Chapter 122 - 121

Aiden knew Sophia had a fever the minute he touched her forehead because she was burning hot. He carried her to the bedroom and applied a cold compress to her head while he called the doctor. 

The doctor and Aiden figured that she probably overworked herself, that's why she got the fever and fainted. Her skin looks dehydrated, so the doctor suggested they apply a drip on her on top of the medicine he already prescribed. Aiden had to give her medicine and feed her every four hours to make sure her fever breaks, and there would be no further implications.

After the doctor left, Aiden sat at the end of her bed, staring at her. She slept peacefully but looked gaunt and tired. The circles under her eyes told him she had not been getting enough sleep. It pained him to see her in such a state, he wished he could do something to make her feel better, but they just had to wait until she did.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, "Sunshine, why don't you take care of yourself? Don't you care about anything except for work? Why are you like this?" he sighed, "But don't worry, I'm here now, and I will take care of you," he planted a kiss on her forehead softly while she was dead to the world.

While he waited for her to wake up, Aiden went to the kitchen to prepare her food she could easily digest and swallow.

Sophia woke up to a dark room. At first, she thought everything was blurry, but the lack of light had impaired her vision. When everything came into focus, she saw tubes stuck to her hand, and she panicked. Trying to get up had been a chore, so she fell back on her bed and searched around for her phone with her good hand, and in the process, she knocked over the alarm clock, alerting Aiden she was awake.

Aiden rushed to the bedroom and turned on one of her lamps. "Sophia, it's me Aiden, stop moving. Let me help you up," he said as he arranged the pillows behind her to help prop her up.

"Water," Sophia's throat felt very dry, and it was hard for her to speak.

"What happened?" she asked after drinking the water Aiden handed to her. 

"You were very sick, so I had to get a doctor to treat you. We can take those off as soon as your body absorbs everything," he explained.

"Oh, okay," she nodded. Still a little lethargic.

"Tell me, how can you be so careless? What project are you working on that's so important you forgot to eat and sleep?" he said with concern in his voice.

She coughed, "I had nothing else to do, so I thought I'd just continue on through the night."

He wanted to scold her some more, but right now, she looked very pitiful in her state, that he eased off on her. "If you relax a bit, you will find that the world is very beautiful. Work is not the only thing that makes the world go round."

"Let me get your food, you need to eat before you take the medicine. Doctor's orders," he said as he excused himself from her room.

When she saw it was porridge, she drew a face, "Should I really eat this? Can't I eat something more substantial, or something with taste, maybe spicy soup?"

"No! Your stomach is weak right now, and eating spicy food might aggravate your condition. You just need enough sustenance so the medicine can do its work," he replied.

"Okay, fine!" she said with defiance as he sadly ate her food. After she finished everything in the bowl, he made sure she took her medicine. 

Under his watchful eye, he instructed her to sleep again. 

"I can do it," she said as Aiden got closer to tuck her in, but he pretended not to hear her.

She was trying to be defiant, keeping her eyes open, but sleep took over, and she was under its spell in less than a minute.

Aiden moved to the living room and started reading one of the books on the shelf. He figured it would take her a couple of hours before he needed to remove the IV, and before she awoke again.

By the time Sophia woke up again, the sky outside was dark. With her IV removed, she was able to go to the bathroom and move around the house. The house was silent, so she concluded that Aiden must have left. 

She sat on her vanity as she remembered why she worked herself to almost her death. The person at the food truck brought about all the memories that have haunted her over the years. To take her mind off reminiscing about the past, she started working, not taking a break so she wouldn't lose her concentration. She did not expect to collapse, thinking that sleeping it off would be enough.

Aiden standing with his back to her in the living room surprised her. He looked like he was doing something on the table, and she wanted to know what it was.

"Aiden, what are you still doing here?" she asked 

"Yes, I was waiting for you to wake up, so you can eat and drink your medicine again. How are you feeling?" he asked as he turned his back.

"I feel much better, thanks! What is that?" she asked when she saw the flower arrangement on the table.

"I saw the dead flowers I gave you 2 nights ago," he said, pointing to the flowers he gave her for their candlelit dinner.

"Oh, those. Sorry, I forgot," she was embarrassed.

"I ordered fresh ones so it could liven up your place," he replied, a little insulted that she had ignored his gift.

She noticed the cut stems, flowers, and leaves around him, "Did you arrange these flowers yourself?" 

"Yeah, I did, my mom loved arranging flowers from our garden, and she taught me how to do it," he said.