what …’’ he interrupts her perfectly. I can hear the surprise in her voice. This woman has been making me go out with this guy, she shouldn’t be surprised at all.

‘’I call her? And many more pet names. I think I am in love, Aliana. I am and I hope you guys won’t fight my immense and immeasurable love for Clarita. She is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met. She loves me so much, cares about me, and I know even her she hasn’t realized that she is in love but she has all the time in the world to decide on that.’’ My heart skips with mixed emotions. I have these feelings that I cannot explain. I don’t know if I am happy, surprised or just excited to hear his confession.

‘’Are you …’’

‘’Sure?’’ I smile internally at how he keeps cutting her off and completing her sentences for her. ‘’I have never been sure ever before. This is the only time I feel like someone really values me. I could be raising my hopes high for no reason but I will make this beautiful girl be mine.’’ That’s sounds crazy to me but if he really loves me, then we will cross the bridge when we get there.

‘’Wow! I have never heard you speak like that about a girl before. You have been so keen with girls, what is with this one that you have never seen in other girls?’’ That’s Aliana. I am not sure if she means well or if she is just being inquisitive with Harry. ‘’You have been forced with girls from the high-end society but you never gave a damn. Did she feed you something?’’

Who are they anyway? Are they related? Is she her mum? Scratch that. She is way too young to have mothered her, but then again, Harrison has his parents and anything to do with paternity, doesn’t much here. Well, I am not going to struggle to solve the puzzle, the small headache that I have is suggesting that maybe I am overthinking things. I should be a little considerate with my poor self and stop solving and finding meanings of riddles, something that I know will be more difficult to me.

Hey, I have explained this to you. She is simple but charming. She doesn’t have a higher Education level like some of the women in the city but she is so intelligent. Don’t you agree?’’ he pauses for a bit after asking that question. I manage to open one eye just in time to see Aliana nodding in agreement and I close it again. I want to hear them say more.

That’s really flattering to my heart.

‘’You have learned that in this short time?’’

‘’Don’t interrupt me, Aliana. I have learned that and a lot more than you can imagine. Don’t you know I am a psychologist? Scratch that, I am an investigative psychologist. I am a doctor by profession and I take after dad. I have studied her and she will be the future mother of my kids.’’

‘’Aww! That’s really cute.’’

‘’Let me finish what I was saying! Anyway, she is rustic but buxom. I know you agree with me on that as well. She may be poor, which is evident but in the few times I have spent with her, I have noticed that she is really industrious and in a few years to come, we will be telling a different story about her. Trust me.’’ I swear I have never felt or maybe heard someone so honest with their opinion about me, he seems to have lots of faith in what I can do or be in future, well, all these could just be in his big head because maybe that’s the woman she wants to create in me.

Who knows?

‘’Wow! Harry in love. Do you know what that makes you?’’ I slightly open my eyes and I see a frown in his face. They are standing so close, really close with each other and not far from the bed.

‘’No idea, Aliana. You tell me.’’

‘’Well, you gonna have to figure that out. I only hope you will not meet oppositions but just in case you haven’t prepared yourself? I am telling you here and now, prepare yourself for very strong hostility, antagonism, and antipathy.’’ Ooh my God! Really? All that? Anyway, my hopes will not be raised high whatsoever, I will not allow this son of a woman to go through all that because of me. I will stay away.

Besides, I am not in love like he is.

‘’Keep telling yourself that. Convince it more. Let’s see where you get with that.’’ I sigh, slightly rolling my eyes internally when my innate mentions that. Maybe, maybe not but I will try as much as I can to stay away from him.

‘’What’s the plan?’’

‘’No plan for now. I am taking the little opportunity to make her fall deeply in love with me, then I will take the rejection and fights later. I will embrace anything that comes forth. You shouldn’t worry about me because all that is in my head. If they dare me, I will go away and trust me, you guys will not see me ever again! Never!’’

‘’Hey, relax. Never says never because we don’t even know if she loves you back.’’ She pauses for seconds, maybe trying to gauge his reactions. ‘’By the way, does she know?’’

I cough instantly at that question. These rich people have secrets left to right and centre. They will always keep secrets that might even end up harming someone or some people.

I know you are wondering where I found that from when I am as poor as a church rat. Well, I read it in books, I love reading a lot. For example the book Reversal of Fortune: Inside the Von Bulow Case by Alan Dershowitz. The book is all about Murder, betrayal, secrets, suspicious syringes, the saga of Newport heiress Sonny Von Bulow has it all. Dershowitz details the story and subsequent legal battle of Claus Von Bulow, accused of attempting to murder his wife in order to gain control of her vast fortune.

