Chapter 54: Chapter 54

"Care shouldn't start in the emergency room."

-James Douglas-

***

Clara was walking on her own around the city of Paris with her luggage in hand, she cried and cried but since it was dark, no one could see her tears. Despite the strong wash of emotions, she was experiencing she knew she needed to find a place to settle for the night. She had no idea where she would go. She was lost. She could stay in a hotel, but it was only a temporary solution. She could not possibly walk around any longer, cold started creeping through her garments and she could feel it inside. But perhaps the cold did not come from outside, it came from the inside.

She decided to check into a hotel and reserved a room. Dropping her luggage on the floor and sat still. She tried to contemplate her life.

What should I do now?

Clara missed home, she really did. All she could think about at that moment is her father. She wanted to go home. Life in Paris has been great so far. Would she let his misunderstanding toward her break her soul? No, she was better than that. But then again, there was no reason for her to stay there. All the people whom she wished not to see were there.

What could be strong enough to keep her in there, she had no one to hold her back. She picked up her phone to call her father. There was a brief silent before he picked it up.

"Hello?"  Clara felt so relieved hearing his voice, it felt as if someone poured cold water over her fiery heart. She wanted to cry almost. She had called him several times before, but she had never felt more emotional.

"Papa, it's me." Dennis Bellavance sounded happy receiving her phone. He asked her about how she was, how everything was going, puddle of tears started gathering around her eyes once more, she felt like crying, but she did not want to sound like she was crying when talking to her father. She did not want to worry him, nor did she tell him what Raphael told him. She wiped away the tears from her eyes with her little finger, and smiled.

"Can I visit you soon?" Dennis Bellavance wondered why she would suddenly ask to visit him, but he did not make any assumptions. Dennis was clueless of his daughter's pain, had he known she was in misery, perhaps his response would be slightly different.

She ended the call with a short I love you. Laying herself on the bed, she closed her eyes and poured out the tears she had been holding.

How can a man who said he loved her unwilling to listen to her explanation even for just a moment? She started doubting Raphael's love for her. Perhaps it was mere infatuation. All these time what he had been telling her might have been mere lies, all the kind gestures and love making he had given her were just his way of playing her.

She picked up her phone once more and dialed Corentin's number, he picked up within seconds and she asked him if she could come over. He was a bit suspicious, because from afar he could sense that there were something wrong.

Clara had just arrived yet she had gone once more to Corentin's place. Corentin opened up the door and in a glance he could tell that she had been crying. Inviting her inside, he made her a cup of tea to warm her body and when she looked a bit more relaxed. He asked what had happened.

"Someone, someone took a picture of us. When you kissed me, and that person sent it over to Raphael. He misunderstood us, and we had a fight, he kicked me out from his place." Clara did not have to say anything more, he had understood the situation. He felt guilty and pity for her, right, it was partially his fault, he should not have kissed her. That was a mistake, but again, Raphael had the nerve to kick Clara out, in the middle of winter like then. Fights were common for couples, in Corentin's eyes, Raphael was being childish. Yes, Clara might be wrong in his eyes but it was no reason for him to merely push her out like that. He saw Clara's chest and she was breathing heavily.

"Where are you staying now? If you want to, you could stay at my place." Clara shook her head. She did not wish to provoke any other misunderstanding.  She finished her tea and looked at Corentin straight in the eyes.

"Actually, I came here to say goodbye." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and wrapped her fingers together. Corentin furrowed his eyebrow and narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean goodbye?"

"I'm going back to Bordeaux, and I don't think I will ever return here."

"Why? You have a job here, I can find you a place if you want to." Once again she shook her head. She had enough of relying on men. At the end of the day all she had was herself, putting her expectations in others was a mistake to begin with. Often, it is expectation that destroyed us in the end.

Clara thanked him for everything. She felt lucky for knowing Corentin, he was such a good man, any woman who had him would be the luckiest woman. Corentin was a kind and attentive man. He would always be her best friend. Besides, she could easily do video call with him. She gave him a hug, a drop of tears fell from her eyes, Raphael, who rarely cried, ended up leaping his emotion out as well.

"Au Revoir."  Clara was one step away from the door when she felt dizzy, she leaned herself against the wall and froze on the spot. Corentin quickly came over to her side, and at the moment she fell down on the floor. There was a loud thud as her head hit the door. She was breathing heavily and it did not take long for her to pass out. He was shaking her body and checked her breathing.

Her face was turning a slight shade of blue, realizing she was terribly ill, Corentin quickly brought her inside his car and drove her to the nearest hospital. Throughout the way he was worried to death about her, he kept on murmuring the words "Please hold on" to her. He parked and had the emergency unit brought her inside as quickly as possible. They had him quickly fill in some basic information on a form which are required to get her treated as soon as possible, and he filled them in faster than lighting.

They started putting on a bunch of medical equipment on her, the medical team asked Corentin to remain outside as they tried to help her.

He sat on the seat in front of the emergency room, his palms were covering his face, he groaned in frustration and anxiety. A mix of worry, rage and anger consumed him. He had never experienced such emotion and as a distraction, his mind wandered elsewhere, he started counting on different possibilities and outcome, he was not a pessimistic person by nature, he had always been an optimistic person, one of his success key, yet at the moment he was in despair and agony. His heart felt like leaping out of his chest. Corentin was sick worried for her.

He doubted for a moment if he should inform anyone about it, he had her phone on him, and he could easily unlock it as he had accidentally saw her password earlier, he knew he was violating her privacy but it was entirely for her own good. He looked at her contact list and found her father's number.

It seemed she had booked a flight for the next day, if she could not come then the father would surely be worried and he had no other choice but to inform him. At first he did not know what to tell when Dennis Bellavance first picked up the phone. He was probably wondering who was calling him, because Corentin's voice had never been heard by him before, he introduced himself and explained the situation to him. He did not mention her fight with Raphael to not further worried the poor old man, because the illness itself must have been too much for him to handle.

On the other side of the phone, Dennis Bellavance was holding a glass of water in his hand when he received the sudden call. He tried listening for a moment, but when the stranger's told him his daughter Clara was in an emergency situation. He freaked out, everything else that was said afterward came as a blur. The glass slipped from his hand and fell on the floor, it shattered to a million pieces, spilling the water everywhere.

The housekeeper who was nearby saw it and tried to clean it up immediately, asking Dennis to step aside so he would not get injured, but he would not budge, his expression remained terrified. It was when everyone in the house realized what had happened.

Dennis Bellavance picked up his phone to book a flight to Paris the next day but he could not, all the flights had been booked, he must wait for the the day after to get a seat,

He should have known that there was something worrying in his daughter's tone when she called him earlier, but he would never have guessed such misfortune would happen to her daughter. Right then, only one thing appeared in his mind. He needed to see her and it was all he cared about.

There was no way he would allow her to end up like her mother.

Never.