‘’Are you okay, beautiful?’’ he asks with genuine concern and I nod. I swear his brown eyes make me blush and I smile despite myself.

Aliana is standing beside him and he feels my forehead with his fingers.

‘’How are you feeling, Clara?’’ I smile at her before mumbling that I am okay. She smiles back and I feel warm all over sudden.

‘’Can you give us a minute, Aliana?’’ he asks and she walks out without a word. This one is totally new to me. Being in the city, interrogations, does she know? What exactly should I know? Is there something that I really need to know?

‘’Where am I?’’ I ask immediately Aliana leaves the room. It is more spacious than my own bedroom or even the living room back home.

‘’You are in a private hospital room.’’ My eyes widen when he says that. I don’t think I will afford to pay the bills. My eyes are wet and watery with tears that don’t waste any minutes to fall and I don’t do anything to keep them at bay. When he sees them, he wipes them away using his thumb. ‘’Relax, you will get better.’’

‘’How will I afford to clear the bills?’’

‘’That shouldn’t worry about you. You have only been here for hours, it will not be that expensive, besides, you are my friend and I wouldn’t let you pay the damn bill whatsoever. I got you.’’

‘’What happened to me?’’

‘’That’s exactly what I want to know. Did Aliana mistreat you or something?’’

‘’Something.’’ He raises an eyebrow at that. My mind drifts to what happened earlier, the tea, the list the girls and the phone conversation. ‘’Why would I be interrogated? Am I some sort of a criminal or something?’’

‘’Something.’’ I roll my eyes. ‘’Stop doing that, honey, I am just using your own phrase,’’ I blush at that. He is sweet, and very handsome. I realize there and then, that he has a stethoscope hanging proudly on his neck, I take a few seconds to take in his beautiful face.

This chap is handsomely cute and bewitching.

‘’Hey, can you please tell me why madam Aliana was asking someone if they have interrogated me? And was that person you?’’ His gaze boring into mine, he sighs a few times and I make a mental note, with or without him saying yes, this guy in an investigator.

He just said that he is a psychologist when he was speaking to Aliana. Or maybe I heard what I wasn’t supposed to hear.

‘’Yes, I was on phone with her when that happened.’’ Wow! Surprising.

‘’You were?’’ he nods.

‘’What I can tell you for now is that you have nothing to worry about. The rest will be told by your mistress, it isn’t my story to tell’’

‘’There’s a story?’’ he nods. ‘’Who are you?’’

‘’I am Harry or maybe Harrison as you usually call me. By the way, the sound of my name is usually very sweet on your lips.’’ I blush terribly at the mention of that. ‘’I am an investigative psychologist.’’

‘’And what’s that? I have never heard about it before.’’

‘’Investigative psychology is a relatively new area of applied psychology. Working within the criminal justice system, it is a specialist field within forensic psychology. Psychologists in this fieldwork with the police to help solve crimes by understanding the types of crimes and criminals. Different uses of violence, for instance, can tell investigative psychologists what personality types to look for in solving a crime. The science is useful in predicting how criminals might act after a crime such as serial killing, and that guides police toward individuals acting in incriminating ways.’’

‘’Waah! Was that a song or something?’’

‘’Nah! That was the definition of my career.’’

‘’Okay.’’ He sighs heavily before he continues.

‘’Investigative psychology is closely related to forensic psychology, but is more concerned with the police decision-making than with the court system and helping victims. Investigative psychologists might be called upon to advise police on how to handle a wide range of criminals. To take an extreme example, a woman talking on her cell phone in traffic should be treated very differently from someone with a weapon threatening children in a school.’’

‘’ I hope I will be able to understand that someday.’’

‘’Sure, and all the best.’’ After all the tests are concluded. He tells me that I am not in danger and since he cannot tell me why I should be interrogated, he says I am free to go home because I am safe.

‘’What about my bills?’’

‘’I will sort that. This is my family hospital and you shouldn’t be bothered of how the bills will be paid.’’ Madam Aliana walks in after the guy helps me put on my dress. I feel like I am exhausted but maybe that will go with time.

‘’Let’s take you home, Clara.’’ She says looking at me with a smiley face. I smile back slightly but I am scared of what this is all about.

Really scared